2008 Beijing Olympics

Also called: Games of the XXIX Olympiad, Beijing 2008

The first Olympics hosted by China. They opened at 8 p.m. on 8 August 2008, and China topped the gold medal table. Michael Phelps won eight golds, and Usain Bolt set world records in the 100 m and 200 m.

Chosen as host in 2001, China treated the Games as a chance to show the world its economic growth and national strength. Timed to the lucky number eight, the opening ceremony began at 8 p.m. on 8 August 2008 in the National Stadium known as the “Bird’s Nest”, and some 10,900 athletes from 204 nations took part until 24 August. After protests in Tibet were crushed in March, the round-the-world torch relay met demonstrations in London, Paris and elsewhere.

China topped the gold medal table for the first time with 48 golds. The American Michael Phelps won a record eight golds at a single Games, and Jamaica’s Usain Bolt won the 100 m (9.69) and 200 m (19.30) in world-record times. For South Korea, Park Tae-hwan won the men’s 400 m freestyle, the country’s first swimming gold, the weightlifter Jang Mi-ran won gold with a world record, and the baseball team won the title with nine straight wins; Korea finished seventh with thirteen golds.