The Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic Games has officially ended. Set aside a few controversies, it was a job well done by the Chinese organiser in running the event. Kudos for that.
The closing ceremony was ok for me; nothing much different than the opening… visually pleasing but not heart warming. I am a bit worried for London though; their short appearance last night was quite bland.
Beijing Olympics will be remembered as the Olympic with greatness. Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt obviously stole the spotlight… a few other personal favourite winners include Yelena Isinbayeva, Guo Jingjing, Zhang Ning, Roger Federer, Matthias Steiner, Japanese softball team and Argentine men soccer team etc.
It has been a wonderful event, but I am glad it has finally ended. The Olympics had taken away too much of my working (and sleeping) hours for the past two weeks… plenty of catchup needed now.
It’s goodbye to Beijing, and hello to London in 2012.
Some random news about Beijing Olympics 2008…
Liu Xiang leaving the track
Liu Xiang quits
World and Olympic champion Liu Xiang has withdrew from the 110m hurdle event following a right foot injury.
Liu’s appearance was in doubt when it was reported last weekend that he was suffering from a sore Achilles tendon, but he showed up for the qualifying heat anyway.
The 90,000 crowd at the Beijing National Stadium didn’t manage to catch Liu Xiang in real action though, as he quit after a false start (by another hurdler), limping out of the race track into the tunnel. The Chinese are generally disappointed, but showing plenty of support for the iconic athlete.
Liu Xiang was China’s best (and probably the only) hope for a gold medal at the track and field event.
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Usain Bolt of Jamaica set a world record in the men’s 100m, clocking 9.72 seconds at the Reebok Grand Prix meeting at Icahn Stadium in New York on Saturday (May 31).
Bolt bettered the mark of 9.74s set by countryman Asafa Powell last September.
Usain Bolt with his proud record (Image from
Xinhuanet)
I could still remember the days when people said that breaking the 9.80s barrier was impossible without drugs… but now it seems like 9.6x secs is something achievable.
Congrats Bolt, good job, and a fitting name.
