In Photos: Historic moments of the Olympic Games -- Beijing 2008

2008 Beijing Olympics -- It was the first summer games held in Asia in 20 years since the 1988 Seoul event. A total of 204 nations and regions participated in 302 events in 28 sports. Japan won nine gold, eight silver and eight bronze medals.

2008 Beijing Olympics -- Japan's Kosuke Kitajima celebrates after winning the gold medal in the men's 100-meter breaststroke by setting a new world record of 58.91 seconds in the final. He said with tears in his eyes after the competition, "I can't say anything!" His comment was nominated for the grand prize among a list of trendy words and phrases for the year in Japan. (Mainichi/Naotsune Umemura)

2008 Beijing Olympics -- Japan's Kosuke Kitajima displays the gold medal he won in the men's 200-meter breaststroke following his victory in the 100-meter event. Kitajima captured breaststroke gold medals in two consecutive Olympics. (Mainichi/Akihiro Hirata)

2008 Beijing Olympics -- Japanese swimmers, from left, Takeshi Matsuda, who secured the bronze medal in the men's 200-meter butterfly, Reiko Nakamura, who earned the bronze medal in the women's 200-meter backstroke, and members of the men's 400-meter medley relay, who captured the bronze medal, are seen. (Mainichi/Junichi Sasaki)

2008 Beijing Olympics -- Japan's Yuki Ota reacts after defeating Italy's Salvatore Sanzo, the silver medalist in the 2004 Athens event, in a semifinal in the individual foil in men's fencing. Ota lost the final but became the first Japanese medalist in the sport. (Mainichi/Akihiro Hirata)

2008 Beijing Olympics -- Japan's Satoshi Ishii celebrates after winning the gold medal in the over-100-kilogram division in men's judo. He qualified for the event by beating Keiji Suzuki, the gold medalist in the 2004 Athens event, in the All-Japan Judo Championships. After winning the gold medal, Ishii announced in November that year that he would switch to compete in mixed martial arts. (Mainichi/Tomohisa Yazu)

2008 Beijing Olympics -- Japan's Ryoko Tani waves to fans after taking the bronze medal in the 48-kilogram division in women's judo. She had given birth in 2005 and returned to competition after a break of two years. Tani announced before the event, "I won the gold (in Sydney) as Tamura (my maiden name), also won the gold (in Athens) as Tani (after getting married) and will win the gold again as a mother." But she failed to achieve her goal after losing a semifinal and won the bronze medal match by ippon. (Mainichi/Naotsune Umemura)

2008 Beijing Olympics -- The Japanese softball team celebrates after securing the gold medal to achieve a long-cherished goal. Ace Yukiko Ueno pitched in a semifinal, the bronze medal match and the final. It was previously announced that baseball and softball would be excluded from the Olympics in and after the 2012 London Games. Both sports will return to the 2020 Tokyo Games. (Mainichi/Akihiro Hirata)

2008 Beijing Olympics -- Japan's Saori Yoshida celebrates on the podium after winning the gold medal in the 55-kilogram division in women's wrestling. She dominated her opposition in the first round, second round, semifinal and final and said after the competition, "I want to aim to capture a third consecutive gold medal at the London Games." (Mainichi/Tomohisa Yazu)

2008 Beijing Olympics -- Japan's Kaori Icho pins her opponent on her way to securing her second consecutive gold medal in the 63-kilogram division in women's wrestling. Her elder sister Chiharu captured the silver medal in the 48-kilogram division in the same sport. (Mainichi/Tomohisa Yazu)

2008 Beijing Olympics -- The Japanese men's gymnastics team show off their silver medals they won in the team event behind China after it had aimed to capture its second consecutive gold medal following its victory in the Athens Games. From left, Takehiro Kashima, Takuya Nakase, Makoto Okiguchi, Koki Sakamoto, Hiroyuki Tomita and Kohei Uchimura are seen. (Mainichi/Naotsune Umemura)

2008 Beijing Olympics -- Japan's Kohei Uchimura performs on his way to capturing the silver medal in the individual all-around event in men's gymnastics. Uchimura fell twice in the pommel horse event in the second round and was temporarily placed at the bottom among 24 competitors. But he moved up to second place by showing nearly perfect performances in his three rounds in the latter half. (Mainichi/Tomohisa Yazu)

2008 Beijing Olympics -- The Japanese team's Shinji Takahira passes the baton to anchor Nobuharu Asahara on their way to finishing in third place in the 4x100-meter relay in men's athletics. It was the second medal in track events for Japan after Kinue Hitomi captured the silver medal in the women's 800 meters in the 1928 Amsterdam Games. It was also the first medal for Japanese men's track runners. In 2018, the team was awarded the silver medal because Jamaica, which finished in first place, was stripped of its gold medal by the IOC due to doping by its member Nesta Carter. (Mainichi/Akihiro Hirata)

2008 Beijing Olympics -- The Japanese baseball team managed by Senichi Hoshino shakes hands with American players after Japan lost in the bronze medal match following its earlier defeat by South Korea in a semifinal. Japan finished with four wins and five losses in total in the event. (Mainichi/Naotsune Umemura)

2008 Beijing Olympics -- Jamaica's Usain Bolt reacts after winning the gold medal in the men's 200 meters by setting a new world record of 19.30 seconds. He also won the gold in the 100 meters with a new world record of 9.69 seconds. (Mainichi/Naotsune Umemura)

2008 Beijing Olympics -- The Jamaican team is seen after finishing in first place in the 400-meter relay by setting a new world record. However, they were later stripped of their gold medals by the IOC due to doping by starting runner Nesta Carter. (Mainichi/Shin Yamamoto)