The curtain came down on the Olympic Games in Beijing yesterday, and the countdown leading to the 30th edition of the Games to be held in London in four years’ time – between 27 July and 12 August 2012 – has already started.

Sport lovers have had more than two weeks of spectacular events. Records have been broken, mostly in swimming, where the use of new swimsuits has enabled swimmers to be faster than they already were. Michael Phelps will go down in the record books as being the athlete to have won eight gold medals in one single edition of the Games, and a total of 14 in two editions. It is an achievement that will be hard to emulate, let alone break.

Usain Bolt has also stunned the world by winning the 100-metre and 200-metre dashes, and then helped his country to take gold in the sprint relay too, all with world records broken.

But, apart from these two main protagonists, the Olympic Games offered stories of athletes that probably deserved more attention from the media than they actually did get. One of them is that of Dutchman Maarten van der Weijden, who won the 10km swimming race after having been diagnosed with leukemia seven years ago.

The Olympic Games are special days because minor sport disciplines receive great attention – probably much more than during the four years in between editions. Athletes participating in these sports are, for once, in the limelight and acclaimed when they achieve victory.

Still, the difference between sport disciplines remains, and it is all a question of money. Some athletes get paid millions of euros; others have to sustain their own efforts with great sacrifices in trying to make it to the Olympic Games. Their only reward is an Olympic medal, and few are capable of reaching the target. The fact that they manage to get to the Games is, in itself, already a victory.

The Beijing Games broke records in terms of participating countries – 204 – and in terms of countries that took home at least one medal – 87. Malta was again not among them. The dream promised some years ago by the Maltese Olympic Committee – that Malta would have won a medal in Beijing – did not materialise. Still, William Chetcuti managed to claim an unprecedented eighth place in the double trap shooting competition, while some national records were broken.

Too little, perhaps. On the one hand, we can console ourselves by saying that much bigger countries either failed to win medals too or else did not win as many as one would think considering their size, facilities and investment in sport. On the other hand, there were other small countries that went home celebrating a winner, or at least a presence on the podium. We await the day when a Maltese athlete will make us proud.

China dominated the Games on the field, and for the first time ever topped the medals table list, beating the United States. The Chinese fulfilled what they set out to do. They organised the Olympic Games to near perfection, as few incidents were reported; and they also showed the world that they have become the best country in terms of sport.

Doping cases were also fewer than anticipated, meaning that fewer athletes today are prepared to take the risk, knowing that doping controls have been strengthened. One now hopes that no cases will emerge in the future – as has been the case when athletes have had to return the medals won years after the event.

And now it’s London’s turn. Four years are a long time, but they can also be short. London has already been planning the next Games for three years now… and the world’s athletes have already set their eyes on the next edition.