Chinese swimmer Zhang Lin, 20, won a historic silver medal in the men's 400 meters freestyle at the Beijing Olympics on August 10, the first-ever Olympic medal for a Chinese male swimmer.

Zhang, who began swimming at six, is China's fastest freestyle swimmer so far. This Beijing local was selected for the national team in 2002. At the 2003 World Championships, he was the only Chinese male swimmer to reach the individual finals, finishing in eighth place. In 2005, he broke China's 400 freestyle record at the National Games, and was crowned 200 and 1,500 freestyle champion.

At the end of 2007, Zhang spent three months training in Australia under top coach Denis Cotterell. Being the best hope for China's much desired men's swimming medal, Zhang lived up to the hype. "I did my very best. I think I missed the gold because my game strategy has not yet reached that level," said Zhang.

Patriotic Fencer in Olympic Comeback

Luan Jujie, the first Asian fencer to win an Olympic gold medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, returned to China after almost 20 years to compete in her fourth Games.

Luan, 50, now competing for Canada, was defeated by Hungarian Mohamed Aida 15-7. Before that, she entered the round of 32 by beating Tunisian Ines Boubakri 13-9 on August 11.

Born in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, Luan started her sports career in high jump and volleyball before being chosen to train as a fencer at 16. Just one year later she was selected for the national team and took several domestic titles. At the 1978 World Junior Championships, she won silver, after being badly wounded by an opponent's foil in her left arm during the tournament. Her courage won the hearts of Chinese and the international sports community.

At the Los Angeles Games, then 26-year-old Luan claimed China's first-ever fencing gold. She retired as a fencer five years later and emigrated to Canada in 1989, where she now runs a fencing school. Her record as China's only Olympic fencing champion was not broken until Zhong Man, a 25-year-old male fencer, won the gold in men's individual saber at the Beijing Olympics.

After her match, Luan unveiled a banner to greet her home country, which got the audience up on their feet to salute this heroic athlete.

"If it [the Olympics] wasn't in Beijing, I wouldn't have even bothered [to make a comeback]," Luan told the media.

Young Quake Hero Leads Chinese Olympians

The 9-year-old boy who led the 1,099-member Chinese delegation alongside NBA star Yao Ming during the grand opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics was Lin Hao, a survivor of the devastating Sichuan earthquake in May.

Lin is a second-grade student at Yuzixi Primary School in Yingxiu Town, Wenchuan County-the epicenter of the Sichuan earthquake that killed more than 69,000 people. When the deadly quake destroyed Lin's school, he rescued two classmates from the rubble while risking his own life. Only 10 of Lin's 32 classmates survived. During the rescue, he injured his head and arms. As a young student leader, Lin encouraged them to keep their spirits up by singing.

Lin's heroism is the major reason opening ceremony Chief Director Zhang Yimou selected him. Additionally, Zhang said that Lin's small size formed a sharp contrast with the giant Yao Ming, adding a novel touch to the grand ceremony.