Goodnight and Goodbye, Beijing

(Photo credit: Greg Baker/AP)

And so it comes to a close.

Before the Olympics I thought I wasn't going to be much interested in whole event and was perhaps more intrigued by whether China was going to pull it off given the PR fiascos of the torch relay and the many set backs they'd suffered in the year, from natural disasters and bad press about air quality and human rights.

For some reason I totally forgot that I love sports! Duh. All thanks to my Dad who plays and watches every sport they show on TV - even, for example, darts - and would explain the rules and strategies of each game in a manner that would draw me in. It used to be about participation, but I got lazy (and now unwieldy) and these days, I it's about watching and reading. So with the spectacle that is "the 'Lympics", I found myself hooked to the telly for the past 2 weeks and checking out TV schedules to make sure that I didn't miss my fav events.

So, as the 2008 Games come to an end and we look to 2012, here are some pics of my fav moments:

(Photo credit: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Michael Phelps.
What can we say? The guy is out of this world.

Phelps celebrating with his 4x100m freestyle relay team after Jason Lezak's incredible last leg rescued

(Photo credit: Al Bello/Getty Images)
Phelps with the 4x100m medley relay team and his 8th gold medal of the games. Best Olympian ever.

The Chinese divers were a dream to watch -- even more so when they come in pairs. Like the Chinese gymnasts. And the Chinese synchro swimmers.

(Photo credit: Vladimir Rys/Bongarts/Getty Images)
The unbelievable Usain Bolt, who managed to slow down and yet break the world record in the men's 100m. Geez. He's fast alright, even if all his posturing before the race had me rolling my eyes!

(Photo credit: Michael Steele/Getty Images)
Breaking the world record again during the men's 200m, this time when he's trying.

(Photo credit: Reuters)
And at the other end of the distance scale, Kenenisa Bekele wins both the 5,000m and 10,000m titles. Watching these races made me remember the time when I used to run competitively and was (of course) no where near 1/2 as quick. These guys are insanely fast.

Not forgetting of course Tao Li, who pulled off the tremendous achievement of qualifying for the finals of the 100m butterfly and coming in 5th. Honestly, the folks who described her achievement as "failing to win a medal" ought to be shot.

And the Paddlers who won the country's first medal in years. Being someone who can barely keep the ball in play and hit that small table, I was hooked to the lightning quick exchanges. And even when I couldn't watch the game, like the semis which were played in the afternoon, I found myself glued to the live scores on the official site.

(Photo credit: Xinhua)
Feng Tianwei celebrates her win in the decisive match last singles match in the semis against Korea with her coach.

All smiles with the long-awaited Silvers.

It was an absorbing 2 weeks of being hooked to the telly and we're now recovering from the lack of sleep caused by all that couch-potato-ing. Well, that and poor DD's hacking cough that has been waking him up in the night.

Now to look forward to the next spectacle in London...