Wushu at the Olympics
A wushu event was held during the 2008 Olympic Games. Wushu is China's national sport, a style of martial arts. It is both an exhibition and full-contact sport, derived from traditional Chinese martial arts. The sport was created in China after 1949 in an attempt to nationalize the practice of traditional Chinese martial arts.
kung fu masterThe Beijing 2008 Wushu Tournament was held from 21-24 August 2008, during the Beijing Olympic Games. After Beijing won the right to host the Games, the Chinese organizing committee requested to IOC to list Wushu as an official Olympic sport. However, the IOC turned down the request, and instead it was agreed to organize a Wushu competition during the Games. This event is not one of the 28 official Olympic sports, nor is it a demonstration event. Instead, it was called the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Wushu Tournament. Sounds like a demonstration sport to me.
Results
There were medals awarded in Sanshou and Taolu, with China not surprisingly winning most of the medals (eight gold). Next best was Russia with two gold and three silver medals, and Hong Kong also got two gold, one silver and one bronze.
Related Pages
- See the full list of Discontinued Events
- More about the sport of Wushu
- Wushu demonstration at the Commonwealth Games
- Wushu at the Olympics
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