• Newly-crowned women’s Olympic 100m freestyle champion Jodie Henry, 20, admitted that she had been a slow starter when it came to her swimming career. “When I first started out I made up excuses not to race. I hated it. I think it came with experience knowing I was good enough to be out there,” said the Australian, who also set a new world record on her way to Olympic gold.
Chinese Gymnasts Look to Beijing After Olympic Struggles
• Zhang Nan’s women’s all-round bronze medal brought a measure of dignity to Chinese gymnasts after a woeful Olympic showing. The men’s team fell from Sydney gold to fifth here. The women’s team tumbled from third to seventh. “I think the results will be better in 2008. I hope to build a Dream Team by 2008. We will make some changes by then,” China women’s coach Lu Shunzhen said. Zhang hopes to be a part of that rebuilding process, saying, “I will persist in my hard work and hope I will be competitive in Beijing.”
US Softball Squad Makes Perfect Run After Tragedy
• The United States softball team, playing after the shocking death of their coach’s wife, completed an unbeaten and unscored upon run through the Olympic preliminary round yesterday with a 3-0 shutout of Taiwan. US coach Mike Candrea’s wife Sue died July 18 at age 49 from complications caused by a brain aneurysm. But he stayed on to guide the US women, who have outscored round-robin foes 41-0 entering their tomorrow’s semifinal with hopes of winning a third consecutive Olympic gold in Monday’s final. “Concentrating on softball has helped me,” the US coach said. “It’s therapy for me.”
