August 18, 2008
Team China is sitting at the top of the medal table today: yesterday it reaped another eight golds, bringing the count to 35, sixteen ahead of the second-place US team and ahead of its total harvest of 32 in Athens.
The achievement was celebrated by most of today’s newspapers. The front page of Chinese Business View shows the eight winning teams and individuals.
August 18, 2008
China’s 110-meter hurdler Liu Xiang was supposed to perform today. The Dongguan Times printed a full-page photo of Liu, emphasizing the great anticipation ahead of Liu’s race. To everyone’s surprise, Liu quit the competition due to hamstring injury earlier today.
Newspapers were also interested in Matt Emmons tragic failure to claim any medal in the 50-meter 3-position rifle competition due to a stunning mistake on the final shot, dropping him to a fourth-place finish. The American shooter has come unbelievably close to the gold medal twice. In the same event in Athens, he shot at another competitor’s target.
Today’s Chinese Business View put Matt Emmons and swimmer Michael Phelps, who garnered eight gold medals this Olympics, together in an article under the headline “Incredible Americans.”