Reinstated Makhloufi wins 1,500m gold as Britain tops Beijing haul By George Burns, dpa

London (dpa) - Algerian Taoufik Makhloufi won 1,500-metres gold on Tuesday, a day after being kicked out of the London Games for not trying in another race, while hosts Britain topped their medal haul from Beijing with historic wins in cycling, dressage and triathlon.

China led the Olympics medals table on the 11th day of competition with 73 medals, 34 of them gold - but there were upsets for its athletes, including hurdling star Liu Xiang.

Liu met Olympic disaster again when he fell at the first hurdle in a 110-metres heat race, just four years after he crashed out in Beijing.

After hobbling to the end of the track to kiss the last hurdle, the former world record holder and 2004 gold medallist was taken off in a wheel chair with a suspected Achilles heel rupture.

Russian Ilya Zakharov also prevented China from making a clean sweep in the diving competition, taking gold with a score of 555.90 points in the men‘s 3-metre springboard competition. China has won five out of six possible golds in the diving.

The 1,500m win by Makhloufi is sure to raise eyebrows. He was disqualified on Monday after not making an effort in his 800m heat but reinstated after Olympic doctors confirmed that he was suffering from a "painful injury."

World champion Sally Pearson of Australia overcame 2008 gold medallist Dawn Harper to win 100m hurdles gold, while Robert Harting added Olympic discus gold to his two world titles.

A successful day for Britain meant they topped their medal haul from Beijing, where they won 19 golds and 47 in total. The hosts consolidated their third place in the medals table with 48 medals, 22 of them gold.

Cyclist Sir Chris Hoy became the first Briton to win six Olympic golds when he won the men‘s keirin event. The 36-year-old‘s victory gave him a second gold of the Games, to add to his three from Beijing four years ago and one from Athens in 2004.

"This is enough for me, this is the perfect end to my Olympic career," said Hoy, who was in tears as he accepted his medal.

Earlier Laura Trott produced a stunning finish to edge out American Sarah Hammer for victory in the women‘s omnium.

But their was also disappointment for Britain on the track, where they have won seven gold medals this Games, when Victoria Pendleton was beaten to the top of the podium in the women‘s sprint by long-time rival Australian Anna Meares.

Earlier brothers Alistair and Jonny Brownlee became the first Britons ever to win a medal in the men‘s triathlon, taking gold and bronze respectively in a packed Hyde Park. Spain‘s Javier Gomez took silver.

"To get two British brothers on the podium, you could not ask for more," said Alistair Brownlee.

Britain even managed to break Germany‘s stranglehold on the team dressage event, which Germany has won since 1976. Tuesday‘s win by Carl Hester, Laura Bechtolsheimer and Charlotte Dujardin also gave the hosts their first-ever medal in a dressage event.

On the final day of the artistic gymnastics competition China‘s Feng Zhe won the men‘s parallel bars and compatriot Deng Linlin the women‘s balance beam. That left China top of the gymnastics medals table with four gold medals out of a possible 14.

However it was a Dutchman who won the loudest cheers. Epke Zonderland produced a stunning routine on the horizontal bars to claim gold with a score of 16.533 points. His gold was only the second medal the Netherlands has ever won in gymnastics.

Another Dutchman, Dorian van Rijsselberge, and a Spaniard, Marina Alabau Neira, became the last Olympic gold medal winners in windsurfing, which is to be replaced by kitesurfing in 2016.

Meanwhile, seven Cameroon athletes - a female goalkeeper, five boxers and a swimmer - were reported to have absconded in order to pursue the opportunity for greater financial rewards in Europe.

"In terms of winning medals, Cameroon is right at the bottom of the table," Cameroon website camer.be said. "But in terms of runaways, our country takes the gold." dpa hl