The 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing are sure to be a great spectacle of sport and competitions between the world's best athletes. Some individual events are watched more closely than others throughout the games, but all of the events factor evenly into the final medal standings. The final medal count is something that each country cares about a great deal. The total medal standings at the end of the day represent how well the country and its top athletes has done against the rest of the world and its top athletes.

This year with the Olympics taking place in Beijing, China there has been a lot of focus on the Chinese and how well they will do in these summer games. Speculation is that it is extremely important to the Chinese that they overtake the Americans in the overall medal count, which is completely possible. In the past the host country has seen a very nice boost in the amount of medals it brings home, and one would expect China to get that same boost. In the 2004 Olympic games in Athens the United States won the overall medal competition with 102 medals overall and 36 gold medals. Russia finished second in the overall count with 92 medals, but China was second in gold medals at 32. Many Olympic predictions believe that Russia will continue to slide some in their overall medal count, and China and the United States will have a duel for medal supremacy. Most predictions show that the Chinese are heavy favorites to win the most gold medals in 2008, but that China and the United States should finish very close in the overall medal count. Interestingly, the two countries have tried to downplay expectations and proclaim the other the favorite to win the most gold medals. There's nothing like beating lowered expectations!

The Chinese have clearly invested huge amounts of money into these Olympic games and there is no doubt that they want this to be their coming out party and have the world as a whole view China as a super power, both athletically and politically. The thought of them overtaking the United States in the overall medal count is quite shocking to many Americans, but this could be the year that it happens.

The Chinese is particularly strong in diving, table tennis, badminton, and gymnastics. The Chinese have said that their weakness in events such as track and field as well as swimming make them the underdog to the United States to get the most medals in these games. The Americans are very strong in swimming, track and field, basketball, and beach volleyball. The American officials say that their weakness in the other sports such as archery, table tennis, and rowing leave them at a disadvantage to the Chinese.

How will the medal standings look at the end of the Olympics? My guess is that the Chinese will overtake the Americans in the number of gold medals, but the Americans will very narrowly keep the overall medal count and the Chinese will finish in second.

While many who are not interested in sports believe that the final medal standings mean very little, you should know that there are plenty of people in the Chinese and American governments who will be keeping a very close eye on those final medal standings!

Click here to view the up to date medal standings for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

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