Like Fu Mingxia (Asian/ Olympic multi-medalist diver), Wang Junxia (track and field/ world record holder), Gao Min (world/ Olympic multi-medalist in diving) and Li Ning ( gymnastics/ Olympic gold medalist, 1984), Yao Ming (basketball player) is one of the favourites to light the Olympic flame on August 8th 2008. For his training, Liu Xiang -110m hurdles/ Olympic, Asian, world outdoor and world indoor champion- will probably not light the Olympic flame at the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing. Xiang's father said, "He has such a weighty responsibility on the track, he will not be the one to light the flame". Liu is one of the most famous athletes in the history.
The sports competition program of the 2008 Beijing Games can include only sports of International Federations recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC): archery, athletics (track and field), badminton, baseball, basketball, beach volleyball, boxing, canoeing (canoe/ kayak), cycling, diving, equestrian, fencing, football (soccer), gymnastics, handball, field hockey, judo, rowing, shooting, softball, synchronized diving, synchronized swimming, swimming (aquatics), table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, triathlon, water polo, weightlifting, volleyball, wrestling (freestyle & Greco-Roman) and yachting (sailing).
The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the 29th Olympiad (BOCOG) sent invitations to all National Olympic Committees around the world (205 countries and territories). Curiously, China does not have formal diplomatic relations with Belize, Burkina Faso, Chad, Costa Rica, Dominica (former British colony in the Caribbean), Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Gambia, Guatemala, Grenada, Haiti, Honduras, Liberia, Malawi, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niger, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Solomon Islands, Swaziland, Tonga and Tuvalu.
This Asian country has hosted many world championships/ international games:
The 1961 ITTF Table Tennis World Cup, Beijing
The 1991 FIFA Football Women's World Cup, Guangzhou
The 1993 East Asian Games, Shangai
The 1996 Asian Winter Games, Habian
The 1999 World Gymnastics Championship, Tianjin
The 1985 FIFA U-16 World Championship, Beijing
The 2002 FIBA World Championship for Women, Beijing
The 2005 AIBA Boxing World Championship, Mianyang
The 2005 East Asian Games, Macau
The 2006 ISF Softball Women's World Cup, Beijing
The 2006 Lusophony Games, Macau
The 2007 Asian Winter Games, Changchun
The 2007 Asian Indoor Games, Macau
The 2007 FIFA Football Women's World Cup, Shangai
The 2007 WTF World Taekwondo Championship, Beijing
The non- Olympic sports are: aikido, billiards, bodybuilding, bowling, chess, cricket, golf, Kabaddi, karate, kendo, kuoshu, racquetball, roller skating, rugby, sepaktakraw, squash, water skiing.
During the XXIX Summer Olympic Games, the Beijing Hotel will serve as the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and guests. It is one of the most distinguished hotels in the world.
China -it is a little bigger than the United States- has won 112 Olympic gold medals. After their first appearance at the 1984 Olympic Games, the Chinese team has been the most successful team in Asia.
Hosts................Gold...Silver....Bronze...Total...Ranking
L.A'84...................15.......8..........9............32........4
Seoul'88...............5.......11........12..........28.......11
Barcelona'92.....16......22........16...........54........4
Atlanta'96............16......22........12..........50........4
Sydney'2000......28......16........15...........59........3
Athens'2004......32......17........14...........63........2
The following countries will participate in the Olympics in China:
1.Afghanistan
2.Albania
3.Algeria
4.American Samoa
5.Andorra
6.Angola
7.Antigua & Barbuda
8.Argentina
9.Armenia
10.Aruba
11.Australia
12.Austria
13.Azerbaijan
14.Bahamas
15.Bahrain
16.Bangladesh
17.Barbados
18.Belarus
19.Belgium
20.Belize
21.Benin
22.Bermuda
23.Bhutan
24.Bolivia
25.Bosnia Herzegovina
26.Botswana
27.Brazil
28.British Virgin Islands
29.Brunei Darussalam
30.Bulgaria
31.Burkina Faso
32.Burundi
33.Cambodia
34.Camerron
35.Canada
36.Cape verde
37.Cayman Islands
38.Central African Republic
39.Chad
40.Chile
41.China (The People's Republic of China)
42.Chinese Taipei
43.Colombia
44.Comoros
45.Congo
46.Congo Republic
47.Cook Islands
48.Costa Rica
49.Cote d'Ivoire
50.Croatia
51.Cuba
52.Cyprus
53.Czech Republic
54.Denmark
55.Djibouti
56.Dominica
57.Dominican Republic
58.Ecuador
59.Egypt
60.El Salvador
61.Equatorial Guinea
62.Eritrea
63.Estonia
64.Ethiopia
65.Fiji
66.Finland
67.France
68.Gabon
69.Gambia
70.Georgia
71.Germany
72.Ghana
73.Greece
74.Grenada
75.Guam
76.Guatemala
77.Guinea
78.Guinea-Bissau
79.Guyana
80.Haiti
81.Honduras
82.Hong Kong
83.Hungary
84.Iceland
85.India
86.Indonesia
87.Iran
88.Iraq
89.Ireland
90.Israel
91.Italy
92.Jamaica
93.Japan
94.Jordan
95.Kazakhstan
96.Kenya
97.Kiribati
98.Korea, North
99.Korea, South
100.Kuwait
101.Kyrgyzstan
102.Laos
103.Latvia
104.Lebanon
105.Lesotho
106.Liberia
107.Lybia
108.Liechtenstein
109.Lithuania
110.Luxembourg
111.Macedonia
112.Madagascar
113.Malawi
114.Malaysia
115.Maldives
116.Mali
117.Malta
118.Marshall Islands
119.Mauritania
120.Mauritius
121.Mexico
122.Micronesia
123.Moldova
124.Monaco
125.Mongolia
126.Montenegro
127.Morocco
128.Mozambique
129.Myanmar
130.Namibia
131.Nauru
132.Nepal
133.Netherlands
134.Netherlands Antilles
135.New Zealand
136.Nicaragua
137.Niger
138.Nigeria
139.Norway
140.Oman
141.Pakistan
142.Palau
143.Palestine
144.Panama
145.Papua New Guinea
146.Paraguay
147.Peru
148.Philippines
149.Poland
150.Portugal
151.Puerto Rico
152.Qatar
153.Romania
154Russia
155.Rwanda
156.Saint Kitts and Nevis
157.Saint Lucia
158.Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
159.Samoa
160.San Marino
161.Sao Tome and Principe
162.Saudi Arabia
163.Senegal
164.Serbia
165.Seychelles
166.Sierra Leone
167.Singapore
168.Slovak Republic
169.Slovenia
170.Solomon Islands
171.Somalia
172.South Africa
173.Spain
174.Sri Lanka
175.Sudan
176.Suriname
177.Swaziland
178.Sweden
179.Switzerland
180.Syria
181.Tajikistan
182.Tanzania
183.Thailand
184.Timor-Leste
185.Togo
186.Tonga
187.Trinidad & Tobago
188.Tunisia
189.Turkey
190.Turkmenistan
191.Tuvalu
192.Uganda
193.Ukraine
194.United Arab Emirates
195.United Kingdom
196.United States
197.United States Virgin Islands
198.Uruguay
199.Uzbekistan
200.Vanuatu
201.Venezuela
202.Vietnam
203.Yemen
204.Zambia
205.Zimbabwe
Alejandro Guevara Onofre: He is a freelance writer. Alejandro is of Italian, African and Peruvian ancestry. He has published more than seventy-five research paper in English, and more than twenty in Spanish, concerning the world issues, olympic sports, countries, and tourism. His next essay is called "The Dictator and Alicia Alonso". He is an expert on foreign affairs. Alejandro is the first author who has published a world-book encyclopedia in Latin America.
He admires Frida Kahlo (Mexican painter), Jos Gamarra (former president of the Bolivian Olympic Committee ,1970- 1982), Hillary Clinton (ex-First Lady of the USA), and Jimmy Carter (former President of the USA). Alejandro said: "The person who I admire the most is Jos Gamarra . He devoted his professional and personal life to sport. Jos played an important role in the promotion of Olympism in Bolivia -it is one of the Third World`s poorest countries- and Latin America. His biography is interesting". The sportspeople he most admire is Olympic volleyball player Flo Hyman. "This African-American sportswoman is my idol... "
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