Beijing 2008 Is Year’s Top Sports Story

Beijing not only won the 2008 Summer Olympics, it was also voted the top international sports story for 2001 in a worldwide poll of Associated Press subscribers.

The decision was seen as confirmation of China’s emerging status as a global power and as a potential catalyst for accelerating reforms and improving human rights in the world’s most populous country.

The story of Beijing winning the 2008 bid finished first with 310 points in the AP survey of sports editors in more than 30 countries, outside the United States, on all five continents. Beijing also received the most first-place votes with 12.

Points were awarded on a sliding scale, ranging from 10 points for first place to one for 10th place.