Highlights of action Tuesday at the Games

Tuesday, Aug. 24

STARS

-- Four-time 1,500-meter world champion Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco, a heartbreak loser at the last two Olympics, held off rival Bernard Lagat of Kenya down the stretch to win in 3:34.18.

-- Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia set a world record in the pole vault for the fourth time this year, clearing 16-1 1/4 to win gold in a duel over teammate Svetlana Feofanova.

-- Roman Sebrle of the Czech Republic won gold in the decathlon, earning the title of world's greatest athlete with an Olympic-record score of 8,893 points. American Bryan Clay won silver.

-- American beach volleyball stars Misty May and Kerri Walsh beat Brazilians Shelda Bede and Adriana Behar 21-17, 21-11, capping a gold-medal run without losing a set in Athens.

-- U.S. light heavyweight boxer Andre Ward upset two-time world champion Evgeny Makarenko of Russia, guaranteeing himself at least a bronze medal.

-- American Joanna Hayes won the 100-meter hurdles in an Olympic record 12.37 seconds, with teammate Melissa Morrison taking bronze. World champion Perdita Felicien of Canada had a bad start and ran into the first hurdle, taking out another runner, too.

-- Brendan Kingman's sixth-inning single sent Australia to a stunning 1-0 victory over favored Japan, putting the Aussies in the gold medal baseball game against Cuba.

-- Nigeria beat South Korea 68-64 in women's basketball. It's the first Olympic victory for an African team after losing the first 18 tries.

-- Ezekiel Kemboi led a Kenyan sweep in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, winning gold in 8:05.81. Brimin Kipruto got silver and Paul Koech won bronze.

DOWN AND OUT

-- World champion Tom Pappas, an American of Greek heritage, withdrew from the decathlon after injuring his left foot while attempting a pole vault. Through seven events, Pappas was in fifth place with a slim chance at a medal.

-- U.S. basketball player Katie Smith will miss the rest of the Olympics because of torn cartilage in her right knee. She'll need surgery after returning home. It's not known how long she will be out for her WNBA team, the Minnesota Lynx.

IRAQI LOSS

The Iraq soccer team's improbable run at an Olympic gold medal ended with a 3-1 semifinal loss to Paraguay. The Iraqis still have a chance for bronze, which would be their war-weary nation's first medal in 44 years.

GUEVARA BEATEN AGAIN

Tonique Williams-Darling of the Bahamas, who ended Mexican world champion Ana Guevara's three-year unbeaten streak last month, edged ahead in the closing meters to beat her again for the Olympic gold in 49.41 seconds.

THE LATEST DOPE

-- Hungarian discus gold medalist Robert Fazekas was stripped of his title and expelled from the Olympics for allegedly tampering with a drug test.

-- Belarus high jumper Aleksey Lesnichyi was kicked out of the games after testing positive for the steroid clenbuterol.

ANOTHER GYMNASTICS DISPUTE

The Russian Olympic delegation sent letters to the International Gymnastics Federation and IOC president Jacques Rogge about scoring that cost Svetlana Khorkina a gold in the all-around and kept Alexei Nemov off the medal stand in the high bar finals.

TICKET TARGET

Olympics organizers reached their ticket sales goal five days before the closing ceremony. They've sold 3.4 million of the 5.3 million that were available.

POOR SHOWING

The two-time defending world basketball champions, Serbia-Montenegro, finished next-to-last in the Olympics, ending its worst major international tournament in decades with an 85-62 victory over Angola in the 11th-place game.

UP NEXT

Super heavyweight Rulon Gardner is two wins from becoming the first U.S. Greco-Roman wrestler to win two golds. ... The U.S. women's basketball team plays Greece in the quarterfinals. ... Super heavyweight Shane Hamman seeks America's first men's weightlifting medal in 20 years. ... Marty Nothstein races in track cycling's keirin finals, trying to become the first American to win a bike medal at three straight Olympics. ... Greek hurdler Fani Halkia, who set an Olympic record in the semifinals, races in the 400 meter finals. ... Australia plays Cuba in baseball's gold-medal game.

SHAKE ...

A 4.5-magnitude earthquake rattled Olympic venues. The Athens Geodynamic Institute said the 3:38 p.m. tremor was centered about 42 miles northeast of Athens, 12 miles beneath the Aegean Sea. No injuries or damages were reported.

... AND BAKE

The mercury climbed to 86 degrees under mostly sunny skies at the Olympic stadium. The forecast for Wednesday called for sunny skies and a high of 89.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"It is finally complete. Four years ago in Sydney, I cried with sadness. Today I cry tears of joy. I'm living a moment of glory." -- Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco on his first Olympic title.