China and the United States celebrated their medal hauls on Sunday as Beijing Olympic competitions entered the second day.
China and the US were both among the top three on the medal tally on Sunday, with China holding six golds and two silvers, and the US two golds, two silvers and four bronzes.
After two gold medals on the opening day in shooting and women's weightlifting, Guo Wenjun snatched the third when she finished on 492.3 points to claim the women's 10-meter air pistol title on Sunday.
Diving duo Guo Jingjing and Wu Minxia defended their synchronized three-meter springboard crown, Xian Dongmei won women's 52kg judo gold and Long Qingquan pocketed another gold in men's 66kg weightlifting.
US swimming superstar Michael Phelps snatched the first of his projected eight golds with a sensational swim in the men's 400-meter individual medley final, and reset his own world record at four minutes 3.84 seconds.
Despite media speculations that China, which won the second largest number of golds after the US in Athens four years ago, would be an arch challenger, Chinese and Americans have patted each other on the shoulders and celebrated their wins.
When Phelps won his gold on Sunday morning, he received warm applauses from flag-waving compatriots and millions of Chinese audience who watched in the Water Cube or on TV.
"He's cool," said Beijing schoolboy Song Xinrong, 12. "Actually, Phelps is the only swimmer I know."
Song, who didn't have a ticket to watch Phelps in the 400-meter individual medley final, was happy to see his idol enter semifinal in 200-meter freestyle on Sunday afternoon. "It's very impressive indeed. I've learned breast stroke, but I am nowhere near him."
Chinese and Americans are all looking forward to the men's basketball game on Sunday night, though China is unlikely to win. China and NBA star Yao Ming even said jokingly he would retire if the Chinese beat the US team -- to clarify how difficult it would be to win the game.
"It's intersting to observe that the hardest-won tickets to the Beijing Games are for men's basketball and Liu Xiang's 110-meter hurdles," said Yao, the 7 feet 6 inch icon who plays for the Houston Rockets in the NBA. "Liu won the gold in Athens and broke the world record later, while we have to start from zero. I hope Chinese fans will not be too disappointed."
Yao and his Chinese team are eying a top eight finish at the Games. But to win or lose, Yao and his sport represent a new milestone in Sino-US relations, like the table tennis that broke the ice on bilateral ties in the 1970s.
