"in Beijing, China, where he made history in Central America and his country, Panama, by winning the gold medal in the long jump competition on 18 August 2008, with a jump of 8.34 meters, giving Panama their first Olympic medal since the 1948 Summer Olympics, and their first gold ever. This is also the first Olympic gold medal ever won in a men's event by an athlete from Central America. On 21 August 2008 after winning Olympic gold, he arrived to Panama a national hero. Government offices and public schools were closed in honor of him so that public servants"
"Quadros and jumper Maurren Maggi, respectively. Three of the medals were gold, by Maggi, swimmer César Cielo and the female volleyball team. Brazil was the 39th nation to enter the Beijing National Stadium during the Olympic opening ceremony, with the presence of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of the Federative Republic of Brazil. Lula and Carlos Arthur Nuzman, president of the Brazilian Olympic Committee, lobbied for Rio de Janeiro's bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Sailor Robert Scheidt (1996, 2000 and 2004 medalist) was the flag bearer at the opening ceremony, and Maurren Maggi, who became the first Brazilian"
"while Colombia had the third highest medal haul (13). Fifteen of the 21 nations present reached the medal table. Six new championship records were set at the competition. Maurren Maggi cleared a record of 6.97 m to win the long jump, while Isbel Luaces's javelin throw of 81.64 m bettered the championship record. Vânia Silva improved the women's hammer throw mark by several metres. Uruguay's Heber Viera and Brazil's Vicente de Lima needed a photo finish to separate them in the 100 metres. The Uruguayan took the honours by 2/1000 of a second – a difference which may have been"
"girl singing a reprise of Mo Li Hua and concluded the presentation by saying ""Welcome to Beijing!"" The medal ceremony for the last event of the Olympics, the men's marathon, was conducted, with Stefano Baldini from Italy as the winner. The bronze medal winner, Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima of Brazil, was simultaneously announced as a recipient of the Pierre de Coubertin medal for his bravery in finishing the race despite being attacked by a rogue spectator while leading with 7 km to go. A flag-bearer from each nation's delegation then entered along the stage, followed by the competitors ""en masse"""
"and world-record holder Paul Biedermann, gymnast and pre-Olympic favorite Marcel Nguyen, track cyclist and four-time World Cup champion Maximilian Levy, and open water swimmer Thomas Lurz, bronze medalist in Beijing. Two naturalized German athletes made their sixth Olympic appearance as individuals: Mongolian-born pistol shooter Munkhbayar Dorjsuren, who won two Olympic bronze medals (including one from Beijing), and Uzbek-born gymnast Oksana Chusovitina, who won silver in the women's vault exercises. Other naturalized athletes included Kazakh-born marathon runner Irina Mikitenko, who competed at her fifth Olympics as an individual athlete, and Georgian-born trampoline gymnast Anna Dogonadze, who represented her current nation in"
"while Argentina and the Dominican Republic each had three. Only four championship records were broken at the competition: Germán Chiaraviglio and Fabiana Murer improved the men's and women's pole vault records, with Murer's mark being a South American record clearance. Juana Castillo set a new championship and national mark in the heptathlon, while Maíla Machado bettered the 100 metres hurdles time. Brazil's Elisângela Adriano was the only athlete of the tournament to win two individual events as she completed a shot put and discus throw double. Other prominent performances were Javier Culson's win for the hosts in the 400 metres"
"to her 100m and 800m titles. The final day of the Championships took in five events all in the marathon. There was only one women's race, the T54 classification, with ten competitors from six different nations. The three medal winners all crossed the finish line within a second of each other, with eventual winner Switzerland's Manuela Schär recording a final time of 1:49.45. Switzerland made it a double in the T54 marathon when Marcel Hug dominated the men's race to win by over three minutes to collect his fifth gold medal of the games. Chile gained its first gold medal"
"of twelve games records were broken or equalled in the athletics competitions. Two athletes defended their 2011 titles: men's javelin thrower Ari Mannio and women's hammer thrower Zhang Wenxiu. It was Zhang's fourth successive gold medal, retaining her position as the only woman to win the event since its introduction in 2003, and she also improved the games record for a fourth time straight. The only athlete to win two individual titles, Ekaterina Koneva claimed a horizontal jumps double for Russia. Rosângela Santos won the most medals with a 100 metres individual and relay title double as well as a"
"which also saw ten national records beaten. On the first day, Brazil's Fabiana Murer won the women's pole vault in a championship record, while Argentine Jennifer Dahlgren achieved the same feat in the women's shot put. Reigning Olympic champion Maurren Maggi won her sixth title in the long jump. On day two Juan Ignacio Cerra won his ninth hammer throw gold medal in the history of the event, while Luiz Alberto de Araújo made his breakthrough in the men's decathlon – a championship record of 7944 points made him the fourth best South American of all time. The women's track"
"of the Fifteenth Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro. She won the silver medal at the women's +67-kilogram category. Falavigna defeated Venezuelan Aura Paez in the semifinals, but was defeated by Mexican Rosario Espinoza in the Gold medal match. The 2008 Olympic Games, held in Beijing, China, was Natália Falavigna's second participation in the Olympics. In the first stage, she defeated 3–1 the Greek Kyriaki Kouvari. In the quarterfinals, Natália Falavigna beat the Australian Carmen Marton 5–2, but she was defeated by Nina Solheim of Norway in the semifinals. Falavigna won the Bronze medal after beating the Swedish Karolina"
"its first tennis medal; and the United States continued to be prolific in women's doubles, having won every competition (including this one) since 1988, except in 2004. Fernando González, who won the silver medal in men's singles, became the first tennis player since Charles Winslow (at Stockholm 1912 and Antwerp 1920) to win consecutive Olympic medals, having won gold (doubles) and bronze (singles) in 2004. In the men's doubles, Switzerland won its first medal in the event, and Sweden and the US returned to the podium for the first time since 1988. Retrieved from Beijing Olympics 2008 official website. Rankings"
"also surpassed Spitz, Larisa Latynina of the USSR, Paavo Nurmi of Finland, and American sprinter Carl Lewis to become the current record holder for the most Olympic gold medals (fourteen). All three men's relay teams set world records, and an additional six individual world records were set by Phelps, Ryan Lochte and Aaron Peirsol. The United States also saw milestones in women's swimming. Natalie Coughlin won six medals, more than any other female swimmer in Beijing., and the most for any American female athlete in a single Olympics. Rebecca Soni set a world record in the 200 meter breaststroke. Dara"
"The 2008 Summer Olympics were held in Beijing, People's Republic of China. Several new events were held, including the new discipline of BMX for both men and women. For the first time, women competed in the steeplechase. The fencing program was expanded to include all six events for both men and women. Women had not previously been able to compete in team foil or saber events, although women's team épée and men's team foil were dropped for these Games. Marathon swimming events, over the distance of , were added. In addition, the doubles events in table tennis were replaced by"
"Gold – Fritz Wagnerberger (West Germany) <br> Silver – Günther Scheuerl (West Germany) <br> Bronze – Jerzy Wojna (Poland) Women: Slalom <br> Gold – Annie Famose (France) <br> Silver – Pascale Judet (France) <br> Bronze – Heidi Obrecht (Switzerland) Women: Giant slalom <br> Gold – Hiltrud Rohrbach (Austria) <br> Silver – Heidi Obrecht (Switzerland) <br> Bronze – Cécile Prince (France) Women: Downhill <br> Gold – Annie Famose (France) <br> Silver – Hiltrud Rohrbach (Austria) <br> Bronze – Pascale Judet (France) Women: Combined <br> ""Combined event is the overall standings of all disciplines on the Universiade program."" <br> Gold – Heidi"
"Basketball at the 2008 Summer Olympics Basketball contests at the 2008 Summer Olympics were held from August 9, 2008 to August 24, 2008. Competitions were held at the Wukesong Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China. The United States claimed the gold medals in both the Men's and Women's competitions. Basketball players that carried their flags at the opening ceremony were Yao Ming (for the People's Republic of China), Šarūnas Jasikevičius (for Lithuania), Dirk Nowitzki (for Germany), Andrei Kirilenko (for the Russian Federation), and Manu Ginóbili (for Argentina). Two sets of medals were awarded in the following events: An NOC may enter"
"for the Beijing Games was quite similar to that of the 2004 Summer Olympics held in Athens. There were 28 sports and 302 events at the 2008 Games. Nine new events were held, including two from the new cycling discipline of BMX. Women competed in the 3000 metre steeplechase for the first time. Open water swimming events for men and women, over the distance of , were added to the swimming discipline. Team events (men and women) in table tennis replaced the doubles events. In fencing, women's team foil and women's team sabre replaced men's team foil and women's team"
"Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics were held during the last ten days of the games, from August 15 to August 24, 2008, at the Beijing National Stadium. The Olympic sport of athletics is split into four distinct sets of events: track and field events, road running events, and racewalking events. Both men and women had very similar schedules of events. Men competed in 24 events and women in 23, as their schedule lacked the 50 km race walk. In addition, both the men's 110 m hurdles and decathlon are reflected in the women's"
"Lucimara da Silva's heptathlon score was also a Championship record. Barquisimeto native Rosa Rodríguez also set a championship record in the women's hammer throw, while Colombia's James Rendon was the only man to break a competition record, bettering the 20,000 metres walk time. Argentine thrower German Lauro won both the men's shot put and discus events. Ecuador's Alex Quiñonez was the only other athlete to take two individual titles (100 m and 200 m), although Evelyn dos Santos came close by winning the 200 m and finishing second in the 100 m. Becoming one of the oldest gold medallists at"
"their second Olympic appearance, while 27 athletes made their Olympic debut at Beijing. Israel made its Olympic debut in Beijing in the team event in rhythmic gymnastics, women's épée in fencing, women's one-person dinghy (Laser Radial) in sailing, and women's doubles in tennis. Among the medal hopefuls were Ariel Ze'evi, and also Udi Gal and Gideon Kliger, 3-times world bronze medalists in sailing 470 class, Shahar Tzuberi, world bronze medalist in sailboard class, and tennis men's double team Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram, winners of the 2008 Australian Open and #3 seeds in the Olympic tournament. The largest delegation in"
"of Greece and wrestler Vitaliy Rahimov of Azerbaijan. The others were women’s 75 kg weightlifter Iryna Kulesha of Belarus, women’s +63 kg weightlifter Maya Maneza of Kazakhstan, women's high jumper Vita Palamar of Ukraine, men’s 94 kg weightlifter Nizami Pashayev of Azerbaijan, men’s 85 kg weightlifter Vladimir Sedov of Kazakhstan, and women’s high jumper Elena Slesarenko of the Russian Federation. On 25 November 2016, the IOC disqualified 5 more athletes for failing drugs tests at the 2008 games. Among them were 3 medal winners: gold-medalists 94 kg weightlifter Ilya Ilin of Kazakhstan and hammer thrower Aksana Miankova of Belarus and"
"above sea level aided the performances of athletes competing in the sprint and field events. A total of 44 events were contested, of which 22 by male and 22 by female athletes. Brazil continued its dominance in the medals and points tables with 26 gold medals and 55 medals in all, adding to an undefeated streak in the men's and women's sides since the 1975 edition. The hosts Colombia were clear runners-up with nine golds and 36 medals, while Argentina and Ecuador were the next most successful nations. Cold, windy conditions affected athletes performances over the course of the three-day"
"highest total medal count, and won more silver and bronze medals than any other participating nation. This games also saw a gold medal record for U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps, who won 8 golds surpassing Mark Spitz's record of 7 golds in a single Olympic event in 1972. Phelps also surpassed Spitz, Larisa Latynina of the USSR, Paavo Nurmi of Finland, and U.S. sprinter Carl Lewis to become the current record holder for the most Olympic gold medals (14). The United States also saw milestones in women's swimming. Natalie Coughlin won 6 medals in Beijing, the most for a female Olympic"
"the competition, 39-year-old Romary Rifka, who first participated in 1988, won the women's high jump. Brazil, which sent the largest delegation, topped the medal table with fourteen gold medals and a total of 44 overall. Cuba (leaders in 2010) came second with eight golds and eighteen medals. Colombia was third, on six golds, and the hosts Venezuela performed well on home turf, taking fourth place in the table and ten medals from the competition. In addition to the two area records, eleven national records were broken during the competition. Twenty-four members of the Asociación Iberoamericana de Atletismo sent athletes to"
"hurdles, Hudson de Souza and Jéssica Augusto's title defences over 3000 metres, and Irving Saladino's clearance of 8.42 m to win the long jump. In spite of there generally being a lower standard of performances than at previous meets, some athletes improved their national records. Amarilys Alméstica won the hammer throw with a Puerto Rican record, while her silver medal-winning teammates in the 4×100 metres relay also beat their national mark on home soil. Lower down the order, Peru's César Barquero improved the 800 m national mark and Gabriela Traña broke the Costa Rican record for the steeplechase. Of the"
"nine championship records were improved. Colombians Gerald Giraldo (men's steeplechase), Muriel Coneo (women's 1500 m) and Evelis Jazmín Aguilar (heptathlon) made it four records for their nation. Brazil's field athletes set two championship records through men's javelin thrower Júlio César de Oliveira and women's discus thrower Andressa de Morais. Ecuador's Bayron Piedra (men's 10,000 m) and Déborah Rodríguez of Uruguay (women's 400 m hurdles) rounded out the eight record breakers. A total of sixteen national records in athletics were also improved at the competition. Two athletes completed individual doubles at the championships, both women. Muriel Coneo of Colombia won both"
"best-known athletes included the four-time women's Boston Marathon winner and two-time world champion Catherine Ndereba, 800m world record holder David Rudisha, former Marathon world record-holder Paul Tergat, and John Ngugi. Kenya won several medals during the Beijing Olympics, six gold, four silver and four bronze, making it Africa's most successful nation in the 2008 Olympics. New athletes gained attention, such as Pamela Jelimo, the women's 800m gold medalist who went on to win the IAAF Golden League jackpot, and Samuel Wanjiru who won the men's marathon. Retired Olympic and Commonwealth Games champion Kipchoge Keino helped usher in Kenya's ongoing distance"
"performed well in the long-distance events and women's sprints and ended the competition third overall with six golds in their haul of twenty medals. Chile's Sebastián Keitel was one of the foremost athletes at the event as he claimed a 100/200 metres double against Brazilian and Cuban opposition. His compatriot Gert Weil won the fifth Ibero-American gold medal in the shot put. María Eugenia Villamizar of Colombia won her second straight hammer throw title in a championship record. Her team mate Felipa Palacios broke the women's 200 m record with her winning time of 22.93 seconds. The other record breakers"
"so Gabriella Paruzzi of Italy was awarded the gold, Italian Stefania Belmondo received the silver and Norwegian Bente Skari the bronze. Lazutina won two more medals, and was allowed to keep them until 2003 when she was stripped of them by the Court of Arbitration for sport. She also lost a silver medal in the 15 km race so Kateřina Neumannová of the Czech Republic and Yuliya Chepalova of Russia were upgraded to silver and bronze. In the 10 km pursuit, she was stripped of a silver, so Beckie Scott of Canada was awarded the silver and Kateřina Neumannová of"
"sprint, and the bronze Poliana Okimoto won in marathon swimming. The silver Felipe Wu won was the first Brazil medal in shooting since the deeds of Guilherme Paraense at the 1920 Olympics. Volleyball player Sérgio Santos became the Brazilian team sports athlete with the most medals, as he participated in every men's indoor final since Athens 2004. – Indicates the athlete competed in preliminaries but not the final relay. The following is the list of number of competitors participating in the Games. Note that reserves in fencing, field hockey, football, and handball are not counted as athletes: Brazil has fielded"
"an edition which has hampered by cold, windy whether in the Chilean city. Six national records were broken at the competition, however, including a Chilean record throw of 18.65 m by shot put winner Natalia Ducó, which was also a South American junior record. Ecuador's Bayron Piedra was another stand-out performer as he set a national record to win the 3000 metres, adding to his silver medal from the 1500 metres. The competition was dominated by Brazilian athletes: seventeen gold medals were won by the country's athletes and it topped the medal table with a total of 44 medals –"
"Diana Dadzite of Latvia and Sophie Hahn of Great Britain the most successful female athletes with 3 gold medals.. The most successful home athletes were Felix Streng and Johannes Floors, with three gold and one silver medal each. Alexandra Helbling of Switzerland won 5 medals, a gold, 3 silvers and a bronze, the most medals of any athlete at the event. 15 World Records were broken in total across all events, with a further 9 European records also falling. Lucyna Kornobys of Poland was the only athlete to break two world records, setting new marks in the women's javelin F33"
"2008 Olympic gold medallist) were other highly ranked entrants. Maggi produced the best jump of the qualifying rounds, followed by Belarusian Nastassia Mironchyk-Ivanova. Brittney Reese needed the last of her three jumps to achieve the qualifying mark. Zaytseva was the most prominent jumper to be eliminated at the first stage. Maggi, Jimoh and Naide Gomes were high-profile eliminations in the first half of the final round. Reese took the lead with her first jump of 6.82 m and, despite having had five no-jumps, she remained in first place to take the gold. It was Olga Kucherenko, Ineta Radēviča and Nastassia"
"medals in the Athens Games, after strenuous games receiving the gold medal in doubles (Massú-González), bronze (González) and gold in singles (Massú). In the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Fernando González won the silver medal in singles. With regard to the number 1 obtained by Marcelo Ríos, the gold medals in the Olympics, the bichampionship in Düsseldorf and the end of the Davis Cup, note that Chile was the first South American country to achieve these accomplishments. Chile was a finalist in the Davis Cup in 1976, but was defeated by 4-1 by Italy at the National Stadium in Santiago. In"