BEIJING OLYMPIC PICTURES

A view of the festivities in Beijing National Stadium, known as the Bird’s Nest, during the Closing Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 24, 2008 in Beijing, China. (L-R) Brenton Rickard of Australia, Alexander Dale Oen of Norway and Kosuke Kitajima of Japan compete in the Men’s 100m Breaststroke Final held at

Mixed legacy likely as China’s Olympics conclude

With help from British star power, China concluded its debut as Olympic host Sunday after 16 days of near-flawless logistics and superlative athletic achievement – coexisting awkwardly with the government’s wariness of dissent and free speech.   A spectacular closing ceremony opened with torrents of fireworks and included a pulsating show-within-a-show by London, host of

Medal Count Beijing Olympic 2008

Overall Medal Count…… Country Gold Silver Bronze Total United States 35 37 36 108 China 50 20 28 98 Russia 22 21 28 71 Britain 19 13 15 47 Australia 14 15 17 46 Germany 16 10 15 41 France 6 15 17 38 South Korea 13 10 8 31 Italy 7 10 10 27

China steal show with golden double

CHINA stole the limelight from the mighty Cubans by winning their first two Olympic boxing titles to deafening roars from a thrilled crowd yesterday. Zou Shiming, 27, started the party by winning in unexpectedly easy fashion, his Mongolian opponent retiring with a shoulder injury early in the second round of their light-flyweight final. Shiming, who

Kenya’s Wanjiru ends marathon title drought and breaks Olympic record

SAMUEL Wanjiru made it a full house of Olympic titles in middle distance and long distance races for Kenya’s men yesterday as he ended their title drought in the event and broke the long-standing Olympic record as well. The 21-year-old timed 2’06:32, breaking the 24-year-old Olympic record set by Carlos Lopes. He beat home Morocco’s

Mixed legacy likely as China’s Olympics conclude

With help from British star power, China concluded its debut as Olympic host Sunday after 16 days of near-flawless logistics and superlative athletic achievement – coexisting awkwardly with the government’s wariness of dissent and free speech.   A spectacular closing ceremony opened with torrents of fireworks and included a pulsating show-within-a-show by London, host of

Russian women win 4×100, gaffe costs Jamaica

BEIJING (AP) – Someone finally beat Jamaica in the sprints. The Jamaicans. The Jamaican women spoiled the country’s shot at sweeping the Olympic sprints Friday when Sherone Simpson never got the stick to Kerron Stewart between the second and third legs of the 400-meter relay. That opened the door for Russia to win the gold

Usain Bolt helped Jamaica win the 400-meter relay final in 37.10 seconds

BEIJING (AP) – Usain Bolt helped Jamaica win the 400-meter relay final in 37.10 seconds Friday night for his third gold medal and third world record of the Olympics. Bolt ran the third leg of the relay, then handed the baton to former 100-meter world record-holder Asafa Powell. Bolt yelled and pointed as Powell began

Jamaican woman wins 200m for sprint sweep

BEIJING (AP) – It was Jamaica Night again at the Bird’s Nest, and this time Veronica Campbell-Brown did the honors. The defending Olympic champion capped a Jamaican sweep of the four men’s and women’s Olympic sprint races Thursday night, routing Allyson Felix of the United States to the finish line in 21.74 seconds to win

US’s Merritt wins men’s 400m gold medal

LaShawn Merritt ran the race of his life when it mattered most to defeat defending Olympic and two-time world champion Jeremy Wariner in a 400 metres final showdown that ended with a US sweep. Merritt, the 2007 world runner-up to Wariner, won in 43.75 seconds, a career best that only four runners in history have