Hamm claims silver

Gymnast solid on bar; Patterson 2nd

? The Russians were angry. The South Koreans were angry. The Greeks were angry. Nobody paid for it more than Paul Hamm.

For 10 solid minutes, the crowd booed and whistled, creating a deafening roar. Hamm, the all-around champion, was forced to sit around and wait, unable to start his routine because of the din.

“I’ve never heard it that loud in my life,” he said. “I felt like I was in a movie.”

A week’s worth of controversy in gymnastics boiled over into the stands Monday during a bizarre, extraordinary evening. Finally, Hamm was able to block out the noise and win a silver medal on high bar, and four-time Olympic gold medalist Alexei Nemov finished fifth, much to the chagrin of the crowd.

Hamm scored a 9.812, tying Igor Cassina for first, but the Italian won a tiebreaker to take the gold. Japan’s Isao Yoneda won bronze.

On a night when American all-around champion Carly Patterson won silver on the beam to give the U.S. women their sixth medal of the games, it was the high-bar routine that everybody wanted to see.

The showdown, on the last event of the night, was supposed to be between Hamm and Yang Tae-young of South Korea, who won bronze in the all-around instead of gold last week because of a scoring error.

But it was Nemov — “Sexy Alexei,” as he’s known — who changed all that.

Flying like a circus acrobat, Nemov put together the riskiest, most daring performance of the 10 men on the high bar. He did six release moves, four in a row and two more with somersaults as he flew backward over the bar.

The crowd oohed and ahhed. To the untrained eye, it looked nearly perfect.

Only one problem.

“Sometimes there’s a difference between what the people think they saw and what the judges think they saw,” USA Gymnastics president Bob Colarossi said.

Maybe that’s why fans pretty much ignored the big step forward Nemov took when he landed. And maybe that’s what started the furor when Nemov’s score popped up, a 9.725 that ranked him last among the three gymnasts who had gone to that point.

Silver medalist Carly Patterson of the U.S., left, stands with gold medalist Catalina Ponor of Romania, center, and bronze medalist Alexandra Eremia of Romania. Patterson won silver in the balance beam Monday in Athens, Greece.

Earlier, Patterson used her last routine of the Olympics to put to rest any doubts about whether she was solid on the beam. Only Catalina Ponor of Romania was better, a 9.787 to Patterson’s 9.775. Ponor also won gold Monday night on the floor.

“I have made my entire beam routine since I’ve been here,” Patterson said. “I’m definitely happy. I couldn’t ask for more. Being all-around champion is what I wanted.”

Women’s Soccer

Iraklion, Greece — Minutes after missing a wide-open net, Heather O’Reilly scored in the ninth minute of overtime to give the United States a 2-1 victory over World Cup champion Germany and a place in Thursday’s gold-medal game.

The Americans will face Brazil for the gold. Brazil defeated Sweden, 1-0, in Patras in the other semifinal on a goal from Pretinha in the 64th minute. Germany will play Sweden for the bronze.

Mia Hamm set up the goal with a short cross from the right, pushing back the pass toward a cluster of three players about six yards from the net. O’Reilly, the only teenager on the team of U.S. veterans, got her foot on the ball, pushing a shot to the left of goalkeeper Silke Rottenberg.

The win gives the Fab Five — long-standing U.S. standouts Hamm, Julie Foudy, Joy Fawcett, Brandi Chastain and Kristine Lilly — a chance to go out as champions in their final tournament together.

Men’s Basketball

Athens, Greece — The United States routed overmatched Angola in its final game of the preliminary round, 89-53. Tim Duncan finished with a team-high 15 points in limited minutes, and the Americans dominated with a 52-17 edge in rebounding.

The Americans had to wait until Greece defeated Puerto Rico in Monday’s final game to learn their next opponent, the unbeaten Spanish (5-0). The other quarterfinal matchups will be Greece-Argentina, Puerto Rico-Italy and China-Lithuania.

Track and Field

The United States swept the medals in the men’s 400 meters, with Jeremy Wariner of Grand Prairie, Texas, leading the way in 44.00 seconds. Otis Harris of Columbia, S.C., was second in 44.16, while Derrick Brew, of Raleigh, N.C., took the bronze in 44.42.

Hungary’s Robert Fazekas won the discus with an Olympic-record toss of 232 feet, 8 inches (70.93 meters).

Allyson Felix led three American women into the next round of the 200 meters. Teammates Muna Lee and LaShaunte’a Moore also advanced.

Men’s Water Polo

Aleksander Sapic scored three goals to lead Serbia-Montenegro to a win over the United States, ending American hopes of making the Olympic quarterfinals.

Wrestling

Sara McMann couldn’t hold an early lead in her 1381/2 pounds (63kg) gold-medal match with world champion Kaori Icho of Japan and lost, 3-2, meaning the United States exited the debut of Olympic women’s wrestling without any golds.

Boxing

American super heavyweight Jason Estrada gave perhaps the most lackluster performance yet by a U.S. boxer Monday night, losing a chance for an Olympic medal by dropping a 21-7 decision to Cuba’s Michel Lopez Nunez.

Men’s Volleyball

The United States beat Brazil, the No. 1 team in the world, in a match where both teams used their reserves extensively. Both teams already had clinched spots in the next round. The Americans finished pool play at 3-2, winning a tiebreaker over Russia for third place, and will face host Greece in the quarterfinals Wednesday.

Beach Volleyball

Misty May and Kerri Walsh beat fellow Americans and friendly rivals Holly McPeak and Elaine Youngs 21-18, 21-15 in the semifinals. The No. 1 Americans will play for the gold today against second-seeded Brazilians Shelda Bede and Adriana Behar, who defeated Australians Natalie Cook and Nicole Sanderson 21-17, 21-16.