Word: silver
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Olympics. Aaron Peirsol held on to his Olympic champion title in the 100m backstroke by setting a new world record, and Olympic newcomer Rebecca Soni, a last minute substitute in the 100m breaststroke after teammate Jessica Hardy was pulled off for a doping violation, collected an unexpected silver. "It's great to see others getting involved, especially when everyone is so competitive," says Mark Schubert, head national team coach. Even if Phelps isn't willing to bear his soul, at least he seems willing to share in his speed...
When it comes to diving, the Chinese expect nothing less than perfection. On August 11, Chinese pair Lin Yue and Huo Liang triumphed in the men's synchronized 10m platform event, winning by a resounding 17.76 points. Silver went to the German squad, with the Russians - one of whom just recently recovered from a spinal injury - rounding out the medals count...
...first middle-ager to swim in an Olympic relay - not to mention win a medal. As the anchor of the U.S. team, Torres was the fastest off the blocks and the quickest in the water, out-swimming teammates half her age to push the U.S. to a silver behind the Netherlands. "Age is really just a number," she said. "Water doesn't really know what age you are." After this, her 50m freestyle, a week from now, should really be just a splash and dash. And by then, the whole world will know if Phelps is still on course...
...ancient Greeks, whose Olympiads can be traced back to 776 B.C., didn't give out medals but rather bestowed olive wreaths upon their victors. The medal tradition began with the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, where winners got silver, seconds got bronze and third place got zip. In the intervening 112 years, the coveted awards have been rectangular, ridged, doughnut-like, gilded and--for the 1972 Sapporo Winter Games--shaped like an amorphous blob. At the 1900 Paris Games, some events forwent medals in favor of prizes: one pole-vault runner-up won an umbrella...
Today's gold medals are actually silver covered with about 6 grams of 24-karat gold. Winter Olympic medals have no standard design, hence their strange shapes and nontraditional materials, like those of the 1992 Albertville medals, which were mostly glass. Summer medals, however, almost always depict Nike, the winged goddess of victory, on their front in some fashion. Since 1972, host cities have designed the medals' back. This year Beijing represented Chinese culture with a ring of jade inlay...