WORLD UNIVERSITY GAMES : United States Wins Water Polo Gold

On a day the U.S. track and field team came up empty, the water polo team won a gold medal Tuesday to keep the United States even with China atop the World University Games medal table.

Alexis Rousseau scored with six seconds to play to beat China, 6-5, and give the United States its 17th gold medal.

The U.S. men’s volleyball team was beaten for the gold medal by Poland, 15-7, 15-12, 15-8.

On the track, Australia, Nigeria, Poland, the Soviet Union and Finland won the five gold medals contested. The Americans, with five track golds in the opening three days, had to make do with a silver from discus thrower Tony Washington and a bronze from 3,000-meter steeplechaser Gavin Gaynor.

Soviet triple jump world record-holder Inessa Kravets went 22 feet 6 1/2 inches in the fourth round to win the women’s long jump gold.

Kravets arrived the day before Saturday’s triple jump, but said she was too tired to compete.

“The (long jump) result was satisfactory for me, considering I am not at my physical best,” said Kravets, who set the triple jump record in Moscow on June 10 with a mark of 49-0 1/2. “Good results in the long jump are very important to me now.”

Nigeria’s Adewale Olukoju beat Washington with a fifth-round heave of 201-8 to win the men’s discus. Washington’s final-round reply was two inches short.

Australian Shaun Creighton won the steeplechase in 8 minutes 32.30 seconds to win his country’s first University Games gold medal in track and field since Ralph Danbell won the 800 in 1967.

Steven Fritz of the United States was second after the first day of the decathlon. Fritz’s 4,052 points trailed Rodney Zuyerwyk of the Netherlands, who had 4,014.