What Happened on August 16, 2008

Historical Events

Olympic Gold

American swimmer Michael Phelps wins his 7th of 8 gold medals at the Beijing Olympics when he takes the 100m butterfly in Olympic record 50.58; beats Milorad Čavić of Serbia by 0.01

British cyclist Bradley Wiggins becomes the first rider ever to successfully defend his Olympic title in the individual pursuit when he takes gold at the Beijing Olympics

Olympic Gold

British sailor Ben Ainslie convincingly wins the Finn class at the Beijing Olympics, his third gold medal in as many Games

British swimmer Rebecca Adlington wraps up the 400/800m freestyle double at the Beijing Olympics with a world record 8:14.10 in the 800
British team of Tom James, Steve Williams, Pete Reed & Andrew Triggs Hodge wins the men's rowing coxless fours in Beijing, the third straight Olympics that Great Britain wins gold in this event
César Cielo wins the men's 50m freestyle in 21.30 in Beijing, Brazil's first ever swimming Olympic gold medal

World Record

Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt sets new world record of 9.69 seconds to win the coveted 100m gold medal at the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics

Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe swims a world record 2:05.24 to beat American Margaret Hoelzer by 1.01 and win the 200m backstroke at the Beijing Olympics
New Zealand rowers Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell successfully defend their 2004 Olympic title in the women's double sculls by beating Germany by 0.01 seconds at the Beijing Games
Romanian rower Georgeta Andrunache wins the women's coxless pairs at the Beijing Olympics; her 5th career gold medal, and her 3rd consecutive Olympic gold in the event
South Korean weightlifter Jang Mi-Ran wins the women's unlimited (+75 kg) division at the Beijing Olympics by breaking world records 5 times: once in snatch, twice in clean-and-jerk, and twice in total

Events in 2008

Famous Weddings

Ellen DeGeneres

American comedienne and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres (54) weds American actress Portia de Rossi (39) in Beverly Hills, California

Famous Deaths

Dorival Caymmi, Brazilian singer and songwriter, dies at 94 [1]
Elena Leuṣtean, Romanian gymnast and Olympic medalist (b. 1935)
Lucrecia Roces Kasilag, Filipina composer (Filiasiana), concert pianist, and educator (Bayanihan Dance Company), dies of pneumonia 89
Ronnie Drew, Irish singer (The Dubliners), dies at 73

Died in 2008 2008 Highlights