It’s Jamaica again with a world record

Third gold for sprint merchant Bolt:

Dinesh Weerawansa reporting from China

Jamaica fortified their position in the newly taken over ‘world track power house’ on Day 13 of the XXiXth Olympic Games continued in the Chinese capital here today.

The US downfall in the Olympic track supremacy continued at the Bird’s Nest today. Having made a baton change blunder in the qualifying round, the USA not only missed a place in the men’s 4 x 100m final but also lost their 15-year-old world record to the mighty Jamaicans.

Thus, the Caribbean nation confirmed their new-found status as the greatest sprinting nation in the world, shuttering the men’s 4 x 100m relay a world record held by the USA since 1993. That also marked the fastest man at the Beijing Olympics - Usain Bolt’s third gold medal in Beijing after a majestic sprint double.

Today’s victory was always within Jamaica’s reach as anchor man Asafa Powell crossed the finish line in 37.10 seconds to signal a new world record. Nesta Carter led off the Jamaican quartet, passing to Michael Frater who stormed up the back straight.

With a significant lead already in their grasp, world 100m and 200m record holder Bolt sailed around the final bend further extending the gap, before handing the baton to Powell to put the finishing touches with the anchor lap.

The men’s 100m silver medalist in Beijing - Richard Thompson anchored Trinidad & Tobago home to the silver medal in 38.06, with Japan taking the bronze in 38.15.

Jamaica, which won the god medals in men’s 100m and 200m and well as women’s 100m and 200m, further consolidated their position as the champion sprint nation, winning their first men’s 4 x 100m relay gold in Olympic history. The mighty Jamaicans have sealed their track and field supremacy with six gold, three silver and one bronze at the Bird’s Nest.

But it was Russia which took the women’s 4x100m relay gold with a time of 42.31 seconds through Evgeniya Polyakova, Aleksandra Fedoriva, Yulia Gushchina and Yuliya Chermoshanskaya. The silver went to reigning world championships bronze medalist Belgian team, this time made up of Olivia Borlee, Hanna Marien, Elodie Ouedraogo, and Kim Gevaert, in a time of 42.54s.

Though the USA and Jamaica were expected to have a neck to neck tussle for women’s 100m gold, it was not so after the American women too were disqualified in the semifinal. Jamaica stumbled in the second changeover, taking Great Britain with them.

Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser was the fastest starter and team mate Sherone Simpson maintained the lead in the back straight. However, a mix-up between 100m silver medalists Simpson and Kerron Stewart of Jamaica led to a dropped baton and Russia grabbed the opportunity to win their fourteenth Athletics medal here.

Edwards was just as baffled by the bad pass, “I don’t know what really happened; I’m obviously disappointed. It was my chance to be a gold medalist.”

American Bryan Clay completed his triumph in the men’s decathlon to win the gold medal with a total of 8791 points. Clay, silver medalist at Athens 2004, began the competition winning by the 100m in 10.44 seconds and he was never threatened for first place. Only in the final 1500m discipline did he lag behind, which extinguished his hopes of breaking the world record.

Steve Hooker of Australia accounted for the gold medal in men’s pole vault after clearing 5.96m. The silver medal was won by Russian Evgeny Lukyanenko with a clearence of 5.85m. Ukraine’s Denys Yurchenko took the bronze at 5.70m.

Ethiopia maintained its long distance supremacy when Tirunesh Dibaba won her second gold medal at the Beijing Olympics. She won women’s 5,000m gold medal in 15 minutes and 41.40 seconds.

Turkey’s Elvan Abeylegesse took the silver in 15:42.74 and another Ethiopian Meseret Defar, the defending champion, won the bronze in 15:44.12.

Brazilian Maurren Higa Maggi won her country’s second gold medal of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games when she leaped a season’s best of 7.04m to win the women’s long jump. She ended Russian Tatyana Lebedeva’s dominance in the event. The Athens 2004 champion, who won three of the last four world championships, took silver.

Lebedeva had been in second place all through the competition with 6.97m. After four no jumps, the best she could manage with her last effort was a season’s best 7.03m, a centimeter short of Maggi.

Dutch women win hockey gold

The Netherlands beat China 2-0 in the final of the Women’s hockey tournament to give the 14-time Champions Trophy top-three finisher its first Olympic women’s gold since 1984.

Giant killers China stunned everybody by defeating Athens Olympic champion Germany in the semis. A relative newcomer to the sport, China earns its best ever Olympic finish in Hockey by winning silver. Two second-half goals by Naomi van As and Maartje Goderie of the Netherlands sealed the game for the Dutch who plotted and executed a brilliant plan that brought China to a virtual standstill.

The Netherlands, who won their only other gold medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Games and had lost to Germany in the 2004 Games final in Athens, owed their success on Friday to captain Minke Booij who marshaled the Dutch defense to frustrate the Chinese attacks.

China remains on top

Hosts China sailed smoothly in the top position of the final medals table with a rich haul of 47 gold medals, 17 silver and 25 bronze. The Americans still trail by 16 gold medals to remain in the second spot with only 31 gold, 36 silver and 35 bronze medals. Great Britain continued to enjoy another fruitful day and maintained their third position with 18 gold, 13 silver and 13 bronze medals.

In the fourth place is Russia with 17 gold, 18 silver and 22 bronze medals, followed by fifth-placed Germany - 14 gold, nine silver and 13 bronze medals.

BEIJING, Friday