This was disclosed in a 2008 Games schedule that was held out to participants of the 2006 Annual Meeting of the IOC Press Commission.

A report on the sina.com, the largest Chinese portal, said the finals for all 32 swimming events and four gymnastics events are scheduled between 10 and 11am (Beijing time) on the timetable to cater for the American TV audience.

The men's basketball final has also been moved to the morning, the prime time for the U.S.

American broadcast giant NBC asked the IOC to take the extraordinary step of scheduling the swimming finals in the morning in Beijing, which, since the city is 12 hours ahead of East Coast time, would position them ideally for a live U.S. broadcast.

The move caused heated debate from sports organizations and athletes from Australia and other countries.