US beach party assured tonight
Bolt gears up for 200 defense
LONDON — It will be an All- American party at beach volleyball when Kerri Walsh Jennings and Misty May- Treanor take on April Ross and Jennifer Kessy in tonight’s final.
Walsh Jennings and May- Treanor won gold medals in Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008 without losing a match, and they ran their unbeaten streak to 20 with their victory over China in the semifinals.
Ross and Kessy advanced with a three- set win against topranked Brazilians Juliana and Larissa.
“We want to seal the deal that we’re the best team that’s ever happened,” Walsh Jennings said. “Misty has changed my life. I just love her. I want to win tomorrow for us.”
Usain Bolt is eyeing another gold after he cruised through 200- meter qualifying, jogging down the stretch on his way to a stress- free first- round heat of 20.39 seconds.
The World’s Fastest Man repeated in the 100 on Sunday night when his 9.63- second run set an Olympic record. He is trying to become the only man with two Olympic titles in the 200.
“I was taking it as easy as possible. It’s my first ( 200) r u n , ” Bo l t said Tuesday. “I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
Alge r i a ’ s T a o u f i k M a k h l o u f i ( men’s 1,500 meters), Australia’s Sally Pearson ( 100- meter hurdles), Germany’s Robert Harting ( men’s discus) and Russia’s Ivan Ukhov ( men’s high jump) won gold medals on the fifth day of the track and field competition.
Makhloufi made the most of his second chance after he was disqualified when track and field officials ruled he didn’t try hard enough during a heat in the 800. The DQ was overturned after a medical officer reviewed the evidence, and Makhloufi completed the 1,500 in 3 minutes, 34.08 seconds.
Pearson got the best of a strong field by clocking an Olympic record 12.35 seconds to edge defending champion Dawn Harper of the U. S. It was Australia’s fourth gold medal of the games.
While Bolt moved on with ease, Liu Xiang failed to make it out of the preliminary heats