Ice Dancing: the Gold Medal went to Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder (France), whose winning performance is featured below. Taking the Silver Medal were Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto of the United States. Sinead Kerr and John Kerr of the United States finished in third place.

The mens individual Gold went to Takahiko Kozuka of Japan. Johnny Weir of the United States won the Silver and Evan Lysacek, also of the United States, won the Bronze Medal.

The Pairs Gold went to Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany. The Silver was awarded to Keauna McLaughlin and Rockne Brubaker of the United States and the Bronze went to Maria Mukhortova and Maxim Trankov of Russia.

The womens individual competition is still underway as I write this. We will have the results of that competition tomorrow.

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Skate America Kicks Off ISU Grand Prix Season

China’s athletes earned more than twice the number of Medals than Great Britain, who ended the Paralympic Games in second place in the Medal count. Chinese athletes, including runner Li Yansong pictured above, were awarded a total of 211 Medals (89 Gold, 70 Silver, and 52 Bronze). Great Britain earned a total of 102 (42 Gold, 29 Silver, and 31 Bronze). The United States ended the Games with 99 Medals and Ukraine was fourth with 74 total Medals. Canada was awarded 50 Medals, putting them in seventh place overall.

^{(photo © Newscom)}

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China Tops Paralympic Medal Chart

Olympian sighting continue around the United States. Friday, US Olympic swimmers, Michael Phelps, Natalie Coughlin, and Ryan Lochte tour the New York Stock Exchange in New York City. They were guests of Warnaco, the parent company of Speedo, for whom the trio are spokespersons.

Phelps won a record eight Gold Medals at the Beijing Games in August. Coughlin won six Medals including one Gold, and Lochte won four Medals including two Gold.

^{(photo © Newscom)}

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US Olympic Swimmers at the NY Stock Exchange

Imagine competing in the long jump, shot put, discus throw, 400m, 1500m, 100m, and javelin–all in two days. Then, imagine doing it with a prosthetic leg. That’s what Jeremy Campbell of the United States did in world record style to win the Gold Medal in the Pentathlon at the Beijing Paralympic Games. He finished with a paralympic world record 4662 points. Coming in second for the Silver Medal was Jeff Skiba of the United States.

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America’s Campbell Wins Paralympic Pentathlon

Oscar Pistorius of South Africa won the Paralympic Gold Medal in the mens 100m event on Monday. Pistorius, a double amputee who runs on specially-constructed blades, is best known for having won the right to compete with able-bodied athletes in the Olympic Games. He failed to qualify, but vows to try again for the 2012 London Games.

Pistorius is also the favorite to win the 200m and 400m events at the Paralympic Games.

Coming in second in the 100m for the Silver Medal was Jerome Singleton of the United States. Brian Frasure of the US finished third, earning him the Bronze Medal.

^{(photo © Newscom)}

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Pistorius Wins Paralympic Gold

One of the many US paralympians to watch in Beijing this next week is Jessica Galli, who is competing in her third Paralympic Games. Galli’s many achievements include winning the Silver Medal in the 800 T53 wheelchair race at the Sydney Games in 2000 and being nominated for a 2008 ESPY Award as the Best Female Athlete with a disability. Galli, a graduate of the University of Illinois, is also the current world record holder in the T53 400m race.

^{(photo © Newscom)}

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Paralympian Jessica Galli

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Nastia Liukin’s Olympic Journey

In another of the last competitions of the XXIX Olympiad, the United States men’s volleyball team defeated the two-time Olympic and world champion Brazilian team 20-25, 25-22, 25-21, 25-23 to win the Gold Medal. The US team was thrust into the news early in the Games after their head coach’s father-in-law, Todd Bachman, was killed by a Beijing national while sightseeing.

Russia took the Bronze Medal, defeating the Italian team in three sets.

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US Men’s Volleyball Team Takes Gold

The United States regained the Gold Medal in men’s basketball on Sunday, defeating the reigning world champion Spanish National team 118-107. They completed the Olympic competition undefeated. The game was close until late in the fourth period. Then the American offense went into gear and led by a four-pointer by Kobe Bryant soared ahead for the victory.

Dwayne Wade led the American scoring with 27 points. Bryant had 20. Rudy Fernandez was the high scorer for the Silver Medalist, Spanish team, with 22 points.

Defending Olympic champion, Argentina, playing without star Manu Ginobili, defeated the Lithuanian team 87-75 on Saturday to earn the Bronze Medal.

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US Men’s Basketball Team Wins the Gold Medal

The American women took the Gold Medal in the women’s 4×400m relay, with anchor Sanya Richards passing Russian, Anastasia Kapachinskaya in the final meters. The Russian women took the Silver Medal and the Jamaican team earned the Bronze. In addition to Richards, the US team included Allyson Felix, Monique Henderson, and Mary Weinberg.

Nancy Langat of Kenya took the Gold Medal in the women’s 1500m event, followed by Iryna Lishchynskia and Nataliya Tobias of Ukraine for the Silver and Bronze Medals, respectively. American Shannon Rowbury finished in seventh place.

In the women’s high jump event, Belgium’s Tia Hellebaut surprised everyone by beating strong favorite, Blanka Vlasic of Croatia, who hadn’t lost the event in 34 meets. Vlasic got the Silver Medal and Anna Chicherova of Russia earned the Bronze Medal.

In the men’s 5000m contest, Kenensia Bekele of Ethiopia finished first for the Gold Medal. Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya and his countryman, Edwin Cheruiyot Soi earned the Silver and Bronze Medals. Bekele won the Gold Medal in the men’s 10,000m event earlier in the Beijing Olympic meet.

It was never a contest in the men’s 4×400 relay. The American men–Angelo Taylor, Jeremy Wariner, LaShawn Merritt, and David Neville–took the lead early and never relinguished it. The Silver Medal went to the team from the Bahamas and the Bronze Medal was awarded to the Russian team.

The men of the Baltic nations swept the men’s javelin competition, with Norway’s Andreas Thorkildsen , the defending Olympic champion, winning the Gold Medal. Ainars Kovals of Latvia took the Silver and Tero Pitkamaki of Finland earned the Bronze Medal. Thorkildsen set a new Olympic record of 90.57m.

Kenya won its first ever Gold Medal in the mens 800m event with Wilfred Kipkemboi Bungei’s win in Beijing. Ismail Ahmed of Sudan finished second for the Silver Medal and Alfred Kirwa of Kenya finished third for the Bronze Medal. Kenya, with its long history of Medals in the long distance events, had never won the mens 800m.

^{(photo of Nancy Langat © Newscom)}

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Scenes from the Bird’s Nest – August 23