Eric Moussambani Malonga is an Equatoguinean swimmer. Nicknamed Eric the Eel by the media, Moussambani won brief international fame at the 2000 Summer Olympics for an extremely unlikely victory. Moussambani, who had never seen an Olympic-sized swimming pool before, swam his heat of the 100 m freestyle on 19 September in the unprecedentedly slow time of 1:52.72. This was the slowest time in Olympic history by far, and Moussambani had trouble finishing the race, but he won his heat after both his competitors were disqualified due to false starts. Although Moussambani's time was still too slow to advance to the next round, he set a new personal best and an Equatoguinean national record. He later became the coach of the national swimming squad of Equatorial Guinea.
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.
Equatorial Guinea participated in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, which was held from 15 September to 1 October 2000. The country's participation in Sydney marked its fifth appearance in the Summer Olympics since its debut at the 1984 Summer Olympics. The delegation included one middle-distance runner, one short-distance sprinter and two swimmers: José Luis Ebatela Nvo, Mari Paz Mosanga Motanga, Eric Moussambani and Paula Barila Bolopa respectively. All four athletes qualified for the games through wildcard places. Moussambani was selected as the flag bearer for the opening ceremony. The four athletes were unable to advance beyond the first rounds of their respective events, with Moussambani and Bolopa attracting attention for their poor performances, but were applauded by the crowds.
Milorad "Milo" Čavić is a Serbian former professional swimmer. He won a silver medal in the 100-meter butterfly at the 2008 Summer Olympics in a historic race with American swimmer Michael Phelps. Čavić also was World and European champion, as well as world record holder. He is one of four swimmers who broke 50 seconds in the 100m butterfly.
The event of Taekwondo competitions at the 2008 Summer Olympics was held in Beijing. It was held between August 20th and August 23rd at the Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium. The event consisted of various athletes, there were 128 Taekwondo practitioners, consisting of 64 men and 64 women. These athletes competed in 8 events, where for the first time ever, two bronze medals were awarded per event.
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.
Leszek Robert Blanik is a Polish gymnast, World and Olympic champion in vault. He was the first to perform a handspring double front vault in piked position which now has been named after him.
Rossano Galtarossa is an Italian competition rower and Olympic champion.
Mongolia competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics, held in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. 29 athletes represented the country and competed in seven events. The Beijing Olympics has been Mongolia's most successful games ever, winning two gold and two silver medals, exceeding the 1980 Moscow Olympics where the nation won two silver and two bronze medals.
Paula Barila Bolopa, nicknamed 'The Crawler', is a retired Equatoguinean football player and swimmer. She was one of two Equatorial Guinean swimmers to compete at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, the other being Eric Moussambani.
Meamea Thomas was an I-Kiribati weightlifter.
Antigua and Barbuda competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, submitting a delegation that included athletes Daniel Bailey, Brendan Christian, James Grayman, and Sonia Williams in track and field events, and Kareem Valentine in swimming. Antigua and Barbuda's appearance in Beijing marked its eighth appearance at the Summer Olympics since the nation's debut at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montréal, Canada. There were no medalists from Antigua and Barbuda in 2008, although Bailey reached the quarterfinals and Christian the semifinals of their respective events.
Niger sent five athletes, their second largest contingent ever, equalling the most sports in which they have participated. to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. It was Niger's 10th Olympics; their only medalist has been Issaka Dabore, in boxing, at the 1972 games.
Xu Linyin is a Chinese professional beach volleyball player.
Eric Ang is a shooter from the Philippines. He represented the country in the 2008 Summer Olympics. He lost in the contention for any medal by placing 30th on the qualifying rounds for Men's Trap on the second day of the games.
Ji Wallace is an Australian trampoline gymnast and Olympic silver medalist.
Guillermo Pérez Sandoval is a Mexican taekwondo practitioner and Olympic gold medal winner. Pérez stands at 171 cm and weighs 58 kg.
Petero James Moeava Okotai is a Cook Islands swimmer.
Hadi Saei is an Iranian councilor and former taekwondo athlete who became the most successful Iranian athlete in Olympic history and the most titled champion in this sport by winning 9 world class titles . Earlier in his career and in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Saei had won the Bronze medal. He was elected as member of City Council of Tehran in 2006 local elections and was reelected in 2013 but lost the 2017 election. He is one of the three most medal winners olympians in the sport of Taekwondo.
