History

  • Sunday August 24

    0030 Athletics - Men's marathon
    0630 Boxing - Six finals
    0730 Basketball - Men's final
    1330 Closing ceremony
    All times BST
Medals Table
G S B Tot
1 CHN 51 21 28 100
2 USA 36 38 36 110
3 RUS 23 21 28 72
4 GBR 19 13 15 47
5 GER 16 10 15 41
6 AUS 14 15 17 46
Olympic History

History Timeline

It all started in Athens in 1896...

Team GB

Competitor List

Take a look at the British athletes heading for Beijing

1936 - Berlin

  • Owens - star of the 1936 games.

    Owens - star of the 1936 games.

Berlin saw the introduction of the torch relay but the Games were infamous for Adolf Hitler's failed attempt to use them to prove his theories of Aryan racial superiority.

The hero of the Games was African-American sprinter and long jumper Jesse Owens, who won four gold medals (100m, 200m, 4x100m relay and long jump).

Throughout the city 25 large television screens were set up for the public to watch the action for free - the first Olympics broadcast.

American 13-year-old Marjorie Gestring won gold in springboard diving and remains the youngest female gold medallist in the history of the summer Olympics, while Denmark's Inge Sorensen claimed bronze medal in the 200-medal breaststroke at the age of 12, making her the youngest medallist ever in an individual event.

Basketball, canoeing and team handball made their first appearances, while polo was included for the last time.

British rower Jack Beresford claimed gold in the double sculls event, the fifth successive Olympics he had won a medal, while Hungarian water polo player Olivier Halassy won his third medal despite having previously had one of his legs amputated below the knee following a streetcar accident.

British gold medals: 3

More History Stories

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Egan: light-heavyweight silver

Day 16 - As It Happened

Irish boxer Kenny Egan took silver on the final day of action in Beijing.

Early stages of the marathon.

2008 Olympics - Day 16

Pictures from the final day of the Beijing Olympics including an appearance from David Beckham.

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