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 Roundup: Williams sisters win doubles gold Venus, Serena smash Dutch team, 6-1, 6-1 Friday, September 29, 2000 By The Associated Press
SYDNEY, Australia -- Shortly after making history, Venus Williams recited some.
Williams became only the second woman to earn a gold medal in singles and doubles when she and sister Serena won the doubles final yesterday. American Helen Wills swept both events in 1924.
"Helen Wills? She was very steely when she played," Williams said. "Quite a lady, pretty attractive. She won quite a few championships."
That sounds like a description of Williams, whose championship total is rapidly rising. She'll add the golds to two Grand Slam titles in singles and three with Serena in doubles.
"To walk away with two gold medals is really amazing," Venus said. "A lot of people are dying to get just one."
Playing her 11th match in 10 days, Venus teamed with her sister in the doubles final to beat the Dutch team of Kristie Boogert and Miriam Oremans, 6-1, 6-1.
In the final of men's singles, Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov outlasted German Tommy Haas in a 31/2-hour marathon, 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.
The sisters, who turned Olympic women's tennis into the Williams Invitational, finished with a fittingly ferocious flourish.
On championship point, Venus socked a 115-mph serve. Boogert somehow managed to return it, so Serena whacked an overhead slam for a winner.
"For me, this is almost bigger than singles," Venus said. "To have a victory like this with Serena, my sister and best friend, doesn't happen very often."
In fact, they're the first sisters to win a gold in doubles.
"To be a part of history is really important," Venus said.
Kafelnikov's victory capped a marvelous month for Russian tennis. celebrated by tossing his racket 15 rows into the stands.
"To add a gold medal to my career, it's absolutely fantastic," Kafelnikov said.
Track and field
Erki Nool of Estonia needed a reversal of a foul call in the discus to win the decathlon gold medal. Chris Huffins needed the 1,500-meter race of a lifetime to win the bronze.
Both succeeded in a dramatic finish to the toughest of all Olympic events, the 10-event, two-day competition that determines who deserves the title "world's greatest athlete."
Nool, who finished sixth in the Atlanta Games, had fouled in the first two of his three attempts in the discus. On his third throw, the official first lifted a red flag, indicating foul, then switched it to white.
Had it been a foul, Nool would have gotten no points in that event, and his medal hopes would have been dead. Britain, the United States and the Czech Republic appealed the decision, but it was upheld by the competition referee, and the throw was ruled fair.
Nool, who said his friend and former Olympic champion Daley Thompson helped him keep his concentration, won with 8,641 points. Roman Sebrle of the Czech Republic took the silver with 8,606 points. Huffins won bronze with 8,595.
In the men's 50-kilometer walk, held on a steamy morning, Robert Korzeniowski of Poland completed his sweep of the men's walking medals.
Korzeniowski, who got gold in the 20-kilometer walk last week when Bernardo Segura was disqualified after crossing the finish line first, won the 50-kilometer walk in 3 hours, 42 minutes, 22 seconds.
The U.S. women's 400-meter relay team, which Marion Jones will anchor if it reaches today's final, won its heat yesterday with a quartet consisting of Chryste Gaines, Torri Edwards, Nanceen Perry and Passion Richardson. But top rivals Jamaica and the Bahamas were faster. Australia dropped its baton and was ousted.
Maurice Greene and his teammates on the 400-meter relay squad sped to a time of 38.15 seconds -- fastest in the first round. The semifinals were set for later in the day.
Greene, who won the 100-meter gold medal last weekend, had a lead of about 10 meters over Japan's anchor runner as he crossed the finish line.
Otherwise, American men continued making history at the Olympic track for all the wrong reasons. On a night traditionally dominated by U.S. sprinters and long jumpers, there was only one medal won by an American man -- the bronze for Huffins.
Taekwondo
In a come-from-behind victory, American Steven Lopez captured the first U.S. gold medal in taekwondo.
A Lopez kick in the final period tied his bout, 1-1. When that wound up as the final score, Lopez received the win because South Korean Sin Jun-sik had penalties during the fight.
Women's volleyball
They were good, but not good enough for gold. The U.S. women, a surprising semifinalist, lost a five-setter to the favored Russians, 25-15, 23-25, 25-15, 26-28, 15-8. The Americans, longshots for a medal coming in, face Brazil for the bronze medal tonight.
Russia plays two-time defending champion Cuba for the gold.
Diving
Tian Liang and Hu Jia ranked 1-2 after the preliminaries of men's 10-meter platform, putting China in position to capture its record fifth diving gold medal.
Americans David Pichler, a Butler native, and Mark Ruiz also qualified for the 18-man evening semifinal. The final diving medals in Sydney will be awarded tomorrow.
The Chinese have won four straight diving golds, taking advantage of an expansion in the program.
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