[The,Sports,Gala]The

　　As the Olympic flag was taken over by Rio de Janeiro at the closing ceremony on the night of August 12, the London 2012 Olympic Games wrapped up with a lively carnival party. Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), said in his address at the closing ceremony that the 30th Olympic Games were “happy and glorious.”
　　Over 16 days of events, people across the globe watched the world’s most elite athletes put on stellar performances. On London’s Olympic stage, athletes, fans and volunteers created fond memories and made their countrymen proud. But throughout it all, focus stayed on the close medal count.
　　The United States came away with the biggest number of gold medals and the highest total medal count, with China in second place. Competition between China and the United States was full of ups and downs. For the majority of the London Games, China prevailed over the United States, but fell from the number one position in the last several days. Great Britain took third place from rival sports giant Russia, exceeding expectations and sustaining the conventional outcome of the host country putting on outstanding performances at home.
　　
　　Making progress
　　Despite falling from the 2008 high of topping the gold medal ranking, when China took home a collection of 51 gold medals and 100 medals in total, “China still put on its best-ever performance abroad since it returned to the Olympic Games in 1984,” said Liu Peng, head of the Chinese Olympic delegation and Director of National General Administration of Sports, at a press conference in London on August 12.
　　Chinese athletes competed in 23 main sports and won 38 gold medals, totaling 88 medals in 17 sports while breaking six world records and six Olympic records. “Among all Olympic sports, Team China made remarkable progress, improved weaknesses while consolidated our traditionally dominant areas,” Liu said.
　　In its best performing sports, such as table tennis, badminton, diving, gymnastics, weightlifting and shooting, China grabbed 27 gold medals, accounting for 71 percent of all China’s gold medals. In the other sports, Chinese athletes also saw big improvements. Two major sports where Team China typically struggled—swimming and athletics—were marked by a sudden rise. China got six gold, two silver and eight bronze medals, putting on the best performances of China’s Olympic history.
　　“Among all the medals China took this year, eight were first-time gold medals and 17 were the first silver or bronze medals,” said Liu. “The excellent results show an improving balanced development of Chinese sports.”
　　China’s Olympic newcomers had strong debuts on the world sports stage in London, Liu said. After the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, most of national sports teams made big adjustments. A lot of young athletes were recruited to the national team as many old players, including some Olympic champions, retired in the past four years. The fresh crop accounted for 62 percent of all Chinese Olympic athletes in London. Most fulfilled the goals they set for themselves. While veterans of the Athens and Beijing Olympics took 15 gold medals, the remaining 23 were grabbed by these rising stars, who will become the next leaders of China’s Olympic team.
　　Nevertheless, China left the London arena with some regrets. Among the most disappointing were the consecutive defeats of the men’s basketball team and the loss in the semifinals of women’s volleyball, which showed a lack of elite players.
　　Historic breakthrough
　　The most impressive performances in London came from Chinese athletes’ exceptional breakthroughs in swimming. China won five gold medals and a total of 10 medals in all 34 swimming events.
　　Since a ban on hi-tech swimwear by the International Swimming Federation in 2010, it has been more and more difficult to break records. However, China’s newest swimming sensation, 20-year-old Sun Yang, stole the limelight on the first day of pool competition by breaking an Olympic record with 3:40.14 seconds in men’s 400-meter freestyle and setting another new world record in 1,500-meter freestyle. His gold medals were a first for the Chinese men’s Olympic swimming team.
　　The 16-year-old Ye Shiwen further surprised everyone with her astonishing speed. Ye made history with an incredible record in women’s 400-meter individual medley, when she swam 0.17 seconds faster than even Ryan Lochte, the U.S. men’s swimming gold medalist, in the last 50 meters of the freestyle sprint.
　　Jiao Liuyang, 21, won a gold medal in women’s 200-meter butterfly and also set a new Olympic record. Thus, each of China’s five gold medals in swimming came with a new speed record, marking a historic milestone for the swimming team.
　　Though few predicted such success, the team’s achievements were the result of careful planning and hard work, not luck.
　　Over the past 20 years, China’s swimming team has put tremendous focus on training. The younger generation of Chinese athletes, most of them born after the 1990s, grew up with a good diet and received better training.
　　In addition to abundant funding, China has embarked on an ambitious sports development plan that utilizes foreign advantages. In recent years, more elite Chinese swimmers went abroad for training, mainly in the United States and Australia. For example, Sun trains under Australian coach Denis Cotterell twice a year. Before flying to London, he had a 70-day intensive training camp abroad. In short, years of improvement put China in a position to develop talent and produce champions in pool.
　　China’s Olympic breakthroughs took place outside of the pool as well. For example, Xu Lijia became the first Asian to take gold in the women’s laser radial sailing; Chen Ding won China’s first gold medal of men’s 20-km walk; and China won all five Olympic badminton titles for the first time.
　　In addition to the medalists, the athletes who achieved groundbreaking results without winning medals deserve equal glory and respect. Su Bingtian qualified for the semifinal of men’s 100-meter sprint, marking the best score for a Chinese sprinter in Olympic his- tory. Athletes like Su are putting China on the map in more sports each time out.
　　
　　Ongoing disputes
　　London Olympics organizers should be recognized for their outstanding work, but some problems during the games demand attention. Controversial judging, for instance, became the biggest focus apart from competition itself in London. Regrettably, Chinese athletes once again encountered some disputed referee judgments and lost medals unexpectedly.
　　The Chinese women cyclists beat their German rivals in the team pursuit final, but their gold medal was relegated to second place by referees, who accused them of running out of bounds. The Chinese team reviewed video of the race and found that it didn’t violate any rules. The team asked for an explanation from the International Cycling Union and the IOC, but was never given an answer.
　　In gymnastics, Chen Yibing won over almost the entire audience in the men’s rings final with his perfect performance—except, that is, for the judges. Chen lost his much sought-after gold medal to Brazilian contender Arthur Nabarrete Zanetti. Though the veteran Chinese gymnast disagreed with the result, he showed politeness and respect on the podium. Following the rules skillfully is an important part of the game. After all, judges are prone to human error.
　　Biased media reports from the West also offended many Chinese fans. The most troubling attacks were directed at the young swimmer Ye after she unexpectedly won two gold medals. Some Western media and coaches reacted to her shining achievements with accusations of doping. However, official tests proved that the suspicions were groundless and false.
　　No matter what happens, the fair play doctrine of the Olympics needs to be upheld. By adhering to the Olympic spirit, China can win respect as well as gold medals.