U.S. Olympic team facing disappointing second-place gold-medal finish in Beijing

With just two days left before the end of the Olympic Games, some U.S. sports officials were fretting Friday about a likely U.S. second-place finish in the gold-medal count, far behind China, and wondering what went wrong this month.

U.S. athletes have suffered bitter disappointments in events such as track and field competitions and boxing, while top-ranked U.S. teams in softball, women's water polo and other sports have lost to upstart underdogs in gold medal matches.

Making matters worse, the beleaguered Americans have been powerless to stop Chinese athletes, who have pulled far ahead in the gold-medal tally, even in the games' second week when U.S. athletes were supposed to tighten the gap.

By the end of Friday, the U.S. team had won 31 gold medals behind the 47 earned by the Chinese delegation. U.S. athletes, however, were still leading in total medals at 102 to the 89 medals won by the Chinese.

Another 44 gold medals will be awarded in the last two days of the Olympics this weekend, including eight in track-and-field events where U.S. athletes have traditionally been strong. This year, however, U.S. track and fielders have struggled, and the chances of a come-from-behind win in total gold medals are slim.

A second-place U.S. gold-medal finish in Beijing would mark a first for the Americans since the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta. The United States has won the gold-medal race in 16 of the 26 modern Olympic Games.

"There are more countries winning those medals," said Steve Roush, the U.S. Olympic Committee's chief of sport performance. "And there are only so many to win. If they're winning more, someone's winning less. And here in Beijing, we didn't step it up like they did."

Despite the disappointments, U.S. officials tried to paint a positive picture Friday, saying their athletes would likely top the U.S. performance in the 2004 Athens games when the Americans won a total of 102 medals. The Americans, in fact, crossed that mark around 10 p.m. Beijing time Friday.

The U.S. team will also likely win the total medal count this year, bittersweet consolation for a competition largely judged by its gold-medal tally.

The committee's chief executive officer, Jim Scherr, said U.S. athletes were doing well in team sports, although such competitions net only two medals - one for men and another for women - after days of play.

An historic performance by U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps, who won eight gold medals this month, also grabbed headlines.

The problem, officials said, was U.S. athletes faced tougher competition in sports they usually dominated. Jamaican sprinters such as Usain Bolt, for example, dashed away the hopes of U.S. runners, while the Japanese softball team shocked the Americans by downing them in Thursday night's final game.

The losses continued when the Cuban baseball team beat the Americans in a Friday semifinals match.

"These games are significantly more competitive than in Athens," Scherr said. "We know some nations devoted significantly more resources in these games."

The Chinese government, in fact, spent at least $1 billion on athlete development in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics, said U.S.-based Chinese athletics expert Xu Guoqui. By comparison, the U.S. Olympic Committee's annual budget is $150 million, with much of it coming from non-governmental sources.

"Chinese progress in sports has mirrored its economic growth," Xu said. "They have a lot more money to spend on sports now."

The Chinese reaped the rewards of that spending this year, especially in their targeting of medal-rich sports where their athletes haven't traditionally excelled. With the help of foreign coaches, the program led to Chinese gold medals in sports such as fencing and sailing.

In Medals Contest, U.S. And China Are Tops

Crystl Bustos of the United States hits a three-run homer in the top of the ninth inning to give the U.S. a 4-0 lead against Japan in the women's semifinal softball game.




Usain Bolt of Jamaica reacts after breaking the 200-meter world record with a time of 19.3 seconds to win the gold medal. Churandy Martina (left) of Netherlands Antilles and Brian Dzingai of Zimbabwe come in after him

Like two sprinters leaving the rest of the field behind, the United States and China are neck-and-neck in total medals at the Summer Olympics in Beijing. The U.S. leads the host country 82-79 in total medals. But China leads the U.S. in gold medals, 45-26. Russia is running a distant third with 45 total medals.

Speaking of swift runners: Usain Bolt of Jamaica won the 200-meter race — and a gold medal — in a world-record 19.3 seconds Wednesday night. He finished 0.52 seconds in front of Churandy Martin of Netherlands Antilles. Bolt is the first sprinter to win gold in the 200- and 100-meter races in the same Olympics since American Carl Lewis in 1984. Bolt is also the only racer to date to smash world records in both races at the same Olympics.

Softball star Crystl Bustos swatted a three-run, ninth-inning home run against Japan to send the U.S. softball team into the gold medal game. The final score was 4-1. The Americans have a 22-game winning streak. Also in softball, Australia beat Canada 5-3.

In men's beach volleyball, Americans Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser advanced to the gold medal round by beating Georgia 21-11, 21-13 in the semifinals Wednesday.

In women's field hockey, China beat Germany 3-2 to advance to the finals. And China's Wu Jingyu won a gold medal in tae kwon do.

But the host country has run into a few athletic obstacles on Day 12. In baseball, China lost to Cuba, 17-1. Meantime, South Korea cleaned the Netherlands' clock, 10-0.

USA Softball Team Advances to Gold Medal Game

The U.S. women's softball advanced to the gold medal finals after defeating Japan 4-1 in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.

Crystal Bustos hit a three-run home run in the ninth inning as the Americans extended their Olympic winning streak to 22.

The game was tied at zero until the ninth inning when Caitlin Lowe hit an RBI single, followed by Bustos' homer. The USA team will advance to the last finals until at least the 2016 Olympic Games.

Tied after seven innings, the teams went to the international tiebreaker in the eighth as both began their at-bats with a runner at second base. Neither could score in the eighth.

Monica Abbott pitched eight shutout innings for the U.S., which will face Japan again for gold Thursday. The Japanese team defeated Australia, 4-3, later Wednesday, with the winner meeting the Americans and the loser getting bronze.

The U.S. will battle Japan for the gold medal on Thursday at 6:30 a.m.