2008 Summer Olympics medal table

2008 Summer Olympics medals
Michael Phelps smiling with an Olympic medal around his neck
Michael Phelps (pictured) won eight medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics, the most of any competing athlete
LocationBeijing,  China
Highlights
Most gold medals China (48)
Most total medals United States (112)
Medalling NOCs87
← 2004 · Olympics medal tables · 2012 →
Map detaling the achievements of each country in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing
Map of the world showing the achievements of each country during the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Gold for countries achieving at least one gold medal.
Silver for countries achieving at least one silver medal.
Brown for countries achieving at least one bronze medal.
Green for countries that did not win a medal.
Black for countries that did not participate.
A yellow square displays the host city (Beijing).
Blue asterisks display countries achieving their first medal ever in a Summer Olympics.

The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, were a summer multi-sport event held in Beijing, the capital of the People's Republic of China, from 8 to 24 August 2008.[1] Approximately 10,942 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in 302 events in 28 sports across 41 disciplines.[2][3] Cycling BMX racing and 10 km (6.2 mi) marathon swimming were included as official medal events for the first time in history.[4] The Marshall Islands, Montenegro and Tuvalu made their Summer Olympic debuts in Beijing.[5]

Overall, athletes from a record 87 countries won at least one medal,[6] and 55 of them won at least one gold medal.[7] Afghanistan,[8] Mauritius,[9] Sudan,[10] Tajikistan[11] and Togo won their first Olympic medals of any kind.[12] Athletes from Mongolia (which previously held the record for most medals without a gold)[13] and Panama won their first Olympic gold medals.[14] Serbian swimmer Milorad Čavić won the first medal for the country as an independent state.[15] Samoa won its first Olympic medal due to a reallocation of medals after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) retested doping samples in 2016.[16]

Athletes from the host nation China won the most gold medals, with 48, while athletes from the United States won the most medals overall, with 112.[7] Among individual participants, American swimmer Michael Phelps won the most gold medals and the most total medals with eight each, breaking Mark Spitz's 1972 record for the most gold medals won at an Olympic Games.[17]

During and after the games, many athletes who were caught doping, or tested positive for banned substances, were disqualified from competition and had their medals revoked.[18][19]

  1. ^ Johnston, Mindy (13 August 2024). "Beijing 2008 Olympic Games". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 9 September 2024. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  2. ^ "Beijing 2008 Olympic Games". Swimming New Zealand. Archived from the original on 14 January 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  3. ^ "2008 Summer Olympics". Olympedia. Archived from the original on 25 September 2024. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  4. ^ "BMX gears up for Olympics debut". Rediff.com. 7 July 2008. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  5. ^ Beech, Hannah (8 August 2008). "Let China's Games Begin". Time. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  6. ^ Crary, David (25 August 2008). "China wins gold medal race; U.S. first overall". The Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  7. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Medal table was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "Afghans win first Olympic medal". BBC Sport. 20 August 2008. Archived from the original on 21 August 2008. Retrieved 20 August 2008.
  9. ^ "Mauritian delight at first ever medal". The Times of India. 22 August 2008. Archived from the original on 27 August 2008. Retrieved 26 August 2008.
  10. ^ Osman, Mohamed (24 August 2008). "Darfur runner wins Sudan's first Olympic medal". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 5 June 2009.
  11. ^ Talmadge, Eric (11 August 2008). "Italy, Azerbaijan win golds". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2009.
  12. ^ "Togo claims first Olympic medal". BBC News. 12 August 2008. Archived from the original on 13 August 2008. Retrieved 12 August 2008.
  13. ^ "Naidan wins Mongolia's first gold". BBC Sport. 14 August 2008. Archived from the original on 15 August 2008. Retrieved 14 August 2008.
  14. ^ "Liu out, Isinbayeva gets world record". The New York Times. 18 August 2008. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2009.
  15. ^ "Swimmer Scoops Serbia's First Olympic Medal". Balkan Insight. Balkan Investigative Reporting Network. 18 August 2008. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  16. ^ Butler, Nick (26 October 2016). "Six medal winners stripped by IOC in latest batch of Beijing 2008 retest results". Inside the Games. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  17. ^ "2008 Beijing Summer Games". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  18. ^ R. Ruiz, Rebecca (21 November 2016). "Olympics History Rewritten: New Doping Tests Topple the Podium". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  19. ^ Kolliari-Turner, Alexander; Lima, Giscard; Hamilton, Blair; Pitsiladis, Yannis; M. Guppy, Fergus (9 April 2021). "Analysis of Anti-Doping Rule Violations That Have Impacted Medal Results at the Summer Olympic Games 1968–2012". Sports Medicine. 51 (10): 2221–2229. doi:10.1007/s40279-021-01463-4. PMC 8033275. PMID 33835351. Retrieved 27 September 2024 – via PubMed Central.