BEIJING - Chinese ace gymnast Li Xiaopeng won the parallel bars gold medal at the Beijing Olympics on Tuesday, proving his strong comeback to the podium at the highest level.
It was the eighth Olympic title claimed by the Chinese gymantic team in the close contests in Beijing.
For Li, it was his second Olympic gold in parallel bars following the glory in the Sydney Games eight years ago.
BEIJING - China lifted the men’s Olympic team table tennis crown Monday after dowing European powerhouse Germany 3-0 in the final.
It was the second team title China claimed at Beijing table tennis tournament, 24 hours after the host’s women stood atop of the poduim. The gold medal was also the 18th China won since its national sport was introduced a medal sport at the 1988 Seoul Games.
In the 1800s, the Greeks began hosting athletic competitions again, hoping they’d gather the kind of steam that got the Olympics rolling. But the games didn’t take off.
It took a real visionary to resuscitate a tradition that had been dead for nearly 1500 years. A French baron named Pierre de Coubertin thought that he could reform the French educational system by emphasizing the type of athleticism that the Greeks conceived of. Coubertin wanted to see his countrymen develop into great scholars and citizens as well as great sportsmen. Nurturing and pushing the body to its limits was just as important to Coubertin as challenging one’s mind.
