Monday's Olympic Highlights

• Tweet

LONDON, July 30 (UPI) -- Monday's highlights from the Olympics:

-- Victories by Missy Franklin and Matthew Grevers, along with a near win by Rebecca Soni, gave the United States some of its swagger back in the battle for Olympic swimming medals. A big test awaits Michael Phelps Tuesday as he tries for his first gold of the Games in the 200-meter butterfly, an event he won in both Beijing and Athens.

-- Despite the American success in the pool, China still won more gold medals than any other nation during the day with three. The medals came in team gymnastics, weightlifting and diving, where the Chinese are all but unstoppable. Two teens who were making their Olympic debut destroyed the field in the synchronized springboard event.

-- The United States is looking for its first gold medal in both women's volleyball and women's water polo. Things looked good in both sports after wins against significant competition. The volleyball team won a rematch of the 2008 gold medal game against Brazil and the water polo squad scored a one-goal victory over Hungary.

-- The U.S. women's basketball team is used to winning and that group extended its streak of victories to 35 with a rout of Angola. The Americans last lost in the semifinals of the 1992 Games in Barcelona.

-- Although China has a 9-5 lead over the United States in gold medals, the overall total for those two countries is the same. Both have 17, with 12 of the Americans' total coming in swimming.

-- North Korea won its third gold medal of the Olympics and its second in as many days in weightlifting. That country won just two gold medals throughout the Beijing Olympics.

-- New Zealand's Mark Todd put himself in position to win his third equestrian event gold medal 28 years after he won his first. Todd, 56, was in third place after the dressage and cross-country portion of the event. The gold medal will be decided in the jumping competition Tuesday.

-- After winning its first four bouts, the U.S. boxing team finally lost one. Light-heavyweight Marcus Browne dropped a two-point decision to Australian Damien Hooper.

-- In the last Olympic event of the night, finishing after midnight, Americans Misty-May Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings fought off a challenge to defeat a team from the Czech Republic. The Americans, seeking their third straight gold medal in beach volleyball, clinched a spot in the knockout round.