INQUIRER Sports

BEIJING -- Christine Ohuruogu put the Great into Great Britain at the Beijing Olympics by capping a golden day for her country at the Games with victory in the final of the women's 400 meters.

China and the United States continued to slug it out for supremacy at the top of the medal table, with the hosts ending the day with 43 golds compared to their rivals' 26, although the Americans had a slight edge overall with 79 medals to 76.

But Britain, after winning four golds Tuesday, was left in third place.

Chris Hoy and Victoria Pendleton continued Britain's domination of events at the Laoshan Velodrome, winning the men's and women's sprints respectively, with Hoy leading Jason Kenny in a British one-two.

Meanwhile there was further success for the nation that still likes to claim it 'rules the waves' when Paul Goodison won Britain's third sailing gold of the regatta, in the laser class.

Ohuruogu's victory, which saw her overtake longtime leader Sanya Richards of the United States and hold-off fast finishing Jamaican silver medallist Shericka Williams, capped a remarkable and controversial year for the Londoner, who in 2007 won the world title after coming back from a ban for missing three drugs tests.

Another American world number one who failed to live up to her billing was Lolo Jones. The 100m hurdler clipped the penultimate barrier although the United States did have the consolation of seeing Dawn Harper claim an unexpected gold.

However, a race that went closer to the formbook saw Rashid Ramzi give Bahrain its first Olympic medal of any color when the Moroccan-born middle-distance runner outsprinted the field to win the 1500 meters.

Ohuruogu wasn't the only world champion adding an Olympic gold to her collection with Estonia's Gerd Kanter triumphing in the men's discus.

Russia's Andrey Silnov won the men's high jump but here too there was success for Britain with Germaine Mason taking the silver on countback from Yaroslav Rybakov, also of Russia.

Defending football champions Argentina inflicted more Games misery on Brazil, who for all their five World Cups have never won the Olympic tournament, with a 3-0 semi-final win over their South American rivals.

Two quickfire goals from Sergio Aguero put Argentina on the way to victory against a Brazil side that finished with nine men after Lucas and substitute Thiago Neves were both sent off for ugly fouls on Argentina's Javier Mascherano late in the second half.

They will face Nigeria, 4-1 conquerors of Belgium in the other semi-final, in a repeat of the 1996 Olympic final won 3-2 by the Africans.

A day after the shock retirement of national icon Liu Xiang in the 110m hurdles, Chinese gymnasts and divers did their best to cheer up the nation's grieving sports fans.

China completed the most dominant Olympic gymnastics performance from any nation for 20 years, despite yet another judging controversy.

Zou Kai won the men's high bar and Li Xiaopeng the men's parallel bars to take China's gymnastics gold tally to nine out of 14, the most since the Soviet Union won 10 in 1988.

US gymnasts Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin did, however, complete a one-two finish in the women's balance beam.

At the pool, China remained on course for a clean sweep of all eight diving golds with He Chong clinching the sixth awarded so far, in the men's three-meter springboard.

But there were American gold medals to celebrate when Pan American champion Henry Cejudo beat Japan's Tomohiro Matsunaga in the men's freestyle wrestling 55kg final and British-born Anna Tunnicliffe won the Laser yachting class.

Britain didn't have things its own way completely at the velodrome as Bradley Wiggins missed out a third track cycling gold of the Games when he and team-mate Mark Cavendish failed to medal in the Madison.

Argentina's Juan Curuchet and Walter Perez outpointed Spain to win the 200-lap race, giving the South Americans their first track cycling gold and first of these Games.

German outsider Jan Frodeno outsprinted Canada's Simon Whitfield to win the men's triathlon by a narrow five seconds.

In Hong Kong, Anky van Grunsven of the Netherlands won her third successive Olympic dressage gold medal beating longtime German rival Isabell Werth into second place.