The 2008 Summer Olympics were held in Beijing, China from August 8-24. Over 11,000 athletes from 202 countries competed in 28 sports and 302 events. The opening ceremonies featured over 15,000 performers and highlighted China's hosting of the Games with the motto "One World, One Dream." China won the most gold medals with 51 while the United States won the most overall medals. However, the Games were also plagued by controversies around underage athletes, judging issues, and China's restrictions on media access and air pollution.

1. The 2008 Olympics By: Lauren Myers

2. The 2008 Summer Olympics lasted from August 8-24 in China’s capital city, Beijing.

3. The Opening Ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics. The opening ceremonies started at 8:00 pm on August 8. The motto of the 2008 Olympics was “One World, One Dream.” The 2008 Olympics was the 39 th Olympiad. The 39 th Olympiad opening ceremonies were held in the Beijing National Stadium. There was over 15,000 performers in the opening ceremony.

4. The Olympic Medals. The Chinese won the most gold medals with 51. The United States won the most silver medals with 38, and came in second with gold medals with 36. The United States had the most overall medals with 110. The United States also had the most bronze medals with 36. The Chinese also tied for the second most silver medals with 21.

5. The 2008 Olympic Controversies. This past Olympics was full of many different controversies. First off, the Chinese female gymnastic athletes were supposedly underage. Another controversy was the judging throughout the Olympics. Another problem with this past Olympics was the air pollution problem that affected both the host city and neighboring areas. The host country, China, was also accused of violating their pledge to allow open media access to the games.

6. Swimming Events In The 2008 Summer Olympics. There were 46 total aquatic Olympic events in the 2008. There were a wide variety of events including diving, water polo, and various lengths of just swimming. Michael Phelps broke the most records and received 8 gold medals during this past Olympics. There were 34 total swimming events. There was also 8 diving, 2 water polo, and 2 synchronized swimming events.

7. Basketball In The 2008 Summer Olympics. This picture shows the countries that competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics in the basketball section. The gold was won by the United States team. The silver medal was won by the Spanish team. And the bronze medal was won by the Argentinean team. The United States basketball team was the only team to go undefeated in the basketball section .

8. Basic Facts About The 2008 Summer Olympics. There were 11,208 athletes that competed in this past Olympics. There were 302 events in 28 different sports. It was officially opened by President Hu Jintao. The athletes’ oath was Zhang Yining. The judges’ oath was Huang Liping.

9. . The Closing Ceremonies: August 24, 2008. The closing ceremony was filled with the sounds of drums, the presence of bell dancers, and lots of lights. A wide variety of medals, at this point, had been handed out to various athletes from around the world. There were about 7,000 total performers in all in the closing ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics. The closing ceremony began at 8:00 pm. The closing ceremony was held in the Beijing National Stadium.

10. Closing Comments On The 2008 Beijing Olympics. I chose this topic for many different reasons. To start most of the end of my summer was spent watching this event take place. Another reason I chose this topic was because I was amazed by the amount of time it took to build and lead up to this amazing event that took place in my lifetime. This Olympics was an amazing experience that I will never forget.