Guo Jingjing: Beautiful Olympic Diving Legend

Guo Jingjing, known as the diving diva of the Chinese team, spearheads China’s eight Olympic gold medals charge off the boards at the Water Cube.

Guo Jingjing’s off-the-board antics since Athens Olympic Games was criticized by many. She has twice been threatened with removal from the national squad for “overt commercial activities”.

Guo made the Hong Kong gossip columns after a paparazzi shot of her dining with Kenneth Fok Kai-kong, the playboy grandson of the Hong Kong business tycoon Henry Fok, appeared in newspapers and magazines. She did not deny the relationship and has since engaged in modelling work and is the face of several cosmetic products in China.

Catch some photos of Guo Jingjing, not only a diving legend but also one of the most glamorous girl in the Olympic Games.

Michael Phelps Wins Record 8th Gold Medal

Michael Phelps won his 8th gold medal in the 4×100m medley relay. Throughout the 2008 Olympic Games, he has captured the world’s imagination with his audacious ambitions – to send Mark Spitz’s 7 gold medals (a 32 year old record) into history.

But he made good on his words by accomplishing the “Mission Impossible” and is now in the running as the greatest Olympian.

Michael Phelps almost didn’t feature in this fairy tale as fate played a cruel trick on him. In October 2007, he ended up with a broken right wrist after slipping on a patch of ice while climbing into a friend’s car in Michigan. A ticket to the Beijing Olympics 2008 seem dashed if not for his superhuman efforts at rehabilitation.

Wait, I said superhuman, and there was indeed an invincible aura about Michael Phelps but chinks in the armor did appear. My most memorable event was in Phelp’s pursuit of the 7th gold medal. Previously, he had coasted to victory in style, winning gold medals while at the same demolishing world records and blowing his opponents to pieces.

But a Serbian, Cavic, pushed him to the wire in this thrilling 100 m butterfly. The winner was separated by a controversial one-hundredth of a second. To the naked eye, Cavic had won as he glided home but electronic assessment placed Phelps as the winner at 50.58 seconds, a powerful short stroke proving to be decisive.

Certainly, Michael Phelps is the greatest swimmer of all times, but critics hasten to add that this is not a fair contest. After all, swimming creates less strain on the human body as compared to the pounding a runner sustains.

Whatever the arguments, Michael Phelps, at age 23, still has a bright future in front of him. His career record of 14 Olympic gold medals is not the end yet and nobody is betting against him adding to the bounty 4 years later.

With his new-found fame, Michael Phelps is also made for life already. The billion dollar man doesn’t have to work ever. His current endorsement deals are estimated at $5 million dollars a year but it is projected to increase to $30 million dollars in the short term.

Look at some of the quotes which had made Michael Phelps a swimming legend.

1. “I want to be able to look back and say, ‘I’ve done everything I can, and I was successful.’ I don’t want to look back and say I should have done this or that. I’d like to change things for the younger generation of swimmers coming along. “

2. “I think that everything is possible as long as you put your mind to it and you put the work and time into it. I think your mind really controls everything. “

Michael Phelps had shown us that the human mind can surpass any boundaries. If you are ever in need of a motivational guru, look no further than Michael Phelps.