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.
8. Natalie du Toit - most adamant swimmer
Du Toit from South Africa, who lost her left leg in a motor accident and uses a prosthetic leg to walk, completed the guelling Olympic 10-kilometer open water swimming race. Having competed against able-bodied athletes, du Toit will now focus on the Beijing Paralympics.
9. Ara Abrahamian - most furious medalist
After a wrestling match, bronze medalist Ara Abrahamian snarled at the judge as his bid for gold was ended by a decision, which both his coach and himself considered unfair. During the awarding ceremony, the Swede threw the medal on the mat and stormed off.
10. Sarah Stevenson - most dramatic overturn
In Briton Stevenson's taekwondo match against Chen Zhong, in which the Chinese was first announced as the winner. Stevenson filed a protest. The result was reversed after a review of the video which was unprecedented in the Olympic taekwondo history.
(Xinhua News Agency August 24, 2008)