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Tomescu-Dita Runs Away With Marathon Win

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The Associated Press

Published: August 17, 2008

BEIJING - Romania's Constantina Tomescu-Dita soared into the Bird's Nest, turning the Olympic marathon into a one-woman race.

Tomescu-Dita pulled away from the lead pack near the halfway mark to win by 22 seconds over her nearest challenger.

Reigning world champion Catherine Ndereba of Kenya outsprinted China's Zhou Chunxiu for the silver to the disappointment of the roaring crowd at National Stadium. Still, the bronze was China's first medal in track and field. Another Chinese runner, Zhu Xiaolin, was fourth.

The 26.2-mile race was expected to be the biggest test yet of what impact the polluted skies of Beijing would have on the Olympic endurance events. Instead, the weather provided the runners with relief. Gray skies replaced the blue of the previous two days, with a light rain falling at times and a temperature of 73 degrees.

Tomescu-Dita won in 2 hours, 26 minutes, 44 seconds. Ndereba, a prerace favorite, finished in 2:27:06, one second ahead of Zhou.

Russia's Borchin Claims 20K Walk Gold Medal
Valeriy Borchin of Russia won the gold medal in the 20-kilometer walk in 1 hour, 19 minutes, 1 second at the Olympics, upstaging the defending champion.
Jefferson Perez of Ecuador, the 1996 Olympic gold medalist and three-time world champion, was 14 seconds back in second place Saturday, and Australia's Jared Tallent got the bronze in 1:19:42.

Borchin moved ahead of Perez at the 18-kilometer mark and increased his lead over the final stages.

HEPTATHLON: Nataliia Dobrynska from Ukraine won the gold medal with a combined total of 6,733 points.

Dobrynska did remarkably well considering her low scores in the first two events. She was seventh after the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.44. Then she dropped down to 10th after a high jump of 5 feet, 103/4 inches. Her stellar 56-83/4 shot put distance compensated for her earlier scores and allowed for her incredible recovery from 10th place. She finished the Heptathlon's Day 1 in second place behind the United States' Hyleas Fountain. Saturday, she finished the long jump in first place with a jump of 21-9. Her accumulated lead helped her stay on top through the javelin and 800 meters. The Beijing 2008 gold medalist finished with a combined total of 6733 points, 33 points ahead of Lyudmilia Blonska.

WOMEN'S SHOT PUT: Valerie Vili's first throw was the one that won her the gold.

"To come out on top feels amazing, so freaking amazing. I can't explain what's going on through my head right now," Vili said.

The New Zealander consistently marked at least 20 meters on each attempt in the final on Saturday night, a better record than any other competitor on the field. Her throw of 67 feet, 51/2 inches put her ahead of silver medallist Natallia Mikhnevich of Belarus, whose best put was 66-61/2.Fellow Belarusian Nadzeya Ostapchuk secured the bronze with 65-2.

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