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Day for China, Day for Drama
Chinese "Dream Team" divers were poetry in motion on Thursday, twisting and turning with near perfection to sweep two Olympic gold medals, while pre-race underdog Liu Hongyu ended China's gold drought in athletics with a dramatic race walk victory.
China raised its gold tally to 25, 10 more over the best haul of previous four Games, only trailing the United States for seven straight days.
The world most populous nation has virtually secured an enviable standing in the "Olympic Top Three", which used to be the United States, former Soviet Union or Russia, and Germany in non-boycotted Games.
China took both the men's and the women's synchronized 3m springboard diving golds with disciplined performances which left their competitors far behind and gaping.
Li Na and Sang Xue scored 345.12, well in front of the 312.03 by Canadians Emilie Heymans and Anne Montminy.
An hour later Xiao Hailiang and Xiong Ni took the men's title ahead of Russia's Alexander Dobroskok and Dimitry Sautin.
It was Xiong Ni's second gold in Sydney and his third overall, coming two days after he retained his 3 meter springboard title.
Xiong is the first diver since Klaus Dibiasi to win diving medals at four Olympics and has now matched the Italian in bagging a total of five Olympic diving medals. Dibiasi won three golds and two silvers between 1964 and 1976.
Xiong, who retired after winning the 3 meters springboard title at the 1996 Games, came back in 1998 but said this would be his last Olympics and he expected to retire for good after next year's Chinese National Games.
"I felt great pressure after I came out of retirement," Xiong, 27, said. "My physical condition had deteriorated. My body weight had increased by half a dozen kilos, so I really spent a lot of time training hard to get back into shape."
"I have competed in four Olympics, I have come a long and difficult way. What I gained most is that I kept my calm."
China's first athletics gold of the Games came from Wang Liping, who took the women's 20km walk gold after the three walkers in front of her were expelled in the closing stages.
"I feel proud for my country," Wang said.
Australian Jane Saville headed into the Olympic stadium tunnel with a huge lead, awaiting the roar of an excited home crowd. Instead, she left the tunnel in tears.
Saville already had been given two white warning cards, and knew a third "lifting" infraction -- not maintaining contact with the ground -- would invite a red card and automatic disqualification.
The woman walking with her in the final stages of the race, Elisabetta Perrone of Italy, already had been disqualified.
As she headed into the tunnel, a judge suddenly fished out a red card. Saville threw her arms in the air and looked up in disbelief.
"No, No, not me," she said.
"Yes. You," said the judge.
Wang got more than she had expected.
Trailing Saville by an unbeatable 50 meters, Wang, who had received one warning for infraction, kept a steady stride in an aim for a silver. "I raced for a silver but finished with a gold. What a surprise!" said Wang.
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