Olympics
Roundup: Henin-Hardenne gets gold, Gonzalez medals twice

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Tennis

Healthy at last, Justine Henin-Hardenne is back at the top of her game. And she has a gold medal to prove it.

In a No. 1 vs. No. 2 final that wasn't really close, the top-ranked Henin-Hardenne overwhelmed France's Amelie Mauresmo 6-3, 6-3 last night in Athens to win Belgium's first gold of these Games.

Alicia Molik of Australia beat Anastasia Myskina of Russia 6-3, 6-4 for the bronze.

Sidelined by a viral infection, Henin-Hardenne had won once in the past four months. She hadn't played at all since May, when she was upset in the second round of the French Open as the defending champion.

"It's difficult for you to imagine the states of depression I went through," Henin-Hardenne said. "I realize how fortunate I am just to be able to be on the court. So I'm really glad to have had the chance to be able to give 100 percent."

Fernando Gonzalez of Chile saved two match points and outlasted Taylor Dent of the United States 6-4, 2-6, 16-14 to win the men's singles bronze medal in a 3-1/2-hour match. Gonzalez and Nicolas Massu then won the gold in men's doubles, beating Nicolas Kiefer and Rainer Schuettler of Germany 6-2, 4-6, 3-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-4.

Gonzalez's two matches lasted a total of 7 hours, 8 minutes — and he only had 2-1/2 hours of rest in between.

Paola Suarez and Patricia Tarabini gave Argentina its first Olympic tennis medal since 1992 by beating Shinobu Asagoe and Ai Sugiyama of Japan 6-3, 6-3 for the doubles bronze.

Weightlifting
 
George Asanidze of Georgia won the gold in the 85-kilogram class with 843 pounds (382.5 kg) in Athens. Pyrros Dimas of Greece, trying for a record fourth straight gold, won the bronze.

Dimas, 32, one of Greece's biggest sports stars, got a thunderous standing ovation lasting 15 minutes before and after the awards ceremony from a flag-waving crowd.

"I want to emphasize that Pyrros Dimas is not a bronze medalist, he is a three-time Olympic champion," Asanidze said.

Tang Gonghong of China broke world records in the clean and jerk and total lift for women's super heavyweights while winning the gold medal.

Tang raised 402 pounds (182.5 kg) in the clean and jerk to break her own record of 385-1/2 pounds (175 kg), set in April. Tang's total of 672 pounds (305 kg) also was a record.

Baseball

Greece won for the first time in Olympic baseball, getting 14 hits from its Greek-American lineup to beat Italy 12-7 in Athens in a showdown between the two weakest teams in the tournament.

Shortstop Clay Bellinger, center fielder Cory Harris and designated hitter Nicholas Markakis hit home runs, and first baseman Georgios Kottaras had three hits as the Greeks rallied from a 5-0 deficit, scoring at least two runs in the fourth through seventh innings.

Cycling

Britain's Bradley Wiggins won the gold medal in Athens in the men's individual pursuit, covering 4,000 meters in 4 minutes, 16.304 seconds.

Wiggins' time was 4.132 seconds ahead of silver medalist Brad McGee of Australia. Spain's Sergi Escobar, with a time of 4:17.947, beat Britain's Rob Hayles for bronze.

Germany's team sprint trio of Jens Fiedler, Rene Wolff and Stefan Nimke edged Japan for the gold medal. The Germans finished in 43.980 seconds. Japan's time for the three-lap gold medal race was 44.246 seconds. France won the bronze medal in 44.359 seconds.

Fencing

After upsetting Germany in the quarterfinals, the United States men's foil fencing squad lost to China in the semifinals, then to Russia in the bronze-medal bout in Athens.

Italy won the gold medal, fending off a late run by China to win 45-42.

In their medal match, the Americans were tied with 10 points to go, then were down 41-38 when Dan Kellner and Youri Motchan both recorded touches. The referee awarded the point to Russia, and Moltchan went on to close it out.

Rowing

Britain's Matthew Pinsent won his fourth gold medal after his boat stunned defending world champ Canada in the coxless four in a finish in Schinias that left every Briton in the venue cheering wildly.

Britain was first with a time of 6:06.98, or .08 seconds ahead of Canada. Officials reviewed photos before posting the results.

Sailing

Americans Paul Foerster and Kevin Burnham won the first Olympic titles of their long careers, dominating their British rivals in the 470 class.

Foerster and Burnham gained control over Nick Rogers and Joe Glanfield during pre-start maneuvers on the Saronic Gulf and never let up. Rogers and Glanfield got the silver.

Britain's Ben Ainsley won the gold medal in the Finn class. Rafael Trujillo of Spain won silver, and Poland's Mateusz Kusznierewicz took bronze.

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