2008 Summer Olympics recap
On August 8, 2008 at Beijing National Stadium, before an unofficial full capacity crowd of 91,000 people, the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympics took place. It started at 8PM (China Standard Time), and lasted just over 4 hours, ending at 12:09 AM. It was historical for the U. S. television audience, which had an astronomical 34.2 million people watching. It was the most watched opening ceremony not located in the United States. The first part of the ceremony consisted of 2,008 drummers who performed on a backdrop LED paper scroll, thus symbolizing the invention of paper in China. A dazzling array of fireworks was shot off near the end of the magnificent event and featured the formation of the Olympic rings.
The United States won the most medals with 110, China came in 2nd with 100, (with 51 of them being Gold), and Russia was 3rd with 72 medals. The 3 countries combined for a total of 282 medals, getting 29% of the total medals won (282 of 958).
The U. S., China, and Russia may have dominated the Olympics, but Michael Phelps may have stolen the show. Michael Phelps took center-stage for the U. S. and perhaps the entire Olympics by winning an unprecedented 8 gold medals. His 8 Gold medals included a controversial win in the 100 meter butterfly event held on August 15, 2008. It was a photo finish in which it was visually proven that he won by 1/100 of a second. He broke the record previously held in 1972 by Mark Spitz (7). The U. S. did particularly well in swimming, winning the Gold in 12 out of 34 events.
Some of the other highlights in this year's Olympic games−China did exceptionally well in gymnastics, capturing 11 Gold medals in 18 events. Zou Kai received 3 medals in the men’s gymnastics (floor, horizontal bar, and team). In women's gymnastics, Chang Fei won 3 medals−2 bronze in the balancing beam and vault, and 1 Gold in the team all-around gymnastics event. In men's basketball, the U. S. redeemed themselves this year by defeating Spain, 118-107 to win the Gold. The U. S. had suffered a demoralizing loss to Argentina in the semi-finals in 2004, in which many believed they didn't play to their full potential. Usian Bolt of Jamaica was phenomenal, winning 3 Gold medals in track and field and setting or being involved in 3 world records in the process (100 meters-9.69 seconds, 200 meters-19.39 seconds, 3rd leg in 4 x 100 meter relay-37.10 seconds).
The closing ceremony at the 2008 Olympics was conducted in a less serious manner as opposed to the opening ceremonies which seemed to acknowledge and pay tribute to Chinese history and culture. It began with pyrotechnics, which were used for the countdown above Beijing National Stadium. There were performers riding mono-wheels closely resembling a unicycle, but with a bizarre twist−the rider is positioned in the wheel itself or adjacent to it. Wei Wei, Jackie Chan, Andy Lau, and many other Chinese celebrities performed "Hard To Say Goodbye". The Olympic Flame was extinguished, symbolizing the end of the 2008 Summer Olympics. This was one of the most exciting, record-breaking Olympics that the world has witnessed in a long time. The 2008 Olympics may have ended, but the memories will endure for years to come.
The Olympics are important not just for countries to have athletes represent them and perform at an optimal level, it is also important because people from over 200 countries come together for reasons that are non-combative and do not have anything to do with war or anything negative. I hope that one day whenever countries meet it will never be about war or violence. Some may think this is idealistic, yet I figure, why go for silver when you can go for the gold?