This article contains a chronological summary of major events from the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.
Calendar
All dates are Beijing Time (UTC+8) OCOpening ceremony●Event competitions1Gold medal eventsEGExhibition galaCCClosing ceremony
August 20086thWed7thThu8thFri9thSat10thSun11thMon12thTue13thWed14thThu15thFri16thSat17thSun18thMon19thTue20thWed21stThu22ndFri23rdSat24thSunEvents Ceremonies OC CCAquatics Diving1111●●1●1●1●14611 Swimming●44444444●●1●1 Water polo●●●●●●●●●●●1●1●11●●114 Athletics246653677147 Badminton●●●●●●1225Baseball/Softball Baseball●●●●●●●●12 Softball●●●●●●●●1 Basketball●●●●●●●●●●●●●●112 Boxing●●●●●●●●●●●●●4611 Canoeing Slalom●2●●2 16 Sprint ●●●●66Cycling Road cycling112 18 Track cycling 13123 BMX ●2 Mountain biking 2 Equestrian●●●2●1●●●1116 Fencing11112111110 Field hockey●●●●●●●●●●●●112 Football●●●●●●●●●●1●12Gymnastics Artistic●●1111●433EG 18 Rhythmic ●●11 Trampolining ● 11 Handball●●●●●●●●●●●●●●112 Judo222222214 Modern pentathlon112 Rowing●●●●●●7714 Sailing●●●●●●●3222211 Shooting22221212115 Table tennis●●●●11●●●114 Taekwondo22228 Tennis●●●●●●134 Triathlon112 Volleyball●●●●●●●●●●●●11 4●●●●●●●●●●●●●●11 Weightlifting122222111115 Wrestling2232222218Daily medal events 7 14 13 19 17 15 18 27 37 18 20 11 21 21 32 12 302Cumulative total 7 21 34 53 70 85 103 130 167 185 205 216 237 258 290 302 August 20086thWed7thThu8thFri9thSat10thSun11thMon12thTue13thWed14thThu15thFri16thSat17thSun18thMon19thTue20thWed21stThu22ndFri23rdSat24thSunEvents
Day-by-day summaries 6 August Football The first competitions of the Games started at 5:00pm CST (UTC+8). The first events were women's football (soccer) matches. The day was devoted to women's football.
7 August Football The first football (soccer) matches for men began on this day. The day was devoted to men's football matches.The Observer, Sunday July 27, 2008, Stars join Beijing gold rush but Brits miss the party, Jamie Jackson.
8 August
Opening Ceremony Starting at 8:00 pm CST (UTC+8), the four-hour opening ceremony was attended by 91,000 spectators, including more than 100 world leaders. The spectacle was directed by filmmaker Zhang Yimou, and the Olympic Cauldron was lit by former Chinese gymnast Li Ning.
Equestrian The first events started in the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong, with eventing in equestrian sports.
Day 1: 9 August
Archery South Korea set an Olympic record in the ranking round of the women's team archery event. Boxing Samoa's Farani Tavui was taken to a hospital after being knocked unconscious in the men's light heavyweight event."Samoan boxer injured in knockout", Associated Press, August 9, 2008. Fencing The United States took all three medals in the women's sabre event, the first U.S. podium sweep of a fencing event since 1904, as Mariel Zagunis takes gold. Judo Choi Min-ho of South Korea won the men's 60 kg ending all his matches with ippon. Ryoko Tani of Japan, who had never lost in a major international competition since 1996, was defeated in the women's 48 kg semifinals by eventual gold medalist Alina Alexandra Dumitru with a controversial penalty point. Shooting Kateřina Emmons of the Czech Republic won the first gold medal of the games, setting an Olympic record for both the qualifying (with a perfect 400) and final scores, in the women's 10 m air rifle. Swimming Swimmer Michael Phelps of the United States set a world record in the first round of the men's 400 m individual medley. Swimmer Alexander Dale Oen of Norway set an Olympic record in the first round of the men's 100 m breaststroke. Weightlifting Chen Xiexia of China won the women's 48 kg event in weightlifting, setting Olympic records in both the clean and jerk, and total weight lifted.
Gold medalistsSportEventCompetitor(s)CyclingMen's road raceSamuel SánchezFencingWomen's sabreMariel ZagunisJudoMen's 60 kgChoi Min-HoWomen's 48 kgAlina Alexandra DumitruShootingMen's 10 m air pistolPang WeiWomen's 10 m air rifleKateřina EmmonsORWeightliftingWomen's 48 kgChen XiexiaOR
Day 2: 10 August
Archery South Korea set a world record for a 24-arrow team match, in their victory over Italy in the quarter finals of the women's team archery event. They went on to win the gold medal, stretching the country's winning streak to 20 years over 6 Olympic games. Basketball The USA men's basketball team beat hosts China 101–70 in the first game in the basketball event. Shooting Guo Wenjun of China won gold in women's 10 metre air pistol and set a new Olympic record for final score with 492.3 points, after Natalia Paderina of Russia had bettered the Olympic qualification record to 391. During the medal ceremony, Pederina and bronze medalist Nino Salukvadze of Georgia shared a symbolic embrace as their two countries continued to wage war."Georgian and Russian athletes share emotional embrace" , BBC News, August 10, 2008. Swimming Michael Phelps won the men's 400 m individual medley final, with a new world record, winning his seventh career Olympic gold medal. Park Tae-Hwan won the men's 400 m freestyle final, becoming the first South Korean swimmer to win an Olympic gold medal for swimming. Swimmer Alexander Dale Oen of Norway set an Olympic record in the semifinals of the men's 100 m breaststroke, his second in the event. Australian swimmer Stephanie Rice set a new world record in women's 400 m individual medley, winning Australia's 400th Summer Olympics medal. Second place Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe also finished below the previous world record. The Netherlands team won the women's 4 × 100 m freestyle relay final with a new Olympic record of 3 minutes 33.76 seconds. Dara Torres of the United States, at 41 years of age, becomes the oldest swimmer to win an Olympic medal after the US team takes silver. The American men's 4 × 100 m freestyle relay team broke the world record with a time of 3:12.23 in the preliminaries. Weightlifting Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarakoon of Thailand won gold in women's 53 kg weightlifting and set a new Olympic record for clean and jerk.
Gold medalistsSportEventCompetitor(s)ArcheryWomen's teamPark Sung-hyun, Yun Ok-Hee, Joo Hyun-JungCyclingWomen's road raceNicole CookeDivingWomen's synchronised 3 m springboardGuo Jingjing and Wu MinxiaFencingMen's épéeMatteo TagliariolJudoMen's 66 kgMasato UchishibaWomen's 52 kgXian DongmeiShootingMen's trapDavid KosteleckýORWomen's 10 m air pistolGuo WenjunORSwimmingMen's 400 m freestylePark Tae-HwanMen's 400 m individual medleyMichael PhelpsWRWomen's 4 × 100 m freestyle relayInge Dekker, Ranomi Kromowidjojo,Femke Heemskerk, Marleen VeldhuisHeats: Hinkelien Schreuder, Manon van RooijenORWomen's 400 m individual medleyStephanie RiceWRWeightliftingMen's 56 kgLong QingquanWomen's 53 kgPrapawadee JaroenrattanatarakoonOR
Day 3: 11 August
Swimming Rebecca Adlington won the 400 m freestyle, the first gold by a British woman since 1960. Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe set a new world record in the women's 100 m backstroke semifinal with a time of 58.77. Kosuke Kitajima of Japan won the Olympic gold medal in the men's 100 m breaststroke, and set a world record of 58.91. Arkady Vyatchanin of Russia set a new Olympic record in the men's 100 m backstroke semifinal with a time of 53.06, only for the record to be set again in the second semifinal by Hayden Stoeckel of Australia, with a time of 52.97. The United States team broke the world record they had set in the semifinals by nearly four seconds, winning the gold medal in the men's 4 × 100 m freestyle relay with a time of 3:08:24, beating France by 0.08 seconds. Jason Lezak swam the last leg in 46.06 s, the fastest relay leg in history. Five of the eight teams in the final finished under the previous world record. Australia's Eamon Sullivan also broke the individual 100 m freestyle world record by swimming the leadoff leg in 47.24.
Shooting Entering the finals of the men's 10 m air rifle in fourth place, Abhinav Bindra won the first ever individual Olympic gold medal for India, and India's first gold medal in any Olympic event since 1980."Abhinav Bindra wins 10m air rifle gold" , rediff.com, August 11, 2008.
Judo Tajikistan won its first ever Olympic medal after Rasul Boqiev secured bronze in the men's 73 kg."Mammadli 1st Azeri to win Olympic gold", Daily Yomiuri, August 12, 2008.
Gold medalistsSportEventCompetitor(s)ArcheryMen's teamIm Dong-Hyun, Lee Chang-Hwan, Park Kyung-MoORDivingMen's synchronised 10 m platformLin Yue and Huo LiangFencingWomen's foilValentina VezzaliJudoMen's 73 kgElnur MammadliWomen's 57 kgGiulia QuintavalleShootingMen's 10 m air rifleAbhinav BindraWomen's trapSatu Mäkelä-NummelaSwimmingMen's 100 m breaststrokeKosuke KitajimaWRMen's 4 × 100 m freestyle relayMichael Phelps, Garrett Weber-Gale,Cullen Jones, Jason LezakHeats: Nathan Adrian,Ben Wildman-Tobriner, Matt Grevers WRWomen's 100 m butterflyLibby TrickettWomen's 400 m freestyleRebecca AdlingtonWeightliftingMen's 62 kgZhang XiangxiangWomen's 58 kgChen YanqingOR
Day 4: 12 August
Swimming Michael Phelps of the U.S. set the world record while winning the 200 m men's freestyle, tying the record for most gold medals for an athlete. Natalie Coughlin of the U.S. became the first athlete to successfully defend a gold medal in the women's 100 m backstroke event. Shooting Walton Eller of the U.S. set two Olympic records in the men's double trap event, with a qualifying score of 145 and a final score of 190. Canoeing Benjamin Boukpeti becomes the first competitor from Togo to win an Olympic medal, taking bronze in the men's slalom K-1." Togo claims first Olympic medal" , BBC News, August 12, 2008.
Gold medalistsSportEventCompetitor(s)CanoeingMen's slalom C-1Michal MartikánMen's slalom K-1Alexander GrimmDivingWomen's synchronized 10 m platformWang Xin and Chen RuolinEquestrianIndividual eventingHinrich RomeikeTeam eventingPeter Thomsen, Frank Ostholt, Hinrich Romeike,Ingrid Klimke, Andreas DibowskiFencingMen's sabreZhong ManGymnasticsMen's artistic team all-aroundHuang Xu, Chen Yibing, Li Xiaopeng,Xiao Qin, Yang Wei, Zou Kai JudoMen's 81 kgOle BischofWomen's 63kgAyumi TanimotoShootingMen's 50 m pistolJin Jong-ohMen's double trapWalton EllerORSwimmingMen's 100 m backstrokeAaron PeirsolWRMen's 200 m freestyleMichael PhelpsWRWomen's 100 m backstrokeNatalie CoughlinWomen's 100 m breaststrokeLeisel JonesORWeightliftingMen's 69 kgLiao HuiWomen's 63 kgPak Hyon SukWrestlingMen's Greco-Roman 55 kgNazyr MankievMen's Greco-Roman 60 kgIslam-Beka Albiev
Day 5: 13 August
Wrestling Steeve Guenot won France's first gold medal of the Beijing Olympics in the men's 66 kg Greco-Roman wrestling. Swimming Michael Phelps of the U.S. took the record for most gold medals for an athlete with 11 for wins in the 200 m butterfly and the 4 × 200 m relay. Gymnastics The Chinese women's gymnastic team won its first ever team gold medal. Weightlifting Hungary's Janos Baranyai was taken to hospital after a severe injury during the men's 77kg event in weightlifting.
Gold medalistsSportEventCompetitor(s)CyclingMen's road time trialFabian CancellaraWomen's road time trialKristin ArmstrongDivingMen's synchronized 3 m springboardWang Feng and Qin KaiFencingMen's foilBenjamin KleibrinkWomen's épéeBritta HeidemannGymnasticsWomen's artistic team all-aroundYang Yilin, Cheng Fei, Jiang Yuyan,Deng Linlin, He Kexin, Li ShanshanJudoMen's 90 kgIrakli TsirekidzeWomen's 70 kgMasae UenoShootingWomen's 25 m pistolChen YingSwimmingMen's 200 m butterflyMichael PhelpsWRMen's 4 × 200 m freestyle relayMichael Phelps, Ryan Lochte,Ricky Berens, Peter VanderkaayHeats: Klete Keller, Erik Vendt,David WaltersWRWomen's 200 m freestyleFederica PellegriniWRWomen's 200 m individual medleyStephanie RiceWRWeightliftingMen's 77 kgSa Jae-HyoukWomen's 69 kgLiu ChunhongWRWrestlingMen's Greco-Roman 66 kgSteeve GuenotMen's Greco-Roman 74 kgManuchar Kvirkelia
Day 6: 14 August
Swimming