Impressive hosts surpass expectations with 51 golds to knock the US off their perch
When IOC president Jacques Rogge announced to the world that Beijing had an 'exceptional' Games, he wasn't just talking about the state-of-the-art facilities and smooth running of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad.
The expectations and hopes of a nation of 1.3 billion were finally realised when the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics was held on August 8, bringing to fruition seven years of labour, a multi-billion-dollar investment and an ocean of anxiety.
The mainland did indeed deliver like never before - from a spectacular opening ceremony to an equally dazzling closing ceremony, ending 16 days of competition that saw a total of 43 world records and 132 Olympic records set by the 10,500 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees (NOC) competing in 302 events in 28 sports.
The Beijing Olympics were arguably the most successful Games ever staged - at least from a sports performance standpoint with the memorable displays of American swimmer Michael Phelps and the amazing Jamaican sprinter, Usain Bolt, still fresh in the mind.
China also delivered on the field, easily surpassing the 32 gold medals won in Athens with a mighty golden harvest of 51 gold medals, the second largest haul by a national team in a modern, non-boycotted Summer Games.