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Melaine Walker powered her way to victory in the 400-meter hurdles, the final event on the track Wednesday night with the Bird’s Nest still buzzing in the afterglow of her countryman Usain Bolt’s dazzling world-record 200.

“Jamaica is great right now,” Walker said. “I’m proud of every single soul.”

Walker won in an Olympic record and personal best 52.64 seconds, well ahead of American Sheena Tosta, who took the silver at 53.70. Britain’s Tasha Danvers won the bronze at 53.84.

Walker broke the Olympic record of 52.82 set by fellow Jamaican Deon Hemmings in 1996.

The hurdles final was wide open with world record-holder Yulia Pechonkina of Russia skipping the Olympics because of a heart problem and two-time world champion Jana Rawlinson of Australia out with an injury. Reigning Olympic champion Fani Halkia of Greece was expelled last week after a positive drug test.

Walker made it a one-woman race, going out strong, then turning it on down the stretch as Tosta struggled to the finish.

“I made sure that I kicked all the way home,” Walker said before taking a call from Jamaica’s prime minister, whose phone has been busy with his country’s repeated triumphs on the track in Beijing.

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Yelena Soboleva denied on Friday she had manipulated her doping samples after the world indoor 1,500 metres champion and six other leading Russian women athletes were banned ahead of the Beijing Olympics.

“I call what is happening now a provocation staged deliberately to knock out the potential medallists right before the Olympics,” Kommersant business daily quoted Soboleva as saying.

“All of us had the best chances to win medals in Beijing. I stress once again that I reject the accusations brought against me by the IAAF (athletics’ world governing body).

“I also ask my fans to forgive me for being charged with what I am actually not guilty of.”

Russian newspapers said the bans appeared to be a foreign plot to deprive the national team of at least five golds in Beijing. The Games start on Aug. 8.

“Five of our golds have already been flushed down the drain,” daily Izvestia said.

The seven banned are: twice world 1,500 metres champion Tatyana Tomashova, Soboleva, distance runners Yuliya Fomenko and Svetlana Cherkasova, European discus champion Darya Pishchalnikova, former hammer world record holder Gulfia Khanafeyeva and former world 5,000 metres champion Olga Yegorova. All except Cherkasova had qualified for the Olympics.

Mike Mussina entered this season almost an afterthought in the Yankees’ rotation, the old man on a staff of budding stars. What a difference four months makes.

Mussina walked off the Yankee Stadium mound Wednesday to rousing “Mooose!” calls from the sold-out crowd, having thrown eight economical innings in New York’s 5-1 win over the Minnesota Twins for their 10th straight home victory.

Last year “I physically couldn’t do what I wanted to do. The whole year was miserable,” Mussina said after giving up six hits without allowing a run.

“Today was probably a good day,” he said with a smirk.

Alex Rodriguez and Justin Christian each had two-run doubles and Richie Sexson had a sacrifice fly and 11 putouts and three assists at first base as the Yankees completed a 6-0, post-break homestand with sweeps of Oakland and the Twins.

Turkey’s bid to beat Germany and reach the final of Euro 2008 is in danger of being wrecked by injuries and suspensions.

The Turkish team which faces Germany in the semi-final at St Jakob Park on Wednesday (7:45 British time) will be very different from the one that beat Croatia on penalties in Friday’s quarter-final in Vienna.

Turkey will definitely be without six players and possibly more depending on how they respond to treatment before kickoff.

“Of course having lots of injured players is hard but the players who fill their places will give their utmost,” forward Semih Senturk told a news conference on Monday.

Semih scored the last gasp extra-time equalizer in the win over Croatia and said their constant comebacks in the tournament boded well.

“I think it gives us more self-confidence. Germany will be more cautious because the winner gets to the final.”

Goalkeeper Volkan Demirel, who was red carded at the end of Turkey’s dramatic last-gasp 3-2 win over Czech Republic on June 15 is out, serving the second game of his two-match suspension for that offence.