Staff writer

SYDNEY -- Reigning world champion Hidehiko Yoshida's quest for Olympic gold ended in heartbreak and pain Wednesday night when he dislocated his right elbow in a third-round loss to Pan American champion Carlos Honorato of Brazil.

Honorato went on to take the silver medal, conceding his last bout to Atlanta bronze medalist Mark Huizinga of the Netherlands, while Yoshida went to a Sydney hospital in fear he had broken his elbow joint. The Barcelona Olympic champion's right arm bent backward as he put his hand on the mat to try to protect himself as he was thrown over his head.

Yoshida, touted as a favorite for the gold in the under-90-kg class, lay on his back in pain for minutes with his right arm twisted unnaturally over his head, refusing to let officials or his coach move it.

Yoshida was eventually lifted onto a stretcher and carried off the mat to unanimous applause from the crowd at the Sydney Exhibition Center.

He was injected with a painkiller before climbing to his feet and walking out of the arena to further applause. He was then taken to a nearby hospital for X-rays but later discharged. Doctors expect it will take five weeks for his arm to heal.

The injury occurred when Honorato hooked his leg between Yoshida's and hoisted the 31-year-old over his body in an "uchimata" throw at the 4-minute, 17-second mark.

Yoshida sailed high in the air and instinctively flung his hand out to stop from crashing headfirst into the mat. Honorato was awarded an ippon to advance to a semifinal bout in which he defeated Fredric Demontfaucon of France. But he came unstuck in the final fight, attempting the same move that he had used to defeat Yoshida. The Dutch triple European champion and Royal Dutch Air Force officer managed to keep one foot on the ground, spun Honorato around and pushed him to the mat to win the gold by "ippon." Japan's other hope in Wednesday's tournament, Asian champion Masae Ueno, went down to Atlanta gold medalist Ulla Werbrouck of Belgium in her first repechage bout for bronze in the women's under-70-kg class.

Werbrouck, also a World Championship silver medalist, scored two "waza-ari" to end the match with an "awase-ippon" after 2 minutes and 21 seconds.

Ueno, fifth in last year's World Championships, was knocked out of the race for gold in the quarterfinals by European champion Ursula Martin of Spain, who defeated Werbrouck in her previous match. Ueno took the early lead over Martin but the towering Belgian, a full 21 cm taller than Ueno, evened the score and then hooked her leg around Ueno's -- swinging her to the mat to score a "soto-gari ippon" at the 2-minute, 50-second mark.

"I had expected to match up with Werbrouck and I did not know Martin," Ueno said after her second defeat.

Both of those women crashed out in the semifinals and again in the bronze-medal matches.

Martin first went down to Atlanta bronze medalist Kate Howey of Britain, while Cuban world champion Sibelis Veranes disposed of Werbrouck for the gold.