Russia's Natalia Paderina and Georgia's Nino Salukvadze hugged after winning Olympic silver and bronze medals, respectively, in the women's 10-meter air pistol competition.

The Beijing Olympics 2008 set a high standard for the next Olympics hosts, Canada (Vancouver 2010). Then comes Britain (London 2012), and Russia (Sochi 2014). Undoubtedly all will be daunted by the precedence of extravagance that China displayed, while there also will be new security concerns for future events. Not everyone will want to, or be able to, crack down on dissent the way the Chinese did, either. Just one thought: Sochi is only a few miles from the Georgia frontier and the Sochi winter games are only four years away.

While the Russian team didn’t do well in the beginning of the 2008 games, lagging behind other nations at the eighth and sometimes 12th places in the total medal count, the country caught up towards the end and finished in a solid third place with 72 medals behind America (110 medals) and China (100 medals). Americans earned more medals than ever before, however China ended in the first spot with the most gold medals.

Overall, Russia’s performance was admirable. Two and three decades ago many nations were united under one Soviet flag, representing a larger population and therefore more athletes to draw from. It’s interesting to note that in 2008 Ukraine ended in 11th place with 27 medals, an impressive display for a relatively small nation, and Belarus surprised us with its 16th spot and 19 medals, ahead of such countries as Poland or Canada. Georgia came in 27th place with six medals, and Kazakhstan secured the 19th position with 13 medals. Those who followed the Olympics closely noticed that the former Soviet nations performed best in their historically strong areas. Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Belarus did well in boxing, wrestling, weight-lifting, and other “manly” activities. Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia secured best spots in women’s gymnastics. Overall, Russian women looked stronger and more confident in their disciplines than the men did.

Please visit the extended post to see the table of medals for the team of the Russian Federation.