• Beijing 2008

Beijing 2008 - Quick Hits

October 12, 2011

Beijing 2008:

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Weather Gods
Back in the old days we used to have to just cross our fingers that the sun would shine for the Olympic opening ceremonies. Not content to be at the mercy of the weather gods, the Chinese took matters into their own hands as they fired 1104 rain-dispersing rockets into the skies before the opening ceremony in Beijing on August 8. It was worth it, too, with 4000 performers and 29,000 fireworks kicking off the Games in style.

Chinese fortune
The eyes of the world were on China, and the athletes did not disappoint, topping the medals table with 51 golds and 100 medals in total. China may have stolen the show, but a record 86 different nations won a medal in Beijing. Not to be outdone, Team GB enjoyed their most successful Olympics in a century, finishing fourth in the medal table behind China, USA and Russia with 47 medals, 19 gold.

Lightning Bolt
Usain Bolt announced his arrival on the world stage with three gold medals (and three world records) in the Bird's Nest stadium. The Jamaican had the second-worse reaction time in the 100m final, yet still had time to glance casually to his side, seeing he was well ahead and ease down to the line, celebrating victory with his shoelace untied, all in a world-record time. It begs the question, how fast could Bolt run if he actually tried?

America's Golden boy If anyone came close to overshadowing Bolt in Beijing, it was swimmer Michael Phelps, who broke Mark Spitz's record for most gold medals in a single Games. His eight gold medals also took his career tally to a record 16 medals. Chances are he'll be back in 2012 to add to that tally, too.

Multi-talented
Britain's Rebecca Romero made history in Beijing as she became the first British woman to compete in two different sports at the Olympics when she won individual pursuit gold in the velodrome. It came after her silver medal in the women's quadruple sculls four years earlier - making her only the second woman in history (after Roswitha Krause of East Germany) to win a medal in two different sports at summer Olympics.

Bigger than a medal
On June 19, 2008, just one week before the US Olympic trials, swimmer Eric Shanteau was diagnosed with testicular cancer. However, he delayed surgery to compete in Beijing, claiming a personal best in the 200m breaststroke. He returned to the US for surgery and was declared in remission later that year. He returned to the pool in 2009 and has his sights set on a place at London 2012.

Du Toit's double
South African swimmer Natalie du Toit, whose left leg was amputated after a scooter accident in 2001, made history when she became the first amputee since 1936 to qualify for the Olympic Games. She placed 16th in the 10km open water swim before going on to win five gold medals in the Paralympic Games.

Ping pong is coming home
Who can forget Boris Johnson's cameo appearance at the closing ceremony? As China officially handed over the Olympic flag to 2012 hosts London, the Mayor of London claimed table tennis was invented in Britain.

"Ping pong was invented on the dining tables of England in the 19th century and it was called wiff waff," he said. "There I think you have the essential difference between us and the rest of world. Other nations, the French, looked at a dining table and saw an opportunity to have dinner. We looked at a dining table and saw an opportunity to play wiff waff. That is why London is the sporting capital of the world. And I say to the Chinese, and I say to the world: ping pong is coming home."

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