Beijing ? The Chinese and the wretched Beijing weather were no match for Misty May-Treanor and “Six Feet of Sunshine.”

May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh won their second consecutive gold medal in beach volleyball today, playing through a steady and sometimes driving rain to beat China in straight sets and extend their winning streak to 108 matches.

The Americans defeated Wang Jie and Tian Jia, 21-18, 21-18, to repeat their Athens victory and confirm their dominance of the sport. They did not lose a set in seven Olympic matches, playing through smog and swelter and a drenching gold medal game that soaked their skimpy uniforms.

“The rain makes it better,” Walsh shouted afterward, unable to contain the California girl enthusiasm that earned her the nickname “Six Feet of Sunshine.” “We felt like warriors out there. The pressure of playing China made it pretty intense.”

Earlier, Xue Chen and Zhang Xi won China’s first beach volleyball medal, beating Brazilians Talita and Renata 21-19, 21-17 for the bronze.

Track and field

Move over, Michael. Make way for Usain.

The Beijing Olympics will no longer be remembered only for what Michael Phelps did in the pool. Usain Bolt made sure of it on the track Wednesday night.

Already the champion at 100 meters, Bolt whizzed through the 200, too, making him the first winner of both Olympic sprints since Carl Lewis in 1984.

Yet Bolt one-upped Lewis, Jesse Owens and the other guys who’ve pulled off the 100-200 double. The long, lanky, joyous Jamaican also set a world record in both races, and that’s never been done at an Olympics.

“I blew my mind,” said Bolt, “and I blew the world’s mind.”

So now it’s time for a new debate, sports fans. Which is more impressive: Phelps’ eight gold medals and seven world records or Bolt leaving no doubt that he’s the fastest man in the world, the fastest man ever?

Bolt’s victory made memorable a day that was supposed to be a bit of a lull before the big finish this weekend. Only 11 medals were decided, fewest since the first day of competition.

There was other notable news, though, like the U.S. softball and men’s basketball teams getting tested before moving closer to playing for gold. There also was the first-ever medal of any color at any Olympics for Afghanistan (a bronze in men’s taekwondo), the debut of BMX cycling and another doping case, this one involving a medal winner.

The first-ever BMX medal, however, will be postponed a day as heavy rain this morning forced a number of changes to the schedule. Olga Kaniskina of Russia flashed a huge smile as she won the women’s 20K race walk, a marked contrast to the competitors in the men’s javelin who struggled in slippery conditions.

The International Olympic Committee said it is investigating Ukraine’s Lyudmila Blonska. If found guilty of a doping offense, the 30-year-old Blonska would lose her silver medal in heptathlon and be expelled from the games.

Another piece of news is that these Summer Games are on pace to be the most-watched in history, a figure skewed by how many of China’s 1.3 billion residents were tuned in.

Men’s basketball

This is what goes down as a “tough test” for the U.S. squad of NBA All-Stars: a five-point lead in the second quarter that turned to 12 by halftime … and was never close again.

“Sooner or later we’ll impose our will,” U.S. point guard Chris Paul said. “I don’t know if you can keep up with us for 40 minutes.”

Australia sure couldn’t. After a tight game into the fourth quarter on Aug. 5, the Aussies hung with the American until the middle of the second quarter but that was it. Kobe Bryant scored nine points during a 14-0 surge to open the second half and the only question after that was how much they would win by. It wound up being 31 points, 116-85.

Softball

The U.S. came as close to defeat as it has in a long time. Not that it mattered in the end.

The Americans were in a scoreless tie with Japan after seven innings, then scored four runs in the ninth – three on a looooong homer by Crystl Bustos – for a 4-1 victory and a spot in the gold-medal game.

Baseball

The guys went to extra innings against Japan, too, and also pulled out a win.

Brian Barden singled in the go-ahead run to break a scoreless tie in the 11th inning on the way to a 4-2 victory. The Americans earned the third seed in Friday’s medal round, with the Japanese getting fourth.

Men’s volleyball

The U.S. men beat Serbia, remaining undefeated and earning a spot in the semifinals against Russia.

Men’s beach volleyball

The stunning loss in the tournament opener seems like ancient history for Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers, especially now that the Americans are playing for the gold medal.

The guys needed only 41 minutes to eliminate Georgia in straight sets in the semifinals, then watched Brazil’s No. 2 team beat its best, the Athens gold medalists.