It was a spectacular 16 days of sportsmanship, glory and achievements; except for a few incidents.
The closing ceremony was not as impressive as the opening, though I'd give an 8/10 compared to 10/10 for the 08.08.08 opening. Nevertheless, the art of fireworks was amazing.
Highlights and Incidents of the Beijing Olympics:
1. Usain Bolt became the 1st person to win both the individual 100m and 200m sprint and 4x100m relay with world records in all 3 events. He's only 22.
2. Michael Phelps became the most gold medals winner in an Olympic, capturing 8 and a record 14 gold medals(6 from Athens 2004)
3. A Hungarian weightlifter Jaros Baranyai dislocated his right elbow during an attempt to lift 148 kg in clean and jerk.
4. Cuba's Angel Valodia Matos, after being penalised by the referee for taking too much injury time, landed a Wong-Fei-Hong "no shadow kick" on the Swedish referee. The referee required stiches to his cut lips.
5. Lee Chong Wee...oops Datuk Lee Chong Wei, despite being tamed by World No.1 Lin Dan in straight sets, was conferred a Datukship
6. South African amputee Natalie du Toit finished in an amazing 16th in the 10km open water race. Respect! Respect!
7. The whole Chinese nation cried when Liu Xiang, who started in the heats of 110m hurdles pulled out immediately with an injured Archilles' tendon.
8. Shocking American men and women 4x100m relay team dropped their batons in the heats. Jamaican women's team also dropped their baton in the finals of the 4x100m relay. Shocking!
9. Gymnast Yang Wei realizes his dream to win gold in individual all-round event. However his fellow countrymen, the young Zou Kai has 3 golds, winning the team event, horizontal bar and floor exercise.
10. Australian Matthew Mitcham's final attempt with 4 full 10s managed to pip Chinese Zhou Luxin who had a miserable final dive, for a gold; ending China's domination in the diving event. China finished with 7 golds.
11. China ping pong players(men and women) swept clean all golds offered, winning the team gold, and individuals (gold, silver and bronze).
12. Australia's Stephanie Rice is women's best performer, with 3 golds in 400m medley, 200m medley and 4x200 freestyle relay.
During these 16 days, I enjoyed most watching gymnastics. To be frank, almost every country that performed on each events had a fair chance of clinching a medal. It was heart-thumping when I watched the Chinese team of Yang Wei, Zou Kai, Chen Yibing, Huang Xu, Li Xianpeng and Xian Qin in action against Japan, US, Russia and Korea. I also enjoyed watching US gymnast Nastia Liukin perform. She must be the most beautiful olympian ever! Her father is a former Olympian champion and her mother is a former gymnastic World Champion, no wonder she is the 'Beauty with Talent'.
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