Day 5 has already started, but there are a few Day 4 storylines to wrap up first.

SWIMMING: Mark Spitz, the U.S. swimmer who earned a record seven golds at the Munich 1972 meet, is peeved that the IOC, NBC-TV and world swimming body FINA all forgot to invite him to Beijing. Basically, he has to buy his way into the Watercube, just like everyone else. Here's a scenario that would fix everything. Anybody who's seen an Olympic medal ceremony knows that past champions often present gold medals. If Michael Phelps wins eight golds, the image of Spitz putting the eighth one around Phelps' neck would be the iconic image of the Olympics. He's in Hong Kong now, so all FINA has to do is call him up and invite him to be a presenter later this week. C'mon, let's get this done.

At the close of each day of competition, this blog will present the standings of all active team sports.

Results of the Day 4 competitions.

Big doings brewing in the women's football tournament, where Norway is down big to Japan and the United States looked poised to beat New Zealand and move to the next round. Elsewhere, field hockey, volleyball and handball matches are in their evening sessions. And, of course, the table tennis venue is holding a practice day in advance of its big start tomorrow. Here are a few other things that are going on.

BOXING: Until boxers fight to unconsciousness, there will never be a scoring system free of controversy. The current setup involves five judges who tap at a box; if three of them hit a boxer's button within a second, it's a point. One of the first to complain about boxing judges in 2008 is Joe Murray of Great Britain, who was scored upon when brushed lightly and did not register points for knocking back his Chinese opponent, Gu Yu. The losing pugilist intimated that the judges may have been intimidated by a noisy home crowd.

"The referee showed his true colours. He took two points off the Chinese kid for holding, but then, because he was in his backyard, took two points off me too. We got told if you run around the ring you are docked two points or thrown out, but I didn't hear the ref say 'don't stop running'."

The fourth Olympic afternoon continues in Beijing and environs. Here's a taste of what's going on around the venues.

ARCHERY: Iranian women are still fighting for respect in their own country, as evidenced by controversy that erupted over the Olympic team's choice to have female rower Homa Hosseini carry the flag into the stadium at the Opening Ceremonies. Of the 55 athletes representing Iran, just are three women.

One of them was in competition this afternoon. Najmeh Abtin is the first archer of either gender to represent her country, and came up 10 points short in her Round of 64 match with North Korean Un Sil Kwon. And what's more, it's her 26th birthday today. Happy Olympic birthday, Najmeh.

Early afternoon in Beijing, and the competition won't take a lunch break. Here's another update specifically designed for people who know what a "melt reel" is.

GYMNASTICS: At 1130 China Standard Time, after three of six rotations, the United States was leading the men's combined exercises by a slim margin over China. An hour later, after several disastrous U.S. performances, China was leading by a comfortable five points headed into the last round, headed to a second win in three Olympiads.

Whether or not the American loss of focus had anything to do with constant mugging and long-winded braggadocio into a NBC-TV camera near the team bench, that will be left for others to decide. But when a low-points performance by the Germans clinched a bronze for the U.S., spiky-haired Jonathan Horton addressed the nation. "Hey everybody back home," he said. "This is how we do it."

Competitions are getting under way all over the city this mid-morning. What's the latest?

SWIMMING: More American gold at the Watercube in the 10:00 hour, as Michael Phelps won the men's 200m freestyle to take his third Olympic championship in three days. His 1:43.86 bettered his own world mark by a second, and he was a full body length ahead of the field by the second turn. It's his ninth gold, which puts him in a select company of four.