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Triumph And (Mostly) Heartbreak

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A Tribune wire report

Published: August 22, 2008

BEIJING - Thursday began and ended on a golden moment for the U.S. However, in between was a lot of Olympic heartbreak for American athletes.

In the morning, late Wednesday night Tampa time, Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor won their second straight beach volleyball gold medal by defeating China's Wang Jie and Tian Jia 21-18, 21-18.

But as the day wore on, fortune began to turn against the U.S. Both the men's and women's 4x100 meter relay track teams dropped the baton and failed to get out of the first round of qualifying, meaning the Americans would go 0-for-6 in the sprints for the first time.

The U.S. softball team was supposed to breeze past its competition en route to its fourth consecutive gold medal in the sport's last appearance in the Olympics for at least eight years - and maybe for good. But Yukiko Ueno shut down the Americans, who had won 22 straight Olympic games, in Japan's 3-1 win.

In women's water polo, it was the Netherlands against the United States and, you guessed it, more heartbreak for the Americans. Danielle de Bruijn scored seven goals in her final Olympic game, including the winner with 26 seconds remaining for a 9-8 victory in the gold-medal match.

Thursday did end on a positive note, with the U.S. women's soccer team, minus its best attacker and best defender, holding off favored Brazil for the gold medal, 1-0 in overtime.

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