Afghanistan's first Olympic medallist received a hero's welcome on Thursday from hundreds of beaming fans. Rohullah Nikpai, who won a bronze medal in the under 58kg taekwondo competition, was greeted along with his three teammates in Kabul, the Afghan capital. Taekwondo is the most practised combat sport in Afghanistan. The country's previous best Olympic finish was a fifth place in wrestling at the Tokyo Games in 1964.

An Olympic Solidarity scholarship holder

Win a trip to Copenhagen and attend the 13th Olympic Congress in October 2009: this is the prize for 20 participants of the current virtual Congress. Each member of the general public who submits a written electronic contribution to the virtual Congress is automatically eligible to participate in the prize draw. The 20 invitations include economy airfare and local accommodation and meals. Submissions will be accepted until 31 December 2008.

The quality counts

The contributions to the virtual Congress will be numerous. Today more than 1,000 people have already registered or contributed. It will be up to the IOC, through its Olympic Congress Editorial Committee, to select 20 contributions and award their authors one prize each. When making its decision, the Committee will in particular take into account the quality of the contribution. The competition rules can be accessed on the virtual Congress page.

Making a contribution to the virtual Olympic Congress is easy! Access www.2009congress.olympic.org, register and contribute online to a maximum of two of the five Congress themes.

The themes are as follows:

Theme 1: The athletes

- Relationship between the athletes, the clubs, federations and the NOCs

- Health protection in training and competition

- The social and professional life of athletes during and after elite competition

Theme 2: The Olympic Games

- How to keep the Games as a premier event

- The Olympic values

- Universality and developing countries

Theme 3: The structure of the Olympic Movement  

Visa “Olympics of the Imagination” programme launched four years ago and, since that time, millions of kids have taken part in the competition. Even more impressive is the 255 children from 44 countries aged 10 to 14 who have gotten to attend the Olympic Games in Beijing thanks to Visa.

Olympic spirit
Scot Smythe, Senior Vice President of Visa International, says, "We believe that the unifying nature of the Olympic Games brings together people and communities in a way so as to enhance their lives. The Visa “Olympics of the Imagination” embodied that spirit, bringing together the young people from 18 nations to demonstrate through art the Olympic spirit."

Use your imagination

The programme challenged school children to use their imaginations to create a piece of art based on the theme of global unity: “Show how the Olympic Games connect different cultures and capture the Beijing theme – One World, One Dream.” The winners were given the opportunity to come to Beijing as a guest of Visa Inc.

Thirty winners were chosen based on their various themes: “Dare to Dream”, “Games for Peace”, and “Unified World” were just a few of the innovative ideas thought up by kids from across the globe.  The programme began in March of last year and the 30 winners were selected from Brazil, Canada, Caribbean, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Hong Kong, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, Poland, Russia, Serbia, South Africa, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.

Each country funnels into China

A new record for www.olympic.org was established on the occasion of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad - Beijing 2008. Approximately 5.7 million surfers visited the  olympic.org web site from 8 to 24 August.  A total of 25.5 million page views were recorded. 

This new, all-time record has more than doubled the figures reached at the 2004 Athens Games, when the web site was viewed by approximately 2.8 million visitors for the same Games-time period.

The top five countries visiting the olympic.org web site were the United States, Great Britain, Australia, Canada and France.

Most successful sections :
New Multimedia Gallery

Olympic Quizzes and Online Mini Game

Future and past Games

Sports

Past Games Results

New olympic.org features a real hit!
Many of the new, exciting features which were developed for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games have proven to be very popular with visitors. For example, the new multimedia gallery recorded approximately 5.2 million views, including a staggering 1.2 million videos watched. As a point of interest, during the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, only 125,000 videos were viewed on olympic.org.

Mini Game and online quizzes

What do eight-time Olympic gold medallist Michael Phelps and 17-time Olympic sponsor McDonald’s have in common, besides their love of food? The American swimmer was named the Global Ambassador for McDonald’s Champion Kids programme in August 2007.

Eight gold medals
Just days after breaking the record for most gold medals in a single Olympic Games, Phelps visited Beijing with 34 McDonald’s Champion Kids, taking pictures and answering questions. About what he thinks a champion is, Phelps said, “I think the biggest thing is never giving up. You know, there are some things that aren’t always easy, but you just push through the hard times and it all pays off.”

Two hundred kids travelled to China
The programme was created to inspire and engage young people worldwide in activities that encourage sport, fitness and fun, while providing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them to experience the Olympic Games first-hand.

This programme has brought more than 200 kids from around the world to Beijing. During their stay, the children are meeting athletes, visiting cultural sights, and attending Olympic events, leaving them with a multitude of stories and experiences to share with family and friends.

A full schedule
“Bringing these kids to Beijing to witness the Olympic Games and the wonders of China is another example of our commitment to children’s well-being,” said Johan Jervoe, Vice President, McDonald’s Global Marketing.  More importantly, these kids are making new friends and creating memories that will last them a lifetime.

“McDonald’s has proudly partnered with the Olympic Games for 40 years, and each time, we strived to create programmes that capture the unique spirit of the Games and to engage our customers worldwide,” said Jervoe.