10B The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - September 18, 2000
'Thorpe do'
+nets gold
for host
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) I-an
Thorpe powered Australia to a world-
record victory in the 400-meter
freestyle relay and ended American
Olympic domination of the event since
it was first held 36 years ago in Tokyo.
Thorpe, who earlier had won the
400 individual freestyle, touched in 3
minutes, 13.67 seconds after Michael
Klim had led Australia off with a 100-
meter world record time.
Klim took Australia out on the first
leg in 48.18 seconds to better the 48.21
mark set by Russian Alexander Popov
in Monaco on June 18, 1994.
Chris Fvdler held off American Neil
Walker but the U.S. were gaining and
the lead was a mere 0.25 seconds when
Ashley Callus, the third Australian
swimmer, handed over to Thorpe.
American Gary Hall Jr. burst down
the first length of the 50-meter
Homebush Bay pool and overtook
Thorpe, but the 17-year-old prodigy
proved equal to the challenge, clawing
back the deficit on the return length to
surge through for victory.
"I had a real honor to bring us home,
an honor and legacy of Australian
swimming," Thorpe said. "We've built
up this day as a very special day."
The U.S. quartet touched in 3:13.86
as both teams finished well within the
3:15. 11 world mark posted by another
American squad. also featuring Hall.
in Atlanta in August 1995, a year
before the Olympics there.
Brazil took the bronze medals in
3:17.40.
The Australian win prompted ecsta-
tic celebrations in a crowd which had
witnessed five world records during
the evening session - three set by
home swimmers including Thorpe in
his 400m freestyle victory.
"I wasn't going for the record. I was
U.S. women's soccer ties China.
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) --
At the final whistle of a 1-1 draw, the
Chinese women's soccer players were
jumping out of their skins. The
Americans were straight-faced and
stern.
"We made note of that," U.S. captain
Julie Foudy said. "I just said to the
team afterwards, they're celebrating
and we're disappointed. And it was a
tie. That tells you where we're at."
Yesterday's much-anticipated
Olympic rematch of last year's World
Cup final, a big enough deal to get
Chelsea Clinton to fly from Sydney to
attend, produced another standoff.
Unlike the 0-0 game at the Rose
Bowl, this was a first-round match that
didn't call for overtime or a penalty
shootout to break the tie, making for an
unfulfilled finish that could only be
resolved if these two teams meet again
next week for the gold medal.
"Our standards are very high. We
don't accept not winning," coach April
Heinrichs said. "We felt we could have
put that game away, and we'll come
back even more determined next time."
Foudy scored for the United States,
and Sun Wen tied it for China. Both
teams are 1-0-1 in first-round play, and
both need at least a draw in
Wednesday's final group games to
advance to the semifinals.
The United States will play Nigeria,
while China faces Norway. The
Norwegians beat Nigeria 3-1 yesterday.
There's still a good chance for
another U.S.-China championship
game, and the Americans would love
to see it.
"You betcha," forward Tiffeny
Milbrett said. "The great thing about
China is they bring out the best in us."
Yesterday's match produced two
spectacular plays, both by Chinese
players. One tied the game, the other
prevented an American victory.
In the 67th minute, Chinese captain
Sun launched a 33-yard free kick after
a foul by Mia Hamm. Sun placed the
ball perfectly in the upper left hand
corner of the net. All goalkeeper Siri
Mullinix could do was deflect it off the
underside of the crossbar.
"She's so good at that;" Milbrett
said. "I thought she was far enough-
out that we'd be safe. I don't how much
further out you have to go to make
sure you're not in her range."
Seven minutes later, the U.S. team
had a chance to take the lead when
defender Fan Yunjie's left hand blocked
Milbrett's cross in the left side of the
penalty box.
A penalty kick was awarded, and
goalkeeper Gao Hong dived right to
stop the attempt by Kristine Lilly.
Gao's horizontal leap was the mirror
image of Briana Scurry's decisive stop
in the World Cup final penalty
shootout.
Gao, known for her gamesmanship,
smiled at Lilly and gestured before the
kick. Lilly said she followed the same
advice she used when she faced Gao at
last year's World Cup final: Don't look.
"I didn't. I was focused on the ball.
It didn't help, though,'' Lilly said. "I hit
it where I wanted to, I didn't have
enough room to get it by her before she
got there."
Gao not only blocked Lilly's kick,
but then also knocked away Cindy
Parlow's follow-up as the Americans
charged the net.
Foudy's goal, in the 38th minute,
was set up by a 35-yard volley from
Milbrett that Gao leaped to push over
the crossbar.
Shannon MacMillan then struck a
perfect corner kick that sailed just
beyond Gao's swinging right hand and
onto the head of Foudy, who put the
ball in the net for the captain's 38th
international goal.
AP PHOTO
Ian Thorpe doesn't mind doing the medal thing again at the Sydney Olympics in his
home country. Thorpe has won gold in the 400 freestyle and the 400 freestyle relay.
just trying to get the team off to a good
start," Klin said.
"We proved that Aussie mates are
Aussie mates. We made history"
Earlicr, Thorpe gave Aussie fans the
world record and Olympic title in a
magnificent victory in the 400 meters
freestyle final.
The 17,500 crowd had already wit-
nessed one world record from
Ukraine's Yana Klochkova in the
women's 400 meters individual med-
ley and anything less from the home
nation's 17-year-old swimming hero
would have been an anti-climax.
But Thorpe, clad in full bodysuit,
delivered in style, scattering his
rivals as he added the Olympic crown
to the world title he won in Perth in
1998.
Thorpe was inside world record
schedule throughout the race and won
in three minutes 40.59 seconds to
lower the mark of 3:41.33 he set in the
Australian Olympic trials in this pool
on May 13.
Italy's Massimihiano Rosolino man-
fully tried to keep in touch with
Thorpe but the young master pulled
away, powered by the enormous kick
of his size 17 feet, to win by nearly
three seconds-
AP PROTO
Despite the light mood in practice, the U.S. women's soccer team said it was "dis-
appointed" with a 1-1 draw against China.
Medal count from Sydney
9-910
Broenze
United States
Austrilia
China
France
Japan
Italy
Russia
Bulgaria
Germany
South Korea
Turkey
Britain
Canada
Cuba
Netherlands
Switzerland
Croatia
Ukraine
4
3
1
3
3
1
1
0
0
2
1
1
1
1
1
1.
1
5
2
1
2
2
1
2
2
2
2
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
2
2
4
0
0
2
1
1
1
1
0
1
1
1
0
1
0
0
11
7
6
5
5
4
4
3
3
3'
2
2
2
2
2
2-
1
1
17 other countries have won one medal - Nancy Johnson of the U.S. won the
first gold medal of the 2000 Olympics in the air-rifle competition on Saturday.
Dream
team tops
tall China
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - Foul
trouble made the "Great Wall" crumble,
and the United States overran China
once the height difference was gone.
China actually held a six-point lead in
the early going, but its three big men
picked up four fouls apiece in.the first
18 1/2 minutes to end whatever slim
chance it had in a 119-72 loss to the U.S.
men's basketball team yesterday.
For the limited time they were on the
floor together, 7-footers Wang Zhizhi
and Yao Ming made things a bit difficult
for the U.S. team. But Wang, a second-
round draft pick of the Dallas Mavericks
in 1999, did little after drawing four
whistles in the first 5 1/2 minutes, and
Yao fouled out with 18:50 left in the sec-
ond half.
Ray Allen had several highlight-reel
dunks en route to 21 points, Vince
Carter had 16, Tim Hardaway and Steve
Smith added 12 each and Vin Baker 11
'for the Americans, who did as they
pleased for most of the game to open
Olympic competition with a runaway
victory.
Much like four years ago when the
Americans beat China by 63 points, the
talent difference between the teams was
huge. This time, though, the Chinese
had a brief moment of glory by scoring
13 of the first 20 points behind the tal -
ents of their giants.
Carter made his first dunk less than
two minutes into the game for a 5-3 lead,
but then it was a chance for Wang and
Yao to show their stuff. Yao rejected
Carter's next drive, leading to a fast
break layup by Wang, and Wang added a
3-pointer moments later to make it 12-7.
Yao, listed by FIBA as 7-foot-5, made
a foul shot for a 13-7 lead before order
was restored to the basketball world.
Kevin Garnett had an alley-oop dunk
to get the U.S. team rolling, and Allen
made a 3-pointer to give the Americans
a 17-16 lead with 14:15 left.
China's other big man, Menkbater,
went to the bench with four fouls with
3:20 left in the half, and Yao picked up
his fourth less than two minutes later. Of
China's 14 fouls in the first half, 12 were
called against the three big men who are
known in their country as the "Walking*
Great Wall."
* UUEEE U
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