After 3 weeks Beijing 2008 has finished. So it is time for a round-up.
Athletics
Let's start with one of the most important sports on the Olympics because athletics was also one of the disciplines during the Greek Empire.
As expected, Jamaica is the sprint island. It won almost every gold medal, except for the women’s 4x100m.
Shelly-Ann Fraser won the 100m and Veronica Campbell the 200m. So when everyone expected the Jamaican women would win the 4x100m, they failed. Just like the Americans in the semi-finals, they dropped the stick.
Luckily the Jamaican men did not follow their example. They did win the 4x100m and broke the world record (again). This means Carl Lewis lost his last record. Jamaica broke every world record on the 100 & 200 meter. And three times it was the same guy: Usain Bolt!
The first world record came on the 100m. It was no surprise that he would set one, but the way he did it was unbelievable. The last 15 meters he was jogging instead of running. The numbers two and three (Richard Thompson of Trinidad & Tobago and Walter Dix of the United States didn't weren't even visible on the finish photo).
Second world record came some days later when he crashed the 12-year old world record set by Michael Johnson. A lot of commotion after the race. Both numbers two and three (Churandy Martina and Wallace Spearmon) got disqualified and that way Shawn Crawford (gold medalist Athens 2004) and Walter Dix got the silver and bronze medals.
As I mentioned before, the last world record was set during the men’s 4x100m. But who would ever doubt that this would happen. With Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell, they have the two fastest men alive in their team. All they had to do was make sure they did not drop the stick. It's great for Powell that he has his gold medal in the end because he deserves it. If only he could handle the pressure when it matters (big finals)...
The 400m men turned out the be a clean sweep for the Americans. Everyone expected Jeremy Warner to win this race, bit if you followed this disciple the past months, you could see that the victory wouldn't come that easy. Already two times Warner was beaten by LaShawn Merritt. And it happened again! The guy won with such an ease.
There is no doubt that Beijing 2008 are the games of the youngsters. Usain Bolt is only 22, Walter Dix is around the same age. Interesting story about Dix: he refused an invitation for Osaka 2008 because he had to study. Smart guy! LaShawn Merritt is also 22, so is Dayron Robles (winner 110 m hurdles)...
Kenenisa Bekele, much respect. Succeeding the double is something unique
Basketball
They called themselves the Redeem Team and they got their redemption., after a tough game with Spain. Team USA won the men's basketball tournament without losing one game. As said before, only team USA could beat team USA. It doesn't matter who the opponent is, they are unbeatable if they play as a team and keep focused. Not like Athens 2004 when there was individual talent, but no team and no commitment. Highlighting some individual talents is somehow inappropriate because they played as a team, but still I give it a go.
Dwyane Wade: this guy is my favorite player of the whole team. He had a pretty bad season with the Heat past year sue to injuries but he seems to be back. He proved to be a good shooting guard and became the highest scorer in their first two games.
LeBron James: everyone knows him and know what they can expect from him. And he did not let us down. He showed that he was worth his spot on this team and he showed some great blocks and dunks.
Kobe Bryant: never been a huge fan of him and he did disappoint during their first games but afterwards he got under steam and played some good games.
Dwight Howard: can anyone get any bigger as him? Those shoulders must be the biggest ones in the NBA.
Chris Bosh: this guy was fairly unknown for me as I havn't been watching the NBA that much past year. But he pleasantly surprised me. He is a great player and showed some neat stuff.
Carmelo Anthony: luckily he didn't start a fight. As always he brought the show elements to the game.
Tennis
Even though Roger Federer dreamt about winning the gold medal, it was obvious there was only one person who would be able to claim that medal: Raphael Nadal.
The women's tournament was expected to be an all Williams final, but they got eliminated early. So this opened up the whole tournament and in the end, Elena Dementieva won the gold medal.
Swimming
One of the most memorable performances was set by Michael Phelps. He won 8 gold medals (a record) for the United States). He won every race he was competing in.
Gymnastics
There has been a lot of commotion because there are proves that the Chinese girls were younger than the minimum age of 16.
The team all-around was won by China, so was the uneven bars. The individual all-round was won by Nastia Liukin. This girl resemblance total elegance. The balance beam was won by Shawn Johnson. Such a tiny girl, but what a power she has!
Athletics
Let's start with one of the most important sports on the Olympics because athletics was also one of the disciplines during the Greek Empire.
As expected, Jamaica is the sprint island. It won almost every gold medal, except for the women’s 4x100m.
Shelly-Ann Fraser won the 100m and Veronica Campbell the 200m. So when everyone expected the Jamaican women would win the 4x100m, they failed. Just like the Americans in the semi-finals, they dropped the stick.
Luckily the Jamaican men did not follow their example. They did win the 4x100m and broke the world record (again). This means Carl Lewis lost his last record. Jamaica broke every world record on the 100 & 200 meter. And three times it was the same guy: Usain Bolt!
The first world record came on the 100m. It was no surprise that he would set one, but the way he did it was unbelievable. The last 15 meters he was jogging instead of running. The numbers two and three (Richard Thompson of Trinidad & Tobago and Walter Dix of the United States didn't weren't even visible on the finish photo).
Second world record came some days later when he crashed the 12-year old world record set by Michael Johnson. A lot of commotion after the race. Both numbers two and three (Churandy Martina and Wallace Spearmon) got disqualified and that way Shawn Crawford (gold medalist Athens 2004) and Walter Dix got the silver and bronze medals.
As I mentioned before, the last world record was set during the men’s 4x100m. But who would ever doubt that this would happen. With Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell, they have the two fastest men alive in their team. All they had to do was make sure they did not drop the stick. It's great for Powell that he has his gold medal in the end because he deserves it. If only he could handle the pressure when it matters (big finals)...
The 400m men turned out the be a clean sweep for the Americans. Everyone expected Jeremy Warner to win this race, bit if you followed this disciple the past months, you could see that the victory wouldn't come that easy. Already two times Warner was beaten by LaShawn Merritt. And it happened again! The guy won with such an ease.
There is no doubt that Beijing 2008 are the games of the youngsters. Usain Bolt is only 22, Walter Dix is around the same age. Interesting story about Dix: he refused an invitation for Osaka 2008 because he had to study. Smart guy! LaShawn Merritt is also 22, so is Dayron Robles (winner 110 m hurdles)...
Kenenisa Bekele, much respect. Succeeding the double is something unique
Basketball
They called themselves the Redeem Team and they got their redemption., after a tough game with Spain. Team USA won the men's basketball tournament without losing one game. As said before, only team USA could beat team USA. It doesn't matter who the opponent is, they are unbeatable if they play as a team and keep focused. Not like Athens 2004 when there was individual talent, but no team and no commitment. Highlighting some individual talents is somehow inappropriate because they played as a team, but still I give it a go.
Dwyane Wade: this guy is my favorite player of the whole team. He had a pretty bad season with the Heat past year sue to injuries but he seems to be back. He proved to be a good shooting guard and became the highest scorer in their first two games.
LeBron James: everyone knows him and know what they can expect from him. And he did not let us down. He showed that he was worth his spot on this team and he showed some great blocks and dunks.
Kobe Bryant: never been a huge fan of him and he did disappoint during their first games but afterwards he got under steam and played some good games.
Dwight Howard: can anyone get any bigger as him? Those shoulders must be the biggest ones in the NBA.
Chris Bosh: this guy was fairly unknown for me as I havn't been watching the NBA that much past year. But he pleasantly surprised me. He is a great player and showed some neat stuff.
Carmelo Anthony: luckily he didn't start a fight. As always he brought the show elements to the game.
Tennis
Even though Roger Federer dreamt about winning the gold medal, it was obvious there was only one person who would be able to claim that medal: Raphael Nadal.
The women's tournament was expected to be an all Williams final, but they got eliminated early. So this opened up the whole tournament and in the end, Elena Dementieva won the gold medal.
Swimming
One of the most memorable performances was set by Michael Phelps. He won 8 gold medals (a record) for the United States). He won every race he was competing in.
Gymnastics
There has been a lot of commotion because there are proves that the Chinese girls were younger than the minimum age of 16.
The team all-around was won by China, so was the uneven bars. The individual all-round was won by Nastia Liukin. This girl resemblance total elegance. The balance beam was won by Shawn Johnson. Such a tiny girl, but what a power she has!
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