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Cuba's Menendez Wins Women's Javelin
ATHENS, Greece, 27 (AP) - Osledidys Menendez
of Cuba won the gold medal in the women's
javelin Friday by a commanding margin, falling
just one centimeter short of her world record.
Menendez's best throw was her first one
- 234 feet, 8 inches (71.53 meters), shattering
the Olympic record of 226 feet, 1 inch (68.91).
Silver medalist Steffi Nerius of Germany
was a distant second with 215 feet, 11 inches
(65.82). Mirela Manjani of Greece thrilled
the home crowd with a throw of 210 feet,
11 inches (64.29) to take the bronze.
Menendez knew she had won when Nerius'
final throw fell short, and the 24-year-old
Cuban opted not to take a last attempt at
the world record. Instead, she grabbed her
country's flag and began a victory lap to
celebrate Cuba's third gold medal of the
Athens Games.
In 2001, Menendez became the first Cuban
woman to hold a track and field world record
with a throw of 234 feet, 8 inches (71.54
meters) in Rethymnon, Greece - the mark
that still stands.
Menendez had no significant results on
the international scene last year, but she
has come back this year to win meets in
Cuba, Mexico, Germany, Greece, Spain and
Estonia.
Nerius was fourth in Sydney in 2000 and
won the bronze at the world championships
last year. The 32-year-old former East German
is the daughter of two volleyball coaches.
Manjani won silver four years ago in Sydney
and was the world champion in 1999. Albanian-born,
she is the former wife of Greek weightlifting
champion Giorgos Tzelilis.
Cuba's Fonte Wins Heavyweight Gold
ATHENS, Greece, 28 (AP) - Odlanier Solis
Fonte of Cuba won the gold medal Saturday
in heavyweight boxing, beating Viktar Zuyev
of Belarus 22-13.
Naser Al Shami of Syria and Mohamed Elsayed
of Egypt shared the bronze.
Master Kindelan gives Kid Khan a lesson
ATHENS, 27 (AFP) - Defending champion Mario
Kindelan of Cuba gave 17-year-old Amir Khan
of Britain a boxing lesson in the Olympic
lightweight (60kg) final.
The 17-year-old Khan, bidding to become
the youngest gold medal winner since Floyd
Patterson won the middleweight title in
the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, gave everything
but came up short against the best lightweight
in the world, amateur or professional.
"He's the best boxer I've seen in
a long time," said Khan of the Cuban
champion.
"It's a shame I didn't beat him, but
I tried my best and I thought I did well."
"Maybe next Olympics, I'll get the
gold medal.
"It's been a brilliant two weeks,
what I expected, and I won a medal for Great
Britain."
Khan showed no fear, tracking the 33-year-old
three-time world champion from the bell
to win the first rounnd 4-3.
The composed Cuban kept dancing out of
distance and his sharp counter-punching
gave him a crucial 14-9 lead after two rounds.
Khan was still unable to get close and
left himself a huge eight point deficit,
14-22, to make up in the fourth.
He chased the Cuban around the ring in
the fourth, trying to land his big right
but was relentlessly picked off by a man
who has been fighting for 19 years.
It was Cuba's fourth gold medal in this
tournament and they had another finalist
still to fight on Sunday.
Kindelan has won every tournament he has
entered since the Pan American Games of
1999, including Olympic gold in Sydney and
three world titles.
The money is beckoning Khan.
Promoter Frank Warren has told newspapers
Khan might quit the amateur scene after
the 2005 world championships in Beijing
and 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne,
Australia.
But three-time heavyweight champion Evander
Holyfield, sitting at ringside, suggested
Khan would be better adviised staying amateur
until the Beijing Olympics of 2008.
"He is a very mature 17, but 21 is
a great age. I truly believe if you don't
rush people in, their chances are better."
And he paid tribute to Khan's raw ability.
"It was a great performance - he's
got potential," said Holyfield.
"How do you expect a 17-year-old to
fight that great. He was up against the
best."
But come Beijing, Khan would be just 21
and ready to assume Kindelan's mantle.
Kazakh welter Artayev snares Cuban world
champion Aragon
ATHENS, 29 (AFP) - Bakhityar Artayev of
Kazakhstan hunted down double world champion
Lorenzo Aragon of Cuba to take the Olympic
welterweight (69kg) title.
Artayev, 21, who ended Russian welterweight
Oleg Saitov's ambition of becoming only
the fourth fighter in history to win three
Olympic boxing gold medals in Friday's semi-finals,
was always in command.
Aragon, back in the Olympics after an eight
year break at the age of 30 after winning
last year's PanAmerican Games title, found
himself 14-10 down after two rounds and
when he came out to fight in the third he
more than met his match, finishing 28-18
behind.
A desperate fourth produced only a warning
for the Cuban for holding, with Artayev
an emphatic 36-26 winner.
Defeat restricted Cuba to five gold medals
at this tournament, one more than at Sydney
four years ago.
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