As London 2012 Olympic Games are now only months away, sports experts can extrapolate the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in varying measures of successes.
As London 2012 Olympic Games are now only months away, sports experts can extrapolate the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in varying measures of successes.
In my own assessment, I would say the August 8-24 Olympic Games in China went beyond the summit of extraordinary.
Since its inauguration, the Olympic Games have undergone epoch making transformation in organisational innovations, performances of athletes and, above all, the number of competing nations has increased over the years.
The Beijing Olympic Games displayed a quantum leap, attracting no less than 205 participating countries though only 86 actually took part. Over 15, 000 performers, individually and in team contests, took their turns in 302 events.
At the Beijing Olympics, every country - big and small - was eager to scale new heights. New participating nations included Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Mauritius and Togo.
Think for a while. Unbelievably Zimbabwe, one African country dangling in economic ruin, was filled with Olympic verve and featured. Not only that. Its athletes brought home a gold medal and silver medal captured by swimming queen, Kristy Coventry. Somalia, another African country which has had no proper government since 1981 when despotic Mohamed Siad Barred was deposed, was represented by Abdinasir Irahim, a male 5000m runner and Yusuf Omar, a female sprinter.
Some might argue that the Olympic Games staged in Athens, Greece, four years before were equally successful. Yes, but Athens 2004 drew only 74 countries and only a few new Games records were set.
But in striking contrast, the Beijing Olympic Games simply went far beyond the summit of extraordinary. The world of sport witnessed the downfall of renowned sports powers. The Beijing Games was a sports gathering of equal competing nations.
China, the hosting nation, was lowly ranked by the world at large to achieve Olympic accolades. But to consummate the hosting of the 2008 Olympic Games, China took top place among the equals. Out of the blue, China captured 51 gold, 21 silver and 28 bronze medals. The United States, hitherto the indomitable Olympic Games powerhouse, sunk into second place with 36 gold, 38 silver and 36 bronze medals , accumulating 110 medals in total.
Achieving gold medals accounts for greatness in the world of sport. To determine champions or as a barometer of success between competing nations and individuals, China , with 15 gold medals, thus beat the US.
The Beijing Olympic Games judged from the final medals table marked a turning point as in football World Cup when the world witnessed the rise of new world beaters. Time tested Olympic powerhouses either tumbled down or fizzled out.
Unsung small nations, including island nations, sprang up overnight earning pre-eminence at the Beijing Olympics.
They achieved landmarks in events while giants in Olympic football, boxing, athletics, swimming, basketball, cycling, weightlifting and field events failed to sustain their supremacy.
Out of three African qualifiers, Nigeria demonstrated a new fluency in football.
The African team crushed long established Olympic super heavyweights, one after another and lost in the hard-fought final 0-1 against Argentina. Nigeria once licked Brazil, the dreadful football power, in youth football.
In fact it was hard to delineate the difference between the pre-eminence associated with European-South-American countries and the football makeweight usually displayed by African-Asian teams.
In stark turn of events, in more convincing and telling terms, every match was evenly contested. No more giants, no more underdogs.
In boxing , " the noble art of self -defence " , the ring invisibilities of Cuba, US, Australia, Britain, Italy, Germany, Canada and Latin American countries were nowhere seen to be nodded. Boxing produced, among all Olympic events, most shocks and surprises at Beijing.
The art of boxing has revolved around the application of technical skills offensively and defensively by ring combatants to win a contest. Speed and pouching power have been valued as vital weapons to use. Scientific boxing reached the summit of replication through its chief "innovator" Muhammad Ali.
Ali was regarded as a boxing institution, hence when he quit the ring, boxing's popularity slumped.
But in a stunning changeover, pugilist from the new boxing empires, notably China, Mongolia and Russia including Ukraine, introduced a new lethal boxing weapon during the Beijing Olympics.
In simple terms, they displayed nothing short of bionic human power. Since Olympic boxing contests are and were fought over four rounds - a relatively short distance boxing tutors deemed it inevitable to instil the newly fangled mode of boxing in their Olympic boxers. And much to the unbelieving boxing world China emerged with two gold medals, the lion's share of 12 total Olympic gold medals, competed for in boxing from light flyweight to ultra-heavyweight divisions. Additionally, China captured a silver medal in the bantamweight division.
Mongolia grabbed a gold medal and silver medal, which was quite a feat. Other rising boxing giants included Ukraine and Romania. Potentially African countries posing a big threat were Mauritius, Namibia, Botswana, Cameroon and, of course, Kenya. The Zambian 2008 Olympian team performed far below expectation.
In track events, the United States' dominance in 100m, 200m and 400m, high speed running, changed hands with Jamaica taking over through their "lightening" Usain Bolt, who vanquished US rivals. Veronica Campbell Brown, 22, a splinter lightning in her own right, outclassed everyone in the women's 200m showdown to snatch the gold medal.
Kenya, the evergreen middle-long distance world-beaters, maintained the country's supremacy. The Kenyans won five gold, five silver and four bronze medals.
Kenya achieved the accolades through concerted efforts of Pamela Lelimo (800m gold medallist), Nancy Jebet (1,500m gold medallist) and Wilfred Bunei (men's 800m gold medallist).
Nobody summed up the success of the Beijing Olympic Games better than Jacques Rogge, the president of International Olympic Committee (IOC) who aptly asserted thus:
"The Olympic spirit lives in the warm embrace of competitive rivals from nations in conflict. Keep that spirit alive when you return back to your respective homes. You have shown us the unifying power of sport."
The Beijing Olympic Games clearly raised the bar higher and gave the London 2012 Olympic Games organisers a mammoth task.
Will London 2012 do it? Organising Committee chairman, Sir Sebastian Cole, thinks so. Well, the world will be waiting. (Sila Press Agency)
In my own assessment, I would say the August 8-24 Olympic Games in China went beyond the summit of extraordinary.Since its inauguration, the Olympic Games have undergone epoch making transformation in organisational innovations, performances of athletes and, above all, the number of competing nations has increased over the years.
The Beijing Olympic Games displayed a quantum leap, attracting no less than 205 participating countries though only 86 actually took part. Over 15, 000 performers, individually and in team contests, took their turns in 302 events.At the Beijing Olympics, every country - big and small - was eager to scale new heights. New participating nations included Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Mauritius and Togo.Think for a while. Unbelievably Zimbabwe, one African country dangling in economic ruin, was filled with Olympic verve and featured. Not only that. Its athletes brought home a gold medal and silver medal captured by swimming queen, Kristy Coventry.
Somalia, another African country which has had no proper government since 1981 when despotic Mohamed Siad Barred was deposed, was represented by Abdinasir Irahim, a male 5000m runner and Yusuf Omar, a female sprinter.Some might argue that the Olympic Games staged in Athens, Greece, four years before were equally successful. Yes, but Athens 2004 drew only 74 countries and only a few new Games records were set. But in striking contrast, the Beijing Olympic Games simply went far beyond the summit of extraordinary.
The world of sport witnessed the downfall of renowned sports powers. The Beijing Games was a sports gathering of equal competing nations.China, the hosting nation, was lowly ranked by the world at large to achieve Olympic accolades.
But to consummate the hosting of the 2008 Olympic Games, China took top place among the equals. Out of the blue, China captured 51 gold, 21 silver and 28 bronze medals. The United States, hitherto the indomitable Olympic Games powerhouse, sunk into second place with 36 gold, 38 silver and 36 bronze medals , accumulating 110 medals in total.Achieving gold medals accounts for greatness in the world of sport. To determine champions or as a barometer of success between competing nations and individuals, China , with 15 gold medals, thus beat the US.The Beijing Olympic Games judged from the final medals table marked a turning point as in football World Cup when the world witnessed the rise of new world beaters.
Time tested Olympic powerhouses either tumbled down or fizzled out.Unsung small nations, including island nations, sprang up overnight earning pre-eminence at the Beijing Olympics.They achieved landmarks in events while giants in Olympic football, boxing, athletics, swimming, basketball, cycling, weightlifting and field events failed to sustain their supremacy.Out of three African qualifiers, Nigeria demonstrated a new fluency in football.The African team crushed long established Olympic super heavyweights, one after another and lost in the hard-fought final 0-1 against Argentina.
Nigeria once licked Brazil, the dreadful football power, in youth football.In fact it was hard to delineate the difference between the pre-eminence associated with European-South-American countries and the football makeweight usually displayed by African-Asian teams.In stark turn of events, in more convincing and telling terms, every match was evenly contested. No more giants, no more underdogs.
In boxing , " the noble art of self -defence " , the ring invisibilities of Cuba, US, Australia, Britain, Italy, Germany, Canada and Latin American countries were nowhere seen to be nodded. Boxing produced, among all Olympic events, most shocks and surprises at Beijing.
The art of boxing has revolved around the application of technical skills offensively and defensively by ring combatants to win a contest. Speed and pouching power have been valued as vital weapons to use. Scientific boxing reached the summit of replication through its chief "innovator" Muhammad Ali.Ali was regarded as a boxing institution, hence when he quit the ring, boxing's popularity slumped.
But in a stunning changeover, pugilist from the new boxing empires, notably China, Mongolia and Russia including Ukraine, introduced a new lethal boxing weapon during the Beijing Olympics. In simple terms, they displayed nothing short of bionic human power.
Since Olympic boxing contests are and were fought over four rounds - a relatively short distance boxing tutors deemed it inevitable to instil the newly fangled mode of boxing in their Olympic boxers. And much to the unbelieving boxing world China emerged with two gold medals, the lion's share of 12 total Olympic gold medals, competed for in boxing from light flyweight to ultra-heavyweight divisions.
Additionally, China captured a silver medal in the bantamweight division.Mongolia grabbed a gold medal and silver medal, which was quite a feat. Other rising boxing giants included Ukraine and Romania. Potentially African countries posing a big threat were Mauritius, Namibia, Botswana, Cameroon and, of course, Kenya. The Zambian 2008 Olympian team performed far below expectation.In track events, the United States' dominance in 100m, 200m and 400m, high speed running, changed hands with Jamaica taking over through their "lightening" Usain Bolt, who vanquished US rivals.
Veronica Campbell Brown, 22, a splinter lightning in her own right, outclassed everyone in the women's 200m showdown to snatch the gold medal.Kenya, the evergreen middle-long distance world-beaters, maintained the country's supremacy. The Kenyans won five gold, five silver and four bronze medals.Kenya achieved the accolades through concerted efforts of Pamela Lelimo (800m gold medallist), Nancy Jebet (1,500m gold medallist) and Wilfred Bunei (men's 800m gold medallist).
Nobody summed up the success of the Beijing Olympic Games better than Jacques Rogge, the president of International Olympic Committee (IOC) who aptly asserted thus:"The Olympic spirit lives in the warm embrace of competitive rivals from nations in conflict.
Keep that spirit alive when you return back to your respective homes. You have shown us the unifying power of sport."The Beijing Olympic Games clearly raised the bar higher and gave the London 2012 Olympic Games organisers a mammoth task.Will London 2012 do it? Organising Committee chairman, Sir Sebastian Cole, thinks so. Well, the world will be waiting. (Sila Press Agency)
