YDNEY - The US freestyle wrestlers hoped that Saturday would be a golden start to their usual medal haul at Olympus. But when the evening was done, Sammie Henson had wailed like a banshee on the floor outside the dressing room. And Brandon Slay had been booed off the mat after refusing to stick around to hear the score announced.
''I had envisioned this to be one of the most amazing nights of my life,'' said the 24-year-old Slay, after he'd been blanked by Germany's Alexander Leipold in the 76-kilogram (1671/2 pounds) final. ''And it wasn't.''
Nor was it for Henson, who lost by a point to Azerbaijan's Namig Abdullayev at 54 kg (119 pounds) and had one of the more profound emotional meltdowns in Olympic history.
''This isn't just the last three years,'' said his father Bob, after Henson had screamed and wept backstage, sobbed throughout the medal ceremony, and bolted from the arena before the press conference. ''He's wanted to be Olympic champion since he was 7 years old.''
On Sunday, the rest of the American squad also came up short. Terry Brands (58 kg) and Lincoln McIlravy (69 kg) lost close decisions in the semifinals but each won their bronze-medal matches. Kerry McCoy (130 kg) and Charles Burton (85 kg) lost tight matches in the quarterfinals for fifth place.
Henson had beaten Abdullayev for the world title two years ago. And the aptly-named Slay had upset Russia's Bouvaissa Saitiev, the defending gold medalist and three-time world champ and arguably the planet's best freestyler.
But the 29-year-old Henson was in trouble immediately, falling behind, 3-0, after 45 seconds. He scrambled back to tie the match 30 seconds into the second period, and even after Abdullayev regained the lead 90 seconds from the end, Henson needed only one point to force overtime.
The Americans thought they'd get it after referee Abbass Namazian warned Abdullayev three times for grabbing Henson's singlet. ''He grabbed it to avoid going to the mat, to avoid getting scored on,'' charged US co-coach John Smith.
But the point never came. And when time ran out and Abdullayev's handlers mobbed him, Henson sank to his knees in despair, then ran behind the bleachers, collapsed on the floor and threw a tantrum worthy of a 3-year-old. ''You don't say anything to him,'' said Smith, after Henson had been coaxed to the dressing room. ''You just make sure he doesn't rip down the world.''
Slay, who was making his global debut as the ''surprise'' member of the US squad, neither wept nor wailed over his silver. But he was no less devastated - or gracious - after being penalized three points for non-compliance.
''If the match had been called fairly and I had lost fair and square, you would have seen a smile on my face,'' said Slay, after the 31-year-old Leipold had beaten him, 4-0, to become the first German to win a freestyle gold in 40 years. `If he was the better man, I would feel, OK, he was better. But walking off the mat, I can't say I feel that.''
The match turned at the beginning of the second period, when Slay was called for failing to follow the rules for the opening chest-to-chest engagement.
''He had to stand upright and allow me to hold him,'' said Leipold, who was wearing a prodigious shiner obtained from an earlier scrape with a Macedonian. ''He did not allow that. I tried three times and he went back, back, back.''
Twenty seconds later Slay was cautioned again for grabbing Leipold's fingers (''He started whining,'' Slay groused), was penalized another point, and was all but finished.
