Sunday's Olympic Highlights

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LONDON, July 29 (UPI) -- Highlights from Sunday's action at the Olympics:

-- Michael Phelps moved within one Olympic medal of tying the all-time record of 18, but he had to be satisfied with a silver. Phelps swam the second leg of the 400-meter freestyle relay and gave the U.S. team a substantial lead. That lead was lost over the final two legs and the Americans finished second to France.

-- A dominating performance by female American gymnasts led to a first-place finish in qualifying for team and individual competitions later in the week. Americans posted the second, third and fourth best individual qualifying totals, but only two gymnasts from any one country can compete in the all-around competition. That leaves defending world champion Jordyn Wieber on the sidelines for that event after she finished behind teammates Alex Raisman and Gaby Douglas.

-- In the area of streaks, China won its 13th Olympic diving gold medal in the last 16 events, South Korea won the women's archery team competition for the seventh straight time and American Kimberly Rhode won her fifth shooting medal in as many Olympics. She is the first person from the United States in any sport to do so.

-- The American men's basketball team rolled to a 98-71 win over France to open its bid for a second straight gold medal. Team USA also won in men's volleyball and water polo, but lost in women's field hockey.

-- Rain disrupted action around the Olympic city, chiefly on the tennis courts where much of the action was postponed. Recent Wimbledon runner-up Andy Murray played on Centre Court, which has a roof over it, and won. The roads were wet for the women's cycling road race and South Korea's win over China in team archery was delayed.

-- There were 44 medals handed out Sunday and they were shared by 22 countries. China, the United States, North Korea and France all won twice. The Chinese and Americans both collected six medals overall, giving China 12 for the first two days of the Games and the United States 11.

-- Other than the gold medal won by Rhode, the only American victory came from Dana Vollmer. She became the first woman to swim the 100-meter butterfly in less than 56 seconds.

-- In what was likely the most bizarre occurrence of the day, North Korean weightlifter Yun Chol Om dutifully went out to compete with others in the so-called "B" final of his 56-kilogram classification. None of those who take part in such a competition are expected to contend for a medal, but Om wound up lifting more weight than anybody else all day and won the gold medal. That had never happened in the Olympics before.