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A deeper look at the Zhang Yimou spectacular -
aided by an awareness of the film-director's transition from perceptive artist
to stately heritage-peddler - goes some
way to confirm the argument that China's control-freakery still crushes true
individuality and spontaneity. True, there was a strong element of kitsch
nationalism in this staged and triumphal pageant of historical and cultural
achievement. China, apart from North Korea, is probably the only remaining
country that can harness this degree of coordinating energy, focused resources
and (since this is China) sheer multitudes for an event of this kind. The
Pyongyang reference is telling: for all the technical wizardry, in part
it evoked a more sinister world of mass rallies and conformist
ultra-collectivism.

And yet, this was not all it was

Beijing Olympics will
change China, but that to some extent they already have. This is clearer if all the events and festivities are seen in
the context of what went before: the consequences of winning the right to host
(including extensive soul-searching about China's image in the world), the
unsettling events of 2008 (the Tibet uprising, the Sichuan earthquake, the
torch-relay protests) which have led to vehement criticism around the world of
the country's political system and leadership.

China's leaders have been shocked and many of
its people injured by this. They realise that it is not enough any more to be
known simply for economic success and dynamism; they feel they (and their
country) deserve better.

"We Chinese carry the burden of our history with us and the question of Western humiliation is always unconsciously inside us," Chen told me.

Thus, we feel sensitive to any kind of slight and often have a very sharp reaction to perceived unfair treatment or injustices. On an emotional level we cannot help but associate treatment in the present with past injuries, defeats, invasions, and occupations by foreigners. There is something almost in our DNA that triggers autonomic, and sometimes extreme, responses to foreign criticism or put-downs.

To win the right to host these Games, China promised to honor the Olympic ideals of nonviolence, openness to the world and individual expression. Those promises were systematically broken, starting with this spring’s brutal repression in Tibet and continuing on to the ugly farce of inviting its citizens to apply for legal protest permits and then arresting them if they actually tried to do so.

Along the way, government critics were pre-emptively rounded up and jailed, domestic news outlets tightly controlled, foreign journalists denied full access to the Internet and thousands of Beijing’s least telegenic residents were evicted from their homes and out of camera range.

Jill Kintner, the United States’ lone female representative, also qualified.

Kintner sacrificed so much to be here. She returned to the sport she once dominated after a six-year hiatus, and she did so with reluctance and only after USA Cycling recruited her. Then she tore up her knee, postponing surgery

While other countries pour millions into the training and perfecting of their Olympic stars, Somalia offers little guidance and no doctors, not even a stipend for food.

“The food is not something that is measured and given to us every day,” Samia said. “We eat whatever we can get.”

On the best days, that means getting protein from a small portion of fish, camel or goat meat, and carbohydrates from bananas or citrus fruits growing in local trees. On the worst days – and there are long stretches of those – it means surviving on water and Angera, a flat bread made from a mixture of wheat and barley.

Suddenly, the half-empty stadium realized there was still a runner on the track, still pushing to get across the finish line almost eight seconds behind the seven women who had already completed the race. In the last 50 meters, much of the stadium rose to its feet, flooding the track below with cheers of encouragement. A few competitors who had left Samia behind turned and watched it unfold.

As Samia crossed the line in 32.16 seconds, the crowd roared in applause.

Leslie spoke about the thrill of first putting on a United States uniform as a high school junior.

“It’s been an honor for me to represent my country, and obviously now in my fourth Olympics to have four gold medals shows a level of dominance that I’ve been able to participate in with so many great players,” Leslie said.