While you were sleeping

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BEIJING -- Something happens to Matt Emmons of Browns Mills, N.J., when he reaches the final of the three-position rifle event.

Four years ago in Athens, it appeared as though he were on his way to a gold medal when he cross-fired and hit the wrong target. That day wasn’t a total loss. He met his future wife, a Czech shooter, when she came to console him.

Perhaps something good also will come from Sunday’s mishap, when he got an itchy trigger finger in the final, fired too soon, missed the target completely and dropped from first to fourth place.

‘I didn’t feel my finger shaking, but I guess it was,’ said Emmons, who last week won a silver medal in men’s prone. ‘I realized it went off and I hoped it made it into the black. I call it a freak of nature.’’

China’s Qiu Jian got the gold medal.

Emmons got a big hug from his wife, Katerina, who has won a gold and silver here for Czech Republic.

Elsewhere:

(All times PDT)

12:06 a.m. The U.S. women’s volleyball team advanced to the quarterfinals with a close 18-25, 25-12, 19-25, 25-19, 15-13 victory over Poland. The United States (4-1) finished second in its group to 5-0 Cuba.

12:29 a.m. Russia swept the medals in singles tennis. Elena Dementieva won the gold medal with a 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 upset over Dinara Safina, who had won two consecutive tournaments -- in Carson, Calif., and Toronto -- and 15 consecutive matches. Vera Zvonareva won the bronze medal with a 6-0, 7-5 victory over China’s Li Na. But the Chinese later won their first tennis medal with a 6-2, 6-2 victory for third place in doubles by Yan Zi and Zheng Jie over Ukraine’s Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko.

1:51 a.m. The Williams sisters won the doubles gold medal for the second time, beating Spain’s Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual, 6-2, 6-0. Venus and Serena also won in Sydney in 2000.

2:01 a.m. Randi Miller of Arlington, Texas, won a bronze medal in women’s 63 kilogram wrestling over Canada’s Martine Dugrenier.

2:21 a.m. It was a good day for the U.S. eights in rowing. The women led wire to wire to win gold by 1.88 seconds over the Netherlands. The U.S. men were in sixth place at 500 meters but surged over the last half of the course to win bronze. Canada won the race.

3:09 a.m. In stormy waters, Zach Railey of Clearwater, Fla., finished second in a Finn class final sailed in more than 20 knots of wind and high waves. Great Britain’s Ben Ainslie won his third gold medal and fourth overall in the event.

3:40 a.m. China’s Zou Kai won the gold medal in the men’s floor exercise, the first of the apparatus finals over three days. Spain’s Gervasio Deferr was second, and Russia’s Anton Golotsutskov was third.

4:29 a.m. North Korea’s Hong Un Jong won gold in the women’s vault ahead of Germany’s Oksana Chusovitina. China’s Chen Fei won the bronze, one place ahead of the United States’ Alicia Sacramone of Winchester, Mass.

4:51 a.m. Lauryn Williams of Miami, silver medalist in 2004, Muna Lee of College Station, Texas, and Torri Edwards of Irvine, Calif., advanced to the semifinals in the women’s 100 meters. Three Jamaicans also will be in the final later this morning.

4:53 Tennis player Rafael Nadal, of Spain, who becomes No. 1 in the world this week, added the Olympic gold medal to his French and Wimbledon titles this year with a 6-3, 7-6 (2), 6-3 victory over Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez. Gonzalez had set point in the second but hit a forehand smash wide. Nadal never looked back.

4:53 a.m. The U.S. men’s saber team, including Jason Rogers of Los Angeles, won the silver medal, losing to France, 45-37, in the final. The United States hadn’t won a medal in team saber since 1948 in London.

5:46 a.m. Monica Abbott of Salinas pitched a perfect game as the U.S. softball team beat the Netherlands, 8-0, and remained undefeated. The United States still hasn’t allowed an earned run. Crystl Bustos of Canyon Country went three for three with a home run and two singles.

5:52 a.m. Nicole Branagh of Orinda, Calif., and Elaine Youngs of El Toro, Calif., became the first U.S. beach volleyball team eliminated, losing to China’s Xue Chen and Zhang Xi, 21-17, 21-13, in the quarterfinals.

5:57 a.m. Gymnasts Shawn Johnson won silver and Nastia Liukin bronze in the women’s floor exercise. Romania’s Sandra Izbassa won gold. Johnson went first among the eight competitors and was still leading until Izbassa, who went last, turned in her clutch performance. Liukin now has a gold, silver and bronze medals, and Johnson has three silvers.

6:22 a.m. One U.S. boxer remains in the competition after Demetrius Andrade of Providence, R.I., lost his welterweght quarterfinal bout, 11-9, against South Korea’s Kim Jungjoo. U.S. boxers are complaining about the coaching they received at the training center in Colorado Springs.

7 a.m. Wake up, smell the Wuyi mountain rock oolong tea!

Now playing: U.S. vs. New Zealand in women’s basketball.

Coming up later this morning: Women’s 100-meter track and field final.

-- Randy Harvey