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2008 Summer Olympics |
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The 2008 Summer Olympics were held in Beijing, People's Republic of China, from 8 August to 24 August 2008. [Note 1] A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees (NOC) participated. Overall, 302 events in 28 sports were held; 165 events were opened to men, 127 were opened to women and 10 were mixed events. [1] In total there was one more event than in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. [2]
Nine new events were held, including two from the new cycling discipline of BMX. Women competed in the 3000 metre steeplechase for the first time. Marathon open water swimming events for men and women, over the distance of 10 kilometres, were added to the swimming discipline. Team events (men and women) in table tennis replaced the doubles events. [3] In fencing, women's team foil and women's team sabre replaced men's team foil and women's team épée. [Note 2] Two sports were open only to men, baseball and boxing, while one sport and one discipline were open only to women, softball and synchronized swimming. Equestrian is the only sport in which men and women compete together in the same events. [4] [5] Baseball and softball may have made their last appearances in Olympics history during these Games, as the International Olympic Committee voted to remove them from the programme of the 2012 Olympics. [6] A total of 958 medals for events (302 gold, 303 silver and 353 bronze) were awarded. In boxing, judo, taekwondo and wrestling, two bronze medals are awarded in each weight class. [7] Therefore, the total number of bronze medals is greater than the total number of gold or silver medals. Additionally there were ties for a silver medal and two bronze medals. [8] [9]
A total of 1,881 individual athletes won medals. Chinese athletes won the most gold medals with 48 (100 total), and the United States won the most total medals with 112 (including 36 gold). [10] Athletes from 87 countries won medals, while 55 nations won at least one gold medal, both setting new records for Olympic Games. [11] Athletes from Afghanistan (Rohullah Nikpai – Taekwondo, men's 58 kg), [12] Mauritius (Bruno Julie – boxing, bantamweight), [13] Sudan (Ismail Ahmed Ismail – athletics, men's 800 m), [14] Tajikistan (Rasul Boqiev – judo, men's 73 kg), [15] and Togo (Benjamin Boukpeti – canoeing, men's K-1 slalom) [16] won their NOCs' first Olympic medal. Athletes from Mongolia (Naidangiin Tüvshinbayar – judo, men's 100 kg), [17] and Panama (Irving Saladino – athletics, men's long jump) [18] won their nations' first gold medal.
American swimmer Michael Phelps was the most successful athlete, winning eight gold medals and setting a new record for most golds won in a single edition of the Olympics (the previous record, seven, had been set in 1972 by Mark Spitz). [19] Phelps also set a new record for most career gold medals (14), and his 16 total medals were ranked second all-time behind Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina (18) at the time. In 2012 Phelps set a record for most total medals. [20] Several records for career medals in a sport were tied or surpassed, including cycling (Bradley Wiggins of the United Kingdom won two gold, tied for record with six career medals); judo (Ryoko Tani of Japan won a bronze, five career medals); softball (Laura Berg of the United States won a gold and Natalie Ward, Melanie Roche and Tanya Harding of Australia won a bronze; all have four career medals); swimming (Michael Phelps, 16 career medals); taekwondo (Steven López of the United States won a bronze and Hadi Saei of Iran won a gold, both three career medals); and table tennis (Wang Nan of China won a gold and silver medal, five career medals). [20]
2008 Olympics has the most medals stripped for doping violations (50). The leading country is Russia with 14 medals stripped.
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Statistics References |
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Men's individual | Viktor Ruban Ukraine | Park Kyung-Mo South Korea | Bair Badënov Russia |
Women's individual | Zhang Juanjuan China | Park Sung-hyun South Korea | Yun Ok-hee South Korea |
Men's team | South Korea (KOR) Im Dong-Hyun Lee Chang-hwan Park Kyung-Mo | Italy (ITA) Ilario Di Buò Marco Galiazzo Mauro Nespoli | China (CHN) Jiang Lin Li Wenquan Xue Haifeng |
Women's team | South Korea (KOR) Joo Hyun-Jung Park Sung-hyun Yun Ok-hee | China (CHN) Chen Ling Guo Dan Zhang Juanjuan | France (FRA) Virginie Arnold Sophie Dodemont Bérengère Schuh |
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Men's singles | Lin Dan China | Lee Chong Wei Malaysia | Chen Jin China |
Women's singles | Zhang Ning China | Xie Xingfang China | Maria Kristin Yulianti Indonesia |
Men's doubles | Indonesia (INA) Markis Kido Hendra Setiawan | China (CHN) Cai Yun Fu Haifeng | South Korea (KOR) Hwang Ji-man Lee Jae-jin |
Women's doubles | China (CHN) Du Jing Yu Yang | South Korea (KOR) Lee Hyo-jung Lee Kyung-won | China (CHN) Wei Yili Zhang Yawen |
Mixed doubles | South Korea (KOR) Lee Yong-dae Lee Hyo-jung | Indonesia (INA) Nova Widianto Liliyana Natsir | China (CHN) He Hanbin Yu Yang |
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Men's slalom C-1 | Michal Martikán Slovakia | David Florence Great Britain | Robin Bell Australia |
Men's slalom C-2 | Slovakia (SVK) Peter Hochschorner Pavol Hochschorner | Czech Republic (CZE) Jaroslav Volf Ondřej Štěpánek | Russia (RUS) Mikhail Kuznetsov Dmitry Larionov |
Men's slalom K-1 | Alexander Grimm Germany | Fabien Lefèvre France | Benjamin Boukpeti Togo |
Women's slalom K-1 | Elena Kaliská Slovakia | Jacqueline Lawrence Australia | Violetta Oblinger-Peters Austria |
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Men's road race | Samuel Sánchez Spain | Fabian Cancellara [G] Switzerland | Alexandr Kolobnev [G] Russia |
Men's time trial | Fabian Cancellara Switzerland | Gustav Larsson Sweden | Levi Leipheimer United States |
Women's road race | Nicole Cooke Great Britain | Emma Johansson Sweden | Tatiana Guderzo Italy |
Women's time trial | Kristin Armstrong United States | Emma Pooley Great Britain | Karin Thürig Switzerland |
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Men's cross-country | Julien Absalon France | Jean-Christophe Péraud France | Nino Schurter Switzerland |
Women's cross-country | Sabine Spitz Germany | Maja Włoszczowska Poland | Irina Kalentieva Russia |
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Men's BMX | Māris Štrombergs Latvia | Mike Day United States | Donny Robinson United States |
Women's BMX | Anne-Caroline Chausson France | Laëtitia Le Corguillé France | Jill Kintner United States |
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Men's 3 m springboard | He Chong China | Alexandre Despatie Canada | Qin Kai China |
Women's 3 m springboard | Guo Jingjing China | Yuliya Pakhalina Russia | Wu Minxia China |
Men's 10 m platform | Matthew Mitcham Australia | Zhou Lüxin China | Gleb Galperin Russia |
Women's 10 m platform | Chen Ruolin China | Émilie Heymans Canada | Wang Xin China |
Men's synchronized 3 m springboard | China (CHN) Qin Kai Wang Feng | Russia (RUS) Dmitri Sautin Yuriy Kunakov | Ukraine (UKR) Illya Kvasha Oleksiy Prygorov |
Women's synchronized 3 m springboard | China (CHN) Guo Jingjing Wu Minxia | Russia (RUS) Yuliya Pakhalina Anastasia Pozdniakova | Germany (GER) Ditte Kotzian Heike Fischer |
Men's synchronized 10 m platform | China (CHN) Lin Yue Huo Liang | Germany (GER) Patrick Hausding Sascha Klein | Russia (RUS) Gleb Galperin Dmitriy Dobroskok |
Women's synchronized 10 m platform | China (CHN) Wang Xin Chen Ruolin | Australia (AUS) Briony Cole Melissa Wu | Mexico (MEX) Paola Espinosa Tatiana Ortiz |
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
individual all-around | Yevgeniya Kanayeva Russia | Inna Zhukova Belarus | Anna Bessonova Ukraine |
team all-around | Russia (RUS) Margarita Aliychuk Anna Gavrilenko Tatiana Gorbunova Yelena Posevina Daria Shkurikhina Natalia Zuyeva | China (CHN) Cai Tongtong Chou Tao Lü Yuanyang Sui Jian-Shuang Sun Dan Zhang Shuo | Belarus (BLR) Olesya Babushkina Anastasia Ivankova Ksenia Sankovich Zinaida Lunina Glafira Martinovich Alina Tumilovich |
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Men's | Lu Chunlong China | Jason Burnett Canada | Dong Dong China |
Women's | He Wenna China | Karen Cockburn Canada | Ekaterina Khilko Uzbekistan |
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Men's | Andrey Moiseyev Russia | Edvinas Krungolcas Lithuania | Andrejus Zadneprovskis Lithuania |
Women's | Lena Schöneborn Germany | Heather Fell Great Britain | Not Awarded |
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Men's singles | Ma Lin China | Wang Hao China | Wang Liqin China |
Women's singles | Zhang Yining China | Wang Nan China | Guo Yue China |
Men's team | China (CHN) Ma Lin Wang Hao Wang Liqin | Germany (GER) Timo Boll Dimitrij Ovtcharov Christian Süß | South Korea (KOR) Oh Sang-Eun Ryu Seung-Min Yoon Jae-Young |
Women's team | China (CHN) Guo Yue Wang Nan Zhang Yining | Singapore (SIN) Feng Tianwei Li Jiawei Wang Yuegu | South Korea (KOR) Dang Ye-Seo Kim Kyung-Ah Park Mi-Young |
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Men's 58 kg | Guillermo Pérez Mexico | Gabriel Mercedes Dominican Republic | Chu Mu-yen Chinese Taipei |
Rohullah Nikpai Afghanistan | |||
Men's 68 kg | Son Tae-Jin South Korea | Mark López United States | Servet Tazegül Turkey |
Sung Yu-Chi Chinese Taipei | |||
Men's 80 kg | Hadi Saei Iran | Mauro Sarmiento Italy | Zhu Guo China |
Steven López United States | |||
Men's +80 kg | Cha Dong-Min South Korea | Alexandros Nikolaidis Greece | Chika Chukwumerije Nigeria |
Arman Chilmanov Kazakhstan | |||
Women's 49 kg | Wu Jingyu China | Buttree Puedpong Thailand | Daynellis Montejo Cuba |
Dalia Contreras Venezuela | |||
Women's 57 kg | Lim Su-Jeong South Korea | Azize Tanrıkulu Turkey | Diana López United States |
Martina Zubčić Croatia | |||
Women's 67 kg | Hwang Kyung-Seon South Korea | Karine Sergerie Canada | Gwladys Épangue France |
Sandra Šarić Croatia | |||
Women's +67 kg | María del Rosario Espinoza Mexico | Nina Solheim Norway | Sarah Stevenson Great Britain |
Natália Falavigna Brazil |
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Men's singles | Rafael Nadal Spain | Fernando González Chile | Novak Djokovic Serbia |
Women's singles | Elena Dementieva Russia | Dinara Safina Russia | Vera Zvonareva Russia |
Men's doubles | Switzerland (SUI) Roger Federer Stanislas Wawrinka | Sweden (SWE) Simon Aspelin Thomas Johansson | United States (USA) Bob Bryan Mike Bryan |
Women's doubles | United States (USA) Serena Williams Venus Williams | Spain (ESP) Anabel Medina Garrigues Virginia Ruano Pascual | China (CHN) Yan Zi Zheng Jie |
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Men's | Jan Frodeno Germany | Simon Whitfield Canada | Bevan Docherty New Zealand |
Women's | Emma Snowsill Australia | Vanessa Fernandes Portugal | Emma Moffatt Australia |
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Men's | United States (USA) Phil Dalhausser Todd Rogers | Brazil (BRA) Márcio Araújo Fabio Magalhães | Brazil (BRA) Ricardo Santos Emanuel Rego |
Women's | United States (USA) Misty May-Treanor Kerri Walsh | China (CHN) Tian Jia Wang Jie | China (CHN) Xue Chen Zhang Xi |
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Men's 55 kg | Nazyr Mankiev (RUS) | Rovshan Bayramov (AZE) | Park Eun-Chul (KOR) |
Roman Amoyan (ARM) | |||
Men's 60 kg | Islambek Albiev (RUS) | Nurbakyt Tengizbayev (KAZ) | Ruslan Tyumenbayev (KGZ) |
Sheng Jiang (CHN) | |||
Men's 66 kg | Steeve Guenot (FRA) | Kanatbek Begaliev (KGZ) | Armen Vardanyan (UKR) |
Mikhail Siamionau (BLR) | |||
Men's 74 kg | Manuchar Kvirkelia (GEO) | Chang Yongxiang (CHN) | Yavor Yanakiev (BUL) |
Christophe Guenot (FRA) | |||
Men's 84 kg | Andrea Minguzzi (ITA) | Zoltán Fodor (HUN) | Nazmi Avluca (TUR) |
Vacant [E] | |||
Men's 96 kg | Aslanbek Khushtov (RUS) | Mirko Englich (GER) | Adam Wheeler (USA) |
Marek Švec (CZE) | |||
Men's 120 kg | Mijaín López (CUB) | Mindaugas Mizgaitis (LTU) | Yury Patrikeyev (ARM) |
Yannick Szczepaniak (FRA) |
Athletes that won at least three gold medals or at least four total medals are listed below.
Athlete | Nation | Sport | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Michael Phelps | United States (USA) | Swimming | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
Chris Hoy | Great Britain (GBR) | Cycling | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
Zou Kai | China (CHN) | Gymnastics | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
Stephanie Rice | Australia (AUS) | Swimming | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
Libby Trickett | Australia (AUS) | Swimming | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
Ryan Lochte | United States (USA) | Swimming | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | |
Nastia Liukin | United States (USA) | Gymnastics | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | |
Kirsty Coventry | Zimbabwe (ZIM) | Swimming | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | |
Shawn Johnson | United States (USA) | Gymnastics | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | |
Natalie Coughlin | United States (USA) | Swimming | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
Source: [21]
This section needs to be updated.(May 2021) |
^ A. Belarusian athletes Vadim Devyatovskiy and Ivan Tsikhan, who won silver and bronze respectively in the men's hammer throw, both tested positive for abnormal levels of testosterone. After attending a disciplinary hearing in September, they were stripped of their medals on December 11, 2008. Krisztián Pars of Hungary was given the silver medal, and Koji Murofushi of Japan was given the bronze. [22] On June 10, 2010, following a successful appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Devyatovskiy and Tsikhan had their medals reinstated. [23]
^ B. Ukrainian athlete Lyudmyla Blonska, who finished second in the women's heptathlon, tested positive for the steroid methyltestosterone. On August 22, 2008, the International Olympic Committee officially stripped Blonska of her medal, and as a result, the silver medal went to Hyleas Fountain of the United States, and the bronze medal to Tatyana Chernova of Russia. [24]
^ C. Norwegian equestrian athlete Tony André Hansen's horse tested positive for the pain relieving medication capsaicin, a banned substance. Hansen, who won a bronze medal in the team jumping event, was disqualified. In the team jumping system, the top three scores garnered by the four riders are counted. Hansen had the best score on his team, and it was removed from the total. Without Hansen's score, his team was below the bronze medal threshold so the medal was awarded to the team from Switzerland on December 22, 2008. [25]
^ D. On August 15, 2008, the International Olympic Committee announced North Korean shooter Kim Jong-su had tested positive for the banned substance propranolol and was stripped of his two medals. He had won a bronze medal in the 10 metre air pistol and silver in the 50 metre pistol. After Kim Jong-su was disqualified, the bronze medal in the 10 metre air pistol went to Jason Turner of the United States; in the 50 metre pistol, the silver medal went to Tan Zongliang of China, and the bronze medal to Vladimir Isakov of Russia. [26]
^ E. Swedish wrestler Ara Abrahamian was originally awarded a bronze medal in the Greco-Roman 84 kg event. However, at the medal ceremony he walked off the podium and dropped his medal on the mat in protest of the judging in his event. On August 16, 2008, the International Olympic Committee decided to strip him of his medal because they felt it amounted to a political demonstration and was disrespectful to other athletes. [27]
^ F. On November 18, 2009, the IOC announced that Rashid Ramzi of Bahrain had been stripped of the gold medal in the men's 1500 m race. Ramzi had been the first athlete from Bahrain to win an Olympic gold medal. His frozen blood sample was re-tested and found to contain traces of Continuous erythropoietin receptor activator (CERA), a stamina-building blood-booster. Kenyan Asbel Kipruto Kiprop was upgraded to gold, Nicholas Willis of New Zealand was given the silver and Mehdi Baala of France received the bronze. [28]
^ G. On November 18, 2009, the IOC announced that Italian cyclist Davide Rebellin had tested positive for Cera and had been stripped of the silver medal he earned in the men's road race. Switzerland's Fabian Cancellara was upgraded to silver and Russia's Alexandr Kolobnev was given the bronze. [28]
^ Note 1. Although the official opening of the Games was on 8 August 2008, football matches were held beginning on 6 August. [29]
^ Note 2. The fencing programme included six individual events and four team events, though the team events were a different set than were held in 2004. The International Fencing Federation's rules call for events not held in the previous Games to receive automatic selection and for at least one team event in each weapon to be held. Voting is conducted to determine the fourth event. In 2004, the three men's team events and the women's épée were held. Thus, in 2008, the women's foil and sabre events and men's épée were automatically selected. Men's sabre was chosen over foil by a 45–20 vote. [30]
Athletes from Belarus began their Olympic participation at the 1952 Summer Games in Helsinki, Finland, as part of the Soviet Union. After the Soviet Union disbanded in 1991, Belarus, along with four of the other fourteen former Soviet republics, competed in the 1992 Winter Olympics as the Unified Team. Later in 1992, Belarus joined eleven republics to compete as the Unified Team at the Summer Games in Barcelona, Spain. Two years later, Belarus competed for the first time as an independent nation in the 1994 Winter Olympics, held in Lillehammer, Norway.
Canada has competed at 23 Summer Olympic Games, missing only the inaugural 1896 Summer Olympics and the boycotted 1980 Summer Olympics. The nation made its debut at the 1900 Summer Olympics. Canada competes under the IOC country code CAN.
Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics were held during the last ten days of the games, from August 15 to August 24, 2008, at the Beijing National Stadium. The Olympic sport of athletics is split into four distinct sets of events: track and field events, road running events, and racewalking events.
Zou Kai is a five-time Olympic and five-time World champion Chinese gymnast, specializing in floor exercise and the horizontal bar.
Canada, represented by the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC), competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, from August 8 to 24, 2008. Canadian athletes had competed in every Summer Olympic Games since 1900 with the exception of 1980, which were boycotted in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Canada sent 332 athletes in 25 sports, the seventh largest team at the games and Canada's largest since 1988. Canada did not send a team in handball, volleyball or basketball. Kayaker and 2004 Summer Olympics gold medalist Adam van Koeverden was the flag bearer at the opening ceremonies; Karen Cockburn bore the flag at the closing.
A total of 433 competitors competed for Australia at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The team was Australia's second largest away team after the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, which included a team of 482 competitors. Australian athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games of the modern era.
Colombia first formally participated at the Olympic Games in 1932, and has sent athletes to compete in all but one edition of the Summer Olympic Games since then, missing only the 1952 Games. Colombian athletes have won a total of 34 Olympic medals in eight different sports, with weightlifting and cycling as the most successful ones. Colombia is the third most successful South American country at the Olympic Games, after Brazil and Argentina respectively. The Colombian Olympic Committee was created in 1936 and recognised by the International Olympic Committee in 1948.
Brazil sent a delegation to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, in August 2008. Brazilian athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games since 1920, except the 1928 Summer Olympics. The country is represented by the Brazilian Olympic Committee. Brazil headed to the Beijing Games with its largest Olympic delegation at the time, 277 athletes, including 132 women.
China was the host nation of the 2008 Summer Olympics. China was represented by the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC), and the team of selected athletes were officially known as Team China.
The Russian Federation competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics, held in Beijing, China, represented by the Russian Olympic Committee. Russia competed in all sports except baseball, field hockey, football, softball, and taekwondo. They ranked third in the medal table by golds (24) and overall (60). Russia also had 14 medals stripped for doping violations, the most of any nation at the 2008 Olympics.
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, were a summer multi-sport event held in Beijing, the capital of the People's Republic of China, from 8 to 24 August 2008. Approximately 10,942 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in 302 events in 28 sports.
Cuba competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China. As of 8 August 2008, 165 Cuban athletes had qualified to compete in 16 sports. The country's flagbearer at the opening ceremony was wrestler Mijaín López.
Kenya competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics held in Beijing, People's Republic of China from August 8 to August 24, 2008. Kenya won a total of 14 medals, 6 of them gold, its best ever performance at the Olympics.
Great Britain competed at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China. Great Britain sent a delegation of around 400, of which 212 were athletes, to compete in eighteen sports at the Games. The team was made up of athletes from the whole United Kingdom; athletes from Northern Ireland, who may elect to hold Irish citizenship under the pre-1999 article 2 of the Irish constitution, are able to be selected to represent either Great Britain or Ireland at the Paralympics. Additionally some British overseas territories compete separately from Britain in Paralympic competition.
Athletics at the 2008 Summer Paralympics were held in Beijing National Stadium from September 8 to September 17. There were 160 gold medals in this sport.
The United States sent a delegation to compete at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China. A total of 213 U.S. competitors took part in 18 sports; the only 2 sports Americans did not compete in were soccer 5-a-side and 7-a-side. The American delegation included 16 former members of the U.S. military, including 3 veterans of the Iraq War. Among them were shot putter Scott Winkler, who was paralyzed in an accident in Iraq, and swimmer Melissa Stockwell, a former United States Army officer who lost her left leg to a roadside bomb in the war.
The 4 × 100 metres relay at the Summer Olympics is the shortest track relay event held at the multi-sport event. The men's relay has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1912 and the women's event has been continuously held since the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam. It is the most prestigious 4×100 m relay race at elite level.
Arkady Vyatchanin of Russia and Hayden Stoeckel of Australia tied for bronze.