Depends on what you consider “winning.”

China can claim victory, since the host nation won the most gold medals (51). The United States can say it won, too, since Americans brought home the most total medals (110).

And, oh, yes, other nations showed up, too. Here’s a quick list of the Top 10 in total medals from Beijing:

1. United States: 110 (36 Gold, 38 Silver, 36 Bronze)

2. China: 100 (51 Gold, 21 Silver, 28 Bronze)

3. Russia: 72 (23 Gold, 21 Silver, 28 Bronze)

4. Britain: 47 (19 Gold, 13 Silver, 15 Bronze)

5. Australia: 46 (14 Gold, 15 Silver, 17 Bronze)

6. Germany: 41 (16 Gold, 10 Silver, 15 Bronze)

7. France: 40 (7 Gold, 16 Silver, 17 Bronze)

8. South Korea: 31 (13 Gold, 10 Silver, 8 Bronze)

9. Italy: 28 (8 Gold, 10 Silver, 10 Bronze)

10. Ukraine: 27 (7 Gold, 5 Silver, 15 Bronze)

Source: Beijing 2008

No more prima donnas. No more one-one-one play. No more half-hearted efforts on the defensive end, and no more backing down from the more physical aspects of international competition.

All of that came together in Beijing, where the “Redeem Team” made up for the bronze medal finish of 2004 with a hard-fought victory over Spain in the gold medal game, restoring some lost luster to both the NBA and U.S. basketball in general.

Here are the Olympic medalist in men’s basketball since the sport joined the program in 1936:

1936: – USA; Silver – Canada; Bronze – Mexico

1948: Gold – USA; Silver – France; Bronze – Brazil

1952: Gold – USA; Silver – URS; Bronze – Uruguay

1956: Gold – USA; Silver – URS; Bronze – Uruguay

1960: Gold – USA; Silver – URS; Bronze – Brazil

1964: Gold – USA; Silver – URS; Bronze – Brazil

1968: Gold – USA; Silver – Yugoslavia; Bronze – URS

1972: Gold – URS; Silver – USA; Bronze – Cuba

1976: Gold – USA; Silver – Yugoslavia; Bronze – URS

*1980: Gold – Yugoslavia; Silver – Italy; Bronze – URS

**1984: Gold – USA; Silver – Spain: Bronze – Yugoslavia

1988: Gold – URS; Silver – Yugoslavia; Bronze – USA

1992: Gold – USA; Silver – Croatia; Bronze – Lithuania

1996: Gold – USA: Silver – Yugoslavia; Silver – Lithuania

2000: Gold – USA; Silver – France; Bronze – Lithuania

2004: Gold – Argentina; Silver – Italy: Bronze – USA

2008: Gold – USA; Silver – Spain: Bronze – Argentina

Source: Hickok Sports

With their victory over Australia in the gold medal game in Beijing, the United States Olympic women’s basketball team won its fourth consecutive Olympic title, a streak dating back to the 1996 Games in Atlanta.

In the process, 36-year-old American star Lisa Leslie won her fourth Olympic gold medal, joining former teammate Teresa Edwards as the only basketball players to do so.

Through Beijing, the U.S. has won 33 straight games in the Olympics. The last loss came against the Unified team in the semifinals of the 1992 Barcelona Games.

Here’s the list of Olympic medalists since 1976:

1976: Gold – URS; Silver – USA; Bronze – Bulgaria

*1980: Gold – URS; Silver – Bulgaria; Bronze – Yugoslavia

**1984: Gold – USA: Silver – Korea; Bronze – Canada

1988: Gold – USA; Silver – Yugoslavia; Bronze – URS

1992: Gold – Unified Team; Silver – China; Bronze – USA

1996: Gold – USA: Silver – Brazil; Bronze – Australia

2000: Gold – USA; Silver – Australia; Bronze – Brazil

2004: Gold – USA; Silver – Australia; Bronze – Russia

2008: Gold – USA; Silver – Australia; Bronze – Russia

* USA chose to boycott the Moscow Olympics

** Bulgaria, Cuba, and the Soviet Union boycotted the Los Angeles Olympics

Source: USA Basketball

The victory gave the Americans their second consecutive gold medal and third in the four times the sport has been contested on the Olympic stage. The U.S. finished second to Norway in Sydney back in 2000.

Here’s a list of medalists since the women’s game joined the program back in 1996:

1996: Gold – USA; Silver – China; Bronze – Norway

2000: Gold – Norway; Silver – USA; Bronze – Germany

2004: Gold – USA; Silver – Brazil; Bronze – Germany

2008: Gold – USA; Silver – Brazil; Bronze – Germany

Source: About.com

How big an upset was this? The Americans hadn’t lost an Olympic softball game since the 2000 Games in Sydney, running off 22 straight wins before the Beijing final and winning 32 of 36 in all.

Here’s a list of Olympic softball medalists, dating to the game’s debut in 1996:

1996: Gold – USA; Silver – China; Bronze – Australia

2000: Gold – USA; Silver – Japan; Bronze – Australia

2004: Gold – USA; Silver – Australia; Bronze – Japan

2008: Gold – Japan; Silver – USA; Bronze – Australia

 Source: About.com

Swimming is one of the most popular events every four years. American Michael Phelps was the most watched man in 2004, setting four Olympic records in Athens, and he was just getting warmed up for his record-breaking eight gold medals in the 2008 Games in Beijing.

Clearly, swimming records are made to be broken, and the 2008 Olympics pretty much rewrote the book.

Here are the current Olympic record holders in major races, post Beijing:

50 meter freestyle: Cesar Cielo, Brazil (21.30 in 2008)

100 meter freestyle: Eamon Sullivan, Australia (47.05 in 2008)

200 meter freestyle: Michael Phelps, USA (1:42.96 in 2008)

400 meter freestyle: Ian Thorpe, Australia (3:40.59 in 2000)

1,500 meter freestyle: Grant Hackett, Australia (14.38.92 in 2008)

100 meter backstroke: Aaron Peirsol, USA (52.54 in 2008)

200 meter backstroke: Ryan Lochte, USA (1:53.94in 2008)

100 meter breaststroke: Kosuke Kitajima, Japan (58.91 in 2008)

200 meter breaststroke: Kosuke Kitajima, Japan (2:07.64 in 2008)

100 meter butterfly: Michael Phelps, USA (50.58 in 2008)

200 meter butterfly: Michael Phelps, USA (1:52.03 in 2008)

200 meter Individual Medley: Michael Phelps, USA (1:54.23 in 2008)

400 meter Individual Medley: Michael Phelps, USA (4:03.86 in 2008)

4×100 meter Freestyle Relay: USA, Michael Phelps, Garrett Weber-Gale, Cullen Jones, Jason Lezak (3:08.24 in 2008)

4×200 meter Freestyle Relay: USA, Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, Ricky Berens, Peter Vanderkaay (6:58.56 in 2008)

4×100 meter Medley Relay: USA, Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen, Michael Phelps, Jason Lezak (3:29.34 in 2008)

Source: Beijing 2008.

Bolt followed that feat by winning the 200 meters in 19.30 seconds, becoming the first man since Carl Lewis in 1984 to sweep the 100 and 200 gold medals at an Olympics.

There have been 19 men claiming the title “world’s fastest” in Olympic competitions for the last 96 years. The New York Times has that list, and lots of other world records for Olympic sporting events as well.

Those men are:

9.69 seconds, Usain Bolt, August 2008

9.72, Usain Bolt, May 2008

9.74, Asafa Powell of Jamaica, September, 2007

9.77, Asafe Powell, June 2005

9.79, Maurice Green of the U.S., June 1999

9.84, Donovan Bailey of Canada, July 1996

9.85, Leroy Burrell of the U.S., July 1994

9.86, Carl Lewis of the U.S., August 1991

9.9, Leroy Burrell, June 1991

9.92, Carl Lewis, September 1988

9.93, Calvin Smith of the U.S., July 1883

9.95, Jim Hines of the U.S., October, 1968

9.9, Jim Hines, June 1968

10.0, Armin Hary of Germany, June 1960

10.10, Willie Williams of the U.S., August 1956

10.20, Jesse Owens of the U.S., June 1936

10.30, Percy Williams of Canada, August 1930

10.40, Charles Paddock of the U.S., April 1921

In Beijing, the book essentially was thrown away.

Going into the Games, two Olympic records (Janet Evans in the 400 meter freestyle and Heike Friedrich in the 200 meter freestyle) had stood since 1988. They’re gone, along with most of the rest of the old standards, leaving 2008 as the benchmark for Olympic performances to come. Only Inge de Brujn’s 100 meter butterfly record of 56.61, set in Sydney in 2000, survived the onslaught.

Here are the new Olympic records, the times the next wave of swimmers will be gunning for in London in 2012:

50 meter freestyle: Britta Steffen, Germany (24.06 in 2008)

100 meter freestyle: Britta Steffen, Germany (53.12 in 2008)

200 meter freestyle: Federica Pellegrini, Italy (1:54.82 in 2008)

400 meter freestyle: Federica Pellegrini , USA (4:02.19 in 2008)

800 meter freestyle: Rebecca Adlington, GBR (8:14.10 in 2008)

100 meter backstroke: Natalie Coughlin, USA (58.96 in 2008)

200 meter backstroke: Kirsty Coventry, Zimbabwe (2:05.24 in 2008)

100 meter breaststroke: Leisel Jones, Australia (1:05.17 in 2008)

200 meter breaststroke: Rebecca Soni, USA (2:20.22 in 2008)

100 meter butterfly: Inge de Bruijn, Netherlands (56.61 in 2000)

200 meter butterfly: Liu Zige, China (2:04.18 in 2008)

200 meter Individual Medley: Stephanie Rice, Australia (2:08.45 in 2008)

400 meter Individual Medley: Stephanie Rice, Australia (4:29.45 in 2008)

4×100 Freestyle Relay: Netherlands, Inge Dekker, Ranomi Kromowidjojo, Femke Heemskerk and Marleen Veldhuis (3:33.76 in 2008)

4×200 meter Freestyle Relay: Australia, Stephanie Rice, Bronte Barratt, Kylie Palmer, Linda MacKenzie (7:44.31 in 2008)

4×100 meter Medley Relay: Australia, Emily Seebohm, Leisel Jones, Jess Schipper, Libby Lenton (3:52.69 in 2008)

Source: Beijing2008.

Records are made to be broken, as Jamaica’s Usain Bolt proved once again in sweeping the 100 and 200 meters races in Beijing, setting Olympic and world records in both events and becoming the first man since Carl Lewis in 1984 to win both in a single Olympics.

Here are the current Olympic records in major track events through Aug. 20, 2008:

100 meters: Usain Bolt, Jamaica (9.69 in 2008)

200 meters: Usain Bolt, Jamaica (19.30 in 2008)

400 meters: Michael Johnson, USA (43.49 in 1996)

800 meters: Vebjorn Rodal, Norway (1:42.58 in 1996)

1,500 meters: Noah Ngeny, Kenya (3:32.07 in 2000)

5,000 meters: Kenenisa Bekele, Ethiopia (12:57.82 in 2008)

10,000 meters: Kenenisa Bekele, Ethiopia (27:01.17 in 2008)

Marathon: Carlos Lopes, Portugal (2:09.21 in 1984)

110 meter hurdles: Xiang Liu, China (12.91 in 2004)

400 meter hurdles: Kevin Young, USA (46.78 in 1992)

3,000 meter Steeplechase: Julius Kariuki, Kenya (8:05.51 in 1988)

4×100 meter relay: Jamaica, Asafa Powell, Nesta Carter, Usain Bolt, Michael Frater (37.10 in 2008)

4×400 meter relay: USA, LaShawn Merritt, David Neville, Angelo Taylor, Jeremy Wariner (2:55.39 in 2008)

Source: Olympic.org

Yes, there were complaints about underage Chinese competitors and questionable judging. A subjective sport leaves room for interpretation, and the Americans seemed to draw few breaks.

Still, Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson each grabbed gold for the U.S. Liukin led the way with an American record-tying five medals in all, while Johnson finished with four. As a group, the U.S. came home with eight medals — seven individual and one team.

Here’s the complete list of U.S. medalists:

Nastia Liukin — 5: Gold (1): Women’s Individual All-Around; Silver (3): Women’s Uneven Bars, Women’s Beam, Women’s Team; Bronze (1): Women’s Floor Exercise

Shawn Johnson — 4: Gold (1): Women’s Beam; Silver (3): Women’s Floor Exercise, Women’s Individual All-Around, Women’s Team

Chellsie Memmel — 1: Silver (1): Women’s Team

Samantha Peszek — 1: Silver (1): Women’s Team

Alicia Sacramone — 1: Silver (1): Women’s Team

Bridget Sloan — 1: Silver (1): Women’s Team

Source: nbcolympics.com