Beijing Olympics: Winners and Losers

Sizing up who came out on top—spectators, the Chinese, and sponsors—and why the IOC ends up on the losers' list

By Dexter Roberts

As the Beijing Olympic Games wrapped up on Aug. 24, 16 days after their fireworks-studded opening (BusinessWeek.com, 8/8/08), it is clear that on many counts they've been a huge success. China hosted a memorable Games and emerged as a dominant athletic powerhouse. The nation's athletes earned the Games' most gold medals, winning not only events where the country traditionally has excelled, such as gymnastics, diving, and table tennis, but also sports such as boxing and sailing that are new in its lineup. In the overall medal race, China won 100, putting it ahead of every nation except the U.S., which led with 110.

The 2008 Games didn't go so well for everyone, though. Here's my selective and personal list of the many winners and a few losers:

Spectators—winners

Whether they were the Chinese and overseas crowds who came to watch live or the billions of TV watchers around the world, the Games' spectators were unqualified winners. As they watched countless awe-inspiring athletic performances, they also witnessed China's dramatic rise to gold-medal powerhouse, unseating the U.S. At the same time, spectators were treated to the performances of 23-year-old American swimmer Michael Phelps, who won an unparalleled eight gold medals, and Jamaican Usain Bolt, who combined supreme, world-record-breaking sprinting with lighthearted antics. After breaking the 200-meter world record with a time of 19.30 seconds on Wednesday night—a little more than an hour before his 22nd birthday—Bolt celebrated by taking off his Puma Golden Theseus II running shoes before he danced around the perimeter of the National Stadium.

Chinese people—winners

The rise of the Chinese team—winner of 51 gold medals, 15 more than second-place U.S.—certainly has provided a huge boost to Chinese pride, and likely will strengthen the popularity of athletics and lead to a healthier China. An Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide survey released on Aug. 22 shows that 90% of Chinese believe that athletics will become more important following the Olympics, with more than one-third saying they now will care more about sports. This is a big change for China, where traditionally sports have not been really popular.

Although Beijing said it was committed to a "smoke-free Olympics" and banned smoking in all venues, Beijing restaurants by and large still had their customary gray nicotine haze. Beijing, however, has plans to become a more smoke-free city over the next few years. Let us hope it pulls this off, since China today is the largest puffer of cigarettes in the world.

Sponsors—winners

There were some very big winners among the Games' corporate sponsors. One of the biggest was Puma, which made a winning bet five years ago by picking a little-known athlete from a small island nation—Usain Bolt, who leaves Beijing as a three-time gold medal winner and world record holder in the 100- and 200-meter runs. "We picked him up very early when he was nobody—just a great talent—and really believed in his potential and stayed with him," says CEO Jochen Zeitz of Frankfurt-listed Puma. "We made him a hero in our global advertising campaign without knowing he would have a breakthrough at the Olympics." The company's association with Bolt is "something that you can't translate into money," adds Zeitz. "Those visuals and images go around the world, and there are very few that haven't seen them."