1.   Royal Athlete surpassed expectations in finishing third and advertised his Martell Grand National claims.

2.   Alonzo Mourning completed a Georgetown sweep by finishing third, despite missing much of the season because of a torn knee tendon.

3.   At the recent U.S. Table Tennis Trials in Flint, Mich., Cheng coached Todd Sweeris of Potomac, Md., who qualified for the Olympics by finishing third.

4.   Bela Karolyi, the U.S. coach, spoke of the bright side of finishing third in spite of the injuries.

5.   After decades of finishing third in the morning news-and-talk competition, behind ABC and NBC, CBS News has decided to run a different race.

6.   After finishing third in their first season in the Big Sky, most of the team returns for next season.

7.   But Garcia has a score to settle at Westchester, after losing a three-stroke lead last year with eight holes to play and finishing third.

8.   But Jones has been banging on that theme for months, with little result, and is now in danger of finishing third in the primary.

9.   But Kostner quickly dispelled such illusions by finishing third in the next downhill and then became a star with her medals in Lillehammer.

10.   But she has been sidelined because of a throat infection since finishing third to Banshee Breeze in the Alabama Stakes at Saratoga in August.