From The Betting Express
As of 8:15 a.m. (et)
SWIMMING
Michael Phelps' quest for Olympic glory continued today when he qualified for the men's 400-meter medley relay. Phelps, along with teammates Lenny Krayzelburg, Mark Gangloff and Neil Walker, finished with a time of 3:35.10, almost two full seconds faster than Germany. The 19-year-old Phelps already has six medals, including four gold. Tonight Phelps can surpass Matt Biondi's haul of six medals from 1988 by swimming in the final of the 100-meter butterfly. The relay final is Saturday night.
In the women's 50-meter freestyle, world record holder Inge de Bruijn of the Netherlands lead a group of 16 swimmers into tonight's semifinals. De Bruijn finished as the top qualifier at 24.66 seconds. Joining the 30-year de Bruijn will be Americans Kara Lynn Joyce and Jenny Thompson. Thompson, a 10-time medal winner at the Summer Olympics, is seeking her first podium spot in this year's Games.
The American and Australian women are gearing up for another clash in a relay, as both qualified in the 400-meter medley. The Aussies finished with the best time at 4:01.17, more than 1 1/2 seconds faster than the Americans. Other qualifiers include Germany, Great Britain and the Netherlands.
In the men's 1500-meter freestyle, David Davies of Australia posted the fastest qualifying time. His 14:57.03 time was just under four seconds faster than Russia's Yuri Prilukov. Grant Hackett of Australia and American Larsen Jensen were among the others to move into the next round.
Three other swimming finals will be decided Friday. Stanislava Komarova of Russia is the favorite to win the women's 200-meter backstroke. France's Laure Manaudou, winner of the 400-meter freestyle, looks to added the 800m title to her collection. Americans Jason Lezak and Gary Hall Jr. will compete against a tough field in the 50-meter freestyle. Hall is the defending gold medalist.
BASKETBALL
A battle of unbeatens in women's basketball is ongoing at this hour as the United States carried a 38-game winning streak in Olympic and World Championship games into a contest versus Spain.
SOFTBALL
The U.S. softball team defeated Taiwan 3-0 today to run its record to 7-0 at these Olympics. The Americans, who have already qualified for the semifinals, have outscored their opponents 41-0.
SOCCER
The U.S. women's soccer team will look to step up its play Friday when it matches up with Japan in the quarterfinals. Although the United States managed to win Group G, the team struggled to live up to its high standards. Overmatched Greece held the U.S. to a 3-0 win in the Olympic opener. Brazil outplayed the U.S. for much of its match before a Mia Hamm penalty kick jump- started a 2-0 victory. On Tuesday, Australia netted a late goal to earn a 1-1 draw with the Americans. In other quarterfinal action Friday, Germany's dominant goal-scorer Bridget Prinz takes on Nigeria. Prinz has scored five goals in two games for the Germans. Sweden, which barely escaped elimination from group play, will clash with Australia. Mexico and Brazil will meet for a spot in the final four. The winner of the U.S. vs. Japan game will take on the winner of Germany and Nigeria.
TRACK AND FIELD
Already a two-time Olympic champion in the women's 100-meters, American Gail Devers is trying to overcome huge odds at winning the event at the Athens Games. The 37-year-old Devers took her first step toward that goal Friday morning by qualifying for the second round of the 100m with a time of 11.29 seconds, the third-fastest time in her heat. The second round is tonight, followed by the semifinals and final on Saturday night. The failure of Marion Jones to make the women's 100m has left the competition wide open. With American Torri Edwards out of the race following a doping violation, Devers, the 1992 and 1996 Olympic champion, was called upon as a replacement.
TENNIS
unseeded Americans Mardy Fish and Taylor Dent guaranteed the United States at least one medal in men's singles tennis in Athens after both posted quarterfinal victories Thursday. Each will be opposed by seeded Chileans in Friday's semifinals, as Dent will encounter No. 10 Nicolas Massu, while Fish will battle No. 16 Fernando Gonzalez. In the women's singles top-seeded Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium will play Anastasia Myskina of Russia, while Amelie Mauresmo of France battles upstart Aussie Alicia Molik.
VOLLEYBALL
In volleyball, all eyes will be on the women's match-up between Russia and the United States Friday as the preliminary round comes to an end. Both teams will need to win in order to secure a place in the quarterfinals.
