Polish shot putter and Ethiopian distance runner won the first two Olympic athletic gold medals on Friday evening.

Polish Tomasz Majewski took the first gold medal of athletics in 21.51 meters, before Tirunesh Dibaba gifted Ethiopia the first Olympic gold medal, creating a new Olympic record in 29 minutes and 54.66 seconds in the women's 10,000 meters race.

Majewski continued showing his good form by putting the shot beyond the 21 meters line twice, with the Olympic title-winning result of 21.51 meters.

Majewski said, "My expectation on the Olympics was only among the top eight, or the fifth at the best."

"I was relieved a lot when I saw only two Americans were in the finals," the Polish said.

Complaining about the unpopularity of the shot put in Poland, Majewski said, "It (the gold) is a big deal, but only now. Nothing's gonna change in the future."

Christian Cantwell of the United States got the silver (21.09 meters) and Andrei Mikhnevich of Belarus the bronze (21.05 meters). Majewski led all athletes in the qualifications Friday morning, creating his personal best in 21.04 meters.

Cantwell regarded his winning a silver as a failure. He said, "I feel terrible, sorry about what I did."

"Although I felt no pressure from the competition, that (the silver) is not what I expected," he said. "I thought I could win."

Cantwell, however, still felt he was lucky to get the Olympic silver. "I got lucky by an inch, I'll take that." He said he would tell his son about how well he did at the Olympics.

"Any time you sneak in on your last throw, and squeak out a medal, it's special. I didn't win but I moved from sixth to second and that's something," the American said.

The bronze medalist was fully satisfied with his Olympic performance. He said, "I was so happy, but the bronze is surely not the end."

"The weather is good and the sports facilities here are fantastic," Mikhnevich said.

Two Olympic favorites from the United States, Reese Hoffa and Adam Nelson, performed badly in the finals. Two-time Olympic silver medalist Nelson, who created the season's best of 22.12 meters on June 8, was knocked out of the finals after three failed attempts.

Nelson said, "I tried my best and felt very very disappointed. It was my worst performance."

In the women's 10,000 meters race, Dibaba, two-time world champion in the race, remained in the leading group in most laps and overtook Ethiopia-born Turk runner Elvan Abeylegesse, who got the silver by clocking 29:56.34, about 300 meters to the finish line.

Shalane Flanagan of the United States won the third place in 30:22.22.

Dibaba said, "It was not enough to get only world championships titles, and It is so cool to win the Olympic gold in Beijing."

She said, "It was a terrible race, the time was very fast, but thank God, I did it. I was expecting something from the race and I got it. It was really very tough, but I am not afraid of any race."

Though breaking the Olympic record, the 23-year-old Ethiopian felt unsatisfied. "It was the right place to break the world record and I had hoped I would but it was not so. Next year, I'm sure I'll do it."

Flanagan, who created the season's best previously in 30:34.49, said, "I tried my best in the final lap and didn't even realize that I won the bronze."

She said she was too nervous to fall asleep at the race's eve.

Another favorite before the game, Tirunesh's sister Ejegayehu Dibaba, three years older than the gold medalist, only finished the 14th in the final.

Speaking of her sister's role of inspiration, the younger Dibaba said, "My sister is a friend, coach and advisor. She always gives me positive push."

(Xinhua News Agency Agusut 16, 2008)