Triple track joy for Africa in Bird's Nest

By Simon Denyer

BEIJING (Reuters) - Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele completed the long distance double and Kenya won two more golds as Africa dominated the last evening of Olympics sport in the Bird's Nest on Saturday.

There were rare sour notes, though, when a Ukrainian weightlifter was suspended for doping and a Cuban, Angel Valodia Matos, banned from taekwondo for life after kicking the referee in the head when his bronze medal bout was stopped.

For the most part, though, the penultimate day of the Games was about athletes pushing themselves to the limits of endurance in the quest for gold.

It was also about Africa.

Day 15 had begun in the space-age National Stadium with disappointment for Nigeria, losing the soccer final by a single goal to Argentina in the blazing midday sun.

The Bird's Nest transformed itself back into an athletics stadium in the evening and African honor was restored.

First, the continent swept the men's 800 meters; gold for Kenya's Wilfred Bungei, bronze for compatriot Alfred Kirwa Yego and a first medal for Sudan, silver for Ismail Ahmed Ismail.

Kenya got its fourth track gold of the Games through Nancy Jebet Lagat in the women's 1,500 meters.

The highlight, though, was Bekele's triumph in the 5,000 meters, which made him the first man since 1980 to win both long distance track races, after victory in the 10,000m last Sunday.

Victory meant complete a clean sweep of the track distance golds for Ethiopia, matching Jamaica's extraordinary sprint performance. Tirunesh Dibaba became the first woman to win both distance golds when she won the 5,000m on Friday night.

African coaches said hardship and high altitude had helped.

"Our athletes have to walk long distances from a very young age to go to school unlike those in developed countries, so they just get used to it," said Kenyan assistant coach Peter Mathu.

Later, the U.S. team got some joy after a poor Games on the track with victory in both the men's and women's 4x400m relay.

Relief was magnified after U.S. athletes had dropped the baton in both men's and women's 4x100m sprint relays.

America's women won a fourth straight gold in women's basketball, demolishing Australia 92-65, and will be hoping for another in the men's final against Spain on Sunday.