Then she started crying and I started crying and my sister started crying

If the Bird's Nest and Water Cube define Beijing 2008 and modern China, as the hosts want us so desperately to believe they do, then US swimmer Michael Phelps and Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt define modern Olympians - and 21st century sport.

Games organisers Bocog and the IOC have long been saying these Games are simply about sports, not that other annoyance - dreaded politics. Within just over 12 hours, Bocog and the IOC have helped deliver two of the most memorable sporting moments of our time.

First it was the mischievous fastest man on land, Usain Bolt, who stole the show in the Bird's Nest on Saturday night and showed Beijing how to party.

Then yesterday Michael Phelps ripped through the Water Cube and drowned all the records in his wake. And then he hugged his mum as the watching world welled up a tear with them.

Any lingering envy of a podium place or regret over what might have been, were dispelled by the gathered international athletes as they watched history unfold. For the past seven years, few in the international community have joined in unison to applaud the Stars and Stripes and hum The Star-Spangled Banner.

No need to remember the words of the anthem yesterday. Watery eyes were adequate enough and many tried to disguise a small dam burst when Phelps parted the sea of photographers and made for his mum in the stands.