4. Liu Xiang - most shocking withdrawal
Defending Olympic champion Liu Xiang of China pulled out of the 110m hurdles race injured, shocking the whole world.
5. Xie Yalong - most criticized official
Xie Yalong, vice chairman of the Chinese Football Association, has become a target of internet lashing and sneering, following the Chinese men's soccer team's disastrous show in Beijing.
6. Dana Abdulrazak - most heroic runner
Iraqi women runner Dana Abdul-Razzaq has received as loud applause as champions. The Iraqi team's only woman faced many obstacles to reach Beijing, from a sniper's bullets to a lack of training facilities and religious and cultural opposition to female athletes.
Before the Olympics, she was told that Iraq was shut out of the international sports gala. When her coach consoled her by saying that she could take part in the 2012 Olympics, she broke into tears, "who knows if I could live that long!"
7. Matthias Steiner - most soulful celebration
When the German Hercules mounted the gold medal podium, he was not alone. Clutching a snapshot of his late wife Susann, he choked, "She's always with me, in the hours before the competition. She's there..." On the picture, Susann beamed, while on the audience stands, many wept.