As Day 12 starts here at the Athens Olympics, the USA and China continue neck-and-neck atop the medals chart. America leads by one gold - 25 to 24. Although the USA still leads the overall medals total 72 to 51. For third place, Japan's 15 golds narrowly beats Australia's 14. Medals are awarded today in athletics, baseball, triathlon, beach volleyball, cycling, sailing, wrestling, equestrian dressage and synchronized swimming.

The women's triathlon took place at the coastal suburb of Vouliagmeni this morning, with Australian Loretta Harrop leading from the start. She's a 29-year-old from Brisbane with a passion for sport that's unusually strong even in sports-mad Australia. She has been a national swimming champion, she played volleyball on the Queensland regional team, and she's a black belt in karate. So it's no wonder that she gravitated to the triathlon, as she admits she loves giving her body a "hammering". Right before the finish line here today Harrop was passed by another Australian, Kate Allen running for Austria, and won the silver medal.

Morocco's 1500-metres world champion and world record holder Hicham El Guerrouj finally won the Olympic title that has eluded him for the past eight years. He collapsed in tears after crossing the finish line here in Athens last night after a fierce battle with Kenya's Bernard Lagat over the race's final stretch.

Czech athlete Roman Sebrle won the decathlon title last night with a new Olympic record of 8893 points, beating the mark Daley Thompson set at the Los Angeles Games 20 years ago. American Bryan Clay won silver and Dmitriy Karpov of Kazakhstan claimed the bronze.

Russia's Yelena Isinbayeva saw off her compatriot Svetlana Feofanova to dramatically win the women's pole vault yesterday. After securing the gold medal with the highest jump, Isinbayeva then raised the bar and broke her own world record.

Paraguay ended Iraq's amazing march through the Olympic football tournament last night by beating them 3-to-1 in the semifinal. This means Sunday's final will be a South American battle for the gold between rivals Paraguay and Argentina. While Iraq plays Italy on Friday for the gold.

China's Peng Bo won his country's third successive Olympic 3-metre men's springboard diving title last night, snatching the gold medal from Alexandre Despatie, the Canadian teenager who led the competition going into the final round. Russia's Dmitry Sautin claimed his third Olympic bronze.

And Germany also won a third consecutive gold yesterday - in team show jumping. By the time they got to the final round, their lead was unbeatable. The USA took silver after a jump-off against Sweden.

Paula Radcliffe is expected to announce today whether she will run in Friday's 10,000-metre competition here in Athens. After her disappointing performance in Sunday's marathon, she's not sure if she wants to put that kind of pressure on herself again. But it would be a chance for the world champion to achieve an elusive Olympic medal.

Australian 400-metre hurdler Jana Pittman considers it a miracle that she's fit to compete in tonight's final. Just two weeks ago she was told she would need surgery on her knee, but her recovery has been remarkable. The main problem is that her main competitor - Greece's Fani Halkia - will have the entire stadium cheering her on.

PERSONAL NOTE: THE OLYMPIC CITY

For the last five days of the Olympics I will be adding personal observations to the end of the news. I've been in Athens twice before and found it to be a lively and rather cluttered place with chaotic traffic, superb shopping and a typical Mediterranean culture that's both spirited and laid back at the same time. Since my last visit four years ago, the city has been transformed. Streets are polished clean, pavement repaired, parks and squares completely rebuilt, shopping areas pedestrianised - it's now a classy European capital that still bustles with that specific Greek energy. It also has that inescapable sense of history with ancient sites dotted all over the city - and the centre is dominated by the Acropolis. With the Olympics in town the whole region is decked out in massive, colourful banners (much of which hides vacant lots, derelict construction sites and hideous buildings). City officials even collected all of the notorious stray dogs (basically the pets of the city itself, fed by cafe owners and passers-by), bathed and tagged them so they don't look scruffy anymore - they look so sweet that you actually want to pet them! And the draconian Olympic traffic measures (special roads and lanes for official vehicles), combined with the fact that most Greeks go on holiday for most of August, have hugely reduced the normal state of gridlock that exists on the city streets. Although the locals still insist on driving everywhere! I have been quite happy on public transport - the Metro trains are reliable and surprisingly cool (if you're not sitting in the direct sunshine - most of the line is above ground), and both the regular city busses and the special Olympic busses are extremely reliable if somewhat overcrowded. But then, there are thousands of visitors here at the moment! How much of this face-lift will continue after the Paralympics end in late September is anyone's guess - but Athenians now have a city they can be even more proud of.

[by Rich Cline]