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Over the past couple of weeks, in Beijing, China, over 11,000 athletes from more than 200 countries participated in 302 events in 28 sports. below are some highlights of the last week in Beijing, and a few shots of the Closing Ceremony last night in the National Stadium.

That race was absurdly close... but if Phelps touched the wall harder than the other swimmer, registering him as first (even if the other swimmer appeared to be ahead) I'd say that's all part of the game and Phelps won fair and square...

Quoted: Did Michael Phelps really earn eight gold medals in the 2008 Olympics?

Discussing the will-do attitude of 'typical' Chinese.

There's a convincing allegory to be made here, comparing de Tocqueville's analysis of the effects of Jacksonian democracy in 19th-century America... minus the democracy.

Quoted: The Chinese are not “free”, but outside Tibet - and with a few other high-profile exceptions - they wear their oppression lightly. I detected no great clamour for democracy at this stage in the country's development. Security and prosperity come higher on most people's wish list.

Quote: After eight long years, the United States returned to its customary place atop the basketball world, winning the gold medal at the 2008 Olympics with an emotional and hard-fought 118-107 victory over determined Spain.

All right people, the day has finally come and the US men have recaptured the gold in basketball. Thank you Jerry Colangelo. Thank you Coach K. Thanks to all the players! We love you!

USA!!! USA!!! USA!!!

wow... great action shot.

Quoted: The official website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games

Found it - some DiveCam footage here at the 30s mark. Lots of great technology (DiveCam, Multi-frame photos) being used to explain and visualize what happens in the 2-3 seconds of a typical dive.