Wednesday at the Games

Utah connections

Rock Springs, Wyo., native Rulon Gardner lost his semifinal wrestling match but came back to earn the bronze medal before announcing his retirement.

West Valley City's Rachelle Kunkel, finished 12th among the 33 contestants in the first round of the springboard diving competition, moving into the semifinal round as one of the top 18. Kunkel, a graduate of Hunter High and BYU, was scheduled to dive in the semifinals Thursday at noon, Athens time (3 a.m., Utah time).

Former BYU star Ryan Millar, helped the U.S. volleyball team edge Greece, three games to two, in a quarterfinal match. Millar scored 14 points, including 12 kills in the match.

Former BYU sprinter Frank Fredericks of Namibia succeeded in his attempt to make the 200-meter final at age 36. Fredericks was the third fastest qualifier in his semifinal heat, running 20.43.

Former Salt Lake Buzz outfielder Ryan Radmanovich of Canada went 0-for-3 from the plate in Canada's 11-2 loss to Japan in the bronze medal baseball game. Teammates Jeff Guiel and Eric Cyr, both former Stingers, also played in the loss. Guiel failed to get a hit in his one chance at the plate, while Cyr gave up one run with five strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings of relief.

Former Utah Starzz player Elena Baranova led the Russian women's basketball team to a 70-49 victory over the Czech Republic. Baranova scored 15 points with eight rebounds. Another former Starzz player Michaela Pavlickova scored two points with two rebounds in the Czech Republic's losing cause.

Elisa Aguilar, also a former Starzz player, did not play in Brazil's 67-63 victory over her Spanish team.

Weather

The temperature reached 91 degrees under sunny skies at the Olympic stadium. Thursday's forecast called for more sunshine and an expected high of 93.

Hamm on Letterman

Olympic all-around champion Paul Hamm said Wednesday he would prefer not to share his gold medal with South Korea's Yang Tae-young despite a judging mistake that ultimately cost Yang the gold.

In an interview on CBS' "The Late Show with David Letterman," Hamm was asked about having another gold medal issued for Yang.

"I personally feel in my heart I was the Olympic champion that night," Hamm said. "I would be a little bit upset if another gold medal was awarded because I really felt I won the event."