Day-by-Day
DAY -1
August 9 (Saturday)
* Czech Republic shooter Katerina Emmons wins the first gold medal on offer - - the 10-metre air rifle.
* China begin what will be their best ever Games medal haul with two medals in weightlifting and shooting.
* Shooting hope Du Li exits in tears after finishing a distant fifth to Emmons in the 10-metre air rifle event.
DAY -2
August 10 (Sunday)
* American swimmer Michael Phelps launches his quest for a record eight medals with his first gold in the 400 metre IM. It is also a world record.
* The Water Cube is further set alight by Australian beauty Stephanie Rice whose searing pace sees her win and set a world record in the women's 400 metre IM.
DAY- 3
August 11 (Monday)
* 'Old boy' Jason Lezak saves Michael Phelp's medal dream with an out-of-the-world swim that sees the USA pip France for the 4X100m freestyle relay gold.
* Japanese Kosuke Kitajima wins the 100m breaststroke gold in world record time.
* Indian shooter Abhinav Bindra wins India's first ever gold medal by triumphing in the 10m Air Rifle.
DAY- 4
August 12 (Tuesday)
* Michael Phelps emulates a famed triangle of three superstars when he wins his 9th overall gold medal (after six in the Athens Olympics). He wins the 200 m freestyle, also in world record time.
* Chinese teenagers Wan Xin (16) and Chen Roulin (15) win gold in the 10-metre platform dive.
DAY- 5
August 13 (Wednesday)
* Michael Phelps gains sporting immortality after winning the 200m butterfly and the 4X200m freestyle in quick succession. His 10th and 11th gold medals mean he now has more gold medals that anyone in Olympic history.
* Stephanie Rice picks up her second gold medal in world record timeafter winning the 200 metre IM.
DAY- 6
August 14 (Thursday)
*Frenchman Alain Bernard pips medal favourite Eamon Sullivan to win the 100 metre freestyle gold.
* Little known Chinese Liu Zige shaves 1.6 seconds off the world record as she leaves medal favourite Jessica Shipper in her wake to win the 400 metre IM.
* Stephanie Rice makes it 3-for-3 with a win in the 4X200metre freestyle relay.
* Chinese archer Zheng Juan Juan downs a dynasty with her triumph in the archery's ending South Korea's 24-year domination of the sport
DAY -7
August 15 (Friday)
* Doping hits the Games as two Asian athletes are caught with positive dope tests.
* Phelps claims his 6th gold medal in the 200 meter medley.
* Nastia Liukin wins a gold medal in the women's all around event bringing joy to her dad Valerie, who missed it by a whisker in Seoul in 1988.
* The first week of the Games ends with China leading on 26 golds, the USA on 14 and Germany on 8.
DAY -8
August 16 (Saturday)
* Usain Bolt sets fire to the Bird's Nest with a spectacular run in the marquee 100 metre sprint event setting a World Record in 9.69 seconds.
DAY-9
August 17 (Sunday)
* Phelps achieves his dream winning eight gold medals after winning the 4X100metre medley event. He ends his Beijing adventure with 7 World Records and finishes with a total Olympic haul of 14.
* China equal their best ever Olympic haul of 32 golds.
* Grant Hackett sees his dream of a medal crushed after finishing second in the 1500 metre freestyle.
* Great Britain's Rebecca Romero becomes only the second athlete to win medals in two different sports. She adds a cycling individual pursuit gold to the rowing silver medal she won in Athens.
DAY-10
August 18 (Monday)
* Russian beauty Elena Isinbaeva sets the bar at 5.05 metre and clears on her third try to set a new World Record in the pole vault.
* Chinese He Kexin brushes off allegations about her age to pip USA's Nastia Liukin in a first ever tie-break.
* The Chinese cry collective tears of sadness at the pull-out of sprint star Lui Xian from the men's 110-metre hurdles.
DAY-11
August 19 (Tuesday)
* Argentina pull off a minor surprise as they thrash arch-rivals Brazil in the men's football semifinals by 3-0.
* Rashid Ramzi wins Bahrains first ever gold in the 1500 metre track and field.
DAY-12
August 20 (Wednesday)
* Usain Bolt sets his second record mark in the 200 metre sprint and becomes the first man in 24-years to win a 100-200 double. Bolt's time of 19.30 is quicker by .02 seconds than Michael Johnson's mark set at the 1996 Games in Atlanta.
* Liudmyla Blonska is the first high-profile doping case of the games. The Ukranian is stripped of her silver medal.
DAY-13
August 21 (Thursday)
* USA win the women's football gold by beating Brazil in a pulsating final.
* Tyson Gay's miserable Games continues as he drops the baton in the 4X100 metre relay heat as the USA exits before the final.
DAY-14
August 22 (Friday)
* Usain Bolt sprinted into racing folklore with his third straight gold medal and third straight World Record with a win in the 4X100 metre relay.
* Bryan Clay wins the decathlon earning himself the title of the 'best all-around athlete.'
DAY-15
August 23 (Saturday)
* China confirm their status as the new king's of Olympics by taking an unassailable lead on top of the standings.
* Lionel Messi leads his Argentina side to their second successive gold with a series of sterling performances that also confirm his standing as the best player in the world.
DAY-16
August 24 (Sunday)
* Kenya's Samuel Kamau Wanjiru wins gold in the 42km marathon.
* Beijing bid the Games bye with all the theatricality with which they welcomed it. A closing ceremony that featured the likes of Led Zeppelin and David Beckham will leave the London 2012 committee with plenty to ponder.
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