By
Associated Press
SYDNEY, Australia - A game-winning grand slam homer. A dramatic, record-setting upset at the pool. A soccer star revisiting her World Cup heroics.
Some of the U.S. Olympians weren't just winning yesterday in Sydney, they were doing it in style.
Longshot Misty Hyman and relay team anchor Jenny Thompson captured gold medals in record times for the American swimmers to start the heroics.
Brandi Chastain later scored a goal to help boost the U.S. women's soccer team into the semifinals, while the American baseball team used a two-out, eighth-inning home run to defeat South Korea 4-0.
For Thompson, the 800-meter freestyle relay victory catapulted her into rarified Olympic company. With seven golds, she now has more than any woman swimmer, snapping a tie with Germany's Kristin Otto.
Thompson, 27, who also has a silver in her career, tied Czech Republic gymnast Vera Caslavaska for the second-most Olympic golds by a woman. With teammates Samantha Arsenault, Diana Munz and Lindsay Benko, she established an Olympic record of 7 minutes, 57.80 seconds.
The 21-year-old Hyman shocked defending champion Susie O'Neill of Australia to win the 200m butterfly. Hyman shocked herself, too; upon seeing her Olympic record time, she repeatedly said, "Oh my God! Oh my God!"
"I've played it over so many times in my head, but I never thought it would come true," said Hyman, who nearly quit swimming in May because of poor health and poor times.
Amid the red, white and blue celebration, the orange-clad fans of the Netherlands had reason to cheer as a Dutchman nicknamed "Hoogie" turned some of the world's top swimmers into mere blowfish.
Pieter van den Hoogenband won gold in the 100m freestyle in 48.30 seconds, whipping two-time defending gold medalist Alexander Popov of Russia.
Popov settled for silver, while American Gary Hall Jr. took the bronze.
Van den Hoogenband became the first man to sweep the 100m and 200m freestyles since American Mark Spitz in 1972.
After five days of competition, the Americans topped the medal tables with 23 (10 gold, 7 silver, 6 bronze). Host Australia was second with 22 (7-8-7), while China had 17 (6-4-7).
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BASEBALL: Doug Mientkiewicz's eighth-inning grand slam gave the United States a 4-0 victory against South Korea, the fourth straight victory for the Americans. Mientkiewicz snapped a scoreless tie for manager Tom Lasorda's team by driving a two-out pitch deep over the wall in right field.
The American victory came on the heels of the Netherlands' stunning 4-2 victory against the Cuba, ending the Cubans' 21-game Olympic winning streak.
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WOMEN'S SOCCER: Next stop for the U.S. women: the Olympic semifinals. The Americans took step No. 1 toward defending their 1996 gold medal by defeating Nigeria 3-1 to finish first in their half of the draw.
World Cup heroine Brandi Chastain opened the U.S. scoring, with Kristine Lilly and Shannon MacMillan adding the other goals. On Sunday, the women will face Brazil in one game, while Norway and Germany will battle in the other semifinal.
China, the other finalist in the 1999 World Cup, was eliminated by a surprising 2-1 loss to Norway.
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SOFTBALL: There was a little drama left over for the women's softball team, too - but not the kind they liked. For the second straight game, the once-invincible Americans lost in extra innings, this time 2-0 to China in 14 innings. Losing pitcher Michele Smith set an Olympic record with 21 strikeouts, but it wasn't enough.
Zhang Chunfang lined a single off Smith's leg to score one run and second baseman Jennifer McFalls threw wide of first, allowing the other runner to come all the way around.
Before the back-to-back losses, the softball team had won 112 consecutive games.
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CYCLING: Tears streamed down Marty Nothstein's face as he hugged his wife and children. The cyclist captured a gold medal in the men's match sprint, the first American cycling gold since the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
Nothstein swept the first two races in his best-of-3 showdown with Florian Rousseau of France, who took the silver. The Trexlertown, Pa., native showed no emotion until he raised his hands in victory after securing first place.
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MEN'S GYMNASTICS: No good news for the U.S. team in the men's all-around competition. As Russia's Alexei Nemov captured the gold, the top American finisher was five-time national champion Blaine Wilson - and he finished eighth.
The United States hasn't won an all-around medal since Peter Vidmar's silver in 1984.
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WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL: The Americans won their third straight, 25-19, 25-18, 25-16 against Croatia, to put themselves in prime position for a medal run. The Americans, with two preliminary games left, could wind up in one of the top two spots in the quarterfinals.
