The Olympics saw China depose the US as the new sports superpower but the final day started with Kenyan Samuel Wanjiru relishing the heat to record an historic first Olympic marathon for the African nation.

At the end of the 16 days of competition in 302 events, China won 51 gold medals, followed by the United States (36), Russia (23) and Great Britain (19).

Vietnam with only one silver medal grabbed on August 10 by weightlifter Hoang Anh Tuan, ranked 71^st together with seven other countries including Malaysia and Singapore of the Southeast Asian region.

 

Earlier, Rogge said that “more than 40 world records and more than 100 Olympic records were set, and we had the two icons of the Games, Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt.”

Rogge pointed to heightened environment awareness, greater enthusiasm for sport among Chinese and the new stadia in Beijing as the legacies for China.

They not only topped the gold medal count, but a near flawless organisation meant the controversies that marred the build-up largely slipped into the background.

Phelps, with his unprecedented eight gold medals and seven world records, and Bolt, the fastest man on earth winning three gold medals with three world records, were the headline stories.

At the end of the closing ceremony on August 24, the Olympic flag was passed to Johnson as London will be the host of the 2012 Olympics.

Part way through the ceremony the spectators were deeply impressed by London’s eight-minute show that featured a red double-decker London bus driving into the stadium and converting into a stage. Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page and British singing sensation Leona Lewis performed, and Beckham kicked a ball into a crowd to start the countdown to London 2012.

They were celebrating not only London’s upcoming role as host, but also a breakthrough performance here in China by British athletes, competing their country’s best Olympics in a century.

                               Final Olympics Medal Tally