The Guide

The Guide To The Olympics

Oh, Eight!

At precisely 8:08:08 p.m., on August 8, the 2008 Summer Olympic Games will begin. The games mark the first time China has hosted the quadrennial athletic spectacular, and the starting time honors the country’s traditional belief that the number 8 signals good luck. Since being chosen by the International Olympic Committee in 2001 as the site of the XXIXth Olympiad, the capital city of Beijing has been preparing to welcome nearly 10,700 athletes from 205 nations. Already on an infrastructure-enhancing growth spurt en route to global economic superstardom, the city has built 20 new venues for athletic competitions and retrofitted 11 existing facilities, where 302 events in 28 different sports will be contested over 17 days.

It all starts with the parade of athletes inside the National Stadium, aka the Bird’s Nest. The opening ceremony will culminate with the lighting of the Olympic cauldron by a native luminary whose identity is being kept secret until the very moment (NBA big man Yao Ming is a good bet). Worldwide, several billion viewers are expected to participate in their own two-week marathon of Olympic consumption, tuning in to coverage aired on NBC, USA, MSNBC, CNBC, Oxygen, and Telemundo, as well as online at nbcolympics.com. In total, television coverage will average nearly 212 hours per day—or about 8 days a day. What luck!

10 Top Contenders

1. Paolo Bettini, Italy —Men’s road cycling

2. Tyson Gay, USA —Men’s track and field, 100 meter

3. Pavol and Peter Hochschorner, Slovakia —Two-man whitewater canoe

4. Guo Jingjing, China —Women’s diving, springboard

5. Wang Liqin, China —Men’s table tennis, singles

6. Netherlands—Women’s field hockey

7. Michael Phelps, USA —Swimming (multiple events)

8. Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, USA —Women’s beach volleyball

9. USA—Softball

10. Liu Xiang, China —Men’s track and field, 110 meter hurdles

Most Medals

The American flag has been raised at the Olympic awards stand more than that of any other country — a total of 2,197 times (897 gold, 693.5 silver, 606.5 bronze). The former Soviet Union is second, with 1,122 total medals.

Great Balls of Fire

Match the object with the top speed it travels at.

a. 200 mph                                 badminton shuttlecock

b. 70 mph                                   softball pitch

c. 100 mph                                 table tennis ball

d. 120 mph                                 tennis ball serve

e. 90 mph                                   beach volleyball smash

Answers: ( a) shuttlecock; ( b) softball; (c) table tennis ball;  (d) tennis serve; (e) volleyball

Oldest Olympian

The oldest U.S. Olympian in Beijing is 56-year-old Libby Callahan, who will compete in pistol-shooting events. A retired lieutenant in the Washington, D.C., police department, Callahan is appearing in her fourth Olympics (1992, 1994, 2004).

In the Water the Longest

If she makes the U.S. swimming team*, 41-year-old Dara Torres will be competing in her fifth Olympics (1984, 1988, 1992, 2000). Torres is already the oldest American swimmer to win a gold medal — in the 400 meter medley relay at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Her top event is the 50 meter freestyle, in which she set a U.S. record of 24.53 seconds last summer.

* Most U.S. Olympians must qualify at team trials, which take place through August.

Olympic Leading Edge

• BMX bicycling makes its Olympic debut in Beijing (other first-time events include open-water swimming and women’s steeplechase). The dirt course starts down a 26-foot ramp and features four straightaways, three turns, and multiple hills and jumps. Three-time BMX world champion Kyle Bennett of Texas is favored to win the men’s inaugural gold.

• Speedo’s new full-body LZR Racer suit, designed with help from NASA, will be donned by swimmers from the United States and many other countries. Eighteen world records were set by swimmers wearing the suits in pre-Olympic competition.