Word: golds
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...hurdles' first round. His competitors were, frankly, uninspiring - the man with the second fastest personal best, after Liu's 12.88 sec., was a Dutchman who had clocked in a relatively leisurely 13.35 sec. This was going to be the moment of glory for a man for whom a Beijing gold medal was the foremost wish among the Chinese people, according to a nationwide poll. A sea of Chinese flags waved. The Bird's Nest stadium thrummed with expectation...
After winning a surprise gold medal in the 110-m hurdles in Athens four years ago, Liu morphed from amiable jock into national stud. In 2006 he shattered the event's world record with his 12.88 time. As an Asian athlete competing in a klieg-light track event - not an international sideline sport like badminton or table tennis or synchronized diving - Liu came to personify the Chinese nation's rising ambitions. The pressure for a golden repeat in China's Games must have been overwhelming...
...soon as American shooter Matt Emmons opened his eyes on Monday morning, he turned to his wife and asked for a favor. "Please tell me I had a bad dream," he requested. Unfortunately, Katerina Emmons, an Olympic shooter from the Czech Republic who won the first gold medal of the Beijing Games, couldn't comply. The disaster was all too real. A bullet was stuck...
...only it had hit the darn target. Four years ago, Emmons committed one of the most stunning gaffes in Olympic history. A few shavings away from his second gold of those Athens Games, Emmons shot at the wrong target, dropping him from first to eighth place. On Sunday, Emmons closed in on redemption. Once again, he entered the last shot of the 50-m Three Position (standing, kneeling, lying down) event with what seemed like an insurmountable lead. A minimum score of 6.7, on a 10.9-point accuracy scale, would have won him the gold. Nobody had scored below...
...crowd screamed as if witnessing a horrific crash. Then joy filled the hall. Because of yet another Emmons error, the host nation's very own Qiu Jian would win the gold medal, with Emmons finishing fourth. In Athens, Emmons also gave China a gift. Because of his gaffe, rival shooter Jia Zhanbo lucked into gold. Give this guy a room for life in the Forbidden City...