Top 25 Olympic Moments

[Huckleberry]

This list will be heavily America-centric. Guess what, I'm American. American Olympic performances are the ones I grew with, so they're the ones I remember. And let's be honest, America rules. Didn't you people see Team America? I will also take liberty with the word "moment" for this list. Some moments will have lasted a second, some will have lasted minutes. I drew the line there, so the Dream Team didn't make the list because their domination lasted the whole Olympics. While the Angolan team's request for autographs was a cool moment, it didn't make the list. My list, my rules, right? This list will include both great performances, controversial decisions, and infamous screwups. The only limitation to this list is that only events in the performance arena or directly related are considered. The Munich Massacre, for example, is not eligible. Criteria were all over the map but included drama, athleticism, and Olympic spirit.


In reverse order:

25. Lindsey Jacobellis falls with near finish line, loses gold

Oops. Lied at first by saying she grabbed her board for stability. Admitted later it was unnecessary.

24. Zola Budd and Mary Decker collide in the 3000 meter final

Whose fault was it? I've always been told that the trailing runner is responsible for avoiding collisions but the American media wanted to hang Budd.

23. Jamie Salé and David Pelletier retroactively awarded gold medal

Dirty French bastards.

22. Park Si-Hun given gold medal despite being pummeled by Roy Jones, Jr.

Biggest ripoff in Olympic history, even worse than #6 on this list, IMO.

21. Emil Zapotek wins marathon after winning 5000 and 10000 meter finals

One of the entries I learned of while quickly researching this list. Most thought he wouldn't be able to finish after having won the other two distance events. He was reportedly unable to walk for a week after the Olympics.

20. Gabriela Andersen-Schiess finishes marathon in a state of exhaustion

You've probably seen the clip. Andersen-Schiess finished 37th but her will to finish despite her right leg and left arm being limp can't be forgotten. Her final lap of the 400 meter track took 5 minutes and 44 seconds. One of two entries on this list that epitomize, to me, the Olympic spirit. Of course she might not have been exactly in a coherent state of mind at the time.

19. Jim Thorpe wins both the decathlon and pentathlon

Apparently this gentleman was a fair athlete. Not sure, though.

18. Greg Louganis wins springboard gold after hitting head

One of the strangest things I've seen in the Olympics to this day. Man considered greatest diver ever bangs his head on the board. And it wasn't barely.

17. Ben Johnson is disqualified after winning the 100 meter final

We all know the story. 9.79 world record is erased only to later be bettered by other cheaters.

16. Bob Beamon's 29'2-1/2" long jump

Altitude and a maximum allowable wind speed contributed, certainly, but this jump was just outrageous. Beamon became the first man to surpass both 28 and 29 feet on the same jump.

15. Nadia Comaneci is awarded a perfect 10 for her uneven bars routine

She was small. Good at somersaulting and stuff.

14. Ian Thorpe wins three golds with three world records

In his home country Thorpe put on a magnificent display.

13. Florence Griffith-Joyner wins 100 meter final by three-tenths

I dunno. Maybe she was juicing. But she was never busted and besides, our women competed against the men from East Germany for along time.

12. Michael Johnson 19.32 200 meter final record run

Magnificent athletic display. Frankie Fredericks, it is somewhat forgotten, ran a 19.68 to win the silver. If not for Johnson's 1996 performances Fredericks would have broken Pietro Minnea's longstanding world record. Fredericks was Sham to Johnson's Secretariat.

11. Sarah Hughes' long program at Salt Lake City

I am by no means an ice skating expert. But as I watched the long programs of the 2002 competition unfold, the color announcer (?) kept mentioning that the order of finish would have to be perfect for Hughes to win the gold. I thought that if she didn't win it would be absurd. She clearly dominated the competition that night and if she hadn't won the gold it would have illegitimized their scoring system.

10. Carl Lewis replicates Jesse Owens' feat with his fourth gold medal

A dominant performance despite the Eastern bloc boycott.

9. Mary Lou Retton scores a perfect 10 on the vault

Retton's perfect vault catapulted the American women to their first team gold medal in a really long time. Once again, though, the Eastern boycott hung over the accomplishment.

8. Wilma Rudolph wins the 100 meter final

Stricken with polio as a child, Rudolph completed her recovery in amazing fashion.

7. Dan Jansen finally gets his gold

Story is well-known, Jansen was informed his sister had died of leukemia hours before he competed in the Calgary games. 6 years later he won his only medal at Lillehammer.

6. Soviet Union defeats United States 51-50

Obviously this one gets in on controversy. The Soviets converted their third attempt at the game-winning play.

5. Kerri Strug sticks her final vault on one foot

With two torn ligaments in her other ankle, Strug nailed her final vault attempt on one leg. The vault gave the Americans their first team gold in a non-boycotted Olympics in a really, really long time. After the Russians finished their final rotation it became clear that Strug's vault wouldn't have been needed in the end but that was in doubt at the time.

4. Derek Redmond refuses to DNF in the 400 meter semi-final

This, in my opinion, was the greatest display of competitive spirit and pride I've ever seen. After years of injury troubles Redmond tore his hamstring during the semi-final in his last Olympics. He had posted the fastest time in the 1st round and had won his quarterfinal and was on his way to the final. After crumpling to a knee in his lane, Redmond made the decision that he would finish the race no matter what. What followed was the epitome of what it means to be a competitor.

3. Last ten minutes of the Miracle on Ice

Mike Eruzione's goal to put the USA ahead came at the ten minute mark of the third period. That was the first part of the most drama-packed and tension-filled ten minutes in Olympic team sports history. Well, USA team sports history, at least. And as I said, that's all that matters.

2. Mark Spitz wins his 7th gold medal with his 7th world record in a single Olympiad

Utter domination. Even though I remain philosophically opposed to most swimming events (a race is about getting from A to B as fast as possible, why not have a 100 meter skipping event on the track?) Spitz's performance was simply amazing.

1. Jesse Owens crosses the tape first in the 100 meter final

You all know all about this one.

[Klinglerware]

I think it might be interesting to compare to a list from someone with a non-American point of view.

Though, after seeing the hours of coverage of the Danish Olympic Badminton team during my summer doing the Eurail thing, I doubt that few people can come up with a truly balanced list...

[MIJB#19]

I've got one comment, I think there's a bit of a inconsistency by making multi-event wins qualify as a moment, yet winning one event (your Dream Team example) doesn't. But hey, it's your list of course.

[Huckleberry]

What a load of anti-American garbage.

[DanGarion]

Where is the 1984 Men's Gymnastics team?

[Logan]

I'm currently reading "Opening Day," which is all about Jackie Robinson's first season in the bigs. One fact I picked up, and I'm not sure how well-known this is...Jackie's brother finished second to Jesse Owens in Berlin in 1936.

I mean...imagine if he won, and he was the guy who shoved it in the face of Hitler, while his brother was the one to break the color barrier in baseball.

[VPI97]

Originally Posted by Huckleberry

4. Derek Redmond refuses to DNF in the 400 meter semi-final

This, in my opinion, was the greatest display of competitive spirit and pride I've ever seen. After years of injury troubles Redmond tore his hamstring during the semi-final in his last Olympics. He had posted the fastest time in the 1st round and had won his quarterfinal and was on his way to the final. After crumpling to a knee in his lane, Redmond made the decision that he would finish the race no matter what. What followed was the epitome of what it means to be a competitor.

This is the top Olympic moment that I've seen (I was too young to care about anything before '84 or so), but what you failed to mention was that one of the most emotional images of that finish was seeing his dad come out on the track with him.

[larrymcg421]

Correction: The women did not win the team gold in 1984. They lost to Romania by a single point.

However, Mary Lou Retton won the individual all around gold, and needed that 10 on the final vault to do it.

Not a bad list, but I wish Billy Mills was on this list. His Gold at the 1964 Olympics in the 10,000 meters was one of the biggest upsets in Olympic history. He wasn't even considered the top American (and thus didn't even get US team shoes like the other two Americans did). Also, the finish was pretty amazing, as seen here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=4QaDQL0rMWw

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by VPI97

This is the top Olympic moment that I've seen (I was too young to care about anything before '84 or so), but what you failed to mention was that one of the most emotional images of that finish was seeing his dad come out on the track with him.

His dad would have fought every single security guard to get to him too

[Huckleberry]

Actually, IMO, it would have been better if his father had never touched him.

[JPhillips]

Rulon Garner may be the single biggest upset in Olympic history. The Russian he beat had never lost a match to anyone. He deserves to be on the list.

[albionmoonlight]

Cool idea.

I would have but Beamon's jump higher on the list personally. But, hey, your list, your rules.

[Dr. Sak]

Great list Huck! I forgot about a few of the events on them.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Wow, I didn't know about this Derek Redmond thing at all. Not sure how I missed that. Great moment.

[Huckleberry]

Mills and Gardner are excellent mentions that I had forgotten about. Plus they further prove that the U-S-A! is the greatest as MIJB admits.

And my mistake on Retton just goes to show I shouldn't have tried to post about any of them without research. That's what I get for going top of my head on one of them that happened when I was 6.

[miami_fan]

Cool list!

[Mustang]

While people bash America-centric lists, I think this is one of the cases that no matter what country you are from, you are going to come up with a list heavily slanted towards your country.

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by Huckleberry

Mills and Gardner are excellent mentions that I had forgotten about. Plus they further prove that the U-S-A! is the greatest as MIJB admits.

What does that have to do with me?

[Atocep]

Where's Dan and Dave!?!


I kid. Nice list.

[Huckleberry]

Originally Posted by MIJB#19

What does that have to do with me?

You're the only foreigner that has posted on this thread. I think that pretty clearly indicates that you are either an America lover or hater. Do not bother refuting this argument with facts and/or logic. Such tactics will be met with apathy and or ignorance in return. Fair warning.

I posted this on another board and someone offered Shun Fujimoto as another example.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/eve...flashback.html

Great stuff.

[MIJB#19]

Thanks for judging me purely based on where I come from. If you ever decide to get overhere, let me know in advance so I can kick you in the sensitve area with my wooden cloggs and tie you on my windmill. No hookers for you when you get overhere, buddy!

[Huckleberry]

Originally Posted by MIJB#19

Thanks for judging me purely based on where I come from. If you ever decide to get overhere, let me know in advance so I can kick you in the sensitve area with my wooden cloggs and tie you on my windmill. No hookers for you when you get overhere, buddy!

I'm part Dutch (shh, don't tell anybody), pal, so I know all about you. And I looked up Maasluis on Wikipedia. I'm practically an expert.

Do you work for Royal Dirkzwager or Smit International?

[Vegas Vic]

I was a javelin thrower in college, so I have a great admiration for those who have excelled in the throwing events.

American discus thrower Al Oerter winning his fourth consecutive gold medal in 1968 is one of my top Olympic moments.

Czech javelin thrower Jan Zelezny’s third consecutive gold medal (and fourth consecutive medal: 1988, 1992, 1996 and 2000) ranks right up there. He also won an astounding five World Championships in the javelin. Zelezny only weighed 180 lbs., but he had flawless technique.

[3ric]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Rulon Garner may be the single biggest upset in Olympic history. The Russian he beat had never lost a match to anyone. He deserves to be on the list.

Alexander Karelin had been unbeaten for 13 years, and hadn't conceded a point in 10 years. That's what I call an upset. http://espn.go.com/oly/summer00/news...27/782116.html

[Huckleberry]

Shameless bump

edit - after re-reading the thread, I feel it necessary to point out that I was incorrect about being part Dutch (at least AFAIK). In the last year I have boned up on my genealogy and the Dutch thing was a misunderstanding based on the fact that my great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather sailed to the New World on a ship that left from Rotterdam. However, he had traveled to Rotterdam from Jagsthausen, Germany. He was all German.

Not that there's anything wrong with the Dutch. I don't think.

[MrBug708]

Doesnt that make you Pennsylvanian Dutch?

[saldana]

i would say that one of the greatest moments actually occured in 1994, 1998, and 2002 in the mens cross county team race when Italy and Norway had several of the most dramatic finishes in any sport, but didnt really get alot of attention in this country because we suck at cross country skiing

'94 - italy comes from behind in the last 100 yards to win, in Norway
'98 - norway wins by 2-hundreths of a second
'02 - noway wins by 3-hundreths of a second

i would also think that after Sunday night, Lesak chasing down Alain Bernard qualifies

[saldana]

dola, there is a link at the top of NBCOlympics.com right now for "dramatic stories in history" that has some videos of alot of the stuff on this list.

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by Huckleberry

In the last year I have boned up on my genealogy

Dude.

[larrymcg421]

Lezak's comeback will definitely be one of the more memorable Olympic moments, especially if Phelps gets his 8 Golds.

[Pumpy Tudors]

If Michael Phelps gets the 8 gold medals this year, he owes Jason Lezak blowjobs on demand for the rest of his life.

[Surtt]

One that I remember...

Eric Heiden: won all the men's speed skating races, and thus an unprecedented five gold medals, and set four Olympic records and one world record at the 1980 Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid.

He won the gold in everything from the 500m to the 10,000m.
I can't think of anyone else that so dominated in both speed and endurance.

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by Huckleberry

Shameless bump

edit - after re-reading the thread, I feel it necessary to point out that I was incorrect about being part Dutch (at least AFAIK). In the last year I have boned up on my genealogy and the Dutch thing was a misunderstanding based on the fact that my great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather sailed to the New World on a ship that left from Rotterdam. However, he had traveled to Rotterdam from Jagsthausen, Germany. He was all German.

Not that there's anything wrong with the Dutch. I don't think.

I feel sorry for you.

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

If Michael Phelps gets the 8 gold medals this year, he owes Jason Lezak blowjobs on demand for the rest of his life.

Aren't you involved in something like this too?

[Huckleberry]

Originally Posted by MIJB#19

I feel sorry for you.

Don't worry. I'm still holding out hope.

[Senator]

I would submit somewhere would be the Rafer Johnson - Yang Chuan-kwang duel in the decathlon in 1960 Rome. They were friends and training partners.

[Antmeister]

Originally Posted by larrymcg421

Correction: The women did not win the team gold in 1984. They lost to Romania by a single point.

However, Mary Lou Retton won the individual all around gold, and needed that 10 on the final vault to do it.

Not a bad list, but I wish Billy Mills was on this list. His Gold at the 1964 Olympics in the 10,000 meters was one of the biggest upsets in Olympic history. He wasn't even considered the top American (and thus didn't even get US team shoes like the other two Americans did). Also, the finish was pretty amazing, as seen here: YouTube - Billy Mills 10k Finsh

Yes....Billy Mills needs to be on this list. Not only was it one of the biggest upsets, but he is still the only American to win it before that time or since.
Plus he was a former Marine, so I have to give him props.