Athens, Greece ? He left his shoes in the middle of the mat, maybe a piece of his heart, too. Rulon Gardner finally let his emotions out after trading Olympic gold for bronze, and the tears he cried weren’t of sadness.

Gardner, so poised and dispassionate hours before, following the biggest loss of his life, became teary-eyed Wednesday after one of the most surprising gold medalists in Olympic history settled for a bronze on his return trip to the games.

His last one, too. After wearing down Iran’s much-taller Sajad Barzi for a 3-0 victory and the Greco-Roman wrestling bronze at 2641/2 pounds, Gardner sat down on the mat, an American flag draped in his arms, and took off his shoes in the traditional sign of retirement.

Then it all came out. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he carried the flag around the arena, escorted by the unmistakable cheers of a dozen family members who made the long trip from Afton, Wyo., to Athens to see if he was good for one more gold.

A 4-1 overtime loss to Kazakhstan’s Georgi Tsurtsumia earlier meant he couldn’t duplicate the gold he won so shockingly in Sydney by beating the greatest wrestler ever, Russian Alexander Karelin, in his sport’s upset of the century.

“I came back and won a medal. Even though it’s bronze, I have no regrets because I gave 100 percent in every match,” Gardner said. “I didn’t leave anything on the mat.”

Except his shoes, of course; he began crying before the match, when he told coach Steve Fraser of his plans.

“That’s it,” Gardner said. “When you step off the mat for the last time, it’s a big deal.”

Track and Field

Marion Jones will be part of the U.S. Olympic 400-meter relay team, coach Sue Humphrey announced.

American Rulon Gardner takes off his shoes in the traditional sign of retirement after defeating Sajad Barzi, of Iran, during Men's Greco-Roman 120kg wrestling bout. Gardner won the bronze medal Wednesday at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.

Jones’ participation had been a subject of speculation because she was being investigated by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. However, she has not been charged with any doping offense.

Jones also qualified for the long jump finals with the seventh-best jump of the qualifying round: 21 feet, 113/4 inches.

Allen Johnson, a four-time world champion and the 1996 Olympic gold medalist, made a shocking exit from the second round of the 110-meter hurdles. He tripped over the ninth hurdle, then stumbled and fell underneath the last one.

Allyson Felix narrowly missed becoming a teenage gold medalist when she was beaten in the 200 by Jamaica’s Veronica Campbell. Campbell won in a personal-best 22.05 seconds.

Sailing

A windsurfer whose first name means “wave” in Hebrew gave Israel its first Olympic gold medal ever.

Gal Fridman sailed a remarkably consistent regatta, never finishing worse than eighth in the 11-race series. He placed second in Wednesday’s decisive race.

Baseball

With a relentless, balanced offense, Cuba rolled over upstart Australia to win the gold medal — its third in four tries since the sport gained Olympic status.

The Cubans pounded out 13 hits, including a two-run home run by Frederich Cepeda, a two-run double by Eduardo Parent and a two-run single by Eriel Sanchez.

With the United States failing to even make the eight-team field, Cuba had been expected to vie for the gold medal with a Japanese “dream team” stocked with top pros. But Australia stunned the favored Japanese 1-0 in the semifinals.

Men’s Volleyball

Russia defeated defending Olympic champion Serbia-Montenegro in a four-set quarterfinal match — avenging a loss in the 2000 final in Sydney to the team then known as Yugoslavia. The United States beat Greece with a wild five-set comeback and advanced to play Brazil in the other semifinal. The Americans overcome a 20-12 deficit in the fourth set and fended off match point in the fifth.

Beach Volleyball

Emanuel Rego and Ricardo Santos, the world’s top-ranked beach volleyball team, overpowered Spain’s Javier Bosma and Pablo Herrera 21-16, 21-15 to capture the gold medal.

Weightlifting

Iran’s Hossein Rezazadeh won the Olympic super heavyweight lifting title. He had a 581-pound (263.5-kg) clean and jerk, setting a world record and matching the record total lift of 1,041.7 pounds (472.5 kg) he set four years ago in Sydney.

Boxing

Andre Dirrell of the United States narrowly beat Cuba’s Yordani Despaigne to advance to the Olympic middleweight semifinals. In another quarterfinal, Thailand middleweight Suriya Prasathinphimai upset Ukraine’s Oleg Mashkin 28-22. Suriya next faces Russia’s Gaydarbek Gaydarbekov, the silver medalist four years ago in Sydney.