Sergerie, Hall push Canada's medal total to 17

Karine Sergerie fought her way to Canada's best-ever finish in taekwondo at the Olympic Games, winning silver in the 67-kilogram event on Day 14 of competition in Beijing.

Canadian canoeist Thomas Hall put every last bit of energy he had into his final few strokes in Friday's final in the C-1 1,000 metres at the Beijing Games on Friday.

His intense physical effort was boosted by a strong mental approach, one that helped him win a bronze medal. "My whole thing was every time I felt tired, I just said, 'Go harder,' Hall said. "We have keywords that are supposed to be technical cues. Mine this time was just - 'harder."'

Emilie Heymans assuaged the pain of losing an Olympic medal which had seemed hers in 2004 and bounced back with a silver on the platform in Beijing.

The Canadian's dreams dissolved in Athens when her final dive went wrong and she dropped from second to fourth. Starting her final programme on Thursday with the same back 2-½ somersaults with 1-½ twists, she held her nerve and nailed it. She then unleashed a series of excellent dives, with the home crowd roaring on teenage favourites Chen Ruolin and Wang Xin, and came desperately close to becoming the first diver to beat the Chinese at these Games.

Riding a horse named Hickstead, the Canadian defeated Sweden's Rolf-Goran Bengtsson in a jump-off to earn Canada's third gold medal of the Beijing Games.

Thursday's victory was sweet redemption for Lamaze, who missed out on the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and the 2000 Sydney Games due to positive drug tests. He's also a member of the Canadian team that won silver in the team jump competition on Monday.

Canada's Jason Burnett won silver Tuesday in men's trampoline at the Beijing Games.

Burnett, 21, was the second finalist on the trampoline and earned a score of 40.70 for his routine, which featured a degree of difficulty of 16.8 — the highest in the final.

Despatie, a 23-year-old native of Laval, Que., finished with a total score of 536.65 points from six dives to claim the silver medal Tuesday.

He also took the silver medal at the 2004 Athens Games.

Lopes-Schliep accomplished the feat one week shy of her 26th birthday. A photo finish was required to determine the placings.

"I feel like I've jumped out of my body, went to heaven and back," she said. "This is a huge accomplishment, it went by so fast and here I am with a medal."

Canada's Karen Cockburn won the silver medal in the women's trampoline at the Beijing Games on Monday, her third Olympic medal in the event.

Cockburn, of Stouffville, Ont., earned a score of 37.00 for her routine, which had a degree of difficulty of 14.4, to earn Canada its eighth medal overall of the Games.

The finals of women's trampoline will be an intense battle, with Canada's Karen Cockburn looking to complete her bronze and silver medal collection with gold.

The final competition is Monday, Aug. 18, at 8:25 a.m. ET.

Cockburn, of Stouffville, Ont., came third at the Sydney 2000 Games and took second place in Athens four years later. In the finals, she'll compete with seven others, including fellow Canadian Rosie MacLennan, for the top prize in Beijing.

Canada's medal drought at the Olympics was a fingertip away from coming to an end, a mere 0.09 seconds the difference between glory and agony for swimmer Mike Brown.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he remains optimistic about Canada's medal prospects at the Olympic Games in Beijing.

Harper, taking questions after a funding announcement in Newfoundland, said the Games are far from over.

"We're coming up on the back half of the Games," he said. "So we'll remain optimistic and of course we'll cheer for everybody who wears the Maple Leaf."

Defending Olympic champion Australia beat Canada 6-1 in their first match of pool play at the Olympic Green Hockey Stadium.

Des Abbott started the scoring for Australia in the 15th minute, then added a goal a minute later.

Fergus Kavanagh added a goal in the 22nd minute, giving the Aussies a 3-0 advantage after one half.

Canada's lone goal, by Peter Short, came in the 38th minute, and couldn't hold off the Australians the rest of the half.

Canadian badminton player Anna Rice was eliminated from competition Monday by China's Lu Lan, who beat the Vancouver native 21-7, 21-12.

The loss came after the two-time Olympian won two previous matches in Beijing. She had beaten American Eva Lee and Jeannine Cicognini of Switzerland in the previous rounds.

Canadians Daniel Nestor and Frederic Niemeyer were defeated Monday in Olympic doubles tennis by brothers Andy and Jamie Murray of Great Britain.

The Murrays came back to prevail 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 at the Olympic Green Tennis Center. Canada fought off two break points in the final game, but Niemeyer's volley at the net went wide.

Susan Nattrass, the six-time Olympian from Edmonton, had a disastrous last round of qualifying and failed to advance to the final in women's trap shooting. Needing to place in the top six for a shot at a medal, the 57-year-old missed seven of 25 targets in the final round to finish 11th.

She had missed just five of her first 50 targets and was in a five-way tie for fourth heading into the last qualification round.

"I still don't know what I did wrong before my last round. I did the exact same preparation. I probably started trying too hard," she said. "It's hard when it's probably my last Olympics.

The men's eight overcame an equipment malfunction and a near-collision with another boat to qualify for Sunday's final. The Canadians cruised to victory in their heat, crossing the line in five minutes 27.69 seconds - several boat lengths ahead of the runners-up from Poland.