Word: championed
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...same events in Athens - including two more golds, both of which belong to Phelps. Minutes after Phelps destroyed the world record in the 200m freestyle, Natalie Coughlin made history by being the first woman to defend the 100m backstroke at the Olympics. Aaron Peirsol held on to his Olympic champion title in the 100m backstroke by setting a new world record, and Olympic newcomer Rebecca Soni, a last minute substitute in the 100m breaststroke after teammate Jessica Hardy was pulled off for a doping violation, collected an unexpected silver. "It's great to see others getting involved, especially when everyone...
This time around, China, the reigning world champions, wanted vengeance - and they got it by a gaping 7.250 margin over their Japanese rivals. In a packed stadium where a giant T.V. screen repeatedly lauded the Chinese performances with the word "wonderful" - only one American merited a "fantastic" - the team got down to the business of winning gold for China. The start was shaky. In the second rotation, Huang Xu fumbled on the pommel horse, earning a score of 14.750 and putting pressure on pommel world champion Xiao Qin, who redeemed the squad with 16.175. (Xiao had slipped on the pommel...
...Hamm, two of the team's top gymnasts - found themselves, for a moment, in contention for the silver. But a 12.775 fumble on the pommel horse by Kai Wen Tan cost the U.S. team a possible second-place finish. The team went home with a bronze, and the defending champion Japanese claimed the No. 2 spot. "I feel ashamed that we didn't win the gold," said Koki Sakamoto. "But I am proud that we tried to the very end and never gave...
...Peszek's injury, along with Memmel's, clearly weighed on the remaining team-mates - Johnson, nine-time world medalist Nastia Liukin, Alicia Sacramone and Bridget Sloan, as they took to the first rotation on floor exercise - an event at which the U.S. generally excels. Sacramone, a former world champion on floor, unexpectedly stepped out of bounds, costing her a deduction and lowering her score by enough of a margin to keep her out of the individual event final, in which she was expected to finish on the podium. "I missed out on the floor exercise finals, which...
...what makes a champion - and in Spain's case, so many? For some, the country's victory streak is largely coincidence. "In sports, there's always an element of luck," says Toni Nadal, Rafael Nadal's coach and uncle. "Rafael could have beaten Federer last year and moved past him, just as he could have lost to Federer this year at Wimbledon. Circumstances and details shape you and in a given competition shape the outcome...