The Games of the XXIX Olympiad have been run and won – or lost – and as we sadly wave them farewell, it’s time to have a look back at the Good, the Bad and the Ugly moments of a fabulous event.

The Good

There are two undisputed superstars of Beijing 2008, Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps. Phelps went into uncharted territory when he captured eight gold medals, breaking seven world records along the way and eclipsing fellow American Mark Sptiz’s 36-year-old record of seven golds from the Munich Games.

Bolt didn’t secure as many medals, but captured more hearts with his larger than life and very Caribbean approach to his sport. Three sprint events, three gold medals and three world records.

Every Olympic Games seems to throw up a story or two to warm the heart and Beijing didn’t disappoint. Giant German weightlifter Matthias Steiner’s gold medal was tinged with sadness as he dedicated it to his wife who was killed in a car accident last year. Seeing the tears of the big guy on the podium was enough to touch the hardest of hearts.

Anna Meares, the Aussie cyclist, also overcame adversity, but of a different kind. Seven months ago Meares was lying in a Los Angeles hospital bed with a fractured C2 vertebrae – the same one that got Superman actor Christopher Reeve – but she battled back to secure a silver medal in the women’s sprint final.

One of the biggest surprises of the Games is the performance of Great Britain. After finishing a lowly 10th in the Athens medal table, the Brits have sunk bucket loads of cash into their sports development and poached dozens of Aussie coaches. They have dominated in cycling, sailing and rowing – does it say anything that they’re all sports you do sitting down?

China has topped the medal table for the first time and the sleeping dragon has finally awoken and knocked the USA off the perch they have held since the end of the USSR. Not that it's a bad thing.

The tremendous spirit that has dominated the Games has been very impressive indeed. With a handful of notable exceptions, there has been marvellous sportsmanship displayed at all times. The Georgian and Russian shooting competitors embracing at the shooting range, spoke volumes for the tradition of Olympic detente, something their political masters seem to have forgotten.

One of the unforgettable images of the Games was Australia’s Sally McLellan and Canada’s Priscilla Lopes-Schliep dancing like schoolgirls after winning silver and bronze in the 100m hurdles. Similarly, Italian shooter Francesco D’Aniello shed tears of joy after winning his silver medal. It really is about the taking part, not the winning.

There were so many wonderful performances to look back upon … Samuel Wansiru becoming Kenya’s first marathon winner, Anky van Grunsven’s third consecutive dressage gold medal, Kenenisa Bekele  winning the 5,000 and 10,000 metre gold medals, the Jamaican domination of the sprinting, Romanian, Constantina Tomescu, becoming the oldest woman to win an Olympic marathon.

Finally, Beijing itself is worthy of recognition and praise. The magnificent venues, the stunning – if CGI enhanced – opening ceremony and festival atmosphere of the closing ceremony. It’s hard to know why Jacques Rogge didn’t do a Samaranch and declare the Games the best ever.

The Bad

One of the greatest disappointments was Chinese national hero, Liu Xiang. Whether his meltdown was purely physical or topped up with a little bit of stage-fright, we’ll never know, but it robbed the Games of one of the undoubted highlights.

The digital “tweaking” of the opening ceremony with lip-sync and CGI smacked a little of insecurity and was completely unnecessary and naturally cast doubt over everything we saw at the closing ceremony. The bits that were real, most of them that is, were spine-tingling – the 2008 drummers were truly unforgettable.

The early days of the games had a sterility to the events. The men’s road cycling race, for example, had almost no spectators. Coming so soon after Le Tour, it was surreal to see them cycle along deserted roads. As the Games wore on, the attitude became more relaxed and crowds behaved as they would anywhere else.

Then there were the obligatory drug cheats, most notably Ukrainian heptathlete Lyudmila Blonska, who was stripped of her silver medal, but with only six positives to date, it is the ‘cleanest’ Games for a long time. Perhaps we’re winning the war after all.

The women’s road cycling road race received one of the heaviest downfalls of rain ever witnessed at an Olympics, but it was the ditches at the side of the road that proved to be more dangerous for the riders who ended up head first in them.

Swedish wrestler Ara Abrahamian’s hissy fit in throwing away his bronze medal in protest at the judging showed a darker edge to the nation that brought us IKEA and ABBA. It wasn’t, however, the worst example of bad sportsmanship as we shall discover later.

The introduction of BMX racing was a big disappointment, particularly as it displaced the individual time trials at the velodrome. These pop-culture sports detract from the tradition of the Games. Beach volleyball, BMX ... what next, skateboarding? And why do we still have rhythmic gymnastics and synchronised swimming? Women have long since shed the weaker-sex tag, so why include events that treat them otherwise?

All in all, not much to whinge about, really.

The Ugly

The weather in Beijing turned out to be a nightmare, but not for the reasons we’d been expecting. The pollution issue never materialised, but the hot, wet and sticky conditions that visited Beijing are normally only replicated inside a weightlifter’s jockstrap.

Speaking of weightlifters, the gold medal for the most shocking, stomach-turning and agonising moment of the Games goes to Hungarian Janos Baranyai and his dislocated elbow. He’ll make a full recovery, but it was horrifying to watch.

The whole brouhaha over the alleged under-age Chinese gymnasts and accompanying American reaction was one of the lowest moments of the Games. If the gymnasts were under age, hopefully it will come out in the investigation but, regardless, the excessive histrionics do not reflect well on the Americans.

The death threats and abuse Helen Colagiuri received in the wake of Nastia Liukin’s tie-break loss to He Kexin in the uneven bars final are among the worst examples of bad sportsmanship we have seen. Matched only by beaten taekwondo fighter Angel Valodia Matos from Cuba, who took his revenge by kicking the referee in the head, for which he has now been banned for life. A jail sentence would be more appropriate.

A couple of Aussies disgraced themselves at the Games. First, Jared Tallent vomited explosively when about to cross the line in the 20km walk – very nasty indeed, but he did win the bronze medal, so all is forgiven.

Tallent’s indiscretion occurred in the heat of competition, but BMX rider Kamakazi’s decision to change his name by deed poll was given much thought, although apparently the thought didn't extend to the spelling of Kamikaze. No one could suggest that we Aussies aren’t culturally sensitive!

In a Games dominated by outstanding sportsmanship, the protest by Serb Milorad Cavic over Phelps’ seventh gold medal in the 100m butterfly was mean-spirited and unnecessary. As was the on-court behaviour of the Redeem Team. They are, without doubt, one of the finest collections of basketballers ever to grace a court, but they are bullies. Such aggression is probably necessary in the NBA, but when they are playing against lesser lights, they could tone it down without damaging their game. Everyone admires them, but few of their opponents would admit to liking them.

So that’s it. Beijing 2008 is gone and we all have to get back to our lives, but we can be thankful for two wonderful weeks of competition. Only 1,432 days to London 2012. Can't wait.