Eric the Great

Beijing - After waiting more than a decade to appear in his first Olympics, Eric Lamaze provided a performance for the history books.

The Schomberg, Ont., rider posted three perfect runs aboard Hickstead to win gold in the individual show jumping event Thursday at the Beijing Olympics. Lamaze, 40, won a jump-off with Rolf-Goran Bengtsson after the Swedish rider picked up four jumping faults on the third and deciding run.

For Lamaze, the gold medal represents a place in national equestrian lore. He's the first individual equestrian gold medallist in Canadian history, and the country's first multi-medallist of the Games after capturing a silver in Monday's team jump.

The win also provides sweet redemption for Lamaze, twice suspended for drug violations that cost him spots in both the 1996 Games in Atlanta and the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. Lamaze was given a lifetime ban following his second infraction - and though it was overturned in time for the Sydney Games, the Canadian Olympic Committee elected to leave Lamaze off the team.

"What they wanted to do with me is to take my livelihood away and everything else," said Lamaze.

"I don't think that's constructive to somebody who's struggling, to take their passion away from them."

"That's what I feel is the biggest lesson to be learned. Everybody does deserve a second chance or a third chance or whatever if you believe that they can actually come back and do some good."

Lamaze enjoyed a clean run in Thursday's first round, one of 10 riders to post a perfect score. Knowing he would need another perfect run to earn a jump-off with Bengtsson, Lamaze guided Hickstead through the Shatin equestrian course without a fault to earn at least a silver.

Bengtsson's horse Ninja clipped the final gate in the jump-off, setting the stage for Lamaze's third perfect run of the night - and Canada's third gold medal of the Games.

Diving silver

Emilie Heymans ended Canada's one-day absence from the podium earlier Thursday, claiming a silver medal in women's 10-metre platform diving.

Rallying from a mistake-filled semifinal earlier in the morning, the native of Greenfield Park, Que., challenged for gold before China's Chen Ruolin pushed Heymans one spot down the podium on the final dive.

Chen finished off with a near perfect dive that earned a score of 100.30 for a five-dive total of 447.70. Heymans was second at 437.05 while Wang Xin of China took bronze at 429.90.

"It's just a big accomplishment for me," said Heymans.

"I've been through a really rough time in my life and I think it made me the person that I am today, and made me dive like this."

Marie-Eve Marleau of Laval, Que., finished seventh at 332.10.

More medals than 2000

The medal pushed Canada's total up to 15 - three gold, seven silver and five bronze. That exceeds the country's total at the 2000 Sydney Games and is three more than the 12 claimed in Athens four years ago.

Heavy rain in Beijing wreaked havoc on many outdoor events Thursday, and forced Sam Cools of Airdrie, Alta., to wait a day in her quest for a medal in women's BMX.

All men's and women's races were postponed until this morning.

On the track, Gary Reed of Kamloops, B.C., used the driving rain in his favour to advance to the final in the men's 800 metres.

He raced to a time of one minute 45.85 seconds to finish second in his heat behind Algeria's Nabil Madi.

"I loved it," Reed, a silver medallist at last year's world championships, said of the weather. "I could see it screwed up the Africans out there, I was at home as they were all getting cold. I live and train in Victoria, so I'm good.

"I train in that all year."

Full of upsets

The men's 4x100-metre relay team raced to second in its heat in a race full of upsets, and head into today's final with the fourth-best time. The Jamaicans cruised to an easy win in the heat in 38.31, while the Canadians crossed in 38.77. Great Britain and Italy were disqualified. The first heat was even crazier, with just four teams of eight even crossing the finish line.

On Thursday night, the U.S. women's soccer team stood as one, Olympic gold medals around their necks, champions once again.

"Vindicated? I feel great, I feel amazing. I just won a gold medal," said goalkeeper Hope Solo, whose banishment at last year's World Cup symbolizes the struggles these Americans have had and without whom they wouldn't have won this game.

Solo made save after save to keep the United States in the game, and Carli Lloyd scored in the sixth minute of extra time to give the United States a 1-0 victory over Brazil and the gold medal for a third time in four Olympics.

The U.S. women's basketball team reached the final by beating Russia 67-52. The defending champion Americans, who will face Australia on Saturday, got 21 points from Diana Taurasi.

The U.S. team, both the men's and the women's teams, failed to make it out of the first round in the 4x100-metre relay, each missing a handoff.

The defending champion U.S. softball team lost to Japan 3-1 and their top-ranked women's water polo team was defeated by the Netherlands 9-8.

Today looks promising for the Canadians, with kayaker Adam van Koeverden set to race in two finals and Cools also hopeful of reaching the podium in BMX.

Kayaker Adam van Koeverden's last push propelled him into the final while the last few strokes for canoeist Mark Oldershaw landed him in the water on a mixed day for Canada at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park on Thursday.

Van Koeverden fought through a driving rain to win the opening semifinal in one minute 42.438 seconds and give himself a chance to win Olympic gold in the K-1 500 metres for the second straight time.

"I'm putting my best races together," van Koeverden said. "I think Tuesday was a pretty good indication that I'm on form and today (was) too."

In his opening heat Tuesday, the 26-year-old from Oakville, Ont., took about a tenth of a second off the world best he recorded at a World Cup event last June.

Oldershaw, of Burlington, Ont., was fourth in the C-1 500 metres, losing his balance and falling into the water shortly after the finish. The 25-year-old said he put everything he had into his final strokes in an attempt to make the top three and qualify for Saturday's final.

"I kind of knew - you can get a sense when you're out there - that I wasn't going to do it," Oldershaw said. "I would have been mad at myself if I hadn't done it and missed because of that.

"So it was just a desperation thing."

Meanwhile, Canada almost nabbed a surprise medal in sailing.

A late rally by Canadians Oskar Johansson and Kevin Stittle fell just short and they settled for fourth in the fast Tornado catamaran class.

Johansson, from Oakville, Ont., and Stittle, from Orangeville, Ont., finished second for the third consecutive race, but that wasn't good enough to reel in Argentina's Santiago Lange and Carlos Espinola for the bronze.

The Canadian duo began the day fifth overall after 10 races and were 13 points back of the Argentines, who were sixth in the medal race, which counts double, and finished with 56 points.

Johansson and Stittle finished with 61 points and needed the Argentines to finish ninth or worse in the medal race to move up further.

In other results Thursday:

Scott Russell of Windsor, Ont., qualified for the javelin final after leading his group at 80.42 metres.

"I am absolutely happy with my performance," he said. "Now I'm going to rest up, get some treatment on my knee and get ready for Saturday."

Nicole Forrester of Aurora, Ont., failed to move on to the final in the women's high jump, clearing 1.89 metres to finish 11th in her group.

Massimo Bertocchi of Toronto was in 18th place after five events in the decathlon. The 22-year-old had 4,010 points. American Bryan Clay led with a score of 4,521.

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