'One world one dream', Indeed!

A little article I found from bloomberg's website (To commemorate the Beijing 2008 Olympic). China had done a splendid job in hosting the 'world games' amid the various distraction aiming to derail their quest from performing a superior and flawless olympic games. Congratulations! to the Chinese nation, and now my best of wishes! to the United Kingdom to try and outperform China's current standing legacy.

``He is just a normal person, although he maybe from a different planet. A planet from a different galaxy.'' -- Russian swimmer Alexander Sukhorukov on Michael Phelps.
``It would be nice if historians talk about Michael Phelps winning seven gold medals, and losing the eighth to some guy. I'd like to be that guy.'' -- Serbian swimmer Milorad Cavic on trying to stop Phelps's in the 100 butterfly.
``I'm stoked with this. I don't want to fight this.'' -- Cavic, after losing to Phelps by 0.01 second and disagreeing with his team's decision to file a protest.
``I don't even know what to feel right know; there are so many emotions. I kind of just want to see my mom.'' -- Phelps after breaking Mark Spitz's record with an eighth gold.
``I gave it my best shot and I'm thinking maybe I shouldn't have filed my nails last night.'' -- U.S. swimmer Dara Torres after losing her final by 0.01 second.
``It was the most impressive athletics feat I've ever seen in my life.'' -- 400-meter world-record holder Michael Johnson on Bolt's world-record run in the 100 meters final.
``I blew my mind and I blew the world's mind.'' Bolt after winning the 200 meters in world-record time, breaking Johnson's 12-year-old standard.
``The secret of the team's success? Reggae power.'' -- Women's 100-meter champion Shelly-Ann Fraser after Jamaica swept the medals in the race.
``He could be a 400-meter runner as well, but he's just lazy.'' -- U.S. sprinter Wallace Spearmon on men's 100 and 200- meter champion Usain Bolt.
``I am not Flash Gordon or anybody. My name is Bolt, Lightning Bolt.'' -- Bolt dismisses Johnson's suggestion that he is Superman.
``Whenever he stood up, he fell down.'' -- Liu Xiang's coach after the defending 100-meter hurdles champion from China withdrew in the first round because of an ankle injury.
``There are so many people caring for me and who have done a lot for me. I am really sorry.'' -- Liu speaking in an interview with China Central Television about his withdrawal.
``The sky is my only limit.'' -- Women's pole vault champion Yelena Isinbaeva after setting the 24th world record of her career in the final.
``It was a race of attrition. I can count on one hand the number of races in which I've started to sweat before the race starts.'' -- U.S. cyclist George Hincapie after finishing 40th in the Aug. 9 road race in hot and humid conditions.
``We have been training in Baghdad, we train two sessions a day, it's sometimes very dangerous as there can be explosions. Before it used to scare us but now it's part of everyday life.'' -- Iraqi rower Haidar Nozad on his preparation for the Games.
``When I was about to do the third (lift), I kept in my mind that the Dear Leader would be watching.'' -- North Korean weightlifter Pak Hyon Suk after winning the women's 63kg event.
``I was here in February, I don't see no blue sky. To keep such clear air, that's fantastic.'' -- Men's marathon world- record holder Haile Gebrselassie rues his decision not to run the race as Beijing experienced its lowest pollution in a decade.
``You see those five little rings there? This is the Olympics. This is it. It takes all of you to win.'' -- New Zealand hockey player Blair Hopping after re-entering a game following a head injury.
``My performance was perfect and ideal. I would have been baffled if you do not say that was perfect.'' -- Japanese swimmer Kosuke Kitajima comments on his successful defense of the 100-meter breaststroke title.
``I had a chat with Natalie Coughlin. It's nice to know the people you race against aren't as scary as they look.'' -- Australian swimmer Alicia Coutts on competing at the top level.
``Unfortunately that's our sport. Here you do your performance and turn it over to someone else's hands.'' -- U.S. gymnast Nastia Liukin after placing second in uneven bars with the exact same score as gold-medalist He Kexin of China.
``The swimmers have to carry not so much body fat. They're awfully popular with the other gender.'' -- Australian beach volleyball player Joshua Slack.
``He's a gangster. It was street combat.'' -- French fencer Fabrice Jeannet on his epee bout with Sergey Katchurin of Kyrgyzstan.
``I'm very proud of having a son-in-law who can score two goals against Brazil and then gets fouled in the box for a penalty.'' -- Argentina soccer icon Diego Maradona on Argentine forward Sergio Aguero.
``There's a lot of unity and a lot of strength in this group. I don't know if that's of any interest to America, but that's what they're missing.'' -- U.S. men's volleyball coach Hugh McCutcheon after returning to the team following his father-in-law's Aug. 9 murder at a Beijing tourist site.
``It hasn't been easy. When you throw in the emotional load that the team has had to bear through collectively, for them to come through is a wonderful achievement.'' -- McCutcheon after guiding his team to the victory in yesterday's gold-medal match.
``It's a storybook ending for us,'' -- U.S. volleyballer Gabriel Gardner after helping the U.S. win the gold medal.
``I don't know about dynasty. Maybe legends.'' -- Misty May-Treanor, half of the gold-medal winning U.S. beach volleyball team, on how she'd describe herself and Kerri Walsh.
``Sometimes I work as a hairdresser through the day to make money and train at night. I train very hard, but our training situation is not good. We cannot shower in the training place.'' -- Taekwondo bronze medalist Rohullah Nikpai after winning Afghanistan's first Olympic medal.
``If the world were to draw any lesson from what I did, there would never be any wars.'' -- Georgian shooter Nino Salukvadze after sharing the medal podium with Russia's Natalia Paderina. They embraced while their countries exchanged gunfire.
``I proved the existence of Georgia in the world with my gold. It means a lot, especially in this difficult time.'' -- Georgian Greco-Roman wrestler Manuchar Kvirkelia after winning the 74-kilogram division.
``My opponent did not behave in a sportsman-like manner.'' -- Arman Chilmanov of Kazakhstan comments after Cuban opponent Angel Valodia Matos kicked the referee in the head after being disqualified from their taekwondo bronze-medal bout.
``I'm going to keep it until I die. I will show it to my son, he is 13 months old. When he grows up I will show him my gold medal, and my dirt.'' -- South Korean pitcher Bong Jung Keun explains why he filled a water bottle with dirt after his team beat Cuba 4-3 to win the gold medal.
``There is great disappointment in the whole population. They really feel that there is something about mighty America against us.'' -- Imro van Wilgen, secretary general of the Netherlands Antilles Olympic Association, after Churandy Martina was stripped of the silver medal in the men's 200 meters following a U.S. protest.
``The parks are a little like plastic fruit and we wouldn't want to take a bite of them. Freedom of speech isn't something you can put in a box.'' -- John Hocevar, co-founder of Students for a Free Tibet, on the designated Olympic protest zones.
``The reason was for the nation's interest. The child on camera should be flawless in image, internal feelings, and expression.'' -- Chen Qigang, musical director of the opening ceremony, on why producers replaced 7-year-old Yang Peiyi with 9-year-old Lin Miaoke to lip-synch to Yang's recording of ``I Sing For My Country.''
``I just lay on my bed and watched soap operas.'' Zhong Man on his preparations for becoming the first Chinese male fencer to win an Olympic gold medal.
``China does have some problems with defense, but we also have problems with our attacks and our passing.'' -- China handball coach Kang Jae Won after his team lost to Kazakhstan.
``It is a very big concern. We cannot blame China for being so strong as it is their national sport. Other nations have to become stronger.'' -- Adham Sharara, president of the International Table Tennis Federation, after China's gold medal sweep in is sport.
``I think Chairman Mao gave me the power.'' Chinese badminton player Lin Dan after winning the men's singles.
``I'm a veteran. I've never dropped a stick in my life.'' -- U.S. sprinter Tyson Gay after the 400-meter relay squad was eliminated in the first round because of a botched baton change.
``They're taking a lot of medals but they didn't take it out from our hide,'' Peter Ueberroth, chairman of the U.S. Olympic Committee, on China's performance after the Americans matched their Athens tally of gold medals.
``My message isn't just for disabled people it is for everyone. It's to use the negatives in a good light.'' -- South African swimmer Natalie Du Toit after becoming the first amputee to compete in the Olympics in the women's 10-kilometer event.
``It taught me to think step by step and be patient. When you are in so much pain lying in a hospital bed, you aren't thinking about the next month, but the next hour.'' -- Maarten van der Weijden of the Netherlands, a leukemia survivor who won the gold medal in the men's 10-kilometer swim.
``It was one of the goals of the season for me to do well here. So obviously the quarterfinals is not going to do it for me.'' -- Roger Federer after losing to James Blake for the first time in his career in the Olympic men's singles.
``The number of gold medals is a big surprise. The U.K. has a tendency to win big at large events and then become complacent. That cannot happen this time.'' -- John Steele, chief executive officer of UK Sport, on Britain's best gold-medal haul in a century.
``It is more important and more special than any championship that any of us will ever win.'' -- Kobe Bryant, a three-time NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers after helping the U.S. win the gold medal.
``It's the biggest meeting of East and West, in peaceful circumstances, in the world's history.'' -- International Olympic Committee member Kevan Gosper, who helped oversee China's preparations, on the Beijing Games.
``These were truly exceptional Games'' -- Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, in his closing ceremony address.
``It's been nothing but an upwards rollercoaster. It's been nothing but fun.'' Phelps on his eight gold medal haul.






(Bloomberg, 2008)