Games end with U.S. winning 103 medals

ATHENS – The Athens Olympic Games came to a close Sunday with triumphs and twists.

The… ATHENS – The Athens Olympic Games came to a close Sunday with triumphs and twists.

The triumphant included light heavyweight boxer Andre Ward and the first United States medal in the men’s marathon since 1976, a silver by Meb Keflezighi.

The strangest twist came in the marathon, which was won by Italy’s Stefano Baldini. Brazil’s Vanderlei de Lima was leading with about three miles left when he was mugged by a bystander. Lima recovered to gain the bronze medal.

“I was scared because I didn’t know what could happen to me,” de Lima said, “whether he was armed with a knife, a revolver or something, and whether he was going to kill me. That’s what cost me the gold medal.”

Another twist came when the latest round of doping disqualifications moved cyclist American Erin Mirabella from fourth place to third in the women’s point race.

Team USA finished first in the medals race with 103, 11 more than Russia. With 35 golds, 39 silvers and 29 bronzes, the Americans surpassed their totals of 97 in Sydney four years ago and 101 in Atlanta eight years ago.

China, third in overall medals with 63, had the second-most golds, 32.

At Closing Ceremonies in the Olympic Stadium – where the Games opened Aug. 13 – IOC President Jacques Rogge told the crowd of 70,000, “You have won. You have won by brilliantly meeting the tough challenge of holding the Games. There were unforgettable, dream Games.”

Ward came from behind to give the United States its first Olympic boxing gold medal since David Reid won the welterweight title in Atlanta eight years ago.

Ward, from Oakland, Calif., trailed 9-7 midway through his light heavyweight bout against Magomed Aripgadjiev of Belarus. But a 7-2 advantage in the third round propelled Ward to a 20-13 victory.

Ward is the first American light heavyweight gold-medalist since Andrew Maynard in 1988.

“I got a thumb in my eye during the contest and that acted as a wakeup call,” said Ward, who connected with two big left hooks during the pivotal third round. “I was able to work inside and avoid his punches. My father Frank died two years ago this month, and I knew he was looking down on me today. … The spirit and determination that I have in me, the dog, I got that from my father.

“That’s in my blood and I definitely give him credit for the way he raised me. God blesse me to be here to win a gold medal for my country and my family.”

Team USA’s only other boxing medal in Athens, a bronze, was won by middleweight Andre Dirrell.

The marathon started in the village of Marathon and finished in Panathinaiko Stadium, where the first modern Olympics were held in 1896.

Baldini, a two-time World Championships runner-up, won in 2 hours, 10 minutes, 54 seconds.

Keflezighi, who set the American record for 10,000 meters last year, finished in 2:11:29. Then came de Lima, who was 47th in the 1996 Olympics. He finished in 2:12:11.

Great Britain’s Jon Brown finished fourth for the second straight Olympics, timed in 2:12:26.

“Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!” Keflezighi said. “Going in, I wasn’t a favorite. But that’s why we run the race. I’m happy to win the silver medal.”

De Lima had led by as much as 46 seconds, but his lead was beginning to dwindle when he was accosted.

Police, including one who was trailing the leader on a bicycle, quickly subdued the attacker. He was identified as Cornelius Horan, a defrocked Irish priest. Horan, wearing a green beret and knee-high socks with a red kilt, has a history of odd demonstrations.

In July 2003, he disrupted a Formula One Grand Prix race in Great Britain, sitting in the middle of the track for more than 20 seconds as cars traveling 200 mph swerved to avoid him.

The Brazilian Track Federation protested the marathon outcome on de Lima’s behalf, asking for duplicate gold medals. The protest was rejected.

Earlier, the International Olympic Committee stripped a bronze medal from Colombia’s Maria Luisa Calle Williams after she tested positive for a stimulant. That bumped Mirabella, of Racine, Wis., into the money in the women’s points race.

The IOC also stripped Hungarian hammer thrower Adrian Annus of his gold medal for failing to take a drug test. That elevated Koji Murofushi to first place, enabling Japan to match its record gold-medal haul of 16 in 1964.

Seven medals, including three golds, were taken away over 16 days of the Athens Games. In all, 24 athletes failed anti-doping procedures.

Three of Sunday’s other four gold-medal boxing bouts went to Cubans.

Guillermo Rigondeaux outpunched Thailand’s Worapoj Petchkoom 23-13 for bantamweight gold. Yan Bhartelemy defeated Turkey’s Atagun Yalcinkaya 21-16 for the flyweight crown. And Mario Kindelan downed 17-year-old Amir Khan of Great Britain 30-22.

Kazakhstan’s Bakhtiyar Artayev tripped up Cuba’s Lorenzo Aragon 36-26 for the welterweight gold medal.

Super heavyweight Alexander Povetkin of Russia won in a walkover, as Mohamed Aly of Egypt failed his morning physical exam.

Americans were shut out in Sunday’s freestyle wrestling.

Daniel Cormier (96 kilograms, 211 { pounds) suffered a 5-0 loss to eventual gold-medalist Khadjimourat Gatsalov of Russia in the morning semifinals, the fell in the bronze-medal match, 3-2 to Iran’s Alireza Heidari.

Joe Williams (74, 163) lost 3-2 in overtime to Kazakhstan’s Gennadiy Laliyev, ending Williams’ chances at any medal.

Besides Khadjimourat, golds were won by Russian five-time world champion Buvaysa Saytiev (74, 163) and Cuba’s Yandro Quintana (60, 132).

Russia scored a straight-set win over the United States in the men’s volleyball bronze-medal match. Brazil beat Italy 3-1 for the gold.

Team USA slipped past Italy, 9-8, to claim seventh place in men’s water polo. Hungary edged Serbia-Montenegro 8-7 for the gold.

Other gold-medalists included: Denmark’s women and Croatia’s men in team handball; Russia’s Alina Kavaeva in rhythmic gymnastics all-around; South Korea’s Moon Dae-Sung in men’s 80-kilogram (176-pound) taekwondo; China’s Chen Zhong in women’s 67-kilo (148-pound) taekwondo.

South Korean gymnast Yang Tae-young, denied the men’s all-around gold medal because of a scoring error, filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The court said it would consider the appeal but, because there was not time to rule before the Athens Games closed, the hearing would be held in Lausanne, Switzerland, where the court is based. (c) 2004, Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.

Copyright Niner Online