Well, the Olympics have come to an end.

And, as the dust settles over Beijing (or should we say, smog...), we can now get back to normality - although the beauty of 24 hour sports channels means the life of a sports blogger is never normal.

No, we're not complaining.

There have been plenty of memorable moments at the Beijing games, and despite the odd controversial moment, we think China can be extremely proud of their moment in the sporting sun.

Obviously, the efforts of Michael Phelps have dominated the headlines - and rightly so. His eight Gold medal haul ranks him among the greatest Olympians of all time, if not the greatest.

On the track, the hero of these games definitely has to be the Jamaican Usain Bolt, who dominated the 100m and 200m. He not only won Gold in both events, but destroyed the World Records at the same time. He's the worlds fastest man, and one heck of a dancer...

For us New Zealander's these games have been truly fantastic, with a medal haul of nine (three Gold, one Silver, and five Bronze).

The highlight was definitely Georgina and Caroline Ever-Swindell's race, which kept us glued to our TV's, and perched on the edge of our seats. To win by only one-one hundredth of a second is an amazing achievement - not to mention defending their Athens win.

Valerie Vili was incredible in the shot put, with a winning throw on her first attempt, and Tom Ashley did us all proud winning Gold in the men's board sailing.

We here in the Attic are extremely proud of all our athletes efforts - we now can't wait for the 2012 London games, where some of our young athletes will be even better for their experience in Beijing.

The world now switches it's focus to London for the next Summer Olympics, and they're going to have to pull something very special out of the bag if they're to beat (or even match) China's display.

Next stop - London.

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It's Top 5 time again, and with the Olympics heading into the home stretch we thought we'd give you our Top 5 'Weirdest Olympic Sports'.

There are a lot of different sporting events at the Beijing games, and some of them are slightly odd.

Well, 'slightly' is a bad word - really, they're borderline as to whether or not they should even be at the games.

So, here's our Top 5 'Weirdest Olympic Sports':

As an artistic display, it's amazing what these girls can do. But let's be honest - it's slightly bizarre, and almost humorous. It's dancing under water, right? And while we're not doubting their skill, we can't get over the fact that, well...it's dancing under water.
Next thing you know, there'll be ballroom dancing, and possibly even break-dancing, at the Olympic games. As far as Olympic sports go, this one is just plain weird.

This is the one where the rider makes the horse walk funny, right? It's kind of like synchronised swimming, but with a horse. And no water.
The horse struts around the field for a few minutes, lifting it's legs in various, slightly awkward looking ways. Kind of like it's walking on hot coals, really.
Like synchronised swimming, it probably takes an awful lot of talent from the rider. But for the spectator, it's like watching a horse walk around a paddock with pins in it's feet.
Is it really a sport? We're not sure - but we are sure it's weird.



When we originally watched a highlights package of handball, it actually looked like a lot of fun. And then we watched an entire game.
Weird? Oh yes. There doesn't seem to be any structure to it - the players run down one end, try to throw the ball into the goal, and then run back down to defend, without even bothering to try and get the ball off the opposition. It's just so (too..?) chaotic.
If anyone can explain the rules of handball to us, please do - but until then, handball's staying in the weird column.


At what point did walking become a sporting event? And then, even more mind-boggling, an Olympic event? And walking the way they do - you know what we mean, right...?
We've never seen anyone walk that way down the street, so why do they call it walking at the Olympics? It's not walking - it's trotting, or something.
Further more, at what point does someone decide they want to be an Olympic walker? 'Mum, look - I discovered I have the most amazing talent today!'
It's quite possibly the most unflattering sport out there - and indeed, one of the weirdest.




We have to put this at number one, purely for the fact that even having a trampoline at the Olympics is weird - let-a-lone people jumping on it as an event...
Trampolining is something that kids do when their parents tell them to go and play outside. Granted, the 'athletes' do some pretty amazing flips (and other things, too, but we're not that familiar with the trampolining lingo) - but it would be better suited to a circus show than the Olympics.
Still, kids the world over can rejoice in the fact that if they fail at rugby or soccer, they can always take up bouncing on a trampoline. You never know - they might even reach the top of the athletics world.

And our Top 5 Weirdest Olympic Sports list, too.

New Zealand's golden run at the Beijing Olympics has continued overnight, with board sailor Tom Ashley winning our third Gold medal so far.

Ashley went into the final race sitting tied for second with Great Britain, and only a couple of points behind France.

All he had to do was beat the French and British sailor's, and the Gold was his.

And that's exactly what he did.

Ashley finished the race in third place, behind Hong Kong and Israel, but was two places in front of the French guy - who had to settle for the Silver. The Israeli sailor managed to gain enough points to take out the Bronze medal, leaving the Brit to wonder what could have been.

It's another fantastic result for New Zealand, who haven't won a Gold medal in sailing since Barbara Kendall in 1992. She, incidentally, finished sixth overall in the women's board sailing.

New Zealand has also picked up three Bronze medals since 'Super Saturday'.

Haydon Roulston, Sam Bewley, Marc Ryan and Jesse Sergeant took out the Cycling team pursuit, beating the Aussie boys by 1.23 seconds. The great news for our cyclists is that they are still very young, and will be a real threat to the British team in 2012.

Bevan Docherty won the Bronze in the triathlon, sticking with the leaders for the entire run - and when the time came to sprint for the finish line, only the German and Canadian bolted ahead of him.

It's a great result for Docherty, in what is one of the most grueling events at the Olympic games.

Nick Willis won the Bronze in the men's 1500m, in what was an absolutely incredible race. When you consider that we haven't won a medal in that event since John Walker, Willis' Bronze is an absolutely fantastic result.

So now New Zealand has nine medals, in what is undoubtedly our greatest Olympics ever - and we still have a chance in the BMX racing, with Sarah Walker standing a great chance to win Gold, as is Marc Willers.

It would be great to win a couple more medals before the games finish up, but if we finish on nine we can still be extremely proud of our teams performances.

Well done guys!

What a day to be a Kiwi!

Five medals (including two Golds) at the Olympic Games, a victory to the All Blacks in South Africa, and the Warriors keeping their Top 8 hopes alive with a win over the Cronulla Sharks.

In terms of a weekend's sporting results, it really doesn't get much better than that.

Mahe Drysdale opened the evening with a Bronze medal finish in his final. Drysdale had been suffering from a flu, went into the race severely dehydrated and under strength, and spent 20 minutes after the race receiving medical assistance. To finish third in the Olympics is good, but under those physical conditions as well - well, that's just amazing.

George Bridgewater and Nathan Twaddle also finished third in their final, giving New Zealand a second Bronze medal.

It looked as though we might struggle to win Gold in the rowing finals - that was, before Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell ("The Golden Girls") stepped up.

It was truly one of the most exciting races we've ever seen, and with only one-one hundredth of a second between them and the German crew, it was definitely one of the closest races ever.

After a not-so-great year, they peaked at exactly the right time, and defended their title at Athens.

From five rowing finals, we won three medals - which we think is a fantastic effort.

New Zealand's night at the Olympics, though, wasn't over. Not by a long shot.

Kiwi cyclist Hayden Roulsten won the silver medal in the 4000m individual pursuit, going down to the British rider by only a few seconds. Not bad for a guy who only a couple of years ago was told he shouldn't race due to a heart condition.

The night was then rounded off nicely with Valerie Vili completely dominating the women's shot put final - and it only took her first throw, with no-one coming close to her throw of 20.56m.

Two Gold, one Silver, and two Bronze, in what was New Zealand's greatest day at an Olympics - and there could be more medals to come.

Seeing our athletes doing so well against the best in the world makes us extremely proud to be New Zealander's.

And, the All Blacks and Warriors winning really topped off a fantastic day in New Zealand sporting history.

It's great to be a Kiwi!

It's that time again, sports fans - our weekly Top 5, and this week we've decided to give you our Top 5 reasons to watch the Olympics.

So far, the Beijing games have been a fantastic spectacle - and they're only going to get better when the track and field events start.

So, here are our Top 5 reasons to watch the games:

It's not every day you get to watch the greatest athletes from around the world compete at one sporting event - in fact, it only happens every four years. For that reason alone, it's worth watching.
For the brief time the Olympics are on, the world seems to stand still (with the exception of the Russians...) to watch their country's finest try to win Gold.
Four years is a long time to wait, so make the most of the Olympics while they're on, we say.

Ok, so this one is mainly for our New Zealand readers. But we Kiwis take our sport very seriously, and although we don't win as many medals as we'd all like, we take great pride in supporting our New Zealand athletes.
This year we have a great chance of winning a few medals as well - five of our rowing teams have made their finals, Valerie Vili is going into the shotput with a real chance of winning gold, and don't be surprised if a few other teams make their mark on the games.


The great thing about the Olympics is that there are a whole range of sports to watch, that we don't usually get to see. Although admittedly we wouldn't usually even bother watching half of them, there's something about the Olympics that makes us want to watch these different sports. We're talking about things like synchronised diving, gymnastic events, volleyball and handball (which we think is a great sport, by the way), plus a whole range of different sports - we don't have enough time in the month to list them all...


One of the greatest events at the Olympics (and one of the shortest, too), the 100m Final is one of the most talked about, and watched, events.
It's crazy to think that athletes prepare for four years to race in an event that last around ten seconds, but what a ten seconds they are!
This year's race is shaping up to be one of the best yet, with the current World Record holder, Usain Bolt of Jamaica (9.76 sec), going up against Tyson Gay of the United States, who has a fastest time of 9.77 seconds. If both these men can make it through the heats, which they should, then the final will definitely be worth watching.


The "Baltimore Bullet" is arguably the greatest Olympian of all time, and definitely one of the most exciting athletes to watch. So far at these games he's won five golds (400m individual medley, 4x 100m freestyle relay, 200m freestyle, 200m butterfly, 4x 200m freestyle relay), all under the World record time. He still has three events to go (200m individual medley, 100m butterfly, 4x 100 medley relay), and if he can win Gold in all three he will surpass Mark Spitz's record of seven golds at an Olympic games. Phelps has also become the record holder for the most Golds ever won in Olympic history, with eleven.
At this stage, we cant see anyone beating him in his last three events - or even coming close, for that matter.
If you only watch one competitor at the Beijing games, then make it Michael Phelps.













So - there are our Top 5 reasons to watch the Olympic games. But to be honest, there are hundreds of reasons to watch. Let us know what you think of the Games so far, and head to our forum for some in depth talk about the Olympics.

See you there!

Before the Beijing Games began, I have to admit I wasn't that fussed about watching the Olympics.

I thought that I'd probably watch the Kiwi rowers, and that would be about it. Little did I know, that from Day one - I would be hooked.

For some reason (don't ask me why), I find myself watching all manner of sports - from rowing and swimming, to archery and synchronised diving. Sports that, to be honest, I usually wouldn't bother sitting down to watch.

And the more I watch, the more I become hooked.

From a Kiwi perspective the rowing has been fantastic, with five out of the seven teams making it into the finals - although some of the semi's were a little too close for my liking. Saturday night should be an exciting night for sports lovers, and hopefully New Zealand can win a few medals.

Moss Burmester's final was an exciting race, and although he ended up fourth, the fact that he kept up with Michael Phelps for most of the race is incredible. Not to mention setting a new Commonwealth record for the 200m Butterfly.

Without a doubt, Phelps has been the main attraction at the games so far. He's won five Gold medals, and is right on cue to win a record eight.

He has also taken his total tally to eleven, which is a Olympic record - making him the greatest Olympic athlete of all time.

All eyes are now on his last three events, and whether he can get to the magic eight Golds.

And the games are only just warming up, too, with the athletic events due to begin over the next couple of days.

It really is the greatest sporting event in the world.

- Chris.

There's nothing that gets us more fired up for an All Blacks Test than the Haka.

Whether it's the traditional 'Ka Mate', or the new 'Kapa O Pango', watching the boys lay down the challenge to their opponents sends chills up our spines.

The same can be said for the Kiwi league team, although if we had to choose the better, we'd go with the All Blacks - hands down.

But there's a problem with New Zealand sportsmen, and that's that they feel the need to pull out the Haka every time they win something - namely, at the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games.

The Haka is a challenge - that's why the All Blacks and Kiwis do it before the game starts, not after.

Why would you challenge someone after you've beaten them?? Yeah, we're not sure either.

Quite frankly, it's embarrassing when New Zealander's perform the Haka outside of rugby and league.

There's nothing intimidating about our swimmers (decked out in budgie smugglers) or rowers (wearing something similar) doing the Haka. Or any athletes, for that matter - whatever they're dressed in.

You don't see the Black Caps doing the Haka before they play. And thank goodness for that, because it would be a joke. No offence, Martin.

Next thing you know, the Silver Ferns will be doing the Haka. In their budgie smugglers.

Just because you can do the Haka, doesn't mean that you should.

So - let's just keep the Haka for the All Blacks and Kiwis. Really, they're the only teams that do it with pride.

Click on the title to read our Top 5...

...Greatest Sporting Comebacks

...Greatest Sporting Rivalries

...Reasons Why Cricket Is A More Demanding Sport To Play Than Baseball

...Weirdest Olympic 'Sports'

...Reasons To Watch The Olympics

...Reasons Why Rugby Beats American Football

...Greatest All Blacks Ever

...Greatest American Sportsmen

...Greatest Tri Nations Clashes

Want to have your say on one our Top 5's? Head to the Attic's forum, and say your bit.