American whiz kid Cejudo wins Olympic gold

Let's get to know Henry Cejudo, American gold-medal winner in freestyle wrestling.

The son of illegal immigrants from Mexico, Cejudo (pronounced say-HOO-doh) was 4 when he last saw his dad. His mom raised six kids and often struggled to make ends meet. The family moved more times than anyone remembers.

He got into wrestling as a youngster because his older brother Angel was good at it, good enough to get invited to live at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. Only halfway through high school, Henry went with him.

The kid became a national champ at 17, then defied conventional wisdom by blowing off college to study nothing but wrestling. Yet last year, at the world championship - his first senior-level international event - he didn't win a single match.

Now he's the world's best in the 55-kilogram division, the youngest American ever to win an Olympic wrestling gold medal. That's saying something, because his was the 50th gold won by U.S. wrestlers. Swimming and track and field are the only sports to produce more.

His story is packed with vines of inspiration for all kinds of people to grasp. The parts he hopes resonate most: Dream big, work hard and never give up.

"Anybody can do it," he said. "It's just a matter of seeing it, believing it and just working at it, and achieving it. ... The guy who went 0-1 (at the world championship) just won the Olympic title."

Track and field: The United States won gold in the women's 100-meter hurdles, but it wasn't from the expected sprinter, Lolo Jones.

Jones was leading the pack, then hit the second-to-last hurdle and wound up seventh. Gold instead went to Dawn Harper, who grabbed the last spot on the American squad at trials.

"This is a kid nobody knew," said her coach, Bob Kersee. "Now she's an Olympic gold medalist. It's breathtaking."

• Sanya Richards was on the medals stand, and she wasn't happy about it. She didn't like the color: bronze.

The favorite in the women's 400 meters, Richards led in the stretch but faded at the end, ruining what would've been a great comeback from an illness that cost her most of 2007. Britain's Christine Ohuruogu won, with Jamaica's Shericka Williams taking silver.

"I feel so betrayed by my body once again," said Richards, adding that her hamstring started tightening in the last 80 meters.

Baseball: Despite losing its opener, losing one key player to a gruesome injury and seeing another key player get hurt, the U.S. is headed to the medal round.

The Americans advanced with a 4-2 victory over Taiwan, powered by John Gall's go-ahead homer and a solid outing by pitcher Brandon Knight. The final prelim test comes Wednesday night against medal favorite Japan. The semifinals start Friday.

Diving: China is up to 6-for-6 in its bid for all 8 golds.

He Chong easily won the men's 3-meter springboard, getting 11 perfect marks of 10.0 in the six-round final. This is the fourth consecutive Olympics China has won this event.

American Troy Dumais was sixth for the third straight Olympics. Teammate Chris Colwill was 12th and last.

Men's soccer: The final is set: Argentina vs. Nigeria.

Argentina is headed back to the Olympic final with the chance to become the first nation in 40 years to defend its title - and to avenge a loss to Nigeria in the 1996 finals.

Sergio Aguero scored goals six minutes apart in the second half and later set up another to lead Argentina past Brazil 3-0. Nigeria advanced with a 4-1 victory over Belgium that included 2 scores from long distances.

Weightlifting: Germany's Matthias Steiner won the men's super heavyweight division, getting gold and the right to call himself the world's strongest man.

Cycling: This wasn't Olympic cycling. It was the British Open.

With Victoria Pendleton winning the women's track sprint and Chris Hoy taking the men's version, the Brits won seven events and 12 medals in cycling, with Hoy claiming 3 golds.

Women's volleyball: After a slow start, the U.S. took down Italy in five sets to advance to a semifinal matchup with undefeated Cuba.

Brazil plays defending champion China in the other semifinal on Thursday.

Women's water polo: The U.S. will be playing for gold, taking on the Netherlands on Thursday, but it will do so without center forward Lauren Wenger.

Wenger, the team's most versatile player, broke her right hand in the closing minutes of a 9-8 semifinal victory over Australia. Brenda Villa scored 3 goals, including the winner with a minute left.

Beach volleyball: Get ready for a rumble.

Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor - the winners of 107 straight matches, including the last Olympic title - are headed to the finals against the Chinese duo of Tian Jia and Wang Jie.

The Americans easily beat a Brazilian tandem in the semifinals. Tian and Wang advanced by beating another team from China.