China and the US were both among the top three on the medal tally on Sunday, with China holding six golds and two silvers, and the US two golds, two silvers and four bronzes.

After two gold medals on the opening day in shooting and women's weightlifting, Guo Wenjun snatched the third when she finished on 492.3 points to claim the women's 10-meter air pistol title yesterday.

Diving duo Guo Jingjing and Wu Minxia defended their synchronized three-meter springboard crown, Xian Dongmei won women's 52kg judo gold and Long Qingquan pocketed another gold in men's 66kg weightlifting.

US swimming superstar Michael Phelps snatched the first of his projected eight golds with a sensational swim in the men's 400-meter individual medley final, and reset his own world record at four minutes 3.84 seconds.

Despite media speculations that China, which won the second largest number of golds after the US in Athens four years ago, would be an arch challenger, Chinese and Americans have patted each other on the shoulders and celebrated their wins.

When Phelps won his gold yesterday morning, he received warm applauses from flag-waving compatriots and millions of Chinese audience who watched in the Water Cube or on TV.

"He's cool," said Beijing schoolboy Song Xinrong, 12. "Actually, Phelps is the only swimmer I know."

Song, who didn't have a ticket to watch Phelps in the 400-meter individual medley final, was happy to see his idol enter semifinal in 200-meter freestyle on Sunday afternoon. "It's very impressive indeed. I've learned breast stroke, but I am nowhere near him."

Chinese and Americans are all looking forward to the men's basketball game on Sunday night, though China is unlikely to win. China and NBA star Yao Ming even said jokingly he would retire if the Chinese beat the US team -- to clarify how difficult it would be to win the game.

"It's intersting to observe that the hardest-won tickets to the Beijing Games are for men's basketball and Liu Xiang's 110-meter hurdles," said Yao, the 7 feet 6 inch icon who plays for the Houston Rockets in the NBA. "Liu won the gold in Athens and broke the world record later, while we have to start from zero. I hope Chinese fans will not be too disappointed."

Yao and his Chinese team are eying a top eight finish at the Games. But to win or lose, Yao and his sport represent a new milestone in Sino-US relations, like the table tennis that broke the ice on bilateral ties in the 1970s.

The charms of the competitions were among the highlights of a meeting between Chinese President Hu Jintao and US President George W. Bush yesterday.

Hu congratulated Bush on the victory of Michael Phelps, whom he described as "an excellent athlete of the United States," and expressed belief that Phelps will "achieve more outstanding results" in the Olympic swimming competition.

The two presidents held friendly and candid talks, despite Saturday's tragic incident in central Beijing in which one American citizen was killed and the other injured.

Hu took the opportunity to express sympathy over the incident. "I would like to express my heartfelt sympathy to you and the family of the victims over this unfortunate incident," he said.

Todd and Barbara Bachman of Lakeville, Minneapolis, were attacked by a man with a knife while touring the 13th-century Drum Tower of Beijing on Saturday. Todd Bachman died from knife wounds while his wife suffered multiple stab wounds and was in critical but stable condition after an eight-hour surgery.

The Bachman couple were parents-in-law of US men's volleyball coach Hugh McCutcheon.

Police said that the assailant, 47-year-old Tang Yongming from Hangzhou of east China's Zhejiang Province, later killed himself by jumping off a 130-foot high balcony on the Drum Tower.

Hu said he has personally instructed the Chinese Foreign Ministry to visit the injured American in hospital. "We started investigation in this case immediately, and will handle it seriously in accordance with law. We will keep contact with the U.S. side and inform you of the new developments."

Spokesman Wang Wei with the Beijing Games Organizing Committee said the incident was an "isolated criminal act" and was not targeted at any particular country or people. "Beijing is safe, but we do need to tighten security in tourist destinations, for example, to impose security checks and make sure sharp weapons are not brought in."

Assistant coach Larsen Ronald for US men's volley said the incident could have happened anywhere else. "Bad things happen everywhere in the world and it has nothing to do with anything else," he told reporters after the US team beat Venezuela 3-2 in the men's preliminary pool A.