Other than a few odd scandals that don’t even rank with the political and doping disgraces of yesteryear, the Beijing Olympics were compelling, devoid of debacles and laden with memorable developments.
A look back alphabetically:
A for Adam van Koeverden, a Canadian icon heavily favoured for gold medals in kayaking. He finished an unfathomable eighth in the 1,000-metres event, although a silver in the 500 gave him some redemption.
B for beach volleyball, women’s. It’s wonderful.
C for China, which distinguished itself as a first-rate host and also won 51 gold medals, 15 more than any other country.
D for Despatie, as in Alexandre, a Canadian diver who grabbed silver despite fracturing a foot and missing months of training.
E for 18, the number of medals for Canada, tying its third-best performance.
F for fiascos – two in taekwondo. Canadian medal hopeful Ivett Gondo protested her loss (unsuccessfully) because of what she considered unfair judging and Cuban Angel Matos kicked a judge in the face after he was disqualified.
G for gold medals. Canadians captured three – wrestler Carol Huynh, equestrian’s Eric Lamaze and the men’s eight rowing team.
H for Hickstead, the horse who carried Lamaze to gold, giving the 40-year-old Ontarian sweet redemption after a cocaine-checkered past.
I for Ian Millar, who, at 61, won his first medal by leading Canada to silver in team-jumping equestrian.
J for judges, who’ve outlived their usefulness in the Olympics.
K for Karen Cockburn, who garnered silver for Canada on the trampoline and carried the Canadian flag in the closing ceremonies. L for Luan, as in Jujie, a legendary Chinese fencer who, at 50, represented Canada in her homeland.
M for money. Canadian athletes need more.
N for Nattrass, as in Susan, a legendary Canadian shooter who sadly struggled and, at 57, will retire.
O for Olympics. Are they clean again?
P for Phelps, as in Michael, the U.S. swimmer who won eight golds. These were his Games.
Q for question marks, which surround the ages of some of those cherub-faced Chinese gymnasts.
R for rowing, which Canada rules.
S for silver medals. Canada took nine.
T for terrible, as in the IOC’s decision to dump women’s softball.
U for Usain Bolt of Jamaica, history’s greatest sprinter. Flashiest, too.
V for Vancouver, which will have a tough time matching Beijing’s excellence in the 2010 Winter Olympics. Good luck.
W for world records—43 in Beijing.
X for Xingfang Xie, a Chinese medallist. (Hey, it works.)
Y for Yes, I love women’s beach volleyball!
Z for Zimbabwe swimmer Kirsty Coventry, winner of all four Zimbabwean medals.
