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Source: http://blog.yoyoor.com/

1. Marathon Swimming: The Sweetest Victory of All While Michael Phelps may be stealing the show in the shorter swim races, and has proven to be the world’s strongest swimmer with a gold medal almost every day of the first week of the Olympics, the marathon swim is also a true test of stamina: 10km in the open water. This year’s race was especially exciting, as the first finishers kept close together all the way through the final 100 meters. Despite the length of the course, the gold medalist, Maarten van der Weijden, won the race by only 1.5 seconds. Van der Weijden was considered to be one of the best long-distance swimmers in the world at the turn of the century. In 2001, he was diagnosed with Leukemia, and his career appeared to be over. His victory in the Olympics this year was also a victory in his fight against cancer, making it all the sweeter.

2. Modern Pentathlon: Don’t Spook the Horses The modern pentathlon consists of 5 events: epee fencing, pistol shooting, 200m freestyle swimming, a show jumping course on horseback, and a 3 km cross-country run. Despite such a variety of events, there is only one gold medal at stake. The modern pentathlon is an exciting event because the competitors go at it in 5 completely different sports, which allows the events to take sudden twists and turns depending on which events a particular competitor excels at… and which events represent a competitor’s weak area. It’s even more exciting because all 5 events happen in one day, making completing the event successfully a very demanding task. Andrey Moiseev of Russia became the first male in 52 years to win back-to-back gold medals at the 2008 modern pentathlon event. One of the most interesting aspects of this event is that during the equestrian portion, competitors usually ride mounts that they have never ridden before. This made for numerous refusals, several falls and repeated instances of horses plowing through the fences during the event. The worst fall occurred when John Zakrzewski of France flipped over and was dragged along the ground with his foot still in the stirrups. The Frenchman was later stamped on by his mount, leaving him with a bloodied face.

3.Handball: Down to the Final Buzzer With extreme popularity both in the West and in China, basketball is one of the most popular sports of the 2008 Olympics. One exciting sport that has been left by the wayside is handball. Handball is a team sport where 2 seven-player teams pass and bounce a ball, trying to throw it into the goal of the opposing team. Handball’s definition makes it seem like a cross between soccer and basketball, two of the world’s most popular sports. But despite this, it rarely receives a large audience. This is a shame, because the sport always proves to be exciting, especially during the Olympics. Some of the “fakes” that players make before throwing the ball at the goal are fascinating and exciting to watch. The fast pace of the game is a nice contrast to some of the slower Olympic sports. One exciting part of this year’s handball event has happened on the sidelines. South Korea has now appealed the result of their semifinal match against Norway two times to the Disciplinary Commission of the International Handball Federation. Norway won the semifinal match, 29-28. The game appeared to be headed into overtime, only to have Norway get a last-second go-ahead goal for the win. But South Korea continues to protest the final goal, saying Norway scored after the final buzzer sounded. The result of their second appeal has not yet been announced.

4. Beach Volleyball: A Party for Everyone Beach volleyball is always an exciting event in the Olympics. What better activity to do at the beach than to watch strong athletes play intense games of volleyball against each other. This The final matches were played in pouring rain in a temporary stadium set up in Beijing’s Chaoyang Park. Despite this, a party atmosphere prevailed with the customary event music and ardent fans from both China and the U.S., including Kobe Bryant rooting for the US.

5. Wushu (Martial Arts) Tournament: The Future of the Olympics This is technically not an Olympic event (yet), but the Wushu Tournament from 8/21 to 8/24 is still a must-see sporting event at Beijing this year. The event has attracted 128 athletes from 43 countries, underscoring the worldwide appeal of martial arts and boosting its standing as a potential future Olympic sport. This is the first time in the Olympic history for a tournament of a non-Olympic event to be held in an Olympic host city during the Games, and Chinese organizers have ensured it will be a complete success. Featuring a perfect blend of artistic movement and fighting, the tournament should help to increase Wushu’s popularity, particularly in the US and Europe. If you want to watch history and learn about a highly respected traditional Chinese art form, the Wushu Tournament is not to be missed.year’s beach volleyball competition did not disappoint. Although the Chinese team of Tian Jia and Wang Jie couldn’t break the 107-match winning streak of Misty May-Treanor and Kerry Walsh to take the gold, Chinese teams did take both the silver and bronze medal to loud cheers from their supportive home crowd.