Ricky Berens of the United States poses with his gold medal in the NBC Today Show Studio after winning the Mens 4×200 Swimming Relay event at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 13, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Kristian Dowling/Getty Images)

The other day I had one of my better days at work so I thought I would share it with you. I went down to the NBC studio with Kristian, a Getty Images photographer, as the US women’s gymnastics team was coming in. They came in all glum and miserable as they got silver, but as soon as he said smile they became pageant girls!! Hysterical!!

BEIJING – AUGUST 13: (L-R) Alicia Sacramone, Nastia Liukin, Shawn Johnson, Samantha Peszek, Chellsie Memmel and Bridget Sloan of the United States pose together with their silver medals in the NBC Today Show Studio after placing second in the Women’s Gymnastics team event at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 13, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Kristian Dowling/Getty Images)

And then we had a swimmer: I didn’t know who it was (I only know Phelps from the US team, sorry!) and this guy comes in, wearing a sports shirt, so we’re like “hi, come in.” Kristian sets up the shot and then says “Can you take your shirt off?” and he says “What?!” and Kristian says “You’re a swimmer, right? Can you take it off?” So we start laughing and he takes it off, hands it to me – and his medal – and then I give him his medal back to wear.

Then Kristian asks me to hold the reflector so I’m on my knees in front of his hips, holding this rectangular reflector board, trying SO hard not to smile!!!!! Then the door goes open and his manager/trainer whatever says “oh my god!” when she sees that his shirt is off. I told her not to worry and that all the shots will be “above board” and Ricky couldn’t stop smiling – hence the pics below.

Ricky Berens of the United States poses with his gold medal in the NBC Today Show Studio after winning the Mens 4×200 Swimming Relay event at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 13, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Kristian Dowling/Getty Images)

He was lovely. A tough day at the office.

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Here I am at the most thrilling basketball game ever played.

It’s day three in Beijing and last night’s basketball game, (America — known as the “Redeem Team” — vs. China) has electrified the air. It was China’s biggest basketball match imaginable!

Before the game, LeBron James said “I expect it to be electrified. It’s probably going to be the most watched game in the history of the world. It’s going to send a lot of chills through my body just to be there and to be part of it.”

SHANGHAI, CHINA – AUGUST 05: LeBron James #6 of the USA Basketball Men’s Senior National Team dunks during the USA Basketball International Challenge exhibition game against the Australia National Team at the Qizhong Arena on August 5, 2008 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by MN Chan/Getty Images)

I was very lucky to go to the game and experience it with the rest of the 18,000 basketball fans. It’s worth noting here that most of the fans were cheering for the underdog – China.

Photographers Gareth Cattermole and Chris Hyde at the basketball game.

I went to the game with a few of our photographers and we all struggled to find a spot to stand in, let alone sit. We were constantly moved about and our all-access pass didn’t find any of us a seat. So we wandered around the media circle and found a space by the barrier, halfway up the stadium.

Former president George W. Bush was in town, along with Bill Gates. I would have never been able to spot them but the photographers I was with (Gareth Cattermole and Chris Hyde) clearly see the world differently. They have this amazing ability to pick people out of the crowd. This is why they are the photographers – amazing ones at that – and I stick to the desk job.

The game was cited as drawing the biggest global television audience in basketball history – an estimated one billion viewers tuned in.

HANGZHOU, CHINA – JULY 17: (CHINA OUT) Yao Ming of China shoots during a match between China and Serbia at the 2008 Stankovic Continental Champions Cup on July 17, 2008 in Hangzhou of Zhejiang Province, China. Ming plays also for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the U.S. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)

China got off to a great start and proved that they were definitely going to be contenders for a medal. The Chinese crowd would frequently shout out the well-known Chinese sporting chant, “Jiayou” or “add oil” to their team, encouraging them to keep the momentum going. But the experience of the US team paid off in the end and the US won 107-70 – a respectable score for the host nation against the world’s best.

SHANGHAI, CHINA – AUGUST 03: Kobe Bryant #10 of the USA Basketball Men’s Senior National Team dribbles against the Russian National Team during the USA Basketball International Challenge exhibition game at the Qizhong Arena on August 3, 2008 in Shanghai, China.

It took us an hour to get out of the stadium and it was a long journey back to the media village in torrential rain (that didn’t stop until early this morning). But it was worth the walk in the rain – it was an incredible evening and a privilege to see live!

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When you send out to Beijing the largest Olympic team in our history, you need to do a bit of work behind the scenes to make sure they can all do their jobs.

And that’s where the big bunch of cables comes in.

Every photograph you see from Getty Images at the 2008 Olympics has travelled across the cables and equipment you can see above. Really, every photo.

And those are just the cables for our office in the Main Press Centre; what you can’t see is the 10km of cable that is installed in 31 venues across Beijing. You also can’t see the 8 terabytes (over 8000 gigabytes, or 500 iPhones) of storage we have to cope with the thousands of photos we will shoot each.

Already we have shot more than we did during the whole of Athens 2004 and we are only mid-way through Day 2; a truly amazing, and possibly frightening, statistic.

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91,000 spectators and I took our seats at the Opening Ceremony, we were all confident that this would be a spectacle that would demonstrate China’s ability to put on an event of military precision. Before the show even began, the preliminary show was enough to impress in itself.

China, I can truly say, you have done yourself proud. Your century-old dream to host the Olympics has finally come true and you were ready to show the world that you can lead even the most developed of nations.

The ceremonies had thousands of performers that highlighted Chinese history and culture, all of which was depicted on a huge scroll the length of nearly one and a half soccer pitches. At the start of the evening, 2,008 drummers welcomed the audience with one of the sayings of the educator Confucious: “Friends have come from afar, how happy we are.” This total spectacle, with rhythmic lights that were activated by each drummer was stunning.

I was lucky enough to see the drummers waiting outside before they entered the stadium.

I was even lucky enough to get a close-up peek of the drums.

Harmony was the over-arching theme of the Opening Ceremony and there was a total of 14,000 performers, 9,000 of them coming from the army and 600 working just to organize the fireworks! 15,153 costumes were worn and the performers rehearsed for 13 months to perfect the night.

It’s truly difficult to put the evening into words. It was a very moving event that demonstrated how amazing humanity can be when we all come together. With an incredible 204 countries and nations entering the stadium, there was a sense that we can all drive toward a common goal and we really are not that different — at least not tonight.

As I watched each country being welcomed into the stadium, it was interesting to see where particular support was voiced. Iraq being the first notable, loud applause, Canada and then the US. The US team is HUGE, it took up half a lap of the stadium. I have to say their uniforms were also the best! A Ralph Lauren designed uniform with a retro feel – it looked classy and stylish. As they entered, the stadium went wild, even cheering when President Bush appeared on the screen! Of course, the largest cheer came when China, the last country to enter the stadium appeared.

So, as I began contemplating leaving and missing the rush of media eager to file their stories, the most incredible part of the show took place. The gold medalist in rhythmic gymnastics, Li Ning, carried the torch and then took off into the air like a bird to the top of the stadium! He then, slowly “ran” around its perimeter to the backdrop of footage from previous Games and the torch being carried through numerous cities. To say it was moving is an understatement. It was truly magical. The torch was lit to the roar of the crowd.

China, I came here with some skepticism and tonight you moved me (and two billion people around the world who watched what you can do). The slogan for these Games is “One World, One Dream” and tonight the world is yours.

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In preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing and the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, Getty Images has literally covered Beijing in sport imagery:

Over 60 images that capture the spirit of sport and the hospitality of Beijing can be seen throughout the city. The images are on the sides of building, billboards and posted throughout the airport. This is the first time that there has ever been official Olympic-themed imagery strategically placed within a host city.

This amazing project, that took over a year to complete, was made possible by the team behind Getty Images working closely with BOCOG (the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games).

In celebration of the completed project, Getty Images Beijing held an event with BOCOG  at the very cool 798 Art District.

Congratulations Getty Images Beijing!

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Donald Miralle/Getty Images

Athens – August 13: The Olympic rings are seen as drummers perform during the opening ceremony of the Athens 2004 Summer Olympic Games on August 13, 2004 at the Sports Complex Olympic Stadium in Athens, Greece.

The countdown to the Beijing Summer Olympics continues with only 174 days left to go. Catch up on all of your Olympic history with this new site. Once the Games are live, check back in for up-to-the minute coverage from all of the events.

Put it on your favorites today…

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