It has been a busy past 24 hours in the pool. The US team has been dominant with Michael Phelps adding to his hardware collection with a win and a world record in the 200-meter freestyle. Aaron Peirsol continued to dominate the 100-meter backstroke. He defended the gold he won in the event in Athens and also broke the world record. His teammate, Matt Grevers, earned the silver. Peirsol’s female counterpart, Natalie Coughlin, won her second straight gold in the women’s 100 backstroke.

Australian Leisel Jones won the women’s 100-meter breaststroke. Team Australia has done well in the women’s events, but the men have not been able to show any dominance thus far.

China’s men’s gymnastics squad avenged their loss of 4 years ago in Athens. China dominated the team event. The US was in the lead halfway through the competition, but the end result was never really in doubt as China cruised through the events to take an easy victory. The US was unable to upset Japan and claim the silver, but strong performances from Jonathan Horton, Alexander Artemev, and Raj Bhavsar earned the US the 3rd spot on the podium.

The lackluster showing continued for US boxing. After last minute withdraws and questions about the training methods and tactical decisions of coach Dan Campbell, the US was dealt another blow yesterday. Rau’shee Warren, one of the boxers favored to make it to the podium for team US, lost a close battle against South Korea’s Lee Ok-sung. It was a major upset for the Korean, but one that was handed to him when Warren, thinking he had won the fight, stopped punching midway through the final round. Welterweight Demetrius Andrade is the best remaining hope for the US to earn a medal.

US basketball cruised past Angola in their second match. Another win and they will be assured of a spot in the knockout stage of the tournament.