WATER POLO: The United States won its first gold medal in women's water polo, getting five goals from Maggie Steffens and a sterling performance from goalkeeper Betsey Armstrong to cruise to an 8-5 win over Spain on Thursday.

The Americans overpowered a young Spanish team at both ends of the pool to lead 5-2 by halftime, and they never looked back.

"I am speechless. It still hasn't sunk in," U.S. captain Brenda Villa said. "I can't describe it. It's the end of a journey, and I got my fairy-tale ending."

The U.S. has long been a power in women's water polo, but the Americans had never translated their success at other major competitions to the Olympics, taking bronze in 2004 and silver in 2000 and 2008.

Villa and Heather Petri played on all three of those Olympic teams. They came back this year, along with five other veterans from 2008, and were joined by a talented batch of new players, chief among them the 19-year-old Steffens, who led all scorers in London with 21 goals.

Her five-goal effort in the final came as a bookend to her stunning seven-goal Olympic debut to open the games.

Steffens was unstoppable against Spain, scoring with long-distance shots, outmuscling Spanish defenders in front of goal to score from close range and even slotting home a penalty shot.

For Steffens, who was in the stands with her family to watch her sister Jessica lose the 2008 final, it was particularly sweet this year to give Villa and Petri a win to end their careers.

"I've looked up to Brenda and Peti, and I was at the 2008 games and I felt that passion of the loss," she said. "I wanted this for Brenda and Peti - to be able to retire and go out with the happiness of having gold, and for the '08 girls, to fill that void, to get the gold medal."

VOLLEYBALL: Coach Hugh McCutcheon made a special point of seeking out captain Lindsey Berg for a quick hug after the U.S. women Advanced to the gold medal match.

The Americans got an emotional boost from Berg, who returned for a straight-set semifinal victory over South Korea after missing the last match with a strained left Achilles.

"It's game time and I feel great, and I don't care how I feel after Saturday," Berg said, referring to the final, a rematch of 2008 Olympic finale against Brazil.

The U.S. women settled for the silver medal in Beijing, falling 3-1 to Brazil. The team has won silver twice and bronze once since volleyball joined the Olympics in 1964.

But the gold has eluded them.

The United States, ranked No. 1 in the world by the sport's international governing body, has rolled undefeated through London, dropping only two sets. Destinee Hooker scored 24 points in the 25-20, 25-22, 25-22 win over South Korea at Earls Court.

BOXING: American teenager Claressa Shields danced, brawled and even stuck out her tongue. She also managed to win the first middleweight gold medal in women's Olympic boxing. The 17-year-old Shields, from Flint, Mich., was too much for Russian opponent Nadezda Torlopova, posting a 19-12 victory in the final.

"This was something I wanted for a long time, even when boxing wasn't going all right, even when my life wasn't going all right," said Shields, who found sanctuary in a boxing gym during a rough childhood.

"All I wanted was a gold medal, and I kept working towards it, even when people were saying I couldn't do it. I'm too young. I couldn't do it. There were girls who were going to beat me because of better experience, more experience. I proved them all wrong."

SWIMMING: Eva Risztov of Hungary led most of the way in a grueling open water marathon at Hyde Park, holding off a desperate bid to chase her down by American Haley Anderson.

The big crowd was hoping for a gold medal from world champion Keri-anne Payne, but the British swimmer finished fourth.

DIVING: Chen Ruolin of China won the women's 10-meter platform gold, easily defending her title from Beijing. Chen totaled 422.30 points during the five-dive final, winning by a 55.80-point margin. She earlier won gold in the 10-meter synchronized and swept the platform events for the second consecutive games.

China has won six of seven diving gold medals with only the men's platform remaining.

CANOE SPRINT: The quartet of Tate Smith, Dave Smith, Murray Stewart and Jacob Clear gave Australia a lift with a surprising wire-to-wire win in the men's 1,000-meter K-4.

It was Australia's first team gold in canoe sprint - and took its overall tally in London to six after wins by cyclist Anna Meares, 100-meter hurdler Sally Pearson and sailors Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen in the past three days.

Germany collected two more victories, with Tina Dietze and Franziska Weber taking the women's 500-meter K-2 and Peter Kretschmer and Kurt Kuschela winning the men's double canoe sprint 1,000.