The Beijing Olympics will be remembered for many reasons, not all of them good. But the spectacle of sport and accomplishment stand out above the controversy and failure.

The two most dominating performances of the Games came in the pool and on the track. Michael Phelps broke 4 world records, and was part of relay teams that broke three more, on his way to an unprecedented 8 gold medals in the Olympics. Phelps was definitely the story of the Games until Usain Bolt broke both the 100-meter and 200-meter world records on the track. Many people thought that the 200-meter record, set by Michael Johnson, was unbreakable.

China’s gymnasts and divers dominated, giving the host country reason to celebrate. Barring a gold rush by the US in the last two days of competition, China will take home more gold medals than any other nation. The US is ahead in the total medal tally. With the men’s 10-meter platform diving finals, China has a chance to go 8-for-8 in diving. That is an unprecedented feat.

There were a few upsets, the most surprising being the Japanese win over the US in women’s softball. The dominant US couldn’t get it done and there will be no “next time” for them either since softball is out of the Games in 2012.

After disappointing silver in the team competition, the US women dominated in gymnastics thanks to Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin. Liukin won gold and Johnson silver in the all around. The US was on the podium for every medal ceremony except for the vault.

Beijing’s pollution came into play a couple of times, but was vastly improved from earlier in the year. Heavy rains brought relief from the smog and heat on multiple occasions.

Surprisingly, there were few doping controversies, with most medal winners able to stay out of trouble, at least for the time being.

Jamaica continued to dominate the sprints. The men’s 4×100-meter relay team, featuring Asafa Powell and Usain Bolt, broke the world record by 0.3 of a second (an eternity in sprinting) on their way to the gold. It is the third record and third gold for Bolt during the Games. The Jamaican women faired less well. They dropped the baton and failed to finish the women’s 4×100, which was won by Russia.

Brian Clay dominated the decathlon event, cruising to a gold medal and the title of world’s greatest athlete. Clay was favored coming into the Games after a strong performance earned him silver four years ago in Athens.

The US will have a couple more chances to gain relay gold and make up for the disappointment of the 4×100. Both the men and women are favored in the 4×400 meter relay, though a third place finish by American Sanya Richards in the 400 puts the women’s chances in doubt, slightly.

Cuba slammed the door shut on any US hopes for a gold in baseball. A 10-2 loss means that the US will play Japan for the bronze while a surprise South Korean squad will battle Cuba for the gold.

Rodgers and Dalhauseer cruised to an easy victory in men’s beach volleyball. That puts the US 2-for-2 in terms of gold medals on the beach. The indoor volleyball teams will also go for gold today.

Team USA’s men’s basketball squad has gone from being called “The Redeem Team” to the “Dream Team.” Many people expected a struggle for the US in this tournament, but so far they have come away with a series of easy, dominating wins like the 1992 team that dominated opponents. There is just one more battle, versus Spain, before they claim gold. It should be their toughest game to date, but thus far, their play has suggested nothing but victory.

Though Usain Bolt came away from the Olympics with 2 gold medals and two world records, he did not come away with the respect of IOC president Jacques Rogge. Rogge complained about Bolt’s antics and dancing after his wins, saying he showed a lack of sportsmanship.

LaShawn Merritt beat defending gold medalist Jeremy Wariner in the 400-meter sprint. It was the only success for the US on a night that saw both the men and women of the US 4×100 meter relay team drop their batons and fail to advance out of the early round heats.

The US women were successful on the sand where the team of Walsh and May-Treanor took gold as expected. The US women also scored a major win when they ousted Brazil 1-0 in the gold medal soccer match.

However, things did not go as well on the softball field where Japan upset the US and left the Americans shrugging their shoulders. The US also did not manage to turn their favored status into a gold medal in water polo. The Netherlands upset them 9-8 in a hard fought match with a last second goal.

Veronica Campbell-Brown capped Jamaica’s sprint domination with a win in the 200-meter women’s final. American Allyson Felix finished second earning silver, the same color medal that she took home in Athens.

There was no drama for Usain Bolt in the aftermath of his 200-meter win, save the criticism from Rogge. However, the silver and bronze changed hands twice. First, American Wallace Spearmon was disqualified for stepping on the lane line several times during the race. A closer look also exposed a similar set of mistakes by silver medalist Churandy Martina. That left fourth place finished Shawn Crawford with a silver to go with his 2004 gold and fifth place Walter Dix with his second bronze of the Games.

The fast-paced sport of Taekwondo is underway in Beijing with the first gold medals being awarded yesterday. China’s Wu Jingyu scored a victory in the women’s 49 KG weight class. Mexican Perez Guillermo grabbed gold in the men’s 58 KG weight class. Afghanistan won its first-ever Olympic medal when Rohullah Nikpai earned the bronze in the 58 KG men’s.

The US is two games away from the gold in men’s basketball. They cruised past Australia today but may have a harder time against the Greece-Argentina winner in the semifinals. Analysts, however, are comparing this squad to the 1992 Dream Team that dominated opponents on the way to the gold.

After winning both the men’s and women’s team events, South Korean archers have not been able to earn any individual gold. China’s Zhang Juanjuan beat Korean star Park Sun Hyun in the women’s final by a mere 1 point while Ukrainian Viktor Ruban ousted men’s stand-out Kyung Mo Park. Silver is still good, but it is a let down for South Korea, which has dominated the sport in the past.

China continues to cruise in the diving competition. Guo Jingjing earned gold in the 3-meter springboard competition while He Chong made it a double delight for China by capturing the men’s version of the event. China has now won all 6 golds up for grabs thus far in diving. Only the men’s and women’s platform competition remains.

The first ever BMX competition is underway at the Olympics. The fast and rough sport earned fans at the track, but there were some anxious moments. Kyle Bennett of the US fell and dislocated his shoulder in a semifinal heat. He will race in the final after gaining enough points to qualify. Medalists are expected to come from the US, Australia, and Latvia.

Usain Bolt has just broken the world record in the 200-meters. He topped Michael Johnson’s 1996 mark by .02 of a second.

There were a few surprises today at the Olympics.

Nigeria handled Belgium quite easily, advancing to the gold medal match in soccer with a 4-1 win. Brazil, primed to finally break their Olympic gold medal drought, once again ran into Argentina. The defending Olympic champs came out on top, sending Brazil home frustrated once again.

Shawn Johnson was finally able to overcome her Chinese competition and win gold on the balance beam. It was the first gold for the 16-year-old who was the most promising gymnast coming into the Games. Johnson also won silver three times, once in the team competition, once in the all-around, and once on the floor exercise.

The US’s best hope in the women’s 400-meters blamed her third place finish on a cramp that hit her leg in the final 100-meters of the race. Sanya Richards finished third, a disappointment since she was favored to win gold and was leading until the very end of the race.

Lolo Jones faltered in the women’s 100-meter hurdles. She tripped over the final hurdle and fell to seventh. Fellow US team member Dawn Harper took advantage of the trip and went on to win gold.

American David Zhuang, the only US player in the men’s table tennis draw, lost his opening round match in 7 sets to Nigeria’s Segun Toriola.

The US beach volleyball dream team of May-Treanor and Walsh is only one match away from defending their gold medal from 4 years ago. They cruised past Brazil and will play hometown favorites Tian Jia and Wang Jie in the final. The Americans will be huge favorites, but China will have the crowd on their side.

The heavyweights took to the weightlifting stage yesterday. Andrei Aramnau, a 20-year-old from Belarus broke the world record with a total sum of 423 kg (932.6 pounds) on his two lifts.

The swimming competition ended over the weekend. Michael Phelps earned a majority of the media’s attention by winning his 8th gold medal as part of the 4×100-meter medley relay. However, others were also successful. Natalie Coughlin won a medal in each of her six races, making for a career total of 11 Olympic medals. Cesar Cielo Filho won the first swimming gold medal for Brazil, touching the wall first in the 50-meter freestyle. Australian star Grant Hackett was trying for his third consecutive gold in the men’s 1500-meter freestyle. A surprising Tunisian swimmer, Ous Melloui, stole the gold with a dominating performance in the race.

Things kicked off with a bang on the track. Usain Bolt won the men’s 100-meter dash. The race was anticlimactic, with Tyson Gay not qualifying for the final and Asafa Powell finishing 5th. American Walter Dix claimed the bronze. The Jamaicans had a good women’s 100-meter race as well, finishing 1,2,3. 21-year-old Shelly-Ann Fraser crossed the line first. Though three Americans made it to the final, none made it to the podium.

The US fared better in the men’s 400-meter hurdles. Angelo Taylor led a sweep of the medals for the red-white-and-blue.

Russian Yelena Isinbayeva won the women’s pole vaulting gold, setting a world record of 5.05 meters in the process. Jenn Stuczynski of the US settled for silver, jumping 4.75 meters.

Gymnastics stars Shawn Johnson and Natsia Luikin both scored medals in the women’s events finals, but none were gold. Johnson finished second in the floor exercise. Luikin finished third and then barely missed gold on the parallel bars. Alicia Sacramone tried for a bit of redemption on the vault, but finished 4th, despite two strong jumps.

On the men’s pommel horse, Alexander Artemev, the hero from the men’s team competition, fell off near the end of what would have been a medal winning routine.

Some athletes are favored to win golds and smash world records. Others are favored only by themselves. While the media focuses on some of the Games high profile athletes, these talented underdogs will seek to spoil the party:

1. Michael Phelps is more than halfway to a record 8 Olympic medals in one Olympics. But he still has some stiff competition. In the 200-meter individual medley, American Ryan Lochte, a good friend of Phelps, might touch ahead of the famous swimmer. In the 4×100 medley relay, Australia will be looking to salvage a lackluster meet by upsetting the favored US squad. The biggest challenge for Phelps will come in the 100-meter butterfly, where world-record holder Ian Crocker is waiting. The more powerful Crocker is probably the toughest competition Phelps will meet on the way to his record.

2. Everyone is buzzing about the showdown between Tyson Gay, Asafa Powell, and Usain Bolt. But no one is talking about the silver medalist from Athens 2004, Portugal’s Francis Obikwelu. Also in the field will be Derrick Atkins of the Bahamas. He finished a close second at last year’s world championships.

3. With Rodger Federer out, it looks like the role of underdog will go to James Blake, who is a win away from facing Rafael Nadal in the gold medal match. These days, Nadal is favored to win every time he steps on the court. But anything can happen in the Olympics, as Blake proved when he upset Federer.

4. Spain is looking strong in the men’s basketball tournament. Along with Lithuania, they are the team capable of knocking the US out of the tournament. Lithuania almost took the US out of medals in 2004, while Spain is the most recent world champion.

5. Who can beat Misty May-Treanor and Kerry Walsh? The last team to defeat them, Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs, are looking up to the task during the early stages of group play at the Beach Volleyball venue in Beijing. Branagh and Youngs will really have to perform their best to even have a shot at their successful countrywomen, but a win on Olympic sand is not out of the question.

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It was a gold medal day for China at the Olympics.

The host country completed their sweep of the team events in gymnastics by winning the women’s team gold yesterday. The US squad, led by 16-year-old Shawn Johnson, challenged the Chinese women, but the outcome was never really in doubt. To have any chance, the US would have had to perform flawlessly. Lackluster outings on the balance beam and floor exercises kept the gold out of reach. However, the high degree of difficulty in the routines by the Chinese gymnasts put the gold nearly out of reach before the competition even began. A young and inexperienced Romanian squad was able to overcome Russia and claim the bronze medal.

The Chinese men’s gymnastics team completed a dominating performance yesterday, cruising to victory over Japan. The US team, without stars Morgan and Paul Hamm, was able to hold on for the bronze after leading halfway through the competition. As with the women’s event, the outcome was never really in doubt.

Michael Phelps added to his gold medal count in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay and the 200-meter butterfly. He has won five gold medals thus far and still has three more events to go before he is done. He is on track to claim 8 gold medals, a record at the Olympics.

The top ranked US men’s beach volleyball squad of Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers beat an experienced Argentine team to assure an advance to the knockout stage of the tournament. The duo lost their first match against a young Latvian team, but has managed to rebound and return to their dominating form.

The US men’s soccer team didn’t fare as well though. They lost to Nigeria 2-1 and will not be advancing to the knockout stage of the soccer tournament. Favored teams from The Netherlands, Argentina, and Brazil all won their final group match and will be among the 8 teams playing in the single elimination phase.

With the Olympics approaching the end of their first week, we have already seen some great performances. But, there are some showdowns of Olympic proportions that will take place over the next week-and-a-half. Here are some to look forward to:

1. The Rafael Nadal and Rodger Federer are on track to meet in the finals of the men’s tennis tournament. After a match in the Wimbledon finals that John McEnroe called the best match he had ever seen, the two may be competing with each other for the one prize that neither has, an Olympic gold medal. If they do meet, everyone will be expecting another epic match.

2. The US men’s basketball team will have a target on their backs in the knockout stage of the basketball tournament. World champion Spain and a strong team from Greece could both end the US’s gold medal run. There are several other teams who could also pull an upset, namely Lithuania and Argentina.

3. Argentina is the defending soccer gold medalist. They are looking strong, but Brazil, who have never won a gold medal, are dominating opponents in the early stage of the tournament. The two neighboring countries and traditional soccer rivals will, most likely, do battle for gold.

4. American Tyson Gay and Jamaicans Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell will compete in the men’s 100-meter sprint. The winner will likely have to run under world record pace, and perhaps all three will run times under the current world mark.

5. China’s Liu Xiang will have tremendous pressure on him during the 110-meter hurdle finals. The Chinese superstar won the gold in 2004 and will now be running in front of a home crowd. In the past year, however, Cuba’s Dayron Robles has broken Liu’s world record and has dominated the competition in the event. Anywhere else in the world, Robles would be favored, but in Beijing, anything can happen.

It has been a busy past 24 hours in the pool. The US team has been dominant with Michael Phelps adding to his hardware collection with a win and a world record in the 200-meter freestyle. Aaron Peirsol continued to dominate the 100-meter backstroke. He defended the gold he won in the event in Athens and also broke the world record. His teammate, Matt Grevers, earned the silver. Peirsol’s female counterpart, Natalie Coughlin, won her second straight gold in the women’s 100 backstroke.

Australian Leisel Jones won the women’s 100-meter breaststroke. Team Australia has done well in the women’s events, but the men have not been able to show any dominance thus far.

China’s men’s gymnastics squad avenged their loss of 4 years ago in Athens. China dominated the team event. The US was in the lead halfway through the competition, but the end result was never really in doubt as China cruised through the events to take an easy victory. The US was unable to upset Japan and claim the silver, but strong performances from Jonathan Horton, Alexander Artemev, and Raj Bhavsar earned the US the 3rd spot on the podium.

The lackluster showing continued for US boxing. After last minute withdraws and questions about the training methods and tactical decisions of coach Dan Campbell, the US was dealt another blow yesterday. Rau’shee Warren, one of the boxers favored to make it to the podium for team US, lost a close battle against South Korea’s Lee Ok-sung. It was a major upset for the Korean, but one that was handed to him when Warren, thinking he had won the fight, stopped punching midway through the final round. Welterweight Demetrius Andrade is the best remaining hope for the US to earn a medal.

US basketball cruised past Angola in their second match. Another win and they will be assured of a spot in the knockout stage of the tournament.