(Adds medals table, throws forward to day 11)
LONDON, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Felix Sanchez of the Dominican
Republic recaptured the Olympic 400 metres hurdles title at the
age of 34, eight years after he first won it, on a second
successive golden night for Caribbean runners at the London
Games.
Sanchez was convulsed with sobs and tears streamed down his
face as he stood on the victor's podium after holding off
Michael Tinsley of the United States.
"No one expected this. A lot of people said I should retire
but I stuck with it. They'll all be celebrating now," said
Sanchez. After finishing, he took out and kissed a picture of
his grandmother Lillian, who died during the Beijing Olympics.
On a tough night for defending Olympic champions,
33-year-old American Angelo Taylor came fifth, failing in his
attempt to become the first man to win three titles in the event
after gold in 2000 and 2008.
Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia, bidding for a third successive
gold medal in the women's pole vault, could only manage bronze
behind Jennifer Suhr of the United States who went one better
than her silver medal in Beijing, and Yarisley Silva of Cuba.
Isinbayeva never looked comfortable on a chilly, rainy
evening. After missing at 4.55 metres, she cleared the next two
notches at 4.65 and 4.70 but could not improve on that mark,
ending 5 cm short of her rivals.
Valerie Adams of New Zealand, also a victor in 2008, was
pushed into second place in the women's shot put by Nadzeya
Ostapchuk of Belarus, the 2005 world champion.
Russian world champion Yuliya Zaripova won the women's 3,000
metres steeplechase, leading from the start and storming across
the line well clear of Tunisia's Habiba Ghribi and Ethiopia's
Sofia Assefa.
"It was easy to win this gold, I was very confident about
winning. I'm very good at steeplechase," she told reporters,
grinning from ear to ear.
"Towards the end I saw the scoreboard, I could hear the roar
in the stadium but I kept my concentration to the very end."
Two 19-year-olds took gold and silver in the men's 400
metres, with Kirani James of Grenada powering through ahead of
Luguelin Santos of the Dominican Republic.
Javier Culson took bronze in the hurdles to become the first
Puerto Rican to win an Olympic athletics medal.
OVATION FOR BOLT
There were huge cheers and an explosion of flashbulbs around
the 80,000-capacity stadium when Usain Bolt leapt onto the
podium to receive his gold medal for winning Sunday night's 100
metres final in an Olympic record 9.63 seconds.
The gangly Jamaican sprinter will run in the 200m heats on
Tuesday, bidding to become the first man to win two golds at
that distance and cement his place as unquestionably the
greatest sprinter in history.
On Sunday night he appeared in no great rush to turn his
attention to the 200, as newspaper pictures showed him
celebrating his gold with friends at 3 a.m.
Hundreds of Bolt fans in his home country had braved the
wind and heavy rain of a gathering tropical storm to watch
outdoor screenings of the 100m final.
In other action on Tuesday, women's 100m hurdles world
champion Sally Pearson is favourite to improve on the silver she
took in Beijing.
The Australian, who holds the event's fastest performance
since 1992 (12.28 seconds), is likely to face competition from
American duo Lolo Jones, best remembered for stumbling in the
final while favourite in Beijing, and defending Olympic champion
Dawn Harper.
Kenya's Asbel Kiprop, the world's fastest man over 1500m
this year, will have one thing on his mind in London -- to win
the event properly. The world champion has often expressed his
dissatisfaction at taking Olympic gold in Beijing after Rashid
Ramzi was stripped of his title for a doping offence.
Algerian Taoufik Makhloufi, who beat Kiprop in Sunday's
semi-final, was provisionally thrown out of the Games for not
trying hard enough in an 800m heat, but later reinstated.
Makhloufi had not planned to run in the 800m heats, but the
International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) said
his team had failed to withdraw him in time and he had to
compete.
When he stepped off the track after jogging round for half a
lap, the athletics referee disqualified him from all further
events for not making a bona fide effort.
His team said he had a knee injury. The IAAF later said in a
statement his disqualification had been revoked after a review
of medical evidence.
Italy's reigning Olympic 50km walk champion Alex Schwazer
was excluded from the Games for failing a doping test, Italian
state broadcaster RAI reported. And American judoka Nick
Delpopolo was barred after testing positive for marijuana, which
he blamed on unwittingly eating a "hash brownie".
Away from the athletics stadium, South Korea and Brazil
celebrated their first ever gold medals in gymnastics.
Yang Hak-seon won the men's vault with his spectacular
triple-twisting front somersault. Brazil's Arthur Zanetti f lexed
his bulging biceps to topple China's 2008 Olympic champion Chen
Yibing and secure victory in the men's rings.
Aliya Mustafina upset the favourites in the women's
asymmetric bars to collect Russia's first gymnastics gold of the
Games.
Omid Noroozi became Iran's second winner in two days in
wrestling, and waiter Giovanni Cernogoraz served up a gold for
Croatia when he overcame tears and Italy's Massimo Fabbrizi in a
shootoff to win the men's trap shooting event.
After 10 days of competition, China lead the overall medals
table with 31 golds, with the United States close behind on 29.
Hosts Britain lie third with 18 after picking up wins in
team show jumping and for Jason Kenny in the track cycling
sprint.
(Writing by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Daniel Magnowski)