Your 3 greatest Olympic moments

[Saint Cad]

This will probably be skewed to later Olympic Games. If I were alive in 1968, Bob Beamon's long jump might be one of mine or in 1912 watching Jim Thorpe dominate the decathalon.

1) Do you believe in miracles?

2) Bolero

3) Derek Redmond

[runner pat]

My three are naturally biased toward track and field. And no, I'm not this old.

1. Jesse Owens rubbing Hitler's face in it. 4 Golds

2. Emil Zatopek. Only runner to win the 5,000m, 10,000m and the marathon in a single Olympiad. His first marathon and a world record.

3.Billy Mills wins the 10,000m run. Not even first ranked on the American team, he beat world record holder Ron Clarke. Check out the finishing sprint.

[Morgenstern]

I rather enjoyed Team France putting it to Team North Korea today in woman's soccer. 70 minutes of nothing (1 to 0 in favor of France) then France scored 4 more goals in 20 minutes.
NK was dumbfounded in the 5 - 0 loss to France.

The Miracle on Ice (American Ice Hockey team defeats USSR team) was rather great too.

[MadTheSwine]

Miracle on Ice

Kerri Strug

Nadia Comaneci

[Telemark]

Franz Klammer 1976 Downhill
Dan Jansen winning the 1000 meter speed skating in Lillehammer 1994
A friend winning bronze in 1992 in Barcelona and a silver in 1996 in Atlanta in K-1.

[RealityChuck]

For me (listing only things I've actually seen live):

Dick Fosbury winning the high jump in 1968

Eric Heiden at Lake Placid.

Surya Bonaly doing a back flip in the in the showcase figure skating program and landing it on one foot (the reason why the back flip is not allowed is that the judges say that you have to land on one foot, and it's impossible to do that with a back flip. Right.)

[Mahaloth]

1. Michael Phelps 1/100 second win in the 2008 Olympics to keep his gold-medal goal alive.

2. 2000 Men's Baseball, where America won. The "Miracle on the Diamond", though not quite as unlikely as the miracle on ice.

- also the most underrated Olympic moment by most Americans.

3. 2010 Olympic Ice Hockey finals - Painful memory, but it was great that USA took on Canada for the final and that Canada pulled it off in Vancouver.

[Tapiotar]

Miracle on Ice

Finland-Sweden Ice hockey final 2006

2010 USA-Canada ice hockey final

I have a vast preference for winter olympics and winter sports.

[Esox Lucius]

Greg Joy, Canadian high-jumper, winning silver in Montreal (we didn't have much to cheer about in those Games)

Beckie Scott, Canadian cross-country skier, won bronze in Salt Lake City. The two Russians who beat her crossed the finish line in relatively good shape while Scott had completely exhausted herself and collapsed in a heap, gasping for breath and too spent to care about the snot running down her face. It was a really inspiring effort. Later, she was presented with the silver medal after the second place finisher was disqualified for doping. Even later still, the winner was also disqualified and Scott was awarded the gold. Besides being the first North American woman to win a cross-country medal, she must be the only athlete ever to have been presented with all three medals for the same race.

Elizabeth Manley in Calgary. I'm not a figure skating fan, but as she was skating, even I could tell that it was the performance of her life. It was only good enough for silver even though she outclassed the reserved, calculated performance of Katarina Witt.

[Drain Bead]

Derek Redmond getting injured and his father (who was also his coach) carrying him to help him finish the race. Watched that live, cried like a baby.

Kerri Strug sticking that vault. If someone wrote that in a movie script, I'd think it was completely hokey.

Dan Jansen finally winning. I felt terrible for him competing in the Olympics while dealing with the recent death of his sister. I was so happy for him when he finally won four years later, and took the victory lap with his baby girl, named after his sister.

[RickJay]

Originally Posted by Esox Lucius

Elizabeth Manley in Calgary. I'm not a figure skating fan, but as she was skating, even I could tell that it was the performance of her life. It was only good enough for silver even though she outclassed the reserved, calculated performance of Katarina Witt.

This. Manley was the true champion and everyone on the planet knew it. I, too, am nofigure skating fan in part because of the very corruption that ensured Manley could only win silver, but she put on the performance of a thousand lifetimes. It was awe-inspiring; she elevated her game not only above anything she'd ever done before, but above the field by miles and miles and miles. That is was done on home soil, and was in fact the host country's highlight of the Games, just adds to how brilliant it was.

Witt's gold doesn't count, a bullshit medal given to a bullshit country for bullshit reasons. Liz Manley was the 1988 Olypic champion and everyone knows it, including the judges.

In terms of moments I've seen, by other two would be

The 2010 hockey final: "Crosby, with the golden goal!"

Derek Redmond. How wonderful, how heartbreaking, how poignant. A lifetime of sport, summed up in that moment. An athlete not of my country most people had never heard of, failing, and yet winning. There have been a lot of moments like this, really; I wrote a few years ago of a Czech skiier at Vancouver who fell flat on her face and instead of skiing off the course, she struggled to her feet, got herself set, and completed the race, because by Christ they sent her to the Olympics and she was going to finish that race. But Redmond was the most stirring example.

Derek Redmond, incidentally, was officially disqualified in that race. But we all know that's a mistake. He finished. Dead last, but he finished.

In terms of moments I did not see:

1. The Miracle On Ice. It's hard to top this, really.
2. Bolero.
3. Blood In The Water.

[Sarabellum1976]

Surya Bonaly and her crazy backflip!

Kerri Strug and the Mag7.

Greg Louganis whacking his head on the diving board. (I cried.)

Muhammad Ali lighting the torch.

The 9/11 tribute at the Salt Lake games.

Eddie the Eagle!

Laura Wilkinson's unlikely diving gold medal.

Can't just pick three!

[silenus]

Kerri Strug

Rafer Johnson lighting the torch.

Miracle on Ice.

[dalej42]

Gabriela Andersen-Schiess in the 1984 women's marathon

2010 USA vs Canada ice hockey final

2008 Beijing Opening Ceremonies.

[BrotherCadfael]

Moments that just stick in my memory, for some reason


Franz Klaumer's winning run, right on the ragged edge of control, and maybe just a bit beyond.

Katerina Witt's post-competition exhibition performance- a sexy dance routine to Michael Jackson's "Bad". A sharp contrast to the very staid and limiting music and competition requirements then in force.


The silver medalist evaluating her performance: " No, nothing went wrong with my run. Rosie Mittermyer is just better than I am, that's all." Beautiful - and rare - expression of sportsmanship.

[Baker]

1968 games, this clip shows the arrival in the stadium of John Stphen Akwhari, a Tanzanian marathon runner, the last to finish. The absolute best Olympic moment, to me anyway.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hq3rOMnLGBk

The Italian bobsledder Eugenio Monti didn't have to lend the British team that bobsled bolt, but he did, in the 1964 games
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugenio_Monti


And this Canadian sailor gave up a chance for a medal, to save lives.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Lemieux

[suranyi]

Originally Posted by Esox Lucius

Greg Joy, Canadian high-jumper, winning silver in Montreal (we didn't have much to cheer about in those Games)

Beckie Scott, Canadian cross-country skier, won bronze in Salt Lake City. The two Russians who beat her crossed the finish line in relatively good shape while Scott had completely exhausted herself and collapsed in a heap, gasping for breath and too spent to care about the snot running down her face. It was a really inspiring effort. Later, she was presented with the silver medal after the second place finisher was disqualified for doping. Even later still, the winner was also disqualified and Scott was awarded the gold. Besides being the first North American woman to win a cross-country medal, she must be the only athlete ever to have been presented with all three medals for the same race.

Elizabeth Manley in Calgary. I'm not a figure skating fan, but as she was skating, even I could tell that it was the performance of her life. It was only good enough for silver even though she outclassed the reserved, calculated performance of Katarina Witt.

Manley was too far behind after the short program to get the gold, even though she skated the best long program.

[Robot Arm]

Originally Posted by Baker

1968 games, this clip shows the arrival in the stadium of John Stphen Akwhari, a Tanzanian marathon runner, the last to finish. The absolute best Olympic moment, to me anyway.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hq3rOMnLGBk

He's a jackrabbit compared to Shizo Kanakuri, who finished the 1912 (Stockholm) marathon in 54 years, 8 months, 6 days, 5 hours, 32 minutes and 20.379 seconds.

[Esox Lucius]

Originally Posted by RickJay

Liz Manley was the 1988 Olypic champion and everyone knows it, including the judges.

I can still see the look of pure joy on her face when she finished. It was a classic Olympic moment.

Originally Posted by suranyi

Manley was too far behind after the short program to get the gold, even though she skated the best long program.

I don't know exactly how the scoring works in figure skating, but it's hard to believe that Manley's skate wasn't enough to overtake Witt (they were third and second, respectively, going in). Witt might have skated technically well, but it was dull and uninspired, certainly not what people watch figure skating for.

[mkecane]

Usain Bolt celebrating with 5m to go in the 100m in '08.

Derek Redmond

Kerri Strug's 2nd vault

I'm too young to have seen the Miracle on Ice. Other moments would be the original Dream Team on the medal stand, Michael Johnson's 200m WR, and Dan Jansen's gold in '94 (and falls in '88). Last, the Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta. I was at my cousin's wedding rehearsal dinner that night, and we all got back to the hotel to watch some Olympics, and nothing was going on.

[DKW]

Not only do I know what my three are (plus one which technically wasn't about the competition itself but is so awesome I had to include it), they fit perfectly into my categories of what makes a moment great.

#3. Greg Louganis' final event
Theme: The passing-of-the-crown moment
Louganis, the diver of divers, faced the toughest challenge of his life in his final contest, a 14 year old Chinese beanpole with the grace of a ballerina and the precision of a neurosurgeon. His final dive alone was one of the ten best I've seen in my entire life. Of course I, being a good little patriot at the time, was rooting for our man, but I knew that he'd need to pull off something truly epic to beat him. And he did. One of the most amazing sports duels ever. I hope that afterward Louganis complimented the kid and said that he had a phenomenal future ahead of him. That would've made this absolutely perfect.

#2. Sarah Hughes winning gold in the women's all-around
Theme: Any given Sunday
Ten years prior, had you predicted that Michelle Kwan and another American would finish 1-3 in the all-around, you'd be accused of being on crack (which was something people said a lot back then, much like "Chuck Norris" and "arrow to the knee" today). Had you also predicted that it would've been the unknown American taking the gold, they might've gone after you with straitjackets. And yet the young, plucky Hughes, knowing that she was up against skating royalty, never flinched, turning in a stellar long program. Kwan's gold hopes would tumble when she did, and Irina Slutskaya, who went last and should have nailed it shut, turned in the most lackluster, unimpressive, feeble routine imaginable; the commentators knew from the first moment that she was dragging it. Her complacency would end up costing her dearly, as Hughes, who stepped up when it mattered, scored an upset for the ages. Bonus points for the headline "American Beats Kwan", which in terms of headline howlers rivals "Cloth Diapers Saved By Full Dumps".

#1. Some Australian takes gold in short track speed skating
Theme: Crap happens...BOY, does it ever happen
I don't remember his name. I don't remember who his opponents were. I don't remember what the distance was. I don't have the slightest clue what caused that ridiculous pileup just meters from the finish. But the sight of that also-ran Aussie, who trailed badly for the entire race, casually circumventing disaster and raising his arms in triumph, every bit as shocked as the spectators as to what he just pulled...well...defining moment of the Olympics. Summer and winter, for all time. Look, I've railed long enough about how years of dedication, effort, and sacrifice could be undone by a bonehead ruling, venal judge, or petty technicality; isn't it nice when Olympic chaos produces something positive for a change?

Honorable mention: Korean skater is disqualified for illegal move
Theme: Justice is (finally) served
In one of Apolo Ohno's final short track events, a Korean skater, their best (and last chance) for gold that Olympiad cut across the ice directly in front of him. This was "cross tracking", a disqualification offense. Now, if you'll remember, Koreans have had something of a history of getting the benefit of slanted officiating, from a jaw-dropping boxing decision in '88 to roughly 375 favorable bad calls in the 2002 World Cup (they came within an eyelash of making it to the finals over BRAZIL, just to put it in perspective). Most of us knew exactly what was coming: Officials ignore the cross track, Korean takes gold, we point out the cross track, we get shouted down, we file official protest, Korea sticks its cronies on the board, toady journalists say we should just get over it, and nothing ever gets done ever. Well, imagine our surprise when the officials deliberated, and determined that the Korean did indeed cross track...BUUUUUUTT...but...but nothing, he's disqualified, and Ohno takes the gold. Naturally, the Korean contingent, including the coach, railed about this, a couple of them even demanding "co-golds" (nice precedent you set there, pairs figure skating officials, but that's a subject for another thread). The IOC's response? "The decision stands. Quit bothering us about it."

And if it didn't sink in for them that the gravy train was over, it certainly has now.

There should be a name for this. The iconic sports moments all have names: The Miracle on Ice, The Play, The Catch, The Immaculate Reception, The Shot Heard 'Round The World. How about: The Correct Call. Simple and effective.

[PunditLisa]

Best Olympics Moments

Kerri Strug's vault

Dorothy Hammill's 1976 freestyle skate, where she was showered with flowers afterward

Miracle on Ice

Eric Heiden's 5 golds. That man had tree trunks for thighs.

2004 US women's soccer gold medal

[Mahaloth]

Originally Posted by dalej42

2008 Beijing Opening Ceremonies.

I did not include ceremonies in mine, but this would be my top one if I did. I lived in China for two years and that opening ceremony was amazing, one of the best performances I've ever seen. Despite their government being bad, the Chinese people really deserved and earned the Olympics and they did a great job.

[Drain Bead]

Ooh. Forgot Rulon Gardner. David beating Goliath.

[Sarabellum1976]

How could I have forgotten the Beijing opening ceremonies?! Unreal.

And the slow Aussie who avoided the train wreck and got gold in short-track! (And here comes Ohno, clawing his way on hands and knees to silver!) I think his name was Bradbury, maybe.

Shaun White and his snowboarding pwnage. And his foul-mouthed coach, heh heh.

[RickJay]

Originally Posted by Sarabellum1976

Shaun White and his snowboarding pwnage. And his foul-mouthed coach, heh heh.

I've never seen an Olympic sport made such a mockery of by one of its own competitors. White was so far ahead of the competition that it was difficult to believe they were engaged in the same sport. It was like White had been practising for years and they'd just taken the sport up two months before.

Watching Shaun White win at the Olympics was like if you went to a kid's guitar school recital, and a dozen kids come up and pick and chord their way through some more or less recognizable tunes, some okay and some you applaud out of politeness, and then suddenly Prince walks onstage and shreds his guitar for ten minutes of superhuman awesomeness, and then walks off and the kids begin again. Shaun White was that far ahead.

[suranyi]

Originally Posted by Esox Lucius

I can still see the look of pure joy on her face when she finished. It was a classic Olympic moment.



I don't know exactly how the scoring works in figure skating, but it's hard to believe that Manley's skate wasn't enough to overtake Witt (they were third and second, respectively, going in). Witt might have skated technically well, but it was dull and uninspired, certainly not what people watch figure skating for.

The way the scoring worked then ( it's changed since) it was mathematically impossible for Manley to overtake Witt based on the long program, no matter how well she skated. She was too far behind.

Don't forget that at that time compulsory figures were still a significant part of the final score.

[suranyi]

Anyway, to answer the question:

1. The miracle on ice.
2. Nadia Comenici.

Those were easy. The third is difficult, since there have been so many great moments. I think I'll pick one that is obscure to most people but I remember well.

3. Kathy Kreiner winning the giant slalom at Innsbruck 1976. Total upset by the Canadian.

[RickJay]

Originally Posted by suranyi

The way the scoring worked then ( it's changed since) it was mathematically impossible for Manley to overtake Witt based on the long program, no matter how well she skated. She was too far behind.

Don't forget that at that time compulsory figures were still a significant part of the final score.

It would have been possible had someone else finished ahead of Witt, but of course there was no way that was going to happen, though technically speaking Midori Ito's performance was vastly superior.

The CF score was designed to ensure upsets wouldn't happen. That was always the first part of the fix; they just ranked the skaters to ensure the preferred winners had an early advantage. Witt's compulsory figures weren't actually any good, she was ranked third all the same to ensure she'd win.

In any case, East German medals shouldn't count; every single one ever awarded should be revoked. Manley was the real winner, Thomas won the real silver (if maybe not deservedly, either) and Jill Trenary should have won the bronze.

[Sarabellum1976]

I'm glad they ditched the compulsary figures, though perhaps they ought to change the event name to reflect this.

Now it's really all about jumps and spins and choreography, and most of the girls probably couldn't carve the figures on a bet.

[sachertorte]

If we are allowing opening ceremonies, I would note the cauldron lighting in Barcelona. Amazing.

[zamboniracer]

Originally Posted by RealityChuck

Surya Bonaly doing a back flip in the in the showcase figure skating program and landing it on one foot (the reason why the back flip is not allowed is that the judges say that you have to land on one foot, and it's impossible to do that with a back flip. Right.)

Damn right. That was excellent!!

[zamboniracer]

1. Dave Wottle's come from behind win in the 800m in 1972.

2. The Canadian women's hockey team cigar and beer celebration after winning the gold in 2010.

3. The Dream Team's basketball win thumping everyone in 1992.

[Cliffy]

2008: Kayaker Benjamin Boukpeti winning Togo's first-ever medal and snapping his paddle in celebration.

2010: Petra Majdic taking bronze in the cross-country sprint after falling on the icy course during a practice round. She had five broken ribs and a punctured lung.

1996: Kerri Strug's on a lot of these lists for a reason.

--Cliffy

[Barkis is Willin']

Kerri Strug is the first one that pops into my mind. At the time, I couldn't give two craps about gymnastics but man that was amazing.

Just going by things I actually remember seeing, I'd put the entire '92 Dream Team Olympic tournament in there. They won every single game before the ball was even tipped.

My third one is the Dan vs. Dave run up to the '92 summer games. Six months before the Olympics you'd have thought the decathalon was an afterthought, we just needed to sort out gold and silver between those two. Well, Dan didn't qualify and Dave won bronze, but Reebok probably sold a lot of shoes.

[Jas09]

Hm... my top 3: Bolt slowing down in the 100m, Phelps last-gasp reach for the gold, and Strug landing that vault.

[CapnPitt]

Miracle on Ice
Kerri Strug
Mary Lou Retton's vault for the all-around gold.

[Mahaloth]

Originally Posted by Drain Bead

Ooh. Forgot Rulon Gardner. David beating Goliath.

Ooooh, this might have been in my top 5, anyway. It was a great match and hilarious to watch the unbeatable champion react as he loses a point to Rulon Gardner, let alone the whole match. Amazing match.

Do you believe in miracles.......again?

[TriPolar]

I'd go with Bob Beamon jump for number 1, but that's because I saw it, it made a special impression on me, and later I got to meet him.

After that I'd go with the 1976 domination of the boxing venue by Americans. Again because saw it, and then I got to watch the careers of the boxers.

Third is probably a tie for the medal records reached by Al Oerter, Mark Spitz, Michael Phelps, and others. All stuff I've seen.

For historical purposes, I'd go with Jim Thorpe, Jesse Owens, and Emil Zatopek.

[That Don Guy]

I'm not sure what you mean by "greatest."

1. You can't have "the greatest" without "The Greatest" - Muhammad Ali lighting the torch (well, sort of) in 1996. When the element that was supposed to go up to the cauldron itself got stuck, I for one was thinking, "They have The Greatest standing right there - he should run up the ladder and light it himself!"

2. Daley Thompson's back-to-back decathlon wins - even though both of them were in "boycotted" Olympics, he could claim that he beat the best of every other country at least once somewhere along the way; also, after his win, he put on a T-shirt slamming ABC for its USA-centric TV coverage (for example, every night's "late night" coverage consisted of either a Team USA men's volleyball match or a Team USA water polo match, probably because it aired around 9 PM Pacific time and ABC figured most people watching were in southern California where these two sports are popular).

3. Michael Phelps. Eight gold medals. Enough said.

One thing I have noticed over the years; USA is the only country allowed to "choke." When USA loses an event it should have won easily (e.g. 2011 Women's World Cup soccer final against Japan), "we choked," but when USA is the victorious underdog (e.g. 1980 (and, for that matter, 1960) Olympic ice hockey game vs. USSR), the other country never chokes; it was entirely due to the incredible play of Team USA.

[Dogzilla]

Originally Posted by MadTheSwine

Miracle on Ice

Kerri Strug

Nadia Comaneci

This. Same order.

[Farmer Jane]

Like I said in the other thread, Kerri Strug and the vault. I bawled. It was 1996 and I was 11 years old. Too young to have seen the other greats on TV (well, except for replays, but didn't think that was the point of the thread). If I count replays, then watching old videos of Mary Lou Retton. She was so...damned...happy.

There are others, but that was biggest for me. 2nd and 3rd places are just muddled.

I did feel very sad for Jordyn Wieber last night!

[Gangster Octopus]

All of these are great, I want to had Hermann Maeir at the 1998 Nagano Olympics. One of the all-time great ski jump, unfortunately it was the downhill.

[suranyi]

Frankly, I just love the Olympics. I gave my list of three moments above, but I could easily have added a dozen more without having to think very hard, and then another dozen if I gave it just a little bit of thought.

Many of the things other people have said would be on my lists as well.

[denquixote]

1. John Carlos and Tommy Smith and the raised fists at Mexico City

2. Bob Beamon's long jump (also Mexico City?)

3. Mary Lou Retton's perfect 10's to win by a fraction

[zoid]

It may not be the best moment in olympic history but as a 10 year old boy I fell head over heels in love with Dorothy Hamill. Dorothy if you're out there anywhere I love you!!

[Mince]

When the 1992 basketball Dream Team played silly with all other teams. Pick any 3 games...

[Dendarii Dame]

Miracle on Ice
Kerri Strug's one-footed landing
Olga Korbut's backflip from (and recatching) the top bar on the uneven parallel bars.

[Peremensoe]

Originally Posted by Baker

1968 games, this clip shows the arrival in the stadium of John Stphen Akwhari, a Tanzanian marathon runner, the last to finish. The absolute best Olympic moment, to me anyway.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hq3rOMnLGBk

The man had cramped up, had another runner collide with him, fell, and severely injured his knee and shoulder. Eighteen other runners had dropped out of the high-altitude race. The medals had been awarded. But he came to finish. The intersection of pain and determination is mind-boggling.

By the way, Akwhari was no slouch as a runner. In other marathons before and after the Olympics, he ran times close to or even faster than that day's winner.

Speaking of pain and determination, I see a lot of nods to Kerri Strug's sprained ankle. How about Shun Fujimoto, who broke his knee in floor exercise, yet went on to complete his entire pommel horse and rings routines (dropping from the rings at the end), to help win team gold.

Originally Posted by denquixote

1. John Carlos and Tommy Smith and the raised fists at Mexico City

Don't forget Australian silver-medalist Peter Norman, who knew about their planned protest (and suggested they share the black gloves), put on a human rights badge to show solidarity, and was reprimanded and shunned by his own country's Olympic officials as a result (they declined to send him to the '72 Games though he had qualified).

When he died in 2006, Smith and Carlos were pallbearers.

[clairobscur]

Originally Posted by DKW

#1. Some Australian takes gold in short track speed skating
Theme: Crap happens...BOY, does it ever happen
I don't remember his name. I don't remember who his opponents were. I don't remember what the distance was. I don't have the slightest clue what caused that ridiculous pileup just meters from the finish. But the sight of that also-ran Aussie, who trailed badly for the entire race, casually circumventing disaster and raising his arms in triumph, every bit as shocked as the spectators as to what he just pulled...well...defining moment of the Olympics. Summer and winter, for all time. Look, I've railed long enough about how years of dedication, effort, and sacrifice could be undone by a bonehead ruling, venal judge, or petty technicality; isn't it nice when Olympic chaos produces something positive for a change?

.

More than that : he entered the semi-finale thanks to a disqualification, entered the finale thanks to a pile-up of his competitors, and finally won the gold thanks to the second pile-up you described.

I'd call him the luckiest Olympic athlete ever.