Top 10 Olympic Moments of 2008

Depending on which sports you watched or were more interested in, your list may be different from this one, I know my personal favorite moments are not all on the list, but I cannot say I disagree with the choices here. Without a doubt the Olympic Games bring the most viewers together, because we all want to watch someone achieve a life long dream, to some that is a medal (some want nothing but gold, but others are happy to medal, period), to others the dream was to just get to the Olympics and we all love to see dreams come true, don’t we?

     So, here were the top 10 Olympic moments of 2008 (also big congratulations to all the competitors, whether you won or not, you were all amazing):

1. Michael Phelps’ Photo Finish
2. Usain Bolt  - crossing the finish of the 100-m sprint in 9.69 seconds, the fastest dash in human history. (Can you imagine what it would have been had he not celebrated a bit early?)
3. Opening Ceremonies
4. Controversy surrounded the ages of the Chinese female team – some of the girls appeared to be way younger than the required 16 years of age or older. However, Gymnastics officials investigated the allegations, which included some charges of multiple conflicting birth certificates, but they concluded that the girls were at least 16, old enough to compete.
5. U.S, Men’s Basketball team wins gold.
6. Chinese hurdler leaves game – After a false start in a preliminary heat, Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang headed towards the starting area like all the other participants. But instead of getting set in the blocks once again, Liu simply kept walking away, his Olympic medal hopes, and those of an entire nation, disappearing into the stadium tunnel. He was the only Chinese hurdler in the games and it truly rested on him, but he has been plagued with injuries, included a torn Achilles’ tendon.
7. Yelena Isinbayeva - The bar stood 5.05 meters high  – she sprinted down the runway, set her pole, and with the cameras flashing, Isinbayeva soared…to a thrilling new world record.
8. Murder in China - The father-in-law of men’s volleyball coach Hugh McCutcheon was randomly murdered and McCutcheon’s mother-in-law was seriously injured with a knife-wielding assailant attacked both; the assailant then leapt to his death. McCutcheon’s team went on to win Gold.
9. India, finally got a small measure of glory by winning its first individual gold medal – When Abhinav Bindra nailed the target on this final shot, giving him India’s first ever gold in the 10-m air rifle competition, fans  back home must  have poured into the streets; Bindra rallied late from fourth place to steal the title.
10. Wresting champ wins before his time – At just the age of 21 Henry Cejudo, won Olympic gold in an event he wasn’t even thought to be a contender (how many times have we seen that in the Olympics?), he was there just for the experience and was expected to be a contender in 2012.