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An unprecedented 87 countries won at least one medal during the 2008 Games. Host nation China won the most gold medals (48), and became the seventh different team to top an overall Summer Olympics medal tally, winning a total of 100 medals overall.
Aug 7, 2008 · Relive the moments that went down in history at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Access official videos, results, galleries, sport and athletes.
- Overview
- Key Events from the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games
The Games of the XXIX Olympiad, involving some 200 Olympic committees and as many as 13,000 accredited athletes competing in 28 different sports, were auspiciously scheduled to begin at 8:08 pm on the eighth day of the eighth month of 2008 in Beijing, capital of the world’s most populous country. From the time the International Olympic Committee selected Beijing as host city, on July 13, 2001, China invested huge sums of money in urban renewal, expanded infrastructure, and construction of Olympic facilities in Beijing and the six other Olympic venues (Qingdao, Hong Kong, Tianjin, Shanghai, Shenyang, and Qinhuangdao). In the months prior to August 8, a devastating earthquake in Sichuan province, international focus on China’s pollution problems, protests over China’s human rights record and Tibet, and criticism of the Chinese government’s control of information became part of the Olympics story. Nevertheless, China was determined to show the world, also through an Olympics lens, that it had joined the ranks of the world’s most modern and influential countries.
Britannica is pleased to showcase a broad selection of information on China and the Olympics, including a brief history of China’s association with the Olympics and a special essay by Olympics expert Xu Guoqi; key facts and articles about China, Beijing, and the six other Olympic cities; a calendar of key dates in 2008; an essay on China’s explosive growth by researcher Dorothy-Grace Guerrero; the story of the Olympics and Paralympics, with tables of IOC presidents and 2004 medal winners; a colourful photo gallery; and a list of Web sites for additional information.
•August 9: The first gold medal of the games went to Czech markswoman Katerina Emmons, who won the women’s 10-metre air rifle event.
•August 10: Guo Jingjing, two-time gold medal winner at the Athens Olympic Games, took home the third gold of her career as a member of the victorious Chinese team in the 3-metre synchronized springboard diving event.
•August 11:
•India’s Abhinav Bindra won the first individual gold medal in his country’s history by taking the men’s 10-metre air rifle event.
•American swimmer Michael Phelps—who won the 400-metre individual medley event on August 10—continued his historic quest for eight gold medals in one Olympic Games as a member of the winning American 4 × 100-metre freestyle relay team.
•August 12:
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
In 2008 the Olympic Games were held in China for the first time. In the months prior to the Games’ start, a devastating earthquake in Sichuan province, international focus on China’s pollution problems, and protests over China’s human rights record and Tibet became part of the Olympic story.
China won a total of 100 medals, 48 gold, 22 silver, and 30 bronze, which became its largest ever medal tally in Olympic history. On August 17, 2008, China achieved its greatest ever Olympic performance when the women's table tennis team defeated Singapore in the final to claim the nation's 33rd gold medal, surpassing the previous best tally of ...
Medal Table. Official medal table of the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing. Find an alphabetical list of medals and celebrate the achievements of 2008's finest athletes.
From the record-breaking Michael Phelps and the trend-setting Usain Bolt to the heart-warming stories of China’s brave shooting star Du Li and Afghanistan’s remarkable Rohullah Nikpai, the Olympic Games Beijing 2008 had it all. 7 min. Getty Images. Usain Bolt (JAM): 100m.
