Sport 17-08-2004 Thorpedo Shoots To Gold who: Swimmer Ian Thorpe what: Takes gold medal in men`s 200 metres freestyle final where: Athens, Greece when: Yesterday snippet: "It looked, to the naked eye, just like any other race in the swimming pool," says The Guardian`s Richard Williams. But last night`s men`s 200 metres freestyle final "was the hottest ticket of the games, and Ian Thorpe rose to the occasion." His victory over Holland`s Pieter van den Hoogenband and Michael Phelps of the United States was, in the words of The Times` admiring Simon Barnes, "a performance that held power and serenity in the most extraordinary state of balance." Thorpe`s Olympic record time of 1min 44.71sec makes him Australia`s greatest ever Olympian with five gold medals, and as he clutched Van den Hoogenband in a post-race embrace of relief and congratulation afterwards, he said to the Dutchman who beat him four years ago: "Now we`re even. It will be an even tougher race in Beijing." Britain`s medal hopes were given a boost after the lacklustre opening weekend as Pippa Funnell "put in a test of sublime beauty and authority" in the dressage, continues The Times, leaving her well in contention as the three-day event develops today. Sailor Ben Ainslie, wounded by a disqualification from one of the earlier heats in the Finn class, "went out yesterday and simply sailed the rowlocks off the opposition... stamping a champion`s authority on the regatta [and] putting the fear of God into the pack behind him." Team GB`s badminton hopefuls were given an extra boost too. As well as progressing to the semi-finals of the mixed doubles, number four seeds Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms were delighted to find that the number one seeds, Korean pair Kim Dong Moon and Ra Kyung Min, have been knocked out. Meanwhile The Telegraph watched "the new Nasseem", Bolton lightweight Amir Khan, destroying Greece`s Marios Kaperonis by a 20-point stoppage in a fight attended by Princess Royal, Lord Coe and Tessa Jowell. It`s not all good news though. While The Guardian spent yesterday disproving the theory that there must be loads of tickets for the poorly-attended events going cheap, The Sun and The Independent think Paula Radcliffe, "Britain`s one genuine hope for athletics gold at these Games," has arrived at the games still carrying a calf injury, an suggestion that Radcliffe`s agent denies vehemently. Time will, of course, tell. [... more]

What The Papers Say is delivered to thousands of readers every morning by web, WAP and email. Sign up today!