Here come the 2008 Olympics! Beijing has spent years preparing for the big event and some athletes have spent a lifetime preparing for it. Soon we'll see what countries and individuals will be world champions.
Some 10,000 athletes will compete for medals and fame in 28 sports. Each sport has a number of different events slated, bringing the total number of contests over the 300 mark.
Aquatics is one category that has an entirely new event, the 10-kilometer open water race. It fills what aquatic fans have thought of as the biggest gap in the Summer Games: the absence of a swimming event longer than 20 minutes.
The two-hour event is seven times longer than the previously longest swim, the 1,500 meter. It gives marathon swimmers the same chance for Olympic stardom that marathon runners have had since 1896.
Training for the open water swim is dangerous because of icy waters, big waves, the absence of lane lines and collisions between swimmers. Then there are the dangers presented by sharks, currents and jet skis.
For the 2008 games, Beijing has built a lake-like rowing basin for the 10k. The race will involve four trips around a 2.5-kilometer course where there won't be waves and sharks. But fresh water has less buoyancy than salt water so that could be a problem for the swimmers.
The 28 Olympic sports this year include aquatics, archery, athletics, badminton, baseball, basketball and boxing.
Also included are canoe and kayak, cycling, equestrian, fencing, football, gymnastics, handball and hockey.
Athletes will also compete in judo, modern pentathlon, rowing, sailing, shooting, softball, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis and triathlon.
Inspired by the ancient pentathlon, the modern version combines shooting, fencing, riding, swimming and cross-country running.
Completing the list of sports are volleyball, weightlifting, and wrestling.