U.S. OLYMPIC FESTIVAL : Cyclist Halpern Wins the Bronze in a Race to the Finish

It was hot, it was humid and it was crowded at the finish line.

But Darryl Halpern of Encino had no complaints.

Halpern raced through the streets of downtown Raleigh on Saturday morning to capture a bronze medal in the U.S. Olympic Festival men’s 100-kilometer cycling road race.

“It was really a fast race,” said Halpern, who was officially clocked at 2:17.02, the same time as gold-medal winner Rich Hincapie of Farmingdale, N.Y. “I didn’t expect to do this well. I got in front and did well in the sprint. This is definitely the highlight of my career.”

The race was so tight, the top 10 finishers were all given a 2:17.02 time, although Hincapie was judged to have squeaked by first.

Things didn’t turn out quite as well at nearby Candler Swim Club for another Valley athlete, diver Perry White of Van Nuys.

White was eighth in the men’s springboard finals with 539.10 points, far back of gold medalist Greg Louganis (703.86).

In the men’s canoe/kayak competition at Lake Wheeler, Fred Spaulding of Newbury Park teamed up with his brother, David, of Ventura to win a bronze in the 1,000-meter canoe doubles. The pair finished in 4:09.80, behind gold-medal winners Jim Terrell of Millford, Ohio, and Rod McLain of Meriden, N.H. Spaulding didn’t do as well in singles, winding up seventh at 4:48.72.

Gus Peterson of Agoura just missed a medal, finishing fourth in the 1,000-meter single-man kayak event with a 3:55.74.

In first-round table tennis at the Raleigh Civic Center, Carol Davidson of Studio City won her first two matches, beating Ai-Ju Wu of North Brunswick, N.J., 21-10, 21-11, and Ardith Lonnon of St. Paul, Minn., 21-19, 21-17.

Davidson, however, lost her final two matches, to Jasmine Wang of East Brunswick, 21-10, 10-21, 21-13; and to Vicky Wong of Elmhurst, N.Y., 21-15, 21-13.

The other Valley competitor, Kim Gilbert of Sepulveda, lost three of her four matches, falling to Cheryl Dadian of Oak Creek, Wis., 21-4, 21-9; to Sheila O’Dougherty of Minneapolis, 21-9, 21-18; and to Bev Patterson of Tampa, Fla., 23-21, 17-21, 21-13.

Gilbert won her final match, defeating Sophia Gorin of Randallstown, Md., 9-21, 21-13, 21-16.