TEAM USA Has Great Day At Olympics

By  //  August 9, 2012

London 2012 Olympics

EDITOR’S NOTE: SpaceCoastDaily.com’s Keith Malone, is now reporting from England, covering the Olympic Games. He is providing his unique perspective of the games, and his native country, as he travels to the various venues to report back to the Space Coast news fans on all the glamour and excitement of the 30th Olympic Games.

THE OLYMPIC GAMES• LONDON, ENGLAND — It’s with great excitement that I can report for SCD that Team USA are turning on the heat on Day 11 of the London Olympics- winning three golds on a truly golden evening of track and field for the United States.

There was a fourth gold for USA in women’s beach volleyball – and that means they’re hunting down China at the summit of the medals table.

Allyson Felix (London2012.com image)

The fans filling the Olympic Stadium gave standing ovations to USA’s three track and field gold medallists – Allyson Felix in the Women’s 200 metres, Aries Merritt in the men’s 110 metres and Brittney Reese in the women’s long jump.

And USA made it a fourth gold medal on the day as Misty-May Treanor and Kerri Walsh beat their fellow USA team mates Jennifer Kessy and April Ross to win the women’s beach volley ball

Allyson Felix raced to Olympic 200m gold in a time of 21.88 seconds, to win the title at the third attempt.

The three-time world champion beat a strong field to register her first Olympic gold over the distance after two silvers in 2004 and 2008.

The American came from behind in the final straight to pip Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce to first place.

USA’s Carmelita Jeter took the bronze.

“That was very impressive from Allyson Felix. It was a great race with some great athletic talent. Felix, with her long stride, is a great sprinter with very nice technique.

She could not be matched today.” said USA’s four-times Olympic champion and BBC pundit Michel Johnson.

Fraser-Pryce ran a personal best (22.09) to take silver, with American Carmelita Jeter third (22.14).

“It has been a long time coming,” Felix told the BBC. “I’ve waited so long for this moment and I am just overjoyed.

“There are so many people I love here tonight and I am just overjoyed to share it with them.”

Aries Felix (London2012.com image)

USA’s Aries Merritt stormed to Olympic gold in the men’s 110m hurdles in a new personal best of 12.92 seconds as reigning champion Dayron Robles pulled up injured.

Merritt’s consistency was in evidence again as he dipped more than a tenth of a second clear of American compatriot Jason Richardson in silver. Jamaica’s Hansle Parchment took bronze.

Merritt was out fast and stretched away from world champion Richardson.

“I trained for this very intensely,” said Merritt.

“I was trying to treat this as much like a practice session as possible, where I have no pressure. I tried to relieve all pressure.

The gold means everything – this is a dream come true.”

In the women’s long jump, USA’s Brittney Reese secured Olympic long jump gold with a leap of 7.12m.

Reese finished fifth at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, but demolished the field with her second jump in the Olympic Stadium.

Russia’s Elena Sokolova won silver, while bronze went to USA’s Janay Deloach bronze.

There was so nearly a fourth track gold for USA’s Lashinda Demus in the women’s 400 metres hurdles.

But Russia’s Natalya Antyukh held off a late surge from Demus, the current world champion, to win gold and leave Demus with the silver.

Antyukh ran a personal best of 52.70 seconds to win a second Games medal after claiming bronze in the 400m at Athens 2004.

American Demus, bidding to become the first reigning world champion to win Olympic gold, finished in 52.77.

On the sand in the beach volleyball arena outside Horse Guards Parade near Buckingham Palace, Americans Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh retained their Olympic title with a 21-16, 21-16 win over compatriots Jennifer Kessy and April Ross, whose silver may well prove to be an invaluable addition to USA’s medal tally.

That was the last medal of the day for USA – and it brought their total to 81 compared to China’s 76, although China have one more gold medals – 35 to USA’s golden total of 34.