ATHENS, Aug. 29 - The Olympics have ended, but the saga of
Paul Hamm's gold medal has not. 

Yang Tae Young of South Korea, the bronze medalist in the
men's all-around, filed an appeal to the Court of
Arbitration for Sport on Sunday, seeking to have the
International Gymnastics Federation award him the gold. The
federation has said that a scoring mistake cost Yang the
gold medal. 

The Court of Arbitration, the world's top sports court,
said it would take up the appeal after the Athens Games.
South Korea's action came as Dr. Jacques Rogge, the
president of the International Olympic Committee, publicly
reiterated the I.O.C.'s position that the results should
not be overturned. 

Because the gymnastics federation has already certified the
results of the gymnastics competition, Rogge said, "For us
that is final." He also said the I.O.C. would not ask Hamm
to return his medal. 

Jim Scherr, the chief executive of the United States
Olympic Committee, said that the South Koreans would not
prevail in the Court of Arbitration, "because there is a
very large body of precedent that judging decisions on the
field of play are final and are not generally overturned." 

As he did on Thursday, Scherr accepted responsibility on
behalf of the U.S.O.C. for not coming to Hamm's defense
sooner. 

Discussing the crowd's hostile reaction to Hamm in
subsequent competitions, Scherr said: "Paul was treated
very unfairly by many, many Greeks. I don't think they
understand the nature of the sport. There are subjective
elements of judging. Mistakes are made that you can't
review and go back once the contest is over. Otherwise,
that will be chaos and anarchy in sport." 

That is why the matter should be closed, he said. 

"Once
the I.O.C. and the F.I.G. said there is no change, the
results are final and will stand,'' Scherr said. "There's
nothing for us to consider and there is no open question." 

>A Collection of 19 Medals 

The silver medal that Meb
Keflezighi won in the marathon gave the United States men's
track team 19 medals, its best total since 1992. The women
did not do as well: their six medals was their lowest total
since 1976. 

Sprints accounted for 10 of the 19 medals won by American
men. With the triple medalist Justin Gatlin leading the
way, the United States won all but one of the medals in the
100, 200 and 400. 

"We were dominant," said Shawn Crawford, who won gold in
the 200 and silver on the 4x100 relay. 

"It seems to be a young generation," said the 21-year-old
Darold Williamson, who won gold with the 4x400 relay team.
"I don't think it was a surprise to do well - we expected
it." (AP) 

>A Clash With the Police 

Tibetan protesters and police officers briefly scuffled at
the main Olympic stadium complex Sunday, just hours before
organizers of the 2008 Beijing Games were to receive the
Olympic flag at the closing ceremony. 

After passing through a security checkpoint, six activists
from the International Tibet Support Network unfurled a
black flag with five bullet holes replacing the Olympic
rings, and they began marching toward the main stadium. 

They were stopped by about two dozen police and security
guards who seized the flag in a brief scuffle. Olympic
rules forbid political banners at competition sites. 

The police also searched the protesters' bags, confiscating
several T-shirts and stickers with the same logo and copies
of a report on human rights in Tibet. 

Rights groups like Amnesty International have accused
China, which invaded Tibet in 1951, of widespread
human-rights abuses. (AP) 

>From Medalist to Student 

Some Olympic champions are looking forward to lifetimes of
fame and fortune. But most of them - like Amanda Freed, a
utility player on the gold-medal-winning United States
women's softball team - realize that their lives will soon
return to the reality of studies and work. 

"For a couple of weeks we're going to have fun," Freed said
as she prepared to fly back to the United States. 

But when she was asked if the medal was going to change her
life, she replied, "Not at all." 

Freed, a 24-year-old from Cypress, Calif., had some simple
plans after showing off her medal back home. "I'm going to
get my master's from U.C.L.A. in two weeks," said Freed, a
graduate student in sociology who lists her ambitions as
having a family and a career in special education. "Then I
plan to go back to school." (Reuters)