In a stunning development at the track, China's Liu Xiang, the former world
record-holder in the 110-meter hurdles, is done for the Games. Liu was in
the starting blocks for his qualifying heat and after a false start, he
grabbed his right hamstring, and dropped out of the race. He ripped his
lane number off the side of his shorts and immediately left toward a tunnel
beneath the stadium. Liu, a national hero in China, would later be seen on
television receiving medical attention. The crowd at the Bird's Nest was in
shock.

The Olympic gold medal hopes of Providence's Demetrious Andrade, the world's No. 1 amateur was dashed when he was outscored by Korea's Jungjoo Kim 11-9.

The bout was a close fought exhibition, but it appeared that Andrade was the busiest of the two fighters, but was denied scoring opportunities, Andrade said in his post-fight press conference.

He said he was "Jones-ed", a reference to Roy Jones' loss to a Korean fighter 20 years ago at the Seoul Games.

Almost 12 hours after Deena Kastor dropped out of the women’s marathon, her manager Ray Flynn said x-rays confirmed she has a broken right foot. The American record holder and 2004 Olympic bronze medalist in the women’s marathon pulled up suddenly at the 5-kilometer mark when she felt a “pop” in the ball of her right foot and could no longer place any weight on it.

“My foot has been sore for the past week,” said Kastor. “I thought it was just tendons; they get hyper-sensitive leading up to the marathon. I was icing it this week. It didn’t affect how I was training. It was a bit sore when I woke up but had no effect on my running.

“[In the marathon], it was tight most of the way. I felt a pop in my foot. I couldn’t stand on it. I didn’t expect to be finishing the marathon in a bus. We prepare forever for the marathon, and we had a sound race plan. I was excited to get out, make my country proud and try to win another medal. As athletes, we have ups and downs. Unfortuantely, you can’t pick the days they come on.”

BEIJING-Tyson Gay failed to qualify for the men’s 100 meter dash final, finishing fifth in his semifinal heat with a time of 10.05 seconds. As a result, there will be no dream 100 final with Gay and Jamaicans Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell. What was hyped as a race to close to call now appears to favor Bolt, who won his semifinal in 9.85. And he still wasn’t anywhere close to pushing his body. Americans Water Dix (9.95) and Darvis Patton (10.03) both advanced to the final.

“I got tight a little bit because I was trying to make it to the finals,” said Gay, who started in lane 9. “I really couldn’t see anybody, then toward the end I saw everybody and I was like, ‘Dang.’ I tried to relax, but I think it was too late.”

Gay said his hamstring felt fine and did not affect his performance, though it did derail his training enough to make a difference. With time to train more and race once or twice before the Olympics, Gay figured there might have been a better result in the semifinal.

Alexander Artemev, one of the two remaining alternates, has replaced Morgan Hamm on the US Olympic gymnastics team. Artemev, who has a chance to win a medal on pommel horse, the squad's weakest event, was chosen over David Durante to replace Hamm, who withdrew today after re-injuring an ankle.

"It's an honor to be on this team, but it's a shame that it had to happen this way with Morgan getting hurt," said the 22-year-old Artemev, a former US all-around champion. "He's a tremendous loss to this team."

Artemev, who was born in Belarus, is the son of Vladimir Artemev, a former Soviet all-around champion. He became a citizen in 2002.

As his twin had before him, US gymnast Morgan Hamm withdrew from the Olympics on Thursday after a chronic ankle injury worsened. "This has been an extremely hard decision for me to make," said the 25-year-old Hamm, who had come out of retirement and survived a torn pectoral muscle to make his third team. "It's been a long, tough year. I put my heart and soul into gymnastics. To get here and not be able to compete is extremely disappointing."

Last week his brother Paul, the Olympic defending all-around champion who had broken a bone in his right hand in May, also withdrew after his left shoulder began acting up. Without the Hamms, the only two returning members from the team that won the silver medal in Athens, prospects for the US team become decidedly dimmer. With the qualifying competition beginning Saturday, coach Kevin Mazeika will have to tap another alternate for his lineup (Raj Bhavsar replaced Paul Hamm). The choice will be between Alexander Artemev and David Durante.

Hamm, who would have been a key contributor on floor exercise and horizontal bar, reinjured his left ankle in practice when he came up short on a tumbling pass. When he couldn't complete a floor routine during yesterday's podium training, Hamm consulted with personal coach Miles Avery and decided to pull out of the Games. "It's very tough because it's the end of my career," said Hamm, "and it's not the way I planned it."