It was a gold medal day for China at the Olympics.

The host country completed their sweep of the team events in gymnastics by winning the women’s team gold yesterday. The US squad, led by 16-year-old Shawn Johnson, challenged the Chinese women, but the outcome was never really in doubt. To have any chance, the US would have had to perform flawlessly. Lackluster outings on the balance beam and floor exercises kept the gold out of reach. However, the high degree of difficulty in the routines by the Chinese gymnasts put the gold nearly out of reach before the competition even began. A young and inexperienced Romanian squad was able to overcome Russia and claim the bronze medal.

The Chinese men’s gymnastics team completed a dominating performance yesterday, cruising to victory over Japan. The US team, without stars Morgan and Paul Hamm, was able to hold on for the bronze after leading halfway through the competition. As with the women’s event, the outcome was never really in doubt.

Michael Phelps added to his gold medal count in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay and the 200-meter butterfly. He has won five gold medals thus far and still has three more events to go before he is done. He is on track to claim 8 gold medals, a record at the Olympics.

The top ranked US men’s beach volleyball squad of Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers beat an experienced Argentine team to assure an advance to the knockout stage of the tournament. The duo lost their first match against a young Latvian team, but has managed to rebound and return to their dominating form.

The US men’s soccer team didn’t fare as well though. They lost to Nigeria 2-1 and will not be advancing to the knockout stage of the soccer tournament. Favored teams from The Netherlands, Argentina, and Brazil all won their final group match and will be among the 8 teams playing in the single elimination phase.

Whether on the beach or on the indoor courts, Volleyball has been responsible for some of the early drama in Beijing.

The US men’s indoor team, which entered the tournament with high hopes, was able to come out of their first match with a win. Barely. After leading Venezuela 2-0, the US dropped two straight games before stopping the momentum and pulling out the deciding game in commanding fashion. The win was a must for the US because their next match is against a strong Italian squad that breezed past Japan 3-1.

The US women beat Japan in their opening match, but then would not even get a game off Cuba in their second outing. Cuba looked extremely dominant in their 3-0 victory over the US squad. The Cubans are headed for a showdown with a strong team from China on Wednesday. With Brazil and Italy both in the other group, Cuba will have a good shot at a perfect record in group play and is favored to reach the gold medal match.

On the beach, Latvia’s Martins Plavins and Aleksandrs Samoilovs upset top US men’s pair, Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers, in their opening match. The US duo rebounded to win their second match, while the Latvians lost, effectively evening the standings for the final match in the group.

Brazilians Ricardo Santos and Emanual Rego, the defending gold medalists are looking strong with a 2-0 record.

The Chinese women’s team of Tian Jia and Wang Jie won despite a challenge from an underrated Belgian side. Both US women’s teams are performing well early in the tournament. Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs improved to 2-0 in group play. But all eyes were on the other US team. The famed Walsh and May duo is currently on a 102 match win streak and they do not seem to be slowing down.