Welcome back to Olympic Wednesday: it’s time for the Summer Games in China—and the bright stars that shone there, despite so many concerns about ongoing human-rights violations. Almost 11,000 athletes from over 200 nations still came to Beijing to compete in 302 events across 41 disciplines. As concepts of globalism increased, so did access to the Olympic Games: the world descended on China with big eyes.

Despite its best efforts, though, the host country finished second on the medal table, as the United States tallied 112 medals to outdistance China by a mere 12 podium finishes. The Russian Federation came in a distant third with 60 medals, and overall, 13 nations won at least 20 medals. Another eight countries won at least 10 medals; this broad distribution of double-digit medal winners demonstrated high international joy.

Most Outstanding Male Athlete: Michael Phelps, United States

Only one competitor won more than four overall medals: American swimmer Michael Phelps, who gets a repeat nod here as the best “professional” swimmer ever. He won eight gold medals to surpass the efforts of Mark Spitz (Munich 1972). He won five individual titles (200m freestyle, 100m butterfly, 200m fly, 200m individual medley, 400m IM) and three relays (4x100m free relay, 4×200 free relay, 4x100m medley relay).

Most Outstanding Female Athlete: Libby Lenton-Trickett, Australia

The only woman to win four medals, Australian swimmer Libby Lenton-Trickett almost won five medals, as she finished fourth in the 50m free. Her medals came in the following events: 100m fly (gold); 100m free (silver); 4x100m free relay (bronze); and 4×100 medley relay (gold). In her Olympic career, she won two additional medals in Athens and one more in London (2012). That’s a pretty nifty career right there, en toto.

Most Outstanding Male Team: Chinese Gymnastics

The Chinese men won seven of a possible eight gold medals in gymnastics, and the team haul also included one silver medal. It was a dominant effort in front of the home crowd, for sure: the only event the team did not medal in at all was vault. Otherwise, the gold near-sweep included the individual all-around winner Yang Wei and the team all-around title, too. Wei won silver in the rings event, as well, to add to his cache.

Most Outstanding Female Team: Chinese Diving

Similar to the men’s gymnasts, the Chinese women divers were dominant; in fact, they won all four gold medals possible while adding two individual bronze medals as well. Guo Jingjing won the springboard, while Chen Ruolin won the platform. The team competitions—synchronized springboard and platform, respectively—both were won by the Chinese teams. The Chinese women won the maximum medals here.