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2008 SUMMER OLYMPICS

The "Dancing Beijing" emblem, depicting

a Chinese seal inscribed with the

character "Jīng" (京, from the name of the

host city) in the form of a dancing figure.

Host city Beijing, China

Motto 同一个世界 同一个梦想

(One World, One Dream)

Nations participating 204 NOCs (See below)

Athletes participating 11,028[1]

Events 302 in 28 sports

Opening ceremony August 8

Closing ceremony August 24

Officially opened by President Hu Jintao

Athlete's Oath Zhang Yining

Judge's Oath Huang Liping

Olympic Torch Li Ning

Stadium Beijing National Stadium

This article contains Chinese text. Without proper

rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or

other symbols instead of Chinese characters.

The 2008 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXIX

Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing,

China, from August 8 (except football, which started on August 6) to August 24,

2008. A total of 10,500 athletes competed in 302 events in 28 sports, one event

more than was on the schedule of the 2004 Games.[2]

The 2008 Beijing Olympics

marked the first occasion that either the Summer or Winter Games were hosted in

China, making it the 22nd nation to do so. It also became the third time that

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Olympic events have been held in the territories of two different National Olympic

Committees (NOC), as the equestrian events were being held in Hong Kong.[3]

The Olympic Games were awarded to Beijing after an exhaustive ballot of the

International Olympic Committee (IOC) on July 13, 2001. The official logo of the

Games, titled "Dancing Beijing", features a stylised calligraphic character jīng (京,

meaning capital), referring to the host city. Several new NOCs have also been

recognised by the IOC.

The Chinese government promoted the Games and invested heavily in new

facilities and transportation systems.[4][5]

A total of 37 venues were used to host

the events including 12 newly constructed venues. At the closing ceremony IOC

president Jacques Rogge declared the event a "truly exceptional Games" after

earlier asserting that the IOC had "absolutely no regrets" in choosing Beijing to

host the 2008 Games.[6]

The choice of China as a host country was the subject of

criticism by some politicians and NGOs concerned about China's human rights

record.[7][8]

China and others, meanwhile, warned against politicizing the

Olympics.[9][10]

The Games saw 43 new world records and 132 new Olympic records set.[11]

A

record 87 countries won a medal during the Games. Chinese athletes won 51 gold

medals altogether, the second largest haul by a national team in a modern, non-

boycotted Summer Games.[12][13]

Michael Phelps broke the record for most golds in

one Olympics and for most career gold medals for an Olympian. Usain Bolt secured

the traditional title "World's Fastest Man" by setting new world records in the

100m and 200m sprints.

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Bid

Main article: 2008

Summer Olympics bids

Beijing was elected the host

city on July 13, 2001, during

the 112th IOC Session in

Moscow, defeating Toronto,

Paris, Istanbul, and Osaka.

Prior to the session, five other

cities (Bangkok, Cairo, Havana, Kuala Lumpur, and Seville) submitted bids to the

IOC but failed to make the short list in 2000. After the first round of voting, Beijing

held a significant lead over the other four candidates. Osaka received only six

votes and was eliminated. In the second round, Beijing was supported by an

absolute majority of voters, eliminating the need for subsequent rounds.[14]

After winning the bid, Li Lanqing, the vice premier of China, declared "The winning

of the 2008 Olympic bid is an example of the international recognition of China's

social stability, economic progress and the healthy life of the Chinese people."

Eight years earlier, Beijing led every round of voting for the Games of the XXVII

Olympiad, but lost in the final round to Sydney by just two votes.

Development and preparation

2008 Summer Olympics

� Bid process (Beijing bid)

� Venues

� Marketing

� Concerns and controversies

� Torch relay (route)

� Opening ceremony (flag bearers)

� Medal table (medalists)

� Events

� Chronological summary

� Closing ceremony

� Paralympics (medal table)

IOC · COC · SF&OCHK · BOCOG

A total of an estimated US$42 billion were spent on the 2008 Olympic games in

Beijing, making it the most expensive games ever; the British Olympic Association

has announced that no more than US$19 billion will be spent on the 2012 Summer

2008 Summer Olympics bidding results

City NOC Round 1 Round 2

Beijing China 44 56

Toronto Canada 20 22

Paris France 15 18

Istanbul Turkey 17 9

Osaka Japan 6 —

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Olympics in London, while the 2000 Sydney Olympics and 2004 Athens Olympics

cost US$7 billion and US$15 billion respectively.[15]

Venues

Main articles: 2008 Summer Olympics venues and Olympic Green

By May 2007, construction of all 31 Beijing-based Olympic Games venues had

begun.[16]

The Chinese government has also invested in the renovation and

construction of six venues outside Beijing as well as 59 training centres. Its largest

architectural pieces are the Beijing National Stadium, Beijing National Indoor

Stadium, Beijing National Aquatics Center, Olympic Green Convention Center,

Olympic Green, and Beijing Wukesong Culture & Sports Center. Almost 85% of the

construction budget for the six main venues was funded by US$2.1 billion

(RMB¥17.4 billion) in corporate bids and tenders. Investments were expected from

corporations seeking ownership rights after the 2008 Summer Olympics. Some

venues will be owned and governed by the State General Administration of Sports,

which will use them after the Olympics as facilities for all future national sports

teams and events. The 2008 Beijing Olympics are the most expensive Games in

history with a total of $40.9 billion spent between 2001 and 2007 on

infrastructure, energy, transportation and water supply projects.[17]

Some events were held outside Beijing, namely football in Qinhuangdao, Shanghai,

Shenyang, and Tianjin; sailing in Qingdao; and, because of "uncertainties of equine

diseases and major difficulties in establishing a disease-free zone", equestrian in

Hong Kong.[18]

Beijing National Stadium

Main article: Beijing National Stadium

The Beijing National Stadium

The centrepiece of the 2008 Summer Olympics is the Beijing National Stadium,

nicknamed the Bird's Nest because of its nest-like skeletal structure.[19]

Construction of the venue began on December 24, 2003. The Guangdong Olympic

Stadium was originally planned, constructed, and completed in 2001 to help host

the Games, but a decision was made to construct a new stadium in Beijing.[20][21]

Government officials engaged architects worldwide in a design competition. A

Swiss firm, Herzog & de Meuron Architekten AG, collaborated with China

Architecture Design & Research Group to win the competition. The stadium

features a lattice-like steel outer skeleton around the concrete stadium bowl and

has a seating capacity of over 90,000 people. Architects originally described the

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overall design as resembling a bird nest with an immense ocular opening with a

retractable roof over the stadium. However, in 2004, the idea of the retractable

roof was abandoned for economic and safety reasons. The Beijing National

Stadium was the site of the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as the

athletics events and soccer finals.

The Beijing Olympic Village opened on July 16, 2008 and to the public on July 26,

2008.

Transport

A map of the Olympic venues in Beijing. Several expressways encircle the center of

the city, providing for quick transportation around the city and between venues.

To prepare for Olympic visitors, Beijing's transportation infrastructure was

expanded significantly. Beijing's airport underwent a major expansion, adding the

new Terminal 3, the world's largest airport terminal, designed by renowned

architect Norman Foster.[22]

On August 1, Beijing south railway station was

reopened after two years of construction. The 120-km long Beijing–Tianjin

Intercity Rail, which opened on the same day, connects the new railway station

with Olympic co-host city Tianjin with the world's fastest scheduled train service at

350 km/h.

Within the city itself, Beijing's subway expanded to more than double its capacity

and overall size, adding an additional 7 lines and 80 stations to the previously

existing 4 lines and 64 stations, including a new link connecting directly to the

city's airport. Also, a fleet of thousands of buses, minibuses and official cars

transported spectators, athletes and officials between venues.[23][24]

A temporary road space rationing based on plate numbers was in effect during the

Games in an effort to improve air quality.[25]

In addition, 300,000 heavy-polluting

vehicles have been banned from operating within the city, and entry into Beijing

by vehicles has been strictly limited. These restrictions are enforced from July 20

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to September 20.[26][dead link]

Passenger vehicle restrictions are placed on alternate

days depending on the plates ending in odd or even numbers. This measure is

expected to take 45% of Beijing's 3.3 million cars off the streets. The boosted

public transport network is expected to absorb the demand created by these

restrictions and the influx of visitors, which is estimated at more than 4 million

extra passengers per day.[27][26]

Marketing

Main article: 2008 Summer Olympics marketing

The 2008 Summer Olympics emblem is known as Dancing Beijing (simplified

Chinese: 舞动的北京). The emblem combines a traditional Chinese red seal and a

representation of the calligraphic character jīng (京, "national capital", also the

second character of Beijing's Chinese name) with athletic features. The open arms

of the calligraphic word symbolises the invitation of China to the world to share in

its culture. IOC president Jacques Rogge was very happy with the emblem, saying,

"Your new emblem immediately conveys the awesome beauty and power of China

which are embodied in your heritage and your people."[28]

The slogan for the 2008 Olympics is "One World, One Dream" (simplified Chinese:

同一个世界 同一个梦想; traditional Chinese: 同一個世界 同一個夢想; pinyin:

Tóng Yíge Shìjiè Tóng Yíge Mèngxiǎng.)[29]

The slogan calls upon the whole world to

join in the Olympic spirit and build a better future for humanity. It was chosen

from over 210,000 entries submitted from around the world.[19]

The mascots of Beijing 2008 were the five Fuwa,[30]

each representing both a

colour of the Olympic rings and a symbol of Chinese culture.

Broadcasting

Further information: 2008 Summer Olympics broadcasting

The 2008 Games were the first to be produced and broadcast entirely in high

definition television by the host broadcaster. In comparison, American broadcaster

NBC broadcasted only half of the Turin Winter Games produced in HD.[31][32]

In

their bid for the Olympic Games in 2001, Beijing confirmed to the Olympic

Evaluation Commission "that there will be no restrictions on media reporting and

movement of journalists up to and including the Olympic Games,"[33]

but according

to a report in The New York Times, "these promises have been contradicted by

strict visa rules, lengthy application processes and worries about censorship."[34]

According to Nielsen Media Research, 4.7 billion viewers worldwide tuned in to

some of the television coverage, one-fifth larger than the 3.9 billion who watched

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the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. The 2008 Olympics was the most-viewed

event in American television history.[35]

Online coverage

American broadcaster NBC produced only 2 hours of online streaming video for

the 2006 Winter Games but produced approximately 2,200 hours of coverage for

the 2008 Summer Games. For the first time "live online video rights in some

markets for the Olympics have been separately negotiated, not part of the overall

'broadcast rights,'"; these new media of the digital economy are growing "nine

times faster than the rest of the advertising market."[36]

Globally, however, the 2008 Olympics is subject to extensive copyright

restriction –which amounts to territorial restrictions– whilst still being covered

extensively online within various exclusive copyright autarkies. Thus despite the

international nature of the event and the global reach of the Internet, the

coverage world wide of assorted nation-states and television networks is not

readily accessible; there is no global or supranational media coverage as such. The

international European Broadcasting Union (EBU), for example, provides live

coverage and highlights of all arenas only for certain of its own territories[37]

on

their website eurovisionsports.tv.[38]

Many national broadcasters likewise restrict

online events to their domestic audiences.[39]

Despite the contractual obligations of the digital economy, some of the same

technologies used to circumvent the Great Firewall of China (such as UltraSurf) can

be used to subvert the Olympic media autarkies on the Internet as well.

YouTube has removed a video of a regional German network's (NDR) coverage of

the opening ceremonies as "This video is no longer available due to a copyright

claim by a third party.[40][41]

; a video from Australia's Seven Network has been

removed "for violation of terms of service". Furthermore, the General National

Copyright Administration of China has announced that "individual (sic) and

websites will face fines as high as 100,000 yuan for uploading recordings of

Olympic Games video to the internet,"[42]

part of an extensive campaign to protect

the pertinent intellectual property rights.[43][44][45]

Torch relay

2008 Olympic Torch

Main articles: 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay and 2008 Summer

Olympics torch relay route

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The design of the Olympic Torch is based on traditional scrolls and uses a

traditional Chinese design known as the "Propitious Clouds" (祥云). The torch is

designed to remain lit in 65 km/h (40 mph) winds, temperatures as low as -40°C

and in rain of up to 50 mm (2 in) per hour.

The relay, with the theme Journey of Harmony, lasted 130 days and carried the

torch 137,000 km (85,000 mi)—the longest distance of any Olympic torch relay

since the tradition began at the 1936 Berlin Games.[46][47]

The torch relay was

called a "public relations disaster" for China by The Times,[48]

with protests of

China's human rights record, particularly about Tibet.

Route of the 2008 Olympic Torch Relay

The relay began March 24, 2008, in Olympia, Greece. From there, it traveled across

Greece to Panathinaiko Stadium in Athens, and then to Beijing, arriving on March

31. From Beijing, the torch followed a route passing through every continent

except Antarctica. The torch visited cities on the Silk Road, symbolizing ancient

links between China and the rest of the world. A total of 21,880 torchbearers were

selected from around the world by various organizations and entities.[49]

The international portion of the relay was problematic. The month-long world tour

saw wide-scale protests to China's human rights abuses and recent crackdown in

Tibet. After trouble in London saw several attempts to put out the flame, the flame

was extinguished in Paris the following day.[50]

The American leg in San Francisco

on April 9 was altered without prior warning to avoid such scenes, although there

were still demonstrations along the original route.[51]

The relay was further

delayed and simplified after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake affecting western China.

The flame was carried to the top of Mount Everest[49]

on a 108 km (67 mi) long

"highway" scaling the Tibetan side of the mountain especially built for the relay.

The $19.7 million blacktop project spanned from Tingri County of Xigazê

Prefecture to the Everest Base Camp.[52]

In 2008 March, China banned

mountaineers from climbing its side of Mount Everest and later persuaded the

Nepalese government to close their side as well, officially citing environmental

concerns.[53]

It also reflected concerns by the Chinese government that Tibet

activists may try to disrupt its plans to carry the Olympic torch up the world's

tallest peak.[54]

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The originally proposed route would have seen the torch carried through Taipei

after leaving Vietnam and before heading for Hong Kong. Taiwan authorities (then

led by the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party), however,

objected to this proposal, claiming that this route would make the portion of the

relay in Taiwan appear to be part of the torch's domestic journey through China,

rather than a leg on the international route.[55]

This dispute as well as demands

that the flag of the Republic of China and the National Anthem of the Republic of

China be banned along the route[56]

led the Taiwan authorities to reject the

proposal that it be part of the relay route, and the two sides of the Taiwan Strait

subsequently blamed each other for injecting politics into the event.[57]

The Games

Further information: 2008 Summer Olympics highlights, 2008 Summer

Olympics medal table, and 2008 Summer Olympics medal winners

Opening ceremony

A scene from the opening ceremony.

Main article: 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony

The opening ceremony held in the Beijing National Stadium. It began at 8:00 pm

China Standard Time (UTC+8) on August 8, 2008.[58][59][60]

The number 8 is

associated with prosperity and confidence in Chinese culture, and here it was a

triple eight for the date and one extra for time (close to 08:08:08 pm).[61]

The

ceremony was co-directed by Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou and Chinese

choreographer Zhang Jigang.[62]

It featured a cast of over 15,000 performers, and

was dubbed beforehand as "the most spectacular Olympics Opening Ceremony

ever produced".[63]

A rich assembly of ancient Chinese art and culture dominated the ceremony. It

opened with the beating of Fou drums for the countdown. Subsequently, a giant

scroll was unveiled and became the show's centerpiece. The official song of the

2008 Olympics, titled You and Me, was performed by Britain's Sarah Brightman

and China's Liu Huan, on a large spinning rendition of the globe.[64]

The last

recipient in the Olympic Torch relay, former Chinese gymnast Li Ning ignited the

cauldron, after being suspended into the air by wires and completing a lap of the

National Stadium at Stadium roof height in the air.

The entry parade of the competing athletes differed in order from previous

Olympic ceremonies, as the national teams did not enter in alphabetical order by

the host nation's alphabet. Since Chinese does not have an alphabet, teams

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entered the stadium in order (lowest first) of the number of strokes in their

Simplified Chinese character transcriptions; this is a common collation method for

the Chinese language, such as the surname stroke order system. As a result,

Australia (normally one of the first teams to enter the stadium) became one of the

final teams to arrive, as the first character of the Chinese name of Australia

(澳大利亚) has 16 strokes. The Olympic traditions of Greece entering first and the

host nation (China) entering last were still observed.

The opening ceremony was lauded by spectators and various international presses

as spectacular and spellbinding.[65]

Hein Verbruggen, chairman of the IOC

Coordination Commission for the XXIX Olympiad, called the ceremony "a grand,

unprecedented success."[66]

A review of the opening ceremony from around the

world called it "spectacular and devoid of politics".[67]

It was deemed that the real

fireworks were too dangerous to film from a helicopter; as such, some footage

were generated to provide simulated aerial shots of the scene. Another cosmetic

enhancement in China's quest for a "perfect" Summer Games was using 9-year-old

Lin Miaoke to lip-sync over the singing voice of Yang Peiyi for the opening

ceremony song Ode to the Motherland. Miss Yang, 7, had reportedly won a

"grueling" competition to be chosen as the performer, but was considered to be

insufficiently photogenic, and a member of the Politburo who oversaw the final

preparations ordered that Miss Lin appear in Miss Yang's place. [68]

Another

portion of the ceremony featured 56 children carrying a large Chinese flag, with 55

of them dressed in traditional costumes of the ethnic minorities of China. The

children wearing the ethnic minority costumes were described in the official

program as members of these minorities, but it was later revealed that they were

actually Han Chinese. [69]

More than 100 sovereigns, heads of state and heads of government as well as 170

Ministers of Sport attended the Beijing Olympic Games.[70]

Closing ceremony

Main article: 2008 Summer Olympics closing ceremony

The 2008 Summer Olympics Closing Ceremony concluded the Beijing Games on

August 24, 2008. It began at 8:00pm China Standard Time (UTC+8), and took place

at the Beijing National Stadium.

The Ceremony included the handover of the Games from Beijing to London. Guo

Jinlong, the Mayor of Beijing handed over the Olympic flag to the Mayor of London

Boris Johnson, followed by a performance organized by the London Organising

Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG).

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Participating NOCs

Participating nations

TPE

All but one (Brunei) of the current 205 National Olympic Committees (NOCs)[71]

participated. China and the United States had the largest teams, with 639 and

596[72][73]

competitors respectively. Several countries were represented at the

Games by a single athlete.

Three countries participated for their first time: the Marshall Islands, Montenegro

and Tuvalu.

South African swimmer Natalie du Toit, five time gold medalist at the Athens

Paralympics in 2004, qualified to compete at the Beijing Olympics, thus making

history by becoming the first amputee to qualify for the Olympic Games since

Olivér Halassy in 1936.[74][75]

Natalia Partyka (who was born without a right

forearm) competed in Table Tennis for Poland.[76]

As in the previous Games since 1984, athletes from the Republic of China (Taiwan)

are competing at the Olympics as Chinese Taipei (TPE)[77]

under the Chinese Taipei

Olympic flag and using the National Banner Song as their official anthem. The

participation of Taiwan had been in doubt due to disagreements over the

designation of the team in the Chinese language, and concerns that Taiwan would

march in the Opening Ceremony next to the Chinese Special Administrative Region

of Hong Kong.[78]

Unlike in previous games, supporters were not able to legally

display the flag of the Republic of China even outside the venues.

List of Participating NOCs

Below is a list of all the participating NOCs (the number of competitors per

delegation is indicated in parentheses)

• Afghanistan (4)

• Albania (11)

• Gabon (4)

• Gambia (3)

• Niger (5)

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• Algeria (62)

• American

Samoa (5)

• Andorra (5)

• Angola (32)

• Antigua and

Barbuda (5)

• Argentina (137)

• Armenia (25)

• Aruba (2)

• Australia (433)

• Austria (72)

• Azerbaijan (39)

• Bahamas (19)

• Bahrain (15)

• Bangladesh (5)

• Barbados (6)

• Belarus (181)

• Belgium (96)

• Belize (3)

• Benin (5)

• Bermuda (6)

• Bhutan (2)

• Bolivia (6)

• Bosnia and

Herzegovina (5)

• Botswana (12)

• Brazil (277)

• British Virgin

Islands (2)

• Bulgaria (72)

• Burkina Faso (6)

• Burundi (3)

• Cambodia (4)

• Cameroon (33)

• Canada (332)

• Cape Verde (3)

• Cayman

Islands (4)

• Central African

Republic (3)

• Chad (2)

• Chile (27)

• Georgia (35)

• Germany (463)

• Ghana (9)

• Great

Britain (312)

• Greece (159)

• Grenada (9)

• Guam (5)

• Guatemala (12)

• Guinea (5)

• Guinea-Bissau (3)

• Guyana (5)

• Haiti (10)

• Honduras (25)

• Hong Kong,

China (34)

• Hungary (171)

• Iceland (28)

• India (57)

• Indonesia (24)

• Iran (55)

• Iraq (4)

• Ireland (54)

• Israel (43)

• Italy (344)

• Jamaica (56)

• Japan (351)

• Jordan (7)

• Kazakhstan (132)

• Kenya (56)

• Kiribati (2)

• North Korea (63)

• South Korea (267)

• Kuwait (6)

• Kyrgyzstan (21)

• Laos (4)

• Latvia (50)

• Lebanon (5)

• Lesotho (4)

• Liberia (3)

• Libya (7)

• Liechtenstein (2)

• Lithuania (71)

• Nigeria (33)

• Norway (85)

• Oman (5)

• Pakistan (21)

• Palau (5)

• Palestine (4)

• Panama (3)

• Papua New

Guinea (7)

• Paraguay (5)

• Peru (12)

• Philippines (15)

• Poland (268)

• Portugal (77)

• Puerto Rico (22)

• Qatar (22)

• Romania (102)

• Russia (467)

• Rwanda (4)

• Saint Kitts and

Nevis (4)

• Saint Lucia (6)

• Saint Vincent and

the Grenadines (2)

• São Tomé and

Príncipe (3)

• Samoa (6)

• San Marino (4)

• Saudi Arabia (16)

• Senegal (12)

• Serbia (92)

• Seychelles (8)

• Sierra Leone (3)

• Singapore (25)

• Slovakia (57)

• Slovenia (62)

• Solomon

Islands (3)

• Somalia (2)

• South Africa (136)

• Spain (286)

• Sri Lanka (8)

• Sudan (8)

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• China (639)

• Chinese

Taipei (80)

• Colombia (64)

• Comoros (3)

• DR Congo (5)

• Congo (3)

• Cook Islands (4)

• Costa Rica (8)

• Côte d'Ivoire (20)

• Croatia (105)

• Cuba (149)

• Cyprus (17)

• Czech

Republic (134)

• Denmark (84)

• Djibouti (2)

• Dominica (2)

• Dominican

Republic (25)

• Ecuador (25)

• Egypt (103)

• El Salvador (11)

• Equatorial

Guinea (3)

• Eritrea (9)

• Estonia (47)

• Ethiopia (22)

• Fiji (6)

• Finland (58)

• France (323)

• FS

Micronesia (15)

• FYR

Macedonia (7)

• Luxembourg (12)

• Madagascar (4)

• Malawi (4)

• Malaysia (33)

• Maldives (4)

• Mali (17)

• Malta (6)

• Marshall

Islands (5)

• Mauritania (2)

• Mauritius (12)

• Mexico (85)

• Moldova (31)

• Monaco (5)

• Mongolia (29)

• Montenegro (31)

• Morocco (57)

• Mozambique (5)

• Myanmar (6)

• Namibia (9)

• Nauru (1)

• Nepal (8)

• Netherlands (245)

• Netherlands

Antilles (3)

• New

Zealand (182)

• Nicaragua (6)

• Suriname (4)

• Swaziland (4)

• Sweden (134)

• Switzerland (84)

• Syria (8)

• Tajikistan (13)

• Tanzania (10)

• Thailand (51)

• Timor-Leste (2)

• Togo (3)

• Tonga (3)

• Trinidad and

Tobago (30)

• Tunisia (32)

• Turkey (68) •

Turkmenistan (10)

• Tuvalu (3)

• Uganda (15)

• Ukraine (254)[80]

• United Arab

Emirates (8)

• United

States (596)

• Uruguay (12)

• Uzbekistan (58)

• Vanuatu (3)

• Venezuela (109)

• Vietnam (21)

• Virgin Islands (5)

• Yemen (5)

• Zambia (8)

• Zimbabwe (13)

Participation changes

The Marshall Islands and Tuvalu gained National Olympic Committee status in

2006 and 2007 respectively, and participated in the Games.[81][82]

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The states of Serbia and Montenegro, which participated at the 2004 Games

jointly as Serbia and Montenegro, are now competing separately. The

Montenegrin Olympic Committee was accepted as a new National Olympic

Committee in 2007.[82]

After the declaration of independence in Kosovo, IOC

specified the requirements that Kosovo needs to meet before being recognised by

the IOC; most notably, it has to be recognised as independent by the United

Nations.[83]

North Korea and South Korea held meetings to discuss the possibility of sending a

united team to the 2008 Olympics,[84][85]

but the proposal failed, due to

disagreements between the two NOCs on the proportion of athletes from the two

countries within the team.[citation needed]

On July 24, 2008, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) banned Iraq from

competing in the 2008 Olympic Summer Games due to "political interference by

the government in sports."[86][87]

On July 29, the IOC reversed its decision and

allowed the nation to compete after a pledge by Iraq to ensure "the independence

of its national Olympics panel" by instituting fair elections before the end of

November. Until then, Iraq's Olympic Organisation will be run by "an interim

committee proposed by its national sports federations and approved by the

IOC."[88]

Brunei Darussalam were due to take part in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.

However, they were disqualified on August 8, having failed to register either of

their athletes.[89]

The IOC spokeswoman Emmanuelle Moreau said in a statement

that "it is a great shame and very sad for the athletes who lose out because of the

decision by their team not to register them. The IOC tried up until the last minute,

midday Friday August 8, 2008, the day of the official opening, to have them

register, but to no avail."[90]

Brunei's Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports

submitted a Press release why Brunei decided not to participate in Beijing, stated

that "one athlete competing in the shot putt event Mohd Yazid Yatimi Yusof (who)

has undergone intensive training since March ... injured himself in June (right

liotibial strain with mild lateral ministrial knee injury), when he was competing in

the Pesta Sukan Kebangsaan (National Sports Festival)". The Brunei Darussalam

Olympic Council (BNOC) issued a Press release stating that "it had to wait for

approval from the Youth and Sports Department under the Ministry of Culture,

Youth and Sports as to whether Brunei Darussalam could be represented at the

Olympic Games".[91]

It is also noted that the withdrawal can lead Brunei to being

sanctioned and appropriate action will be taken after the closing of the Olympics

on August 24.[92]

Georgia announced on August 9, 2008 that it was considering withdrawing from

the Beijing Olympic Games due to the military conflict in South Ossetia.[93]

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Sports

Inside Beijing National Stadium during the Games. Olympic torch in background.

The program for the Beijing 2008 Games was quite similar to that of the 2004

Summer Olympics held in Athens. The 2008 Olympics saw the return of 28 sports

(some of which, such as aquatics, gymnastics and cycling, were divided into

multiple disciplines), and held 302 events (165 men's events, 127 women's events,

and 10 mixed events), one event more in total than in Athens.

Overall, 9 new events were held, which included 2 from the new cycling discipline

of BMX. Women competed in the 3000 m steeplechase for the first time. In

addition, marathon open water swimming events for men and women, over the

distance of 10 kilometres, were added to the swimming discipline. Team events

(men and women) in table tennis replaced the doubles events. In fencing,

women's team foil and women's team sabre replaced men's team foil and

women's team épée.[94][95][96][97]

In 2006, the Beijing Organizing Committee released pictograms of 35 Olympic

disciplines (for some multi-discipline sports, such as cycling, a single pictogram was

released).[98][99]

This set of sport icons is named the beauty of seal characters, due

to each pictogram's likeness to Chinese seal script.

In addition to the official Olympic sports, the Beijing Organising Committee was

given special dispensation by the IOC to run a wushu competition in parallel to the

Games. The Wushu Tournament Beijing 2008 saw 128 athletes from 43 countries

participate, with medals awarded in 15 separate events; however, these were not

to be added to the official medal tally since Wushu was not on the programme of

the 2008 Olympic Games.[101]

Calendar

In the following calendar for the 2008 Olympic Games, each blue box represents

an event competition, such as a qualification round, on that day. The yellow boxes

represent days during which medal-awarding finals for a sport are held. Each bullet

in these boxes is an event final, the number of bullets per box representing the

number of finals that was contested on that day.[102]

Medal table

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The reverse side of the medals of the 2008 Summer Olympics: silver (left), gold

(center), bronze (right). Each medal has a ring of jade.

Main article: 2008 Summer Olympics medal table

The top ten ranked NOCs at these Games are listed below. (Host nation is

highlighted)

Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total

1 China (CHN) 51 21 28 100

2 United

States (USA) 36 38 36 110

3 Russia (RUS) 23 21 28 72

4 Great

Britain (GBR) 19 13 15 47

5 Germany (GER) 16 10 15 41

6 Australia (AUS) 14 15 17 46

7 South Korea (KOR) 13 10 8 31

8 Japan (JPN) 9 6 10 25

9 Italy (ITA) 8 10 10 28

10 France (FRA) 7 16 17 40

Concerns and controversies

The banner reads: "Human Rights Abuse Cannot Co-exist with Beijing Olympics",

picture taken during the opening of the Human Rights Torch Relay event

Main article: Concerns and controversies over the 2008 Summer Olympics

A variety of concerns over the Games, or China's hosting of the Games, have been

expressed by various entities; including allegations that China violated its pledge to

allow open media access,[103]

various alleged human rights violations,[104][105][106]

air

pollution in both the city of Beijing and in neighbouring areas,[107][108]

proposed

boycotts,[109][110]

warnings of the possibility that the Beijing Olympics could be

targeted by terrorist groups,[111]

potentially violent disruption from pro-Tibetan

protesters,[112]

religious persecutions,[113]

the banning of ethnic Tibetans from

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working in Beijing for the duration of the Games,[114]

criticisms of policies

mandating the electronic surveillance of internationally owned hotels,[115][116][117]

displacement of residents,[118]

ticket adversities,[119]

manhandling of foreign

journalists,[120][121]

dubious protest zones,[122]

as well as alleged harassment, house

arrests, forced disappearances, imprisonment, and torture of dissidents and

protest applicants.[123][124][125][126][120][127][128]

Furthermore, there are allegations that some members of China's women's

gymnastics team were too young to compete under the Fédération Internationale

de Gymnastique's rules for Olympic eligibility.[129]

On August 21, the IOC ordered a

probe into the legal ages of double gold medal winning gymnast He Kexin and her

fellow teammates.[130]

After a five and a half week investigation, the Chinese

gymnasts were deemed eligible to compete and the original results were allowed

to stand.[131]

In the lead-up to the Olympics, the government allegedly issued guidelines to the

local media for their reporting during the Games: most political issues not directly

related to the games were to be downplayed; topics such as Pro-Tibetan

independence and East Turkestan movements were not to be reported on, as

were food safety issues such as "cancer-causing mineral water."[132]

As the 2008

baby milk scandal broke in September 2008, there was widespread speculation

that China's desire for a perfect games may have been a factor contributing

towards the delayed recall of contaminated infant formula.[133][134]

Legacy

In the short term, the 2008 Olympic Games have been generally accepted by the

world's media as a logistic success.[135]

Contrary to fears before the game, no

terrorists struck Beijing; no athlete protested at the podium; and thanks largely to

favorable weather conditions the city had the best air quality in ten years,[136][137]

though this is not to say that it was completely acceptable as the air quality was a

great concern before and during the games.

For the Chinese government, the Olympic events, as well as the medals won by

Chinese athletes, were a great source of national pride. The Olympics seem to

have also bolstered some domestic support for the Chinese government, and

support for the policies of the Communist Party of China, giving rise to concerns

that the state will possibly have more leverage to disperse dissent, at least

momentarily.[138]

The long-term economic impact is not yet clear, but it is generally expected that

there will be no lasting effect on the city due to the games.

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Abhinav Bindra (Punjabi: ����� ������, born September 28, 1982[1]) is an

Indian shooter from Zirakpur, Mohali, Punjab and is the current World and

Olympic champion in the 10 m Air Rifle event. By winning the gold in the 10 m Air

Rifle event at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, he became the first Indian to win

an individual gold medal at the Olympic Games and India's first gold medal since

1980, when the Men's Field Hockey Team won the gold.[2][3]

Career

Early years

Abhinav Bindra was born in an affluent Sikh Punjabi family.[4] His parents, Dr. AS

and Babli Bindra, even had an indoor shooting range installed at their home in

Punjab.[5][6] Bindra's potential talent was first spotted by his first coach Lt. Col.

J.S. Dhillon[7][8]. Bindra was the youngest Indian participant at the 2000 Olympic

Games.[6] His current coach is Gabriela Buhlmann from Basel, Switzerland, with

whom he trained in Germany before the Olympics. In the 2000 Olympics he

achieved a score of 590 placing him 11th in the qualification round, and did not

qualify for the finals since only the top 8 compete in the finals.[9]

International performance

Bindra won six medals at various international meets in 2001. In the 10 m Air rifle

event at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, Manchester, he won Gold in the Pairs

event and Silver in the individual event.

At the 2004 Olympic Games, he scored 597 in the qualification round and was

placed third behind Qinan Zhu (599 - Olympic Record) and Li Jie (598). In the finals,

Abhinav finished with 97.6 points, last in the field of eight and was the only player

below 100 points. His sub-par finals dropped him from third to seventh.[10]

At the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games, he won the Gold in the Pairs

event and the Bronze in the Singles event. Abhinav missed the 2006 Asian Games

at Doha because of a back injuiry.

2008 Beijing Olympics

Bindra booked his place in the 2008 Olympics by winning the gold medal at the

2006 ISSF World Shooting Championships with a score of 699.1[11]

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Abhinav Bindra [12] for the Men's 10m Air Rifle final

after shooting a total of 700.5. He scored 596 (fourth) in the qualifying round and

out-scored all other shooters in the finals with a round of 105.5. In the finals, he

started with a shot of 10.7, and none of his shots were below 10.0.[13] Bindra was

tied with Henri Häkkinen heading into his final shot. Bindra scored his highest of

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the finals — 10.8 while Hakkinen came with 9.7 to settle for the Bronze

medal.[14]It has been alleged that Abhinav Bindra's gun was tampered with

between the qualifying and final round of the event, though no official complaint

was filed by the Indian contingent. [15]

This was India's first individual gold medal at the Olympics, and the first gold in 28

years, since the Men's Field Hockey team won the gold at the 1980 Moscow

Olympics.[2] Bindra was rewarded by various Indian state governments and

private organizations for his achievement.

Awards and recognitions

Abhinav Bindra

• 2000 - Arjuna award.[16]

• 2001 - Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (India's highest sports award).[17]

Awards for 2008 Olympics Gold medal

• Rs. 1.5 crore (US$ 302,400) by L. N. Mittal, Arcelor Mittal

• Rs. 50 lakh (US$ 116,000) cash prize by Central Govt [18]

• Rs. 25 lakh (US$ 58,000) cash prize by the State Government of Haryana.[19]

• Rs. 25 lakh cash prize by the Board of Control for Cricket in India[20]

• Rs. 15 lakh (US$ 34,800) cash prize by Steel Ministry of India[21]

• Rs. 11 lakh (US$ 25,500) cash prize by the State Government of Bihar. The

Patna Indoor Stadium will be renamed after Abhinav Bindra.[19]

• Rs. 10 lakh prize by the State Government of Karnataka[22]

• Rs. 10 lakh cash prize by S. Amolak Singh Gakhal, Chairman Golds Gym[23]

• Rs. 10 lakh cash prize by Chief Minister of Maharashtra state[24]

• Rs. 5 lakh (US$ 11,600) cash prize by State Government of Orissa[25]

• Rs. 5 lakh cash prize by Government of Tamil Nadu[26]

• Rs. 1 lakh (US$ 2,300) cash prize by the State Government of

Chhattisgarh[19]

• Rs. 1 lakh cash prize by the State Government of Madhya Pradesh

• A free lifetime railway pass by the Railway Ministry of India[27]

• A Gold medal by the State Government of Kerala.[28]

[29]−Rs. 15 lakh cash award by Pune Municipal Corporation

Business career

Abhinav Bindra holds a B.B.A. (Bachelor of Business Administration) from the

University of Colorado, US.[30]

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Bindra is the CEO of Abhinav Futuristics - the sole distributor of Walther arms in

India. Abhinav has sponsorship tie-ups with Samsung and Sahara Group.[5]

Vijender Kumar

Vijender Kumar

Born

October 29, 1985 (1985-10-

29) (age 23)

Kaluwas (5 km from

Bhiwani), Haryana India

Nationality Indian

Citizenship Indian

Occupation Boxer Middleweight

Height 182 cm (6 ft 0 in)

Medal record

Competitor for India

Men's Boxing

Olympic Games

Bronze 2008 Beijing Middleweight

Commonwealth Games

Silver 2006 Melbourne Welterweight

Asian Games

Bronze 2006 Doha Middleweight

Vijender Kumar (b. October 29, 1985) (also known as Vijender Singh or simply

Vijender) is an Indian boxer from Kaluwas village, Bhiwani district in Haryana. He

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became the first Indian boxer to win an Olympic medal when he won bronze

medal in the middleweight category at 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing [1][2]

Career

Early career

Vijender boxed recreationally in his childhood and used to go to the Bhiwani

Sports Authority of India center for boxing practice, where coach Jagdish Singh

picked his talent. Vijender belongs to the Beniwal (Jat) family. Vijender won a silver

medal in his first sub-junior nationals and then finished the 2nd sub-junior in the

same position. Vijender won medals in junior national competitions after that and

he was picked to visit several countries like Cuba for further training and

competitions.

Athens Olympics 2004

At the 2004 Athens Olympics, Vijender contested in the welterweight division, but

lost to Mustafa Karagollu of Turkey by 20-25.

Commonwealth Games 2006

At the 2006 Commonwealth Games, he defeated England's Neil Perkins in the

semis but lost to South Africa's Bongani Mwelase, who went on to win the gold.

He went up a division and competed in the Middleweight (-75 kg) division at the

2006 Asian Games winning the bronze medal in a lost semifinal bout against

Kazakhstan's Bakhtiyar Artayev 24-29. [3]

At the second qualifier he won the tournament and qualified for 2008 Beijing

Olympics.

Beijing Olympics 2008

Vijender had a great start at the 2008 Summer Olympics defeating Badou Jack of

Gambia 13-2 in the round of 32. In the round of 16, he defeated Angkhan

Chomphuphuang of Thailand 13-3 to reach the Middleweight Boxing Quarterfinals.

He beat southpaw Carlos Góngora of Ecuador 9-4 in the quarterfinals on August

20, 2008 which guaranteed him a medal, the first ever Olympic medal for an Indian

boxer. He lost 5-8 to Cuba's Emilio Correa in the semi-finals on 22nd August 2008

and shared a bronze medal.[4]

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Bout results:

• Defeated Badou Jack (Gambia) 13-2

• Defeated Angkhan Chomphuphuang (Thailand) 13-3

• Defeated Carlos Góngora (Ecuador) 9-4

• Lost to Emilio Correa Jr. (Cuba) 5-8

Personal life

Vijender was born in Kaluwas village, 5 km from Bhiwani, Haryana. His father,

Mahipal Singh, is a bus driver (who drove buses overtime to raise funds for

Vijender's training [5]) and his mother is a homemaker. He was inspired by his

younger brother Manoj, a former boxer himself, who is now in the Indian Army.

Vijender did his primary schooling from Kaluwas, secondary school from Bhiwani

and finally a Bachelor's degree from Vaish College.

He worked overtime to pay for coaching at the 'Bhiwani Boxing Club', run by

former national-level boxer and coach Jagdish Singh [6].. After achieving success at

the international level he also did modeling part-time. Vijender currently works for

the Haryana Police.[7]

Vijender's hometown of Kaluwas erupted with celebrations on 20th August after

Vijender was assured of an Olympic medal. His hometown watched the bouts on a

single television set in a specially rigged tent for the event. [8]

Michael Phelps

Michael Phelps at the 2008 Beijing Olympics

Personal information

Full name: Michael Fred Phelps

Nickname(s): The Baltimore Bullet[1]

Nationality: United States

Stroke(s): Butterfly, Individual Medley,

Freestyle, Backstroke

Club: Club Wolverine,

University of Michigan

Date of birth: June 30, 1985 (1985-06-30) (age 23)

Place of

birth: Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Height: 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)

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Weight: 200 pounds (91 kg)

Sushil Kumar (wrestler)

Sushil Kumar solanki

Born May 26, 1983 (1983-05-26) (age 25)[1]

New Delhi, India

Residence New Delhi, India

Nationality Indian

Citizenship Indian

Occupation Sportsman (Wrestler)

Height 163 cm (5 ft 4 in)

Medal record

Competitor for India

Men's Freestyle Wrestling

Olympic Games

Bronze 2008 Beijing Men's Freestyle 66 kg

Commonwealth Wrestling Championship

Gold 2003 London Men's Freestyle 60 kg

Gold 2005 Cape Town Men's Freestyle 66 kg

Gold 2007 London Men's Freestyle 66 kg

Asian Wrestling Championships

Bronze 2003 New Delhi Men's Freestyle 60 kg

Bronze 2008 Jeju Island Men's Freestyle 66 kg

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Sushil Kumar born

May 26, 1983[1]) is an Indian wrestler who won the bronze medal in the Men's

66kg Freestyle Wrestling event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.[2] Kumar defeated

Leonid Spiridonov of Kazakhstan in the repechage round to win the bronze.[2] This

was the second medal for India at the Beijing Olympics after shooter Abhinav

Bindra claimed the first ever individual Olympic gold medal for the country in the

10 m Air Rifle event. This was also the second medal for India in wrestling, and the

first since K D Jadhav's bronze medal at the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games.[3]

Biography

Sushil Kumar hails from the village of Baprola in the Najafgarh suburb of the

National Capital Territory of Delhi near the border with Haryana. Kumar's father

Diwan Singh was an MTNL bus driver and mother Kamla Devi a housewife. He was

inspired to take up wrestling by his cousin Sandeep and his father who was himself

a pehlwan (wrestler). Sandeep quit wrestling as the family could only support one

wrestler. Kumar trained at the akhada (wrestling school) in the Chhatrasal Stadium

from the age of 14. With minimal funds and poor training facilities for wrestling in

India, even for the 2008 Olympic team, his family made sure he obtained the

necessary dietary supplements by sending him tinned milk, ghee and

vegetables.[4][5]

Kumar is presently employed by the Indian Railways as a Chief Ticketing

Inspector.[3]

Career

Kumar started training at the Chhatrasal Stadium's akhada at the age of 14.

Trained at the akhada by Indian pehlwans Yashvir and Ramphal, and later by

Arjuna awardee Satpal and then at the Railways camp by coach Gyan Singh,[3]

Sushil endured tough training conditions which included sharing a mattress with a

fellow wrestler and sharing a dormitory with twenty others.[6]

His first success came at the World Cadet Games in 1998 where he won the gold

medal in his weight category. He followed this up with a gold in the Asian Junior

Wrestling Championship in 2000.

Moving out of the junior competition, Kumar won the bronze medal at the Asian

Wrestling Championships in 2003 and followed that up with a gold medal at the

Commonwealth Wrestling Championships. Kumar placed fourth in the World

Championships in 2003, but this went largely unnoticed by the Indian media as he

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fared badly in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, in the 60 kg class placing 14th.

He won gold medals at the Commonwealth Wrestling Championships in 2005 and

2007. He ranked seventh in the 2007 World Wrestling Championships, but

managed to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. He followed this up

with a Bronze in the Asian Wrestling Championships, before heading for the 2008

Olympic Games in Beijing.

Kumar was awarded the Arjuna Award, in 2006.

Beijing Olympics

Out of the field of 21, 11 wrestlers including Kumar obtained a bye to the 1/8th

round. He lost to Andriy Stadnik from Ukraine in the first round of the 66kg

freestyle wrestling event,[7] leaving his medal hopes hinging on the repechage.

Kumar defeated American Doug Schwab in the first repechage round and

Belarusian Albert Batyrov in the second repechage round. In the bronze medal

match on 20 August, 2008 Kumar beat Spiridonov 3:1, with scores of 2-1, 0-1, 2-0

in the three rounds.[8] Sushil Kumar disclosed that he had no masseur during the

three bouts he won within a span of 70 minutes to take the bronze. The team

manager Kartar Singh who is a former Asian Games medallist acted as the masseur

for him.[9]

Awards and recognitions

For the bronze medal at 2008 Beijing Olympics

Rs. 55 lakh cash award and promotion to Assistant Commercial Manager from

ticketing inspector by Railway Ministry (his employer)[10]

Rs. 50 lakh cash award from the Delhi Government.[10]

Rs. 25 lakh cash award by the Haryana State Government.[10]

Rs. 25 lakh cash award by the Steel Ministry of India.[10]

Rs. 5 lakh cash award by RK Global Shares and Securities Limited.[10]

Rs. 5 lakh cash award by the Maharashtra State Government.

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Usain Bolt

Bolt after the 100 m final at the 2008 Olympics

Nationality: Jamaican

Date of birth: 21 August 1986 (1986-08-21)

(age 22)[1]

Place of

birth: Trelawny, Jamaica[2]

Height: 1.96 metres (6 ft 5 in)[3]

Weight: 86 kilograms (190 lb)[3]