Closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics - Aug 24

I feel the Beijing Olympics series will not be complete here without an entry on the Closing ceremony so below are some pictures from the Beijing2008 site. If you missed it, you can read the detailed summary here: The Closing Ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games.













And of course, the Medal tally is important for some. A peek at the big winners:

Medals of Olympic Games & London, host of the next Olympics

Well, like they say, time flies when you are having a good time. We are now at the tail-end of this world event. At 8pm tonight, most of us would be glued to the tv set witnessing the closing ceremony of this exciting, entertaining, memorable, record-breaking once-in-four-years sporting event. One thing for sure, man is getting faster and stronger, as evidenced by the many world records broken in this XXIX Olympiad.

What do the athletes have to show for it, or at least the three winners? The medals, of course, so thought a post on the Beijing Olympic Medals would sort of round up the series of the Beijing Olympics post. I am taking the easy way out by reproducing below the article from the English version of the Beijing2008 site.

These are the Beijing Olympic Medals, the reverse and the obverse sides. Besides metal, jade is also used. It is inlaid into the medal on the reverse side.

Reverse side of the Medals and Ribbons

Read the details here
(BEIJING, March 27) -- On the occasion of the 500-day countdown to the opening of the Beijing Olympic Games, the Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) unveiled the Games' medals.

BOCOG Executive Vice-President and chairman of the evaluation panel Jiang Xiaoyu attended the unveiling ceremony and delivered a speech at the Capital Museum on Tuesday.

The medals are designed with inspiration from "bi", China's ancient jade piece inscribed with dragon pattern. The medals, made of gold and jade, symbolize nobility and virtue and are embodiment of traditional Chinese values of ethics and honor.

The medals are 70mm in diameter and 6mm in thickness. On their obverse side, the medals adopt the standard design prescribed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) -- a drawing that represents the winged goddess of victory Nike and Panathinaikos Arena, while on their reverse side, the medals are inlaid with jade with the Beijing Games emblem engraved in the metal centerpiece.

Noble and elegant, the medals are a blending of traditional Chinese culture and the Olympism. It gives the winners of the Games great honor and acclamation as recognition of their achievement.

The IOC has strict stipulation on the Olympic medals' material, identification, weight, size and drawing. The medals for the champion and the runner-up are made of pure silver, and the champion's medal must be plated with gold weighing not less than six grams each. For the first time jade is used for the Olympic medals. The design not only meets the IOC requirements, but also expresses praise and honor that the Chinese people cherish for the Olympic Spirit and the Olympic athletes.

In his speech, Jiang Xiaoyu said the Beijing 2008 Games medals will be a major part of the Olympic legacy for China. The design of the medals is a result of hard work and enthusiasm of many people. The medals, he said, embody strong Chinese style and elegant art, and are a harmonious combination of the Chinese culture with the Olympism, making them a vehicle to spread the Olympic Spirit and the concepts of the Beijing Games, as well as to showcase Chinese culture and arts, and the high levels of design and technology.

We might as well learn something about the History of the Summer Olympic Medals. Click on image to enlarge it.



While we are at it, take a look at these pretty babies, the recent Summer Olympic Medals



And these are the recent Winter Olympic Medals



To view the entire range of Olympic Medals, visit: Beijing2008.cn

Let's enjoy the Closing Ceremony tonight, 8pm. Watch David Beckham kicking footballs from the top of a double-decker bus into the Beijing crowd as London celebrates the handing over of the Olympic Games.

** Why David Beckham(?) you might ask. The former England captain, played a key role in London's winning bid in Singapore three years ago.

And London will be full of festivities, being the host of the next Olympics. You can get an idea of what's happening where in the map below.



The British Red Arrows will do a flyby in celebration

Singer Leona Lewis is set to perform with


Led Zeppelin legend, Jimmy Page

performing a new version of Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love

Enjoy the Closing and see you in London in 2012!


Picture source of the bottom four pictures: dailymail.co.uk

Michael Phelps - the 8-gold medallist

No talk about the Beijing Olympics is complete without a mention of Michael Phelps. This American swimmer and 14-time Olympic gold medalist (the most by any Olympian), currently holds seven world records in swimming.

He holds the record for the most gold medals won at a single Olympics; a total of eight, surpassing Mark Spitz at the Munich Olympics in 1972. Overall, Phelps has won 16 Olympic medals: six gold and two bronze at Athens in 2004, and eight gold at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. That is how amazing he is.

At age 15, Phelps competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, becoming the youngest American male swimmer at an Olympic Games in 68 years. While he did not win a medal, he did make the finals and was fifth in the 200 m Butterfly. Five months after the Sydney Olympics, Phelps broke the world record in the 200 m butterfly to become, at 15 years and 9 months, the youngest man ever to set a swimming world record.


Why do you think Michael Phelps swims so well? Wikipedia notes that he has five physical attributes particularly suit Phelps to swimming:

- his long, thin torso (low drag in the water),
- arms which span 6 feet 7 inches (201 cm) (long,
- powerful, propulsive "paddles") disproportionate to his height of 6 feet 4 inches (193 cm),
- relatively short legs (lower drag, and perhaps the speed enhancement of a hydrofoil),
- coupled to size 14 feet (providing the effect of flippers) by hypermobile ankles he can extend beyond the pointe of a ballet dancer, enabling him to whip his feet (as if they were fins, for maximum thrust through [if not over] the water).

Have you ever wondered about the amount of food he eats to see him through his rigorous regimen? Phelps eats around 12,000 calories each day, or about five times more than the average adult male.

Phelps earns $5 million annually in endorsements from his sponsors, Speedo, Visa, Omega and PowerBar. For winning eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he receives a $1 million bonus from swimsuit maker, Speedo.

P.S. His coach, Bob Bowman, said this of him, besides other good comments. "He's unbelievably kind-hearted", recounting Phelps' interaction with young children after practices.

For more information on Michael Phelps head on over to Wikipedia.

(Datuk) Lee Chong Wei

Malaysia's Beijing Olympics silver medallist, Lee Chong Wei, is back in town. There will be a special ceremony to be held at his home state in Penang tonight, in which he would be presented with a cheque for RM300,000 and a monthly pension of RM3,000.

That is not all, on August 30, Lee will be conferred the Darjah Setia Pangkuan Negeri (DSPN) which carries the title Datuk, by the Yang di-Pertua Negri Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas. The DSPN, instituted in 1976 and limited to 800 living persons, is conferred on individuals of high position who have contributed unique and valuable services to the state.

Lee Chong Wei through to the Finals

On Saturday evening, most Malaysians would have been geared to the tv (whether at home, at their friend's or at a mamak stall) watching Malaysian shuttler, Lee Chong Wei, in the semi-finals against South Korea's Lee Hyun-il.

Picture source: The Star

If Lee Chong Wei wins, he would move on to the finals making him the first Malaysian shuttler to have reached the finals at the Olympics. A win would also assure Malaysia of a medal making him the first Malaysian Olympics medallist since 1996.

Second seed, Lee Chong Wei, went on to win the semi-finals.

Tonight, at 8:48pm, he will be playing top seed, China's Lin Dan, in the finals. If he wins, Lee Chong Wei will go down in Malaysian history books as the first gold medallist at the Olympics. All Malaysia will be watching him and rooting for him to win tonight.

Will you be watching the game?

Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony

I know, I am behind on this post. Bear with me while I document this historical event, the Opening Ceremony of the Summer Beijing Olympics.

Last Friday, 8 August 2008, (080808) almost everyone in my office left early to catch the 8:00pm Opening Ceremony of the XXIX Olympiad held in Beijing, China.

Once in a while we get to witness something spectacular and this Opening Ceremony must have topped the rest so far. It was an awesome show of tradition and technology combined.

Every bit of the Opening Ceremony was mesmerising, from the fireworks to the human great wall to the dancers to the drummers and their luminous drumsticks, Li Ning running to light the torch, the whole enchilada! Did anyone hear it being mentioned that the aerial shots of the footsteps and fireworks leading to the stadium were computer generated? Well, they were, but who cares! They add to the spectacular experience, didn't they?

The Games will be from August 8 to 24.

Most if not all of you would have watched the show so I won't bore you with my account but instead point you to a more interesting article from NBC.


Posted Friday, August 8, 2008 9:38 AM ET
BEIJING - On the eighth day of the eighth month of the eighth year of the millennium, China welcomed the world to the 29th Olympiad with a blockbuster opening ceremony that launched arguably the most anticipated and assuredly the most controversial Games in modern Olympic history.

Amid the roar of fireworks and elaborate tributes to China's 5,000-year-old civilization, athletes from 204 nations - of 205 - marched into Olympic Stadium, the steel-girded Birds' Nest, before dignitaries that included President Bush, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Hu Jintao. Only Brunei proved a no-show, failing Friday to register even one athlete.

Continue reading Games open on a Beijing high

Since I am documenting this sports milestone, I will have to include some memorable pictures. These photographs are from the NBC gallery of the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.

The Olympic rings

Drummers

Another view of the drummers and the luminous drumsticks.

Fireworks over the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest

View of the fireworks from inside the National Stadium

Dancers

The Chinese flag is paraded into the National Stadium, carried by children in traditional costumes of the tribes in China.

Fireworks light up the sky over the National Aquatics Center (L) - nicknamed the Cube, and the National Stadium - Bird's Nest

A welcome message display on the stadium roof while the drummers were performing

The torch is lit during the end of the Opening Ceremony

A family watches the fireworks in Tiananmen Square

People watch the broadcast of the Opening Ceremony

Source: NBC

Happy 080808 Day, My Friends!

I was touched this morning when a business associate called up to wish me a Happy 080808 Day. It sort of brought back feelings of Chinese New Year when you receive calls of greetings.

Before that call, it did not occur to me that this day is so important. If there is ever an auspicious day in a calendar, today must be it, 080808.

He said, in his office and in the circles he is associated with, it is like everyone is talking about it and wishing each other well.

So, My Dear Friends, let me take this opportunity to wish you A Very Happy 080808 Day and may this day be the start of greater things in your life!

Btw, don't forget to watch the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony starting at the auspicious hour of 8pm. Don't think about flying out there because both the Beijing Capital International Airport and the Beijing Nanyuan Airport are closed and flights suspended during the opening ceremony from 7:30pm to midnight. Now you know.

A Happy 080808 Day to You!

Beijing Olympics - 080808

A bird's eye view of the Bird's Nest

Exactly one month from today, the world would be focussing on Beijing, China, the venue of the Beijing Olympics 2008. The opening ceremony will be held at the new National Stadium dubbed the Bird's Nest for its design of a bird's nest. In the meantime, the city must almost be ready with its beautification efforts such as sprucing up its gardens as indicated in the following pictures.

Anyone planning to visit China from now until year-end would have to go through stringent measures in getting a visa.






Source unknown

Sacred Flame of The Beijing Olympics reaches Kuala Lumpur

Oh dear! It was raining cats and dogs just when the torch relay was going on. The relay started from Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square) at 2:00pm and scheduled to reach the Petronas Twin Towers four hours later where it will be celebrated with a grand ceremony.

Time-check: 6:30pm now. It must have been a havoc in the heavy downpour. It's still raining but at a lesser intensity.

Kuala Lumpur is the thirteenth stop of the 2008 worldwide Olympic torch relay outside of the Chinese mainland.

This is the OCM president Tunku Tan Sri Imran Tuanku Ja’afar, who is the first torchbearer in Kuala Lumpur.

Kuala Lumpur's 10.8 km route passes through key historic and tourist sites in the city. Among the eighty torchbearers scheduled for the run, members of the country's government, various athletes, and celebrities will carry the sacred flame, including former Olympic competitors Cheah Soon Kit, Yap Kim Hock, Jalani Razif, Rashid Razif, and current women's world number one squash player Nicol David.

This is the planned route for the torch relay.



Source: torchrelay.beijing2008.cn/en