The O List, Part 4: O Yeah! Olympic Superlatives

Cheers on day three to the US Men's Gymnastics team. They seemed more excited about their Bronze than even the Chinese team about their gold. And the Japanese team looked downright depressed about their silver.

Each Olympics is filled to the brim with great stories; here are just a few of the 'bests' and 'mosts' this year:

1. Oldest Athlete: HOKETSU Hiroshi Born - March 28, 1941; Age - 67.
Mr. Hoketsu returns to the Olympics for the first time since his debut 44 years ago at the 1964 Tokyo Games. He finished 40th there in the Equestrian Show Jumping event, but expects to do much better this time competing in Dressage on his mare, Whisper. "I didn't see why my age should be such a big thing. I wasn't selected for the Olympics because I'm 67," he said in an interview with Reuters. More power to him. I know I'll be cheering him on.

2. Youngest Athlete: Antoinette Joyce GUEDIA MOUAFO Born - October 21, 1995; Age - 12.
Miss Guedia Mouafo will be swimming for Cameroon in the 50m Freestyle event, as part of the long-standing Olympic tradition of building athletic programs in developing countries. Her entrance time of 36.00 seconds is a full 12 seconds slower than that of Aussie World Record holder Lisbeth Trickett (23.97), and she has next to no chance of making semis. But she is the only woman representing her country in the pool, and one of only two Cameroonian swimmers in Beijing.

3. Most Olympic Appearances: Ian MILLAR, 9
This would have been Mr. Millar's 10th Olympics, had it not been for Canada boycotting the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. His best finishes were fourth in both '84 and '88 in the team jumping equestrian event; and with a solid Canadian team behind him this year, he may finally capture that elusive Olympic medal.

4. Newest Sport: BMX
32 men and 16 women will compete for Olympic glory for the first time in Bicycle Motocross. Check out the venue:

(Laoshan BMX Venue)

5. First-time Countries: Montenegro, Tuvalu, Marshall Islands Montenegro, the newest country in the world, has fielded Olympic athletes in the past as a part of Serbia and Yugoslavia. Their first independent team includes a water polo squad expected to contend for a medal (first result - 10:10 draw with Hungary). To participate in the Olympics, a country must have at least five internationally recognized sporting federations. The small South Pacific island nations of Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands met this requirement for the first time over the last cycle, and will field 3 and 5 athletes respectively.