LONDON, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- Tuesday's highlights from the Olympics:
-- It was another joyous day for the nation that is the first to host the Olympics three times. The home fans welcomed a new national career gold medal record holder in cyclist Chris Hoy, who now has six, and celebrated the winning of four victories that ran Britain's total at these Games to 22. In the modern era, the British had not won more than 19 gold medals until these Olympics.
-- Competition came to an end in track cycling (where the British won seven of the 10 medals available), artistic gymnastics (where American women claimed five medals, three of them gold), weightlifting (where Kazakhstan enjoyed four victories), table tennis (a clean sweep of the four golds by China) and Greco-Roman wrestling (where Iran won three times).
-- Australia had won only two gold medals prior to Tuesday, well below its normal output, but that total was doubled. Anna Meares won the sprint cycling title and Sally Pearson held off Americans Dawn Harper and Kelli Wells in the 100-meter hurdles.
-- China had won the first five diving events at these Olympics and the possibility of capturing all eight seemed likely. Russian Ilya Zakharov, however, came through on his final dive with big scores to pass China's Qin Kai.
-- The United States picked up three silver medals in track and field and perhaps the most impressive one came from Leonel Manzano. After entering the final turn of the 1,500-meter final well back in the pack, Manzano put on his typical closing burst. He ran down the straightaway like a sprinter, passing one runner after another and finished second behind Algeria's Taoufik Makhloufi.
-- China's three gold medals from Tuesday gives it 34 for the Olympics, 17 shy of the number that country produced at home four years ago. The United States has 30, six away from equaling its 2008 total.
-- With the various team tournaments winding down, the thought of medals begin to fill the heads of those contending for them. The United States will go after its first team gold medal on Thursday when the women's soccer team meets Japan in the finals. The Americans are still alive for a gold in men's and women's volleyball, basketball and water polo.
-- Although the final male American boxer was knocked out of the Olympics Tuesday, the U.S. women's continent will bring home two medals. Women are boxing in the Olympics for the first time this year and semifinals will be held in all the three weight classes Wednesday. Two females from the United States will be in action and even if they lose they will receive a bronze.
