Summer Olympics
Last summer Beijing, China had all the world’s attention as it hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics. Numerous countries sent their top athletes to compete for the glory of the gold medal and many came away with honors and satisfaction. China, the hosting country won the most gold medals with a total of 51. The United States was a close second bringing in 36 gold medals, and Russia rounded out the top three collecting 23. These same three countries also came in with the highest total medal winnings with the United States receiving the most of all with 110. China took second with a total of 100 medals and Russia was third with 72 total gold, silver and bronze medals.
The games began with a spectacular welcoming ceremony that featured Sarah Brightman and Liu Huan singing on a large globe. Two thousand fou drums thundered across the capital while a magnificent fireworks display speckled the sky. There were fourteen thousand performers that night demonstrating the splendor of Chinese culture and history. There were approximately ninety-one thousand spectators in attendance at the National Stadium, commonly known as the “bird’s nest.” Many of those present were visiting from other countries and left no room available at the five star Beijing hotels.
Some of the highlights from the games include the recording breaking efforts of swimmer Michael Phelps from the United States. He won a total of eight medals, surpassing the previous record of seven held by fellow American Mark Spitz. He began the series in rare form, breaking records as he went. The first was for the Men’s 400m Individual Medley, for which he made a world record, clocking in at 4:03:84. Another American athlete, Shawn Johnson made the news with her gold medal in gymnastics, though China has the distinction of winning the most gold medals for the sport, with a total of nine.
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