History

  • Sunday August 24

    0030 Athletics - Men's marathon
    0630 Boxing - Six finals
    0730 Basketball - Men's final
    1330 Closing ceremony
    All times BST
Medals Table
G S B Tot
1 CHN 51 21 28 100
2 USA 36 38 36 110
3 RUS 23 21 28 72
4 GBR 19 13 15 47
5 GER 16 10 15 41
6 AUS 14 15 17 46
Olympic History

History Timeline

It all started in Athens in 1896...

Team GB

Competitor List

Take a look at the British athletes heading for Beijing

1920 - Antwerp

  • Nedo Nadi: Fencing legend.

    Nedo Nadi: Fencing legend.

The 1916 Olympics were scheduled to be held in Berlin but were cancelled because of World War One and the 1920 Games were awarded to Antwerp to honour the suffering that had been inflicted on the Belgian people during the conflict.

The opening ceremony was notable for the introduction of the Olympic flag and the presentation of the Athletes' Oath.

Italy's Nedo Nadi earned gold medals in five of the six fencing events, while America's Ethelda Bleibtrey won gold in all three women's swimming contests. She swam in five races, which included heats, and broke the world record in every one.

France's Suzanne Lenglen lost only four games in the 10 sets she played on the way to tennis success while 72-year-old Swede Oscar Swahn earned a silver medal in the team double-shot running deer event to become the oldest medalist ever.

The 12-foot dinghy sailing event was the only event in Olympic history to be held in two countries; the first race was staged in Belgium but the last two took place in the Netherlands because both entrants were Dutch.

British gold medals: 19

More History Stories

Around the site today

Shanaze Reade: Chance of multiple gold medals

12 stars for 2012

We look at a dozen young athletes who could trigger a fresh gold rush in London in four years' time.

Egan: light-heavyweight silver

Day 16 - As It Happened

Irish boxer Kenny Egan took silver on the final day of action in Beijing.

Early stages of the marathon.

2008 Olympics - Day 16

Pictures from the final day of the Beijing Olympics including an appearance from David Beckham.

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