LONDON - Canada has faced some early disappointment in the first full day of competition at the London Olympics. PARK Taehwan Ryan Cochrane thought he had advanced to the mens 400-metre freestyle swimming final after securing the eighth and final spot. But the Victoria native was later knocked out when defending champion Park Tae-hwan of South Korea successfully appealed his disqualification. The defending Olympic champion mens eight rowing team finished a distant fourth in their heat Saturday to drop into the repechage. Canada now needs a top-four finish in the repechage to advance to the final. "Were unhappy," said Victorias Malcolm Howard "We didnt do what we set up to do. Well have to improve on Monday." Germany, which is undefeated in three years, won the heat to move directly to Wednesdays final. The United States also advanced in the other heat. In other rowing results, Scott Frandsen of Kelowna, B.C., and David Calder of Victoria won their mens pair heat to advance to the semifinals while Michael Braithwaite of Duncan, B.C., and Kevin Kowalyk of Winnipeg finished fifth in their mens double sculls heat and will race in the repechage. Meanwhile, the womens basketball team, playing in its first Games in 12 years, had a shot at a massive upset in its opening match before losing 58-53 to No. 2 Russia. Canada had a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter but Russias offence exploded with 21 points in the fourth, including an 18-3 run, and Becky Hammon s basket with just over two minutes left gave Russia the lead for good. Kim Smith of Mission, B.C., led Canada with 20 points including five three-pointers. She said the result helped 11th-ranked Canada make a statement early in the competition. "We know we are a good team," said Smith. "The rest of the world may not know that yet, but weve been building this program for two years and tonight I think we showed that." In the pool, Cochrane won his heat in three minutes 47.26 seconds. But he will now have to look ahead to the 1,500 next week after Park, who was initially disqualified for a false start, was re-instated. Scott Dickens of Burlington, Ont., had a better day in the pool, breaking his own Canadian record with a time of 59.85 seconds to move into the mens 100 backstroke semifinal later Saturday. Katerine Savard of Cap-Rouge, Que., advanced to the womens 100 butterfly semifinals after initially missing out by 0.2 seconds in qualifying. Savard moved on when Inge Dekker of the Netherlands withdrew. Stephanie Horner of Beaconsfield, Que., failed to advance in the womens 400 individual medley, while Alec Page of Victoria was also eliminated in the mens 400 IM. In the womens 100 freestyle relay, Canada was 11th and did not advance. Elsewhere at the Games: — Laval, Que., natives Stephanie Dubois and Aleksandra Wozniak were knocked out of womens doubles tennis with a 6-2, 6-0 loss to Kazakhstans Yaroslava Shvedova and Galina Voskoboeva. — Montreals Sergio Pessoa was eliminated by Kazakhstans Yerkebulan Kossayev in mens under-60 kilogram judo. — In fencing, Victorias Monica Peterson won her opening match before being eliminated in the womens foil individual round of 32 by American Lee Kiefer. — Andre Ho of Richmond, B.C., lost 4-1 to Nigerias Segun Toriola in the preliminary round of mens singles table tennis. — Grace Gao of Calgary and Vancouvers Toby Ng lost 2-0 to Denmarks Joachim Fischer and Christinna Pedersen in their opening mixed doubles badminton match. Andrew Shaw Jersey . The Jets now have 64 points, which is the same as eighth place Toronto in the Eastern Conference, one less than Southeast Division leading Florida, but both the Leafs and Panthers have games in hand. Chris Chelios Blackhawks Jersey . -- Lindsey Vonn overcame an error and exhaustion in her return to World Cup racing after missing time with an intestinal illness that landed her in the hospital. http://www.theblackh... . -- Kevin Kolb tried to downplay the significance of beating his former team, focusing more on the success of his current team. [url=http://www.theblackhawksgear.com/Denis-Savard-Jersey/]Denis Savard Jersey . -- Robert Griffin III looks good to go. Michael Jordan Blackhawks Jersey .J. -- Mike Pouncey took his turn at firing up the back-and-forth banter between the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets. FONTANA, Calif. -- Out of the corner of his eye, Ryan Hunter-Reay saw his only competition for the IndyCar championship crash out of the title-deciding season finale. Will Powers accident should have given Hunter-Reay a wide-open road to his first championship. Instead, he had to hang on for 500 nerve-racking miles, withstand several hairy restarts and a controversial red-flag to snatch the title away from Power on Saturday night. Needing to finish fifth to win the title after Power exited the race, Hunter-Reay did one better, finishing fourth to put the American flag back atop the IndyCar podium. Hunter-Reay claimed the title by three points over Power to become the first American since Sam Hornish Jr. in 2006 to win the IndyCar championship. "I just drove 500 miles like it was for my life," he said. "I cant believe were IndyCar champions. I cannot believe this. My dream has come true." Power, denied for a third consecutive year, was in street clothes watching the finish on television after crashing out early at Auto Club Speedway. He took a 17-point lead into the finale, but once out of the race, gave Hunter-Reay total control of his destiny. But it certainly wasnt easy. Hunter-Reay struggled all week at California, even wrecking in Wednesdays open test session, and was off at the start of the race. But he picked his way through the field and was on the edge of where he needed to finish as the laps wound down. Still, a flurry of late cautions made for some hair-raising restarts and a late red-flag that drew the ire or team owner Michael Andretti. Hunter-Reay managed to hang on in a race that was won by Ed Carpenter, another American. "We were struggling all weekend. I didnt want to let anyone really know about it that much. We were really in the woods," Hunter-Reay said. Power, an Australian who has finished second in the points three years in a row, visited Hunter-Reay after the finish. "At the end of the day, Hunter-Reay is a deserving champion, a real fighter," Power said. Hunter-Reay won a series-best four races this season, his third with Andretti Autosport. He used a string of three consecutive wins during the summer to climb into the championship, and with Power in position to clinch two weeks ago at Baltimore, he won again to stay in the hunt. He was rewarded on the eve of the championship race with a new two-year contract from Andretti, the team he has credited for giving him the continuity and support he needed to put together the best season of his career. "It was really an unbelievable weekend," said Andretti, who won his fourth championship as an owner but first since 2007.dddddddddddd Power, meanwhile, was left wondering how yet another title slipped away. Hes the most dominant driver on road and street courses, and knows that racing on ovals is the one glaring weakness in his program. And when he looks back at this season, he knows that a blocking penalty at Texas and crashes on the ovals at Indianapolis, Iowa, and now, California, cost him the title. "I wish I could put my finger on one particular thing I dont do right," Power said. "If you look at it, three ovals I crashed out of is a massive hit on points. Its over a whole season that you win a championship and that was proven tonight." Power crashed 55 laps into the race, spinning hard into the outside wall when his car slipped in a seam in the track. Its the third consecutive year Power has gone into the finale with the title on the line and had an incident snatch away his chances. He brushed the wall at Homestead in 2011 and lost the title by five points to Dario Franchitti. Last year, his points lead was gobbled up when another car hit him on pit road in the penultimate race, and he was involved in the 15-car accident that killed Dan Wheldon in the finale. Power broke his back in that accident in Las Vegas. "Man, depressing," Power said after leaving the wreck. "I wish I could care less." Power laughed nervously, searching and failing to find the right words to describe his frustration. "I dont know what to say. Its depressing," he said. "Depressing to lose the championship again that way. Nothing I can say, mate, its just depressing. I dont know what emotion to even feel right now." But his Penske team, which has not won a championship since Hornish in 2006, worked furiously to get his car back on the track so he could turn 12 laps and gain more points in the standings. Power had already changed into street clothes, rushed back into his firesuit, and had a total change of attitude when he got back in the car. "Keep our fingers crossed," he smiled, his mood completely changed. Both Power and Hunter-Reay went into the race seeking their first career title, and Power said he watched on TV the closing laps unsure how it would end. He was cracking self-deprecating jokes when it was over, perhaps an unusual reaction for one of the most intense and driven drivers in the series. "Well, Ive done it for two years in a row, so Ive kind of learned how to cope with it," he said. ' ' '