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*Andre Ward wins first U.S. boxing gold since 1996*
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ATHENS, Greece (Ticker) - Light heavyweight Andre Ward became
the first American boxer to win a gold medal in eight years,
defeating Magomed Aripgadjiev of Belarus on Sunday at the
Peristeri Olympic Boxing Hall.

Amid a parade of Cubans collecting gold, Ward joined Oscar de la
Hoya in 1992 and David Reid in 1996 as the only United States
boxers to win gold in the last four Olympiads.

"I'm numb right now," Ward said.

Ward brought a happy ending to a trying tournament for the
Americans, who qualified only nine boxers, got off to a
surprisingly quick start, then watched their fighters fall by
the wayside against tougher international amateur competition.

Four years ago in Sydney, the U.S. won four boxing medals but no
gold as it was denied the top spot on the podium.  This time,
the Americans collected just two medals.

"I hope this will give a big boost to U.S. amateur boxing and I
hope we will be a world power again," said Ward, who plans on
turning professional.

Ward became the first U.S. light heavyweight to win gold since
Andrew Maynard in Seoul in 1988.  He joined Leon Spinks (1976)
and Cassius Clay (1960) - now known as Muhammad Ali - as light
heavyweight gold medalists.

It appeared Ward would have to settle for silver as he trailed
after two rounds.  But he landed two big left hooks in the third
round and continued to score throughout the rest of the
four-round bout, earning a 20-13 decision.

"This was not my best performance, but the dog in me made me
tough it out," Ward said. "It is very stressful being in this
tournament.  You have to change your style with each contest,
because each boxer is so different."

Middleweight Andre Dirrell was the other medal winner for the
U.S., taking bronze.

Yan Bhartelemy, Guillermo Rigondeaux and Mario Kindelan all won
finals Sunday, running Cuba's total to five gold, two silver and
a bronze.

Bhartelemy, a light flyweight, shook off a slow start to defeat
17-year-old Turk Atagun Yalcinkaya, 21-16.  He used a series of
combinations in the second and third round to build a big lead.

Rigondeaux, a bantamweight, outclassed Worapoj Petchkoom of
Thailand, 22-13, to defend his Olympic title.

Kindelan, a lightweight, was pushed by 17-year-old Amir Khan of
Britain before taking a 30-22 decision as he retained his
Olympic title and capped a remarkable career.

Khan came out aggressive and won the first round before Kindelan
- who has won every major competition he has entered over the
last five years - put his experience to work and roughed up Khan
with some combinations.

The teenager did not quit, fighting Kindelan evenly over the
final round and earning praise from the veteran, who plans on
becoming a boxing coach.

"He told me I would be the next gold medalist," Khan said.  "I
didn't even expect to be here, so to reach the final and get a
chance to fight against the reigning champion is just
brilliant."

Welterweight Lorenzo Aragon could not follow his compatriots to
the top of the podium as he was soundly beaten by Bakhtiyar
Artayev of Kazakhstan, 36-26.  Not among the medal favorites
when the competition began, Artayev won the Val Barker Trophy as
the outstanding boxer of the tournament.

The tourney's final bout was a disappointment as super
heavyweight Alexander Povetkin of Russia won the gold via
walkover.  Egypt's Mohamed Aly failed a physical exam due to a
shoulder injury suffered in training.

Russia captured three gold and two bronze.
st 08-29-04 12:31 et