08-08-08. That’s the date when the Beijing Olympic Games gets going.

Of course, we’re still a few more weeks from August 8, 2008 but when it does get here, the biggest international competition in the world will heat up the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Hopefully, the U.S. basketball team will find the redemption they’re looking for since Europeans started kicking their asses around the basketball courts.

One who’ll also be looking for redemption is swimmer Katie Hoff. She was just a shoo-in to make the 2004 Olympic team. She was just 15 years old then. But something happened back in Athens that made her so eager to redeem herself in this year’s Olympic games.

Her trip for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens was the first international flight she did it without her parents, who couldn’t afford the cost of last-minute travel to the Olympics. Yup, her parents were not around to support her. And to make matters worse for the young lady, her coach, Paul Yetter wasn’t even allowed on the pool deck and couldn’t be with Hoff much of the time.

With all these factors, her losing in the 2004 Olympics in Athens was almost known even before she took the flight. She finished 6th in her heat and 17th overall.

Katie Hoff admitted that she really didn’t get over her disappointment in Athens until she went to Montreal for the 2005 World Championships. And back on July 25, 2005, nearly a year after Athens, Hoff finally found redemption in these international tournaments. She won the 200 IM final in 2:10.41.

‘’When I touched the wall in the 200 IM, the first thing I thought was, ‘OK, I’m good again,”’ Hoff said. ‘’I proved to everyone, especially to myself, that I belonged.'’ Six days later, she became a world champion in the 400 IM. She also won gold in a relay.

Katie Hoff is now eyeing to find redemption in the Olympic Games as she looks to win it all in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Will the memories of Athens remain to be a thing of the past? America will certainly be rooting for her.

Who will be the winners of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games? Bodog sportsbook has the odds.

Most Overall Medals

China 1.80

United States 2.10

Russia 15.00

Want more odds? Visit Bodog sportsbook for more Olympic Games betting odds and the best betting lines on some of today’s biggest sporting events.

2008 Beijing Olympic Games Katie Hoff