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Elise Amendola/AP Photo

Serena, left, and Venus Williams wave after receiving their gold medals for women's doubles. The sisters won Sunday in Beijing.

Beijing — Among the modern architectural marvels of Beijing is the CCTV Tower, a 750-foot curiosity that resembles nothing so much as trouser legs.

In his pursuit and attainment of an absurd eight gold medals, Michael Phelps similarly has hulked as a colossus over Beijing and its Games and perhaps over the Olympics in perpetuity.

"An extraordinary chapter in Olympic history has been written here in Beijing by one of the greatest athletes of all time," USOC Chairman Peter Ueberroth said Sunday.

To the certain chagrin of NBC, that chapter closed Sunday. Though the topic probably will remain fertile for weeks to come, for programming purposes Phelps' grand grab already is history.

So, too, are the 23 other medals won by swimmers - including six by Natalie Coughlin, a record for U.S women in one Olympics.

Suddenly, the focus of the Games goes from whether Phelps will win eight gold medals to : now what?

Answer: plenty.

Within a span of hours after Phelps' finale, Jamaican women swept the 100-meter dash, a first in the event in Olympic history.

The American women's rowing eight won its first gold medal since 1984, and Venus and Serena Williams claimed gold in doubles tennis competition. For pure emotion, American wrestler Brandi Williams won her bronze-medal match in the final seconds.

Beyond glimpses of China itself, of course, nothing remaining resembles the narrative drama of Phelps' pursuit. Yet any number of intriguing stories remain to be unspooled.

Most obvious is the medal count itself, which has become a two-team race between the U.S. and the host nation. While the topic is not a source of candid discussion by either nation, each has enormous incentive to win.

Among the reasons China is hosting the Olympics is to repudiate a century-old label as the "sick man of Asia" and assert its place in the world while welcoming it in. What more constructive way to prove it belongs than to demonstrate its athletics machine is the world's best?

Meanwhile, the United States has won the medal count in the last three Summer Games but has been tarnished by occasionally loutish behavior and subsequent high-profile drug busts. With a stated emphasis on decorum and cleaning up performance-enhancing drug use, winning the medal count in Beijing could help restore the perception of integrity while helping shed America's image of arrogance.

As of the end of competition Sunday night in Beijing, the Chinese had a major advantage in gold medals (35-19) but trailed overall 65-61. The gold rush is three more than China had at the 2004 Athens Games.

The next closest nations were Great Britain in terms of gold (11) and Russia overall (31).

Just as many American medals have come in swimming, China has amassed 24 in a clump of four sports: diving, gymnastics, shooting and weightlifting. Glancing ahead, the Chinese say they face some of the same voids America does without swimming.

"In various parts of the second half of the Games, we do not boast of sporting events where we have the advantage," Cui Dalin, secretary general of the Chinese Sports Delegation, told reporters. "Many of our teams are of inferior quality, and our gold medal-winning pace is expected to slow."

How the medal count will play out, of course, is impossible to know.

But for all the reasons it matters, there are plenty of ways it's just a number and secondary to the heart of the proceedings.

Count on many memorable moments ahead, from Chinese 110-meter hurdler Liu Xiang's intense quest to repeat as gold medalist with the weight of a nation upon him to "& a considerably more mirthful atmosphere at beach volleyball tonight, as the USA's Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh attempt to earn their 107th straight victory.

USA women's volleyball remains in contention for a medal, and the men's team is undefeated and on trajectory to become one of the stories of the Games with coach Hugh McCutcheon's return after the murder of his stepfather in Beijing.

Among other compelling angles for an American audience:

¢ The exploits of the so-called Redeem Team, men's basketball.

¢ The women's basketball team's drive for its fourth straight gold medal.

¢ The first family of taekwondo, the Lopezes and their three sibling competitors.

¢ The debut of BMX cycling.

¢ The women's soccer team's resurgence after losing its opener, a year after World Cup embarrassment.

¢ Baseball and softball's swan song, for now.

No one thing will have the effect of cutting Phelps down to size as he looms over the Games. But no need for closing ceremonies just yet, either.