I don't know if anyone else around here gets into the Olympics, but it's the only time I really seriously watch sports. I look forward to the Olympics every two years and it's always a bit sad when it ends. So many wonderful and not so wonderful things happened in the Beijing Olympics and I just wanted to highlight some of them. Of course as an American, I do tend to be biased towards the US team...but I will root for some other teams. And since I don't have cable, I didn't get to watch several sports...so there are probably many other Olympic moments I simply missed. Btw, I'm linking videos to some of these...very sorry since they only work in the US (and I can't find the same ones on YouTube), but if you're curious enough, you can probably find similar videos on your own country's olympic site (or maybe you can try to watch them by entering a US zip code...don't know if it'll work)

Here we go:

-Matthew Mitcham of Australia ruins the Chinese gold diving sweep when he takes first place after getting four 10's on his final dive (men's 10m platform). I was so excited I actually screamed. And after watching the medal ceremony and how adorable he was, I think it was THE best moment of the Olympics. :D

-Michael Phelps and his 8-for-8 gold medals. Who couldn't put this on their list of highlights? Like it or not, he made history. Of course the most exciting races were the first relay (where Jason Lezak somehow managed to pull ahead of the arrogant French on the final stretch) and the 100m butterfly when Phelps won literally by a fingernail. Oh, and his mom is very cute to watch.

-Dara Torres and her excellent sportsmanship. In the 50m freestyle before the race started, she went over to the official to inform them that a Swedish swimmer had ripped her suit and was changing into another one. She didn't have to do that and they could've raced without the Swedish woman but Torres made sure no one would go in the water without her....that's what the Olympics are about. And Torres went on to win two silvers in these games at age 41.

-A South African woman who lost her leg in a car wreck competes in the open water event. She didn't come close to winning, but her courage to go out there against the odds is admirable. She'll also compete in the paraolympics.

-Nastia Luikin takes gold in the women's gymnastics all-around while Shawn Johnson gets silver. Gymnastics is my favourite sport to watch and that was a proud moment. Also it made me feel better after the group final...I'm still frustrated with China on the age controversy...I'm quite sure they're cheating, which is unfair to everyone.

-Shawn Johnson finally gets her gold on the beam. She did great and she deserved it.

-The US gets bronze in men's gymnastics all-around final. Everyone said they wouldn't medal, but they beat the odds.

-Oksana (can't remember her last name) representing Germany takes silver for vault. At 33 years old and in her fifth Olympics, she's the oldest female gymnast to compete and medal. She's originally from I think Uzbekistan, but came to Germany to get her son medical help when he was diagnosed with leukimia...he's in remission now.

-Jonathan Horton takes silver in men's gymnastics high bar. He bumped up his start value and risked it all for a chance to medal, and he was successful.

-Fabian Hambuechen of Germany finally medals with a bronze in the high bar. He kept making errors throughout the competition and I felt bad because from the coverage I saw of him, he seems like a pretty awesome guy.

-Croatia and Britain medal in the men's pommel horse. A historic moment because I think it's the first time Croatia medaled in gymnastics and the first time in many years Britain has.

-A Brazilian gymnast falls on his dismount in the floor exercise. He was Brazil's best hope at getting the country's first gymnastics medal ever, and I felt so sad for him when he started crying afterwards.

-Kristen Armstrong wins gold in cycling time trials. A big deal locally because she is from Boise and the first Boisean to get a gold. She came home about a week ago and received A LOT of local media attention. Boise is proud of her.

-The beach volleyball gold medals...both May-Treanor/Walsh and Rogers/Dalhauser. I didn't watch all their matches, but I did watch the gold medal matches. They were fun to watch...and it was close at times.

-Weightlifter Matthias Steiner of Germany wins gold and the title of world's strongest man. His reaction to winning was so wonderful and emotional, you just can't help but feel proud for him. Also, apparently his wife died in a car accident last year...very sad and while winning can't bring her back, what a great way to honour her memory.

-The dangers of weightlifting, particularly the injury that Hungarian suffered. *cringes*

-Track and field: The US is disqualified in the 4x100 relay semifinals (both men and women) when they drop the baton. What a disappointment. Jamaica women also disqualified in the finals. Conclusion: when running that fast, it's not easy to hand over a baton.

-Lolo Jones of the US, expected to win the 110m hurdles, fumbles on her ninth hurdle which causes her to drop to seventh place....she looked so devastated, you can't help but feel sad for her. But at least another American won that race...

-Brian Clay of the US wins the decathalon. Such an exhausting event, you just have to give him props.

-Usain Bolt of Jamaica and his 3 golds and 3 world records. He's so fast, it's incredible. And it's almost funny that the silver and bronze medalist of the 200m were disqualified for stepping over their lanes probably because they were so distracted by him. Though I kind of feel bad for the guy from Netherlands Antilles who missed out on his silver because of that....it would've been his country's only medal.

-Togo wins a bronze in the men's whitewater canoe/kayak event. Very exciting simply because it's Togo's first Olympic medal ever.

-The first BMX races in the Olympics ever....I had never seen it before, but it's an incredible sport to watch because it's unpredictable...and dangerous. Kyle Bennett of the US took a hard spill in the quarterfinals when the Dutch guy in front of him fell off his bike (it's the last crash in the video...a huge pileup). But Kyle was the one injured with two lacerations and a dislocated shoulder, but he still chose to finish the race using only one arm so he could advance to the semi-finals (he had done well in his other races)...he wasn't in the finals and I don't know if he even competed in the semis since they did cover it on tv. Anyways, the US took home one silver and two bronzes total in that event.

-Katerina Emmons of the Czech Republic gets a gold in the air rifle competition. A highlight for me simply because it was the first gold I saw won during these Olympics.

-US women's eight rowing race wins gold. They don't cover rowing much over here, so it's exciting when they do.

-The US men win gold in the volleyball competition. More than anything, I was particularly happy for the coach who's been going through some rough times. A couple weeks ago, a crazy Chinese guy stabbed and killed his father-in-law and injured his mother-in-law...apparently it was a random attack, but what a devastating blow. At least having the US win gold helps an emotional couple weeks turn upward.

Yeah, those are all the main highlights I can think of. The Olympics are also the reason I haven't updated again recently. But now that they're over, maybe that'll change...