NEWS » o Castres replacement Thibault Lassale seein

RIO DE JANEIRO -- When Simone Manuel touched the wall to clinch a gold medal Saturday night, it was a moment 120 years in the making.The U.S. womens 4x100-meter medley relay team of Kathleen Baker, Lilly King, Dana Vollmer and Manuel -- winners at the Rio Games on Saturday night -- is being recognized by the U.S. Olympic Committee as delivering the nations 1,000th gold medal in Summer Olympics history.By their count, anyway. Keeping count of the gold total is not as exact a science as one might think.The count accepted by the U.S. Olympic Committee coming into the Rio Games was 977 gold medals, and even that was adjusted a bit in recent weeks over a debated medal from the 1904 St. Louis Games. That means the gold medal in the womens eights on Saturday morning was the 21st for the Americans in Rio, and No. 998 overall. Some sites say theres a few more, some say a bit less. The USOC count is the accepted one.And the relay win was No. 23 in Rio, so by the USOCs count that made it official.A gold medal is like a newborn baby, said long jumper Jeff Henderson, who put the U.S. on the brink with gold No. 999 earlier Saturday night. Its just lovely.Lovely, 1,000 times over now for the Americans.A remarkable achievement made possible by the culture of sport that is the fabric and foundation of Team USA, USOC CEO Scott Blackmun said Saturday night.James Connolly won the first for the U.S. in 1896, and of course no one has added more to the total than Michael Phelps, a 23-time gold medalist. Illustrating how not-so-simple this medal-counting business is, the official info portal for the Rio Games even has a different number than the USOC, saying the one the Americans will recognize as No. 1,000 is really No. 1,001.Whatever the real number, the U.S. is the first to reach four figures -- in a landslide. The Soviet Union remains No. 2 on the all-time summer gold list, and no other nation has even reached 500.Heres the significance: The next four best nations had 1,004 gold medals coming into Rio, said Bill Mallon, an Olympic historian. You add up the next four and they barely have more than we do.At its current rate, China wouldnt reach 1,000 golds until 2100. Germany wouldnt get there until 2204.But there have been some very interesting story lines on the U.S. road to 1,000. Consider some of them:THE DEMONT CASEIf Rick DeMont had his way, gold medal No. 1,000 would really be identified as gold medal No. 1,001.Or maybe even No. 1,002.DeMont was 16 when he won gold in the 400-meter freestyle at the Munich Games in 1972. But he tested positive for ephedrine, which was part of his asthma medication, and stripped of the medal days later along with a chance to compete in a 1,500-meter event.His saga, however, doesnt stop there.DeMont tried for decades to get the medal back, saying he was wronged because the USOC did not properly disclose to Olympic officials that he was on medication -- and that if they had done so, his ephedrine level would not have led to his ban. In 2001, the USOC recognized DeMont for his achievements and said it was bringing him back into the Olympic family.But the International Olympic Committee -- in part out of concern for setting a precedent that could lead to enormous numbers of athletes contesting results -- declined later that year to consider restoring DeMonts gold over the USOC paperwork mix-up. So the gold remains awarded to Bradford Cooper of Australia. Cooper now owns a swimming school in his homeland while DeMont is the swimming coach at Arizona.It was so long ago that it almost seems like it happened to another person in another life, DeMont said Saturday. I dont carry it with me.THE ST. LOUIS GAMESNo matter how well the U.S. does in these Rio Games, the medal count this year wont come close to the St. Louis Games in 1904.Officially, heres the count from that Olympics for the U.S.: 79 golds (it had been 78 until recently, when one medal that was counted as being won by a mixed-nationality team was added to the U.S. total because five of the six members were Americans, along with one Austrian), 78 silver and 79 bronze -- 236 medals in all.Germany was second in the medals standings, with 13.There is no wrong or right, Mallon said. Its an interpretation.The Olympic website describes those St. Louis Games as being lost in chaos. They lasted nearly five months, had a marathoner disqualified for using a car on the route, saw gymnast George Eyser win six medals despite having a wooden leg and featured events such as dumbbells and tug-of-war.About half the official competitions in those games had only American entrants, and some historians have suggested that even some of the athletes who are listed as part of the U.S. team likely were newly arrived immigrants who either hadnt become citizens yet or never actually completed that process.THE 1906 GAMESYou might not know about them, since they dont count.Held in Athens, Greece, they were considered an Olympics at the time -- though arent now recognized by the IOC, so the medal counts appear in no official lists. Though unlike the St. Louis Games two years earlier, this had more of a normal Olympic program.There were 78 events and medals were awarded; there even was a true opening ceremony. The U.S. was second to France in the medal standings, winning 12 golds to their 15.So while little debates and differing counts will likely continue, the U.S. dominance isnt in question. And maybe it was fitting that Phelps, the most decorated Olympian ever with 28 medals helped start the march toward the next milestone Saturday night, when the final swim of his career -- part of a win in a relay -- delivered gold No. 1,001.Its the Olympics, said U.S. swimmer Katie Ledecky, a five-time winner of Olympic gold. Its the pinnacle of our sport ... and we feed off of each other. Cheap Green Bay Packers Jerseys . -- Ryan Blaney provided more evidence that Penske Racings No. Cheap NFL Jerseys China .ca. Hey Kerry, big fan of yours, just finished reading your book. I think that we all saw the Canucks/Flames line brawl just after puck drop. It was obvious that something was about to happen, even to the referees because the fourth lines were on to start. http://www.cheapoutletnfljerseys.com/?tag=cheap-baltimore-ravens-jerseys . Dallas hasnt ruled out the star quarterback for Sunday nights game against Philadelphia, but all signs point to Romos back injury pushing Kyle Orton into the starting role after two years of limited play as the backup. Surely Ortons name isnt the first that comes to mind for fans wanting a change after years of damaging interceptions, fumbles or, most infamously, the field goal flub when Romo dropped the snap on a kick that could have won his first playoff game in 2006. Cheap Seattle Seahawks Jerseys . U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield in Manhattan agreed that lawyers on both sides could make their formal requests by Nov. 8. A hearing is scheduled for a day earlier. Jordan Siev, a lawyer for Rodriguez, wrote in a joint letter to the judge from lawyers on both sides that MLB lawyers planned to ask that the lawsuit be dismissed. Cheap Atlanta Falcons Jerseys . PAUL, Minn. Isa Nacewas 47th-minute bonus-point try was the highlight of Leinsters workmanlike 33-15 European Champions Cup win over Castres at the RDS.The Irish provinces dominant maul paved the way for three first-half tries - a brace from Sean Cronin and one to mark Jack McGraths 100th provincial appearance - but Castres were only 19-10 down at the break.The hosts suffered the double whammy of a penalty try and Luke McGraths yellow card right on the stroke of half-time, giving the French side a serious lift. Nacewas fine individual score got Leinster back on track early in the second period, a penalty try rewarded the home scrum on the hour mark and Castres replacement Anthony Jelonch dived over for a consolation try.Tireless flanker Josh van der Flier delivered a man-of-the-match performance for the victors and 20-year-old fly-half Joey Carbery had an assured European debut, stepping into the shoes of the injured Jonathan Sexton (hamstring).Nacewa nudged a fifth-minute penalty wide from the right, with full-back Rob Kearney prominent in the air early on. The Leinster captain was also thwarted after a pacy Robbie Henshaw break. But the Castres forwards gave way soon after, Leinsters decision to kick for the corner proving correct as hooker Cronin was driven over in powerful fashion.Carberys juggling intercept broke up a promising Castres spell, but dogged French defence prevented the fast-breaking Garry Ringrose and Henshaw from adding to the lead. The wet conditions contributed to Alex Tulous spill, ruining the big Castres number 8s encouraging run from deep.However, the visitors were forced to concede a lineout from Nacewas quick-witted kick through in the 26th miinute, and Cronin, having broke off the maul, built enough momentum through a Victor Moreaux tackle to spin over the whitewash, with Nacewa converting.ddddddddddddBenjamin Urdapilleta punished a high tackle from Kearney to get Castres off the mark, but loosehead McGrath muscled over from a close-in 33rd minute ruck that came from further lineout pressure. Urdapilleta missed a chance to cancel out Nacewas well-struck conversion, however scrum half McGraths side-entry at a dangerous Castres maul led to his sin-binning and the penalty try, converted by the Argentinean fly-half.Nacewa stepped in at scrum half on the restart, helping Leinster to ride out the sin-bin period and it was the skipper who exposed Antoine Dupoints weak defence at a ruck and handed off Geoffrey Palis to claim a superb solo seven-pointer.With Leinsters reinforced scrum getting the upper hand, Castres did well to avoid further concessions as the home side pressed from advanced set piece ball and breaks by Van der Flier and Carbery.A succession of penalties led to Castres replacement Thibault Lassale seeing yellow for a maul infringement, and two more scrum penalties had referee Matthew Carley running in behind the posts. Nacewas conversion completed his 13-point contribution.Jelonch answered back for Castres with a 68th-minute effort before Leinster missed on two more tries - replacement hooker James Tracy went close from another maul and centre Ringrose was called back for a forward pass from Henshaw, following a blistering run out of his own half by Carbery. ' ' '