The women's road race was one of the cycling events at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. It took place on 10 August 2008, featuring 66 women from 33 countries. Heavy rain during the entire race made conditions difficult for the competitors. A group of five was able to break away during the final lap and worked together until the final sprint, where Nicole Cooke (pictured) placed herself in position to win the race. Cooke earned Great Britain's first medal at these Games and 200th Olympic gold medal overall. Emma Johansson of Sweden and Tatiana Guderzo of Italy won the silver and bronze medals respectively. The race also marked the first positive drug test of the 2008 Olympic Games, by María Isabel Moreno of Spain. It was the seventh appearance of an Olympic women's road race event and featured a longer course than any of the previous six races. The race was run on the Urban Road Cycling Course (one of Beijing's nine temporary venues), which is 102.6 kilometres (63.8 mi) in its entirety. Including a second lap around the 23.8 km (14.8 mi) final circuit, the total distance of the women's race was 126.4 km (78.5 mi), less than half the length of the men's race. Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycling_at_the_2008_Summer_Olympics_%E2%80%93_Women%27s_road_race> _______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries: 1743: War of the Austrian Succession: In the last time that a British monarch personally led his troops into battle, George II and his forces defeated the French in Dettingen, Bavaria. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Dettingen> 1844: Latter Day Saint movement founder Joseph Smith, Jr. and his brother Hyrum were killed by an armed mob who stormed the prison where they were incarcerated in Carthage, Illinois. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Joseph_Smith> 1905: The crew of the Russian battleship Potemkin began a mutiny against their oppressive officers. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_battleship_Potemkin> 1952: The Congress of Guatemala passed Decree 900, redistributing unused lands of sizes greater than 224 acres (0.9 km2) to local peasants and having a major effect on the nation's land reform movement. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decree_900> 1977: The former French Territory of the Afars and the Issas was granted independence from France and became Djibouti. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Djibouti> _____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day: philander: To make love to women; to play the male flirt. <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/philander> ___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:   Man is a creation of desire, not a creation of need.   --Gaston Bachelard <https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gaston_Bachelard>