The U.S. women's eight earned its sixth consecutive World Rowing Championship on Sept. 2 in Bled, Slovenia, after climbing back from fifth place with 1,500 meters to go. The gold medal secured a boat for the 2012 Olympic Games. The men's single sculls, men's and women's quadruple sculls, women's lightweight double sculls, women's eight, men's four and the men's and women's pairs all qualified for the Games as well.
AMERICANS SET FOR FINAL WEEK OF U.S. OPEN
The first week of action found 28th-seed Serena Williams (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) in the quarterfinal, sister Venus Williams (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) withdrawn, No. 28 John Isner (Tampa Bay, Fla.), No. 21 Andy Roddick (Austin, Texas) and unseeded Donald Young (Atlanta, Ga.) playing for spots in the final eight at the U.S. Open in Flushing, N.Y.
CYCLING
The five-day 2011 USA Cycling Masters Road National Championships completed on Sept. 4, crowning more than 60 national champions.
American Todd Wells (Durango, Colo.) just missed giving the U.S its first world championship medal in elite men's cross-country, while four U.S. women landed inside the top 20 in the elite cross country-races at the Mountain Bike World Championships on Sept. 3 in Champ���ry, Switzerland.
EQUESTRIAN
William Fox-Pitt (Hampstead, Great Britain) rode Parklane Hawk to a record sixth win of his career at the 2011 Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials in Lexington, Ky.
Craig Schmersal (Overbrook, Okla.) won his second USEF National Open Reining Title at the 2011 Ariat Tulsa Reining Classic on Sept. 2 in Tulsa, Okla., by defeating teammate Tom McCutcheon (Aubrey, Texas).
Beezie Madden (Cazenovia, New York) and Coral Reef Via Volo triumphed after a 10-rider jump off to win the Longines International Grand Prix of Rotterdam on the last day of the 2011 FEI Nations Cup Series. Madden also won the overall Longines award for the leading rider.
FIELD HOCKEY
The U.S. Women's Field Hockey team dropped its first two matches of a five game series with New Zealand at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif., losing to the Black Sticks on Sept. 4 and 5 by scores of 2-1 and 4-0.
GYMNASTICS
Kalon Ludvigson (Pocatello, Idaho) won the tumbling title at the 2011 World Cup in Salzgitter, Germany, on Sept. 3. Steven Gluckstein (Atlantic Highlands, N.J.) and Savannah Vinsant (Lafayette, La.) also had strong performances, finishing fifth and eighth, in trampoline.
MODERN PENTATHLON
Margaux Isaksen (Fayetteville, Ark.) won the Polish Junior National Championships on Sept. 3 in Drzonkow, Poland. Germany, France, England, Latvia, Poland and the U.S. competed in the event.
SITTING VOLLEYBALL
The U.S. women's sitting volleyball team jump-started the ECVD Continental Cup on Sept. 5 in Yevpatoriya, Ukraine, with victories over Russia and host Ukraine.
SOCCER
The U.S. Men's National Team fell to Costa Rica 1-0 on a 65th minute goal on Sept. 2 in Carson , Calif., to hand U.S. Head Coach Jurgen Klinsman his first loss at the helm of the U.S. team.
TRACK & FIELD
Allyson Felix (Los Angeles, Calif.) and Carmelita Jeter (Los Angeles, Calif.) earned four and three medals to help the U.S. win the count with 25 total medals (12 golds) at the IAAF World Outdoor Championships in Daegu, South Korea.
TRIATHLON
A U.S. contingent of 30 age-group athletes and three elites competed in harsh conditions on Sept. 4 at the ITU Long Distance Duathlon World Championships in Zofingen, Switzerland. Five American age-group athletes earned podium finishes, while Josh Beck (Carlisle, Pa.) was the top U.S. finisher in the elite race, finishing 10th with a time of 6:38:58.
VOLLEYBALL
The U.S. women's junior beach volleyball team of Tara Roenicke (Alta Loma, Calif.) and Rebecca Strehlow (Long Beach, Calif.) tied for fifth at 2011 FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch Junior World Championships in Halifax, N.S.
The second-seeded teams of John Hyden (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) and Sean Scott (Redondo Beach, Calif.), and Lauren Fendrick (Carlsbad, Calif.) and Brooke Hanson (Woodland Hills, Calif.) both finished first on Sept. 4 at the 2011 U.S. Open of Beach Volleyball at Hahana Beach in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The U.S. Men's National Volleyball Team's valiant comeback came up short on Sept. 3 when it fell to Cuba, 25-23, 29-27, 25-27, 19-25, 15-8, in the final of the NORCECA Men's Continental Championship in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. The team did, however, qualify for the 2011 FIVB World Cup with its victory over Puerto Rico on Sept. 2.
WATER POLO
The USA Men's Junior National Team closed out the FINA Junior World Championships with a 17-1 win against Iran to take home ninth place. Collin Smith (Carlsbad, Calif.) and Alex Bowen (Santee, Calif.) led the offense with four goals each while Jon Sibley (Orinda, Calif.) and Justin Parsons (San Diego, Calif.) teamed up in the cage for 12 saves.
WATER SKI
The U.S. Under-21 Water Ski Team won gold and five U.S. athletes combined to earn six individual medals at the 2011 Under-21 Water Ski World Championships, which ran from Sept. 1-4, in Meuzac, France.
Sixteen athletes won national kneeboard titles in respective divisions and events at the 27th Kneeboard National Championships, which took place Sept. 3-4, at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Ga. Athletes competed in 10 divisions - ranging from Junior to Open - for titles in slalom, tricks, overall, freestyle and flipout.
UPCOMING CALENDAR
SEPTEMBER
3-15 - Shooting Belgrade, Serbia ISSF World Clay Target Championships
4-10 - Field Hockey Chula Vista, Calif. USA Women vs. New Zealand
5-11 - Sitting Volleyball Yevpatoriya, Ukraine 2011 ECVD Women's Continental Cup
6-11 - Canoe & Kayak Bratislava, Slovakia Canoe Slalom World Championships (Seniors)
7 - Bobsled Lake Placid, N.Y. U.S. National Bobsled Push Championships
7-11 - Equestrian Calgary, Canada Spruce Meadows Masters
7-11 - Figure Skating Brisbane, Australia Junior Grand Prix Australia
7 - Triathlon Beijing, China ITU Aquathlon World Championship
8-11 - Diving Medellin, Colombia Junior Pan American Championships
8-11 - Equestrian Blenheim, United Kingdom Blenheim CCI3*
8-11 - Equestrian Fairburn, Ga. American Eventing Championships
8-11 - Equestrian Gladstone, N.J. USEF/Collecting Gaits Farm Dressage Festival of Champions
8-11 - Rowing Poznan, Poland 2011 World Rowing Masters Championships
9-11 - Baseball Cary, N.C. National Team Identification Series (17U to feed 2012 Team)
9-11 - Basketball Rimini, Italy FIBA 3x3 Youth World Championship
9-11 - Orienteering Sierraville, Calif. 2011 Western States Orienteering Championships
9-11 - Volleyball Colima, Mexico NORCECA Beach Circuit
10 - Triathlon Beijing, China ITU Sprint World Championship
10 - Triathlon Beijing, China Beijing ITU World Championship Series #7 (Grand Final)
10-17 - Water Skiing Queensland, Australia Water Ski Racing World Championships
11-17 - Roller Skating Barcelos, Portugal FIRS Junior/Sub 20 Rink Hockey World Championships
11 - Triathlon Beijing, China ITU Age Group World Championship
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