Call it #NBCfail if you want to, but the combined networks of NBC Universal managed to turn the London 2012 Olympics into the most-watched event in television history, according to the number-crunchers at the Nielsen Company.
Far from home, competing against the best in the world, with the eyes of billions of people on them, Olympic athletes are under the kind of pressure that few of us can imagine.
CNN's Stan Grant reports on the impact the 2008 Olympic Games had on Beijing.
China is rallying around fallen hurdler Liu Xiang Wednesday after he failed to make it past the first-round heat for a second consecutive Olympics. The sympathetic response was a stark contrast to the public outcry over his high-profile withdrawal from the Beijing 2008 Games.
Michael Phelps will swim for more gold Friday at the 2012 Games, competing in the final individual race of his storied Olympic career. Meanwhile, attention will begin to shift to Olympic Stadium as the track and field competition gets under way.
It has been called the first "Twitter Olympics," but in China -- where the government has long blocked the popular U.S.-based social media site -- the London Games are undoubtedly the first "Weibo Olympics."
Chinese swimmer Ye Shiwen wins her second gold medal amid doping allegations. CNN's Jamie Florcruz reports.
The controversy over the dual Olympic gold performances by Chinese swimming sensation Ye Shiwen has been decried by China as a case of Western pettiness.
This is supposed to be the Twitter Olympics, but tweet- and text-clogged networks appear to have caused problems for broadcasters at the London Games.
When Chinese teenager Ye Shiwen dives into the pool on Monday, all eyes will be firmly on the clock to see if she can repeat her world-beating -- Ryan Lochte-beating -- time in the last 50 meters.
Ryan Lochte wins gold while Michael Phelps settled for fourth place in the 400 meter individual relay.
British soldiers will be asked to act as temporary placeholders in premium seating at Olympic events, as organizers attempt to avoid the spectacle of empty seats at venues.
Fifty-three determined men and women will sport Nigeria's green and white colors during the London Games -- the second-biggest Olympic team hailing from Sub-Saharan Africa -- carrying the nation's hopes for the first gold medal in 16 years.
Much like buses coming in twos and threes, Britain found itself Sunday in the unprecedented position of having two riders on the 2012 Tour de France podium,
Stephanie Rice talks to CNN about the obstacles she has had to overcome to represent Australia at the 2012 Olympics.
Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson, who announced over the weekend she would retire because of recurring knee problems, said Monday the decision was one of the hardest of her life and that she thinks its impact hasn't truly hit her.
Olympic Gymnast Shawn Johnson talks to CNN's Erin Burnett about her decision to retire at age 20.
"Does this mean I must now carry my passport everyday?" my wife Ana wondered aloud with a mix of bemusement and exasperation.
Jamaican sprint star Usain Bolt has told CNN he can set a new 100 meter world record at the London 2012 Olympic Games -- and could run as fast as 9.4 seconds.
She was remembered in her last Olympics 16 years ago -- a near lifetime in an athlete's career -- as a diminutive figure whose size belied her big ambitions and ability to win Olympic gold.
Canadian wheelchair rugby player Garett Hickling talks to CNN about the accident that changed his life.
Veronica Campbell-Brown knows a thing or two about upsetting the odds.
A Chinese court on Tuesday sentenced a disabled lawyer who defended tenants' rights to more than two years in jail for "picking quarrels" and fraud, a local human rights advocacy group said.
Top-billed Julia Roberts is comprehensively miscast in "Mirror Mirror," the first of the year's two big-budget, live-action "Snow White" movies.
Dissident artist Ai Weiwei discusses the scrutiny he's under in Beijing and why he's posted his taxes online.
Swimming legend Ian Thorpe suffered a major setback Friday in his bid to make the Australian team for the London Olympics.
Equestrian champion Ingrid Klimke could ride a horse before she could walk, such is the fondness her family holds for the animals.
German Olympic champion equestrian rider Ingrid Klimke talks to CNN about her Beijing gold and London 2012.
Three time BMX World champion Shanaze Reade tells CNN why her sport will be exciting at the Olympics.
When Jerry Colangelo set out to rebuild the USA men's basketball program and end an eight-year gold-medal drought in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the international resumes of the players he was so high on said everything about the operation he was taking over.
CNN's Aiming for Gold talks to the world's fastest man, Usain Bolt.
Yang Lan got her start in an audition two decades ago when she beat out 1,000 other young college women for a spot on television. Today she is a TV star and media entrepreneur in China who says her shows have been watched by more than 200 million people per week. An ambassador for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, she's often called China's Oprah.
Defending champion Usain Bolt was sensationally disqualified for a false start in the men's 100-meter final at the world athletics championships in Daegu, South Korea, allowing fellow-Jamaican Yohan Blake to collect an unexpected gold medal.
Michael Phelps claimed his third gold of the world swimming championships in Shanghai Saturday but then admitted he was short of peak fitness.
Brazil's Olympic swimming champion Cesar Cielo is free to compete in this year's world championships after escaping a drugs ban.
Now that the 2011 World Championships final of the men's 200-meter butterfly is history, we can all stop worrying about Michael Phelps' swimming fitness and start worrying about his golf game. In winning his fifth world title in what he calls his "bread and butter" event, Phelps looked strong and focused Wednesday, leaving one to wonder if the pastime that frequently distracted the 14-time Olympic gold medalist from the pool the last three years is now in complete shambles.
Rebecca Adlington won two gold medals in Beijing, broke the 19-year-old world record of Janet Evans in the 800-meter freestyle, and became Great Britain's most successful Olympic swimmer in a century -- all at the age of 19. What does she plan for an encore?
Coach Sergio Batista has paid the price for Argentina's unsuccessful 2011 Copa America campaign after having his contract canceled on Monday.
Olympic ticket buyers won't be told how much or when money will be deducted from their accounts. Emily Reuben reports.
The torch relay for the 2012 London Olympics will be confined to the United Kingdom and possibly Ireland, it was confirmed when the route was announced on Wednesday.
Team Sky are considering taking legal action following the accident which saw their rider Juan Antonio Flecha hit by a car during Sunday's ninth stage of the Tour de France.
Art and politics are entangled in China. Two recent events in Beijing show just how much: the reopening of the National Museum and the detention of the outspoken artist Ai Weiwei.
Detained in China, Ai Weiwei watches his own video addressing his treatment by the government and the power of the web.
Nigeria international defender Olubayo Adefemi has been killed in a road accident according to police in the Greek city of Kavala.
Olympic marathon champion Sammy Wanjiru has been charged in his native Kenya with death threats to his wife and the illegal possession of an AK47 rifle.
Chinese basketball star Yao Ming has suffered a fresh injury setback which could place his NBA career in jeopardy.
China rekindled memories of the 2008 Olympics with a spectacular opening ceremony for the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou on Friday.
Reigning Olympic champion and world number nine Elena Dementieva announced her retirement from tennis after being knocked out of the WTA Championships in Doha.
World and Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt is back in training after his season was cut short due to injury.
U.S. Olympian LaShawn Merritt, a gold medalist in track and field, was suspended Monday after testing positive for banned steriods almost a year ago, according to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
The Argentine Football Association will not replace outgoing coach Diego Maradona before October, it announced on Wednesday.
When Jerry Colangelo took over USA Basketball in 2005, he faced the daunting task of rebuilding a crumbling empire. With the help of coach Mike Krzyzewski and a core of young players willing to make an extended commitment to the team, Colangelo re-established the U.S. as a global force in basketball, punctuated by a gold medal in the 2008 Olympics.
Are you a wiz at Wii bowling? Do you have mad Mario Kart skills? Here's your chance to prove it.
Look for an official announcement Wednesday that Haile Gebrselassie, the fastest marathoner in history, will make his U.S. marathon debut in New York on Nov. 7. He plans to run with 1,200 school kids this week to celebrate National Running Day in New York, and his official announcement should follow.
An estimated $58 billion has been pumped into the local economy in preparations for Expo 2010 Shanghai, which runs from May 1 to October 31, with 70 million visitors expected. According to Chinese state-run media, 179 countries and 57 international organizations are confirmed to participate in the Asian nation's first time hosting the event -- which began in 1851 in London as the first world's fair.
U.S. Olympic gold medallist LaShawn Merritt faces a suspension of up to two years after testing positive for banned steroids, which he said was the inadvertent result of taking an over-the-counter "male enhancement" pill.
British athletics star Paula Radcliffe has confirmed that she will have a second child this year, but still plans to run at her home Olympics in London in 2012.
Athletes competing at the 2012 Olympic Summer Games will face more scrutiny about banned substances after organizers said they will be carrying out more doping tests than in any previous Olympics.
Jamaican sprint king Usain Bolt has been named Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for the second successive time at a star-studded ceremony in Abu Dhabi.
Bronze medalist Scott Lago apologized to U.S. officials and volunteered to leave the Olympic Games after racy pictures of him, his medal and a female fan showed up on the Internet, a spokesman for the U.S. ski and snowboard team confirmed Saturday.
Venus Williams claimed the 42nd title of her glittering career as she successfully defended her Dubai Tennis Championship crown on Saturday.
China's Li Na hit the heights earlier this year when she made it to the semifinals of the Australian Open, beating Venus Williams along the way.
Talk Asia: Li Na
updated: Wed Feb 17 2010 20:32:00
China's first top ten ranked tennis player, Li Na, is aiming to take Chinese tennis to the top.
The United Nations declared its support Monday for the traditional Olympic Truce ahead of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, which begin Friday.
India is struggling to revive its national sport, field hockey.
1. Michael Phelps' photo-finish victory over Milorad Cavic in the 100-meter butterfly at the Beijing Olympics (Aug. 16, 2008) Every Phelps swim in the Water Cube was impressive, but this one was a stunning sleight-of-hands trick. Several meters from the finish, Cavic, who'd dominated the race, was still ahead. But with one last, fast, half-stroke, Phelps touched the wall first by .01 of a second, equaled Mark Spitz's total of seven golds in one Games and all but guaranteed that he would win a record eighth (as he did in a relay the next day). With its Phelpsian brilliance, high-tech suits and upstart challenger (Cavic, swimming for Serbia, symbolized a new wave of medalists from smaller countries), the race conjoined three of the biggest Olympic stories of the era.
Chris Bosh's offseason transformation began in an unlikely place -- his couch. Early into his summer, Bosh decided to watch the championship game from the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. It was supposed to be one of those feel-good moments, like popping in a classic film that always makes you smile, but it made him angry even as he saw himself receive the gold medal.
Olympic 1500 meter champion Rashid Ramzi has been stripped of his gold medal after testing positive for doping at the 2008 Beijing Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced.
After starring in the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, classical pianist Lang Lang rocketed to international stardom.
Out-of-shape swimming superstar Michael Phelps again struggled as an unprecedented 16 records were set at the World Cup short-course event in Berlin this weekend.
Saturday marks 1,000 days until the London 2012 Olympic Games, and officials promise the event is on track and on budget.
He's the fastest runner ever, but Usain Bolt accepts that it will take people time to believe that he has no illegal assistance.
Another round of toasts and exclamations of "hajiu" sounded out around me. I took a sip and set down my small glass of Tsingtao beer as my new friends downed theirs and refilled. Our seafood dinner, perched on the single cluttered table of a tiny antique shop, was punctuated regularly by such moments.
Another round of toasts and exclamations of "hajiu" sounded out around me. I took a sip and set down my small glass of Tsingtao beer as my new friends downed theirs and refilled. Our seafood dinner, perched on the single cluttered table of a tiny antique shop, was punctuated regularly by such moments.
Marian Cilic will face second seed Novak Djokovic in the final of the China Open on Sunday after handing world No. 2 Rafael Nadal his first defeat in Beijing.
We asked the Sports Illustrated writers who covered the Beijing Olympics to leave us with their indelible memory of the Games.
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