Olympics Games 2008- Beijing : Results / expectations and discussion thread

They proved them selves in organisation / handling / performing arts / reception / security and above in sports onfield too.

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We're No. 1! Olympic Gold Haul Prompts Question: Scott Soshnick

Commentary by Scott Soshnick

Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- After 16 days of competition, a 204- country compilation of smiles, tears and cheers, the Olympic odometer can rest.

Here's the tally at the top (in alphabetical order):

GOLD SILVER BRONZE TOTAL

---- ------ ------ ----- CHINA 51 21 28 100 U.S. 36 38 36 110

For the first time since host Germany in 1936, a nation other than the U.S. or former Soviet Union sits atop the golden treasure trove. China had a 625-member delegation. They were more than athletes. They were alchemists, too.

The Americans, meantime, depart Beijing with the most medals overall. Short on gold. Long on bounty.

So, who won?

Living inside this five-ring circus of Faster, Higher, Stronger, it's easy for a nation to delude itself into thinking there's a correlation between its well-being and success in the grandest of athletic competitions.

The Chinese will lay claim to a great victory, allowing their leaders to say that our way is, indeed, the best way.

And some in the U.S. will be outraged. The knee-jerk reaction will be to throw money at what they'll deem a problem. The promise of better next time has already started in track and field, which this time around belonged to Usain Bolt and his fellow Jamaicans.

Pizzazz

International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge proved a dolt on Bolt, criticizing him for preening. Rogge ought to spend more time on double-checking age requirements and less on pizzazz patrol, but that's another story.

China spent $70 billion on the Olympics, making them the most expensive Games ever.

A report on CCTV, the state-run television network, said China's government is soliciting help from the private sector to assist in future athletic development. In other words, the government can't, or won't, pay for it anymore.

Britain finished with 19 gold medals, 12 years after it managed just one in Atlanta. Evidently a U.K. sports funding program, backed by the national lottery, produced the desired result as London's got the next Games, in 2012. Maybe the success will placate those concerned with cost overruns. Maybe not.

``We have to be very careful not to have a serious financial headache after the party,'' said Mark Wallace, campaigns director of the U.K.-based Taxpayers Alliance.

Winners

The IOC doesn't declare winners and losers. The Olympic charter only recognizes competition between athletes, not nations.

There are countless athletes worthy of the winner label, medal around their necks or not. I met many of them, wrote about some.

Take Polish swimmer Otylia Jedrzejczak, who was behind the wheel when her younger brother was killed in a car crash two years ago. These Olympics were another step in the healing process. She smiled. Made new friends, made new memories. She won, all right.

Or Lebanese shooter Ziad Richa, who finished 29th in men's skeet. Nowhere near a medal. You should've seen his joy after meeting Roger Federer.

Costa Rica's Nery Brenes didn't win a medal. Didn't even reach the final of the men's 400 meters. Still, whatever notoriety and monetary gain he enjoys from the Olympic experience will go toward his goal of building a school for the poor children of his town. Not a winner? C'mon.

Fourth-to-Last

Don't forget about Cambodian marathoner Hem Bunting, whose training conditions would make any American or Chinese athlete cringe. He crossed the finish line in 2 hours, 33 minutes, 32 seconds, 73rd out of 76 finishers. Don't tell me he isn't a winner.

Kobe Bryant and LeBron James were winners, but not for their team's on-court redemption. The millionaires learned humility. They learned to marvel at the accomplishments of others, to appreciate the sacrifices some make without the promise of a big payday or global acclaim.

The scoreboard at the volleyball venue said Brazil lost the final men's match. In the press conference that followed, team captain Gilberto Gudoy, or Giba, opened with a message for U.S. coach Hugh McCutcheon, whose father-in-law was stabbed to death while visiting a Beijing tourist site.

`Really Sorry'

``I'm really sorry what happened to your family,'' he said. ``Here is match, but more important is life, family.'' The men embraced. Try convincing McCutcheon the man on the other end of that hug isn't a winner.

The taekwondo results say Afghanistan's Rohullah Nikpai finished third, meaning he didn't win. Results don't tell you it's the first Olympic medal in the country's history. Not a winner?

Goalkeeper Hope Solo, ostracized by her U.S. soccer teammates for publicly chastising the former coach, won more than a gold medal. She won back their hearts and respect.

``The medal is nice,'' Solo said, gold medal hanging around her neck, ``but the winners here are the ones who take away the experiences.''

Speaking of which, numerous press agencies like to display their best photographs on flat-screen panels in the halls of the main press center. Captured are moments of jubilation, exhaustion and despair. It was worth stopping at the end of the night to see them. The Olympics are too big to touch every story in person.

Back to the question at hand: Who won?

Scoreboards and medals tables don't provide the answer. Only the participants do.

(Scott Soshnick is a Bloomberg News columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.)