Olympics-Athletics-Anier Garcia factbox

SYDNEY, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Factbox on Anier Garcia of Cuba who won the Olympic men's 110 hurdles gold medal on Monday:

Born: March 9 1976, Santiago, Cuba.

After failing to make the semifinals at the 1996 Olympics Garcia won the world indoor 60 metres hurdles title the following year to announce himself as a major contender....

Olympics-Basketball-U.S. soar past France to convert the fans

SYDNEY, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Hurdling, high jump, gymnastics, wrestling, the U.S. men's basketball team used an array of Olympics sports on Monday to post an easy 106-94 win over France and score a perfect 5-0 preliminary round record.

With first place already clinched, the U.S., heavily favoured to win their third consecutive Olympic gold medal, had little to play for except the respect of fans who had so far booed them at every opportunity....

Olympics-Gymnastics-Nemov scrapes to gold on horizontal bars

SYDNEY, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Russia's Alexei Nemov won the men's horizontal bar gold medal by the closest margin at the Olympics on Monday to end the artistic gymnastics programme.

Nemov scored the same 9.787 points as France's Benjamin Varonian and it was initially announced on the official scoreboard that the pair were joint winners....

Olympics-Uzbek coach fined for drug import

SYDNEY, Sept 25 (Reuters) - An Olympics athletics coach from Uzbekistan was fined A$10,000 ($5,500) on Monday for importing banned Human Growth Hormone (HGH) into Australia.

Sergei Voynov, 45, pleaded guilty in a Sydney court to bringing in the prohibited import the week before the start of the Sydney Games on September 15....

Olympics-Athletics-Michael Johnson factbox

SYDNEY, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Factbox on Michael Johnson of the United States, who won the men's Olympic 400 metres gold medal on Monday:

Born: 13 September 1967, Dallas, United States.

At Atlanta Olympics became the first man to win the 200 and 400 metres double, taking the shorter sprint in a world record of 19.32 seconds....

Olympics-Weightlifting-Tavakoli gives Iran golden first medal

SYDNEY, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Weightlifter Hossein Tavakoli gave Iran their first medal of the Sydney Olympics on Monday when he won gold in the men's 105 kg heavyweight category.

Bulgaria's Alan Tsagaev took silver just hours after winning a court appeal against an International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) ban on him and his team....

Olympics-Athletics-Johnson wins and runs into history

SYDNEY, Sept 25 (Reuters) - American Michael Johnson retained the men's 400 metres Olympic title on Monday to underline his status as one of the greatest track and field athletes in history.

He timed 43.84 seconds, beating compatriot Alvin Harrison (44.40) and Greg Haughton of Jamaica (44.70).

A bit slow out of the blocks, he began powering away at the halfway mark, pushed by Harrison....

Olympics-Wrestling-Sim and Rivas set up dream final

SYDNEY, Sept 25 (Reuters) - The two favourites for the under 54kgs category in the Greco-Roman wrestling competition at the Sydney Olympics eased through their semi-final encounters on Monday evening.

Kwon Ho Sim of South Korea, the Atlanta Olympic champion, and Lazaro Rivas of Cuba, the reigning world champion, set up the dream final for Tuesday night....

Olympics-Athletics-Cathy Freeman wins gold in women's 400

SYDNEY, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Australia's Cathy Freeman, the athlete who lit the cauldron to open the Sydney Olympics, achieved an even greater honour on Monday when she won gold in the women's 400 metres.

The 27-year-old sprinted clear of Jamaica's Lorraine Graham in the home straight to win in a time of 49.11 seconds. Graham held on for second in 49.58 with Britain's Katharine Merry third in 49.72....

Olympics-Athletics-Virgilijus Alekna factbox

SYDNEY, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Factbox on Virgilijus Alekna of Lithuania who won the men's discus at the Sydney Olympics on Monday:

Born: February 13 1972 in Terpeikiai-Kupiskis, Lithuania

Fourth at last year's world championships in Seville and won a bronze medal at the European championships in Hungary in 1998.

Finished out of the medals in fifth at the 1996 Atlanta Games....

Olympics-Gymnastics-Second gold in two days for Zamolodtchikova

SYDNEY, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Elena Zamolodtchikova stole the spotlight from the grand dames of gymnastics on Sunday, claiming victory in the floor exercise and her second Olympic gold in as many days.

The diminutive Zamolodtchikova closed out the women's artistic programme in spectacular fashion with a powerful and dazzling floor exercise that scored a winning mark of 9.850, establishing the 18-year-old Russian as one of the sport's future stars....

Olympics-Athletics-Szabo wins women's 5000 metres title

SYDNEY, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Romania's Gabriela Szabo won the women's 5,000 metres Olympic title on Monday in a new Olympic record time of 14 minutes 40.79 seconds.

The diminutive 24-year-old double world champion came to Sydney as a big favourite after going unbeaten in 1999, also ending the season as the IAAF Grand Prix champion....

Olympics-Gymnastics-Nemov takes medal haul into double figures

SYDNEY, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Russia's Alexei Nemov clinched the 11th Olympic gymnastics medal of his career on Monday while Spain were equally delighted with their first.

Nemov won the final gold medal of the artistic programme, the men's horizontal bar, from France's Benjamin Varonian by the closest of margins after a complicated tiebreak calculation....

Olympics-Athletics-Dragila makes it another first

SYDNEY, Sept 25 (Reuters) - First lady Stacy Dragila won the first women's pole vault gold in Olympic history at the Sydney Games on Monday.

The American cleared 4.60 metres but could not quite break her own world record as she failed at 4.65....

Olympics-Weightlifting-Bulgarian Abadzhiev to quit

SOFIA, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Bulgaria's weightlifting coach Ivan Abadzhiev will quit his job following the Sydney Olympics after three Bulgarian weightlifters were thrown out of the Games for doping, local media said on Monday....

Olympics-Athletics-Mutola wins women's 800 metres gold

SYDNEY, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Maria Mutola won the women's 800 metres Olympic title on Monday to become the first gold medallist from Mozambique.

She timed one minute 56.15 seconds....

Olympics-Athletics-Jonathan Edwards factbox

SYDNEY, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Factbox on Jonathan Edwards of Britain, who won the Olympic men's triple jump gold medal on Monday.

Born: 10 May 1966, London. Married with two children....

Olympics-Athletics-Szabo proves small is beautiful

SYDNEY, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Diminutive Romanian Gabriela Szabo won the women's 5,000 metres Olympic title on Monday in a new Olympic record time of 14 minutes 40.79 seconds.

But the 24-year-old double world champion was forced right to the line by Ireland's lanky Sonia O'Sullivan....