Toward the end of the gripping final, Frangilli said he heard the crowd noise after Galiazzo scored an eight on his last shot. When Frangilli stepped up for his final shot there was ''incredible pressure'' and he tried to ''empty his head a little bit,'' knowing he needed a 10 for the victory.

''I really tried to find the right technique, and I knew I hit the golden area,'' he said. ''When I heard 10, I was obviously very, very happy.''

In their victory over South Korea in the semifinal, the Americans started slowly but were able to come back, 224-219. Not the case against the Italians. The Americans pulled within 165-163 at the end of the third round.

''For some reason it's just kind of something we've been doing lately,'' Ellison said, referring to recent slow starts, adding that three of the Americans' arrows missed a 10-score by a quarter inch.

Italy beat Mexico 217-215 to make the final. The top-ranked South Koreans beat Mexico 224-219 for their bronze after falling to the Americans by five points in the semifinals. South Korea was led by Im Dong-hyun, the visually impaired archer who set the first world record of the games Friday, breaking his own mark in the 72-arrow event and helping to set a team record in the opening round.

One thing that surprised the Americans: Yes, those Olympic medals have some heft. Ellison quipped that he ''could do a workout with this thing,'' as his teammates looked down at the medals dangling from their necks.

And apparently they'll all keep them in the same place: Their respective sock drawers.

''It's not all that life is about,'' Kaminski said. ''It's something that I'm going to keep close to me. And I don't need to shout about it.''