Americans score big in track and field
LONDON, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- The long wait for an Olympic gold medal ended for American Allyson Felix Wednesday during a huge evening of track and field for the United States.
Over the course of four finals at Olympic Stadium, American athletes claimed seven of the 12 medals awarded -- three gold ones, two of silver and two more of bronze.
Felix was joined as an American Olympic champion by long jumper Brittney Reese and 110-meter hurdler Aries Merritt. The United States came close to a fourth gold medal when Lashinda Demus just missed catching Russian Natalya Antyukh at the line in the 400-meter hurdles.
Americans also were running 1-2 in the decathlon after the first day of competition with Ashton Eaton out front of Trey Hardee.
Perhaps no one during these Olympics has defeated a deeper field than did Felix, who faced Olympic and world champions throughout the finalists in the 200-meter dash.
Twice Felix had finished as the runner-up at the Olympics and the woman who defeated her both times, Veronica Campbell-Brown of Jamaica, was on hand again to try to make it three in a row.
U.S. beach stars win third straight gold
LONDON, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- Americans Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings ended another stunning Olympic run Wednesday with their third straight gold medal in beach volleyball.
After surviving a difficult series of matches in group play and a close call in the semifinals, May-Treanor and Walsh Jennings enjoyed a relatively easy victory in the finals over fellow-Americans April Ross and Jennifer Kessy.
It was a 21-16, 21-16 decision and it left them with three of the five gold medals that have been awarded in the sport since it became a part of the Olympic program at the Atlanta Games in 1996.
May-Treanor, 35, and Walsh Jennings 33, have played together in 21 Olympic matches during their careers. They have won them all and in the process dropped only a single set.
They had to battle back in the opening set of the semifinals on Tuesday against the Chinese team of Xue Chen and Zhang Xi but ultimately prevailed 22-20, 22-20.
The first set of Wednesday's match was tied at 13-13 before May-Treanor and Walsh Jennings began to pull away. In the second set the eventual winners won three points in a row to take an 18-14 lead.
In the bronze medal match, Brazilians Larissa Franca and Juliana Silva rallied from a one-sided setback in the first set to defeat Xue and Zhang for third place.
Browns' Richardson to see doc about knee
BEREA, Ohio, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- Prized Cleveland Browns rookie running back Trent Richardson will have his troublesome left knee examined by a doctor, the team said Wednesday.
Richardson, drafted third overall out of the University of Alabama by the Browns, will visit a renowned orthopedic surgeon Thursday after sitting out Tuesday's practice, Browns Coach Pat Shurmur said in a release.
"Trent Richardson is traveling to Pensacola, Fla., where he will have his left knee further evaluated by Dr. James Andrews tomorrow," Shurmur said.
Multiple reports indicated Richardson would undergo a minor arthroscopic procedure on the knee to clean up a "loose particle of cartilage."
Richardson, who racked up 3,130 career rushing yards with 35 touchdowns on the ground in his Alabama career, set Crimson Tide single-season records for rushing yards (1,679), rushing touchdowns (21) and all-purpose yards (2,083) last season.
Djokovic, Murray secure Rogers Cup wins
TORONTO, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- Top-seeded defending champion Novak Djokovic and Olympic gold medalist Andy Murray each advanced with victories Wednesday at the Rogers Cup.
Djokovic, who downed Mardy Fish in last year's Toronto finale, breezed past Australian Bernard Tomic, 6-2, 6-3 in a second-round match.
The world No. 2 now goes on to face American Sam Querrey, who bested 13th-seed Kei Nishikori of Japan 6-2, 6-3 earlier Wednesday.
Meanwhile, second-seeded Murray continued the momentum he built the London games, taking his seventh straight match overall by downing Italian qualifier Flavio Cipolla 6-1, 6-3.
His next opponent is 16th-seeded Canadian Milos Raonic.
An upset overtook sixth-seeded former U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro, however. He fell to the Czech Republic's Radek Stepanek 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) on Day 3.
