Battle of the most memorable moments in Summer Olympics history

[Mister Wright]

Good idea, will do this now.

EDIT - Actually I guess I can't change it. Could someone change the title to Battle of the most memorable moments in Summer Olympics history.


Cheers

Done.

[Burgey]

Nominate:

Cecil Healy 1912 Stockholm - silver in 100m freestyle.

Won a gold medal for Australia in the 4 x 200m freestyle.

Would have won a second gold in the 100m, but for his own good graces. The American team missed the semi finals owing to an error by their managers. Healy insisted on them being re-swum as it would have been unsportsmanlike to win in those circumstances.

The races were re-swum and he finished second - to an American.

He was killed in 1918 at the battle of Mont St Quentin.

Also noinate: that guy in the pistol shooting who won a gold medal right handed, lost his hand in ww2, then came back an won a gold medal shooting left handed. Dunno his name, but that's freakin' unbelieveable.

[NUFAN]

Nominated
1 Muhammed Ali lighting the flame at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
2 1992 Opening Ceremony Barcelona, the Archer lighting the flame.
3 Michael Johnson 200m and 400m double at the Atlanta Olympics
4 Greg Louganis, diving hitting his head and coming back to win gold.
85 USA Dream Team - Basketball 1992 - The team was awesome: Jordon, Magic, Bird etc.
6 Cathy Freeman 400m 2000 Olympics, the race that stopped the nation.
7 Perkins 1500 win from lane 8.
8 Eric the Eel.
9 Seb Coes 'I told you so' in the 1984 1500m. Breathtaking, beautiful and special. A man written off that destroys the field and is still the only back-to-back winner of Olympic 1500m.http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=KupBT6XdC2c
10 Jesse Owens winning 4 Gold Medals in Berlin.
11 Nadia Comaneci first ever perfect 10.
12 Linford Christie winning the 100m in 1992
13 GB beating West Germany in the 1988 hockey final & especially Barry Davies's commentary "Where were the Germans? &, frankly, who cares?" Jingoism at its finest.
14 Derek Redmond being helped round the track by his dad after his hamstring went in the 400m final
15 Redgrave's "If you see me go near a boat you have my permission to shoot me" after winning gold in 1996. He, of course, returned 4 years later.
16 Ben Johnson's run in the 1988 games. Doped he may've been, but it was awesome at the time.
17 The Aussie swimming relay team air-guitaring in celebration after winning gold in a reference to Gary Hall Jnr comment about "Smashing them like guitars".
18 The siege at the 1972 Olympics. Nuff said.
19 Chariots of Fire; Liddle, Abrahams & all that.
20 Some Korean boxer refusng to leave the ring for what seemed like years after losing a points decision in 1988.
21 Bob Beamon's leap in the 1968 Mexico games.
22 Cricket at the 1900 Olympics.
23 Edwin Moses rounding out his stunning career with a bronze in the 400m hurdles at Seoul in 1988...
24 DFK hurdles gold in 1988. [Debbie Flintoff-King]
25 Mark Spitz's 7 Gold and 7 world records - Munich 1972
26 Dawn Fraser wins her 3rd straight 100m freestyle - Tokyo 1964
27 Shane Gould, wins 3 gold, and becomes the first ever female swimmer to win 3 Olympic Gold each in WR time (200m IM, 200m & 400m free). By doing so she also became the only male or female swimmer to ever hold the WR for each freestyle event from 100m to 1500m at the same time. She was only 15 at the time.
28. Shane Heal v Yanks 1996.
29. Jane Saville - Disqualification in the 20km walk, just out of the stadium, losing a certain gold.
30. Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia Wins the Olympic Marathon, Running Barefoot! 1960 Summer Olympic Games in Rome.
31. Olga Korbut's performance in 1972 Russian Gymnast.
32. Cecil Healy 1912 Stockholm - silver in 100m freestyle. Olympic spirit at it's finest.
33. Karoly Takacs, pistol shooter from Hungary, right handed rapid fire shooter loses right hand in WW2, comes back and wins gold with his left hand!
34. Carl Schumann 1896 - Won 3 Golds in Gymnastics and 1 in Greco Roman Wrestling, he also competed in long jump, triple jump and shot put and in weightlifting.

Seconded and through to the finals.
1 Cathy Freeman 400m 2000 Olympics, the race that stopped the nation.
2 Nadia Comaneci first ever perfect 10.
3 Derek Redmond being helped round the track by his dad after his hamstring went in the 400m final
4 Eric the Eel.
5 Perkins 1500 win from lane 8.
6 The Aussie swimming relay team air-guitaring in celebration after winning gold in a reference to Gary Hall Jnr comment about "Smashing them like guitars".
7 USA Dream Team - Basketball - The team was awesome: Jordon, Magic, Bird etc
8 Michael Johnson 200m and 400m double at the Atlanta Olympics
9 Jesse Owens winning 4 Gold Medals in Berlin.
10 Muhammed Ali lighting the flame at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
11 Greg Louganis, diving hitting his head and coming back to win gold.
12 Bob Beamon's leap in the 1968 Mexico games.

[NUFAN]

Burgey I just did some research on your pistol shooter guy, he didn't win gold with his right hand prerviously, but yeah he was a right handed shooter until losing his hand. Awesome effort though!

Also thanks Wright for changing the title.

[NUFAN]

Nominate: Carl Schumann 1896, best all round athlete ever?

Carl Schumann won three events in gymnastics (individual horse vault and horizontal bar and parallel bars team competitions) en 1896. He also won the Greco-Roman wrestling tournament in a major upset. Schumann also competed in three events in athletics (long jump, triple jump and shot put) and in weightlifting.

This is from the excellent website
http://www.olympic.org/uk/athletes/index_uk.asp

[Jono]

Freeman's race that stopped the nation.

Wow, straight out of Channel 9's 20 to 1 spiel.

[pasag]

Wow, straight out of Channel 9's 20 to 1 spiel.

Tbf though, it did. Everyone I know was talking about it in the lead up and there was a crazy amount of media build up. I remember in my house, literally every family member stopped what they were doing to watch it, that has never happened before and has never happened since especially as apart from myself and my brother we're not a sporting family at all. It might be cliche but that's what happened.

[andyc]

Am I right in thinking this hasn't been nominated yet?

[Sanz]

Am I right in thinking this hasn't been nominated yet?

Yeup Second this, One of the greatest moments in Olympic History and a very touching and inspiring story of not only the American athletes but also the Aussie who won the silver medal.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aodCk...eature=related

(4:00)

''I said to John, 'You got another one of those badges?' '' Norman said, referring to the human-rights badges Smith and Carlos planned to wear over their hearts. ''He said, 'If I get you one, will you wear it?' I said, 'I sure would.' ''

Wow..

[andyc]

Think this deserves a mention too, surely

[Jono]

Yeup Second this, One of the greatest moments in Olympic History and a very touching and inspiring story of not only the American athletes but also the Aussie who won the silver medal.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aodCk...eature=related

(4:00)

''I said to John, 'You got another one of those badges?' '' Norman said, referring to the human-rights badges Smith and Carlos planned to wear over their hearts. ''He said, 'If I get you one, will you wear it?' I said, 'I sure would.' ''

Wow..

Yeah, Norman's legacy is amazing, his actions were extremely admirable. The actions of the Olympic Committee, and the US and Australian publics following the incident however were the exact opposite.

Norman not only wore a human-rights badge in support of the two that night, but in an interview years later he told me he actually came up with the idea to split Smith's black gloves in the athletes' lounge, so both at least had one to cover their fists.

Many of us were children or not yet born, but there was a time when having a social conscience superseded personal wealth and popularity in sports, a time when empowerment among elite athletes had nothing to do with economics. You either believed in a cause and took action or you hushed up. In 1968, against the wish of his own nation, Peter Norman did something.

"Any other white guy, I don't think he would have had the courage to go through with it," Carlos said yesterday. "Our lives were threatened. We were being demonized in the media. People were saying we wanted the destruction of society instead of what we really wanted, equal rights. I just don't think most white individuals would not have been strong enough to make that commitment.

"At least me and Tommie had each other when we came home," he added. "When Peter went home, he had to deal with a nation by himself. He never wavered, never denied that he was up there with us for a purpose and he never said 'I'm sorry' for his involvement. That's indicative of who the man was."

[Sanz]

Yeah, Norman's legacy is amazing, his actions were extremely admirable. The actions of the Olympic Committee, and the US and Australian publics following the incident however were the exact opposite.

Indeed. They were not even his countrymen, not even his team mates. These two Athletes were Americans, whom Norman probably met first time during the Olympics. Yet having that kind of empathy to their cause in such a short span from someone coming from his background is just so extraordinary, courageous and commendable.

[Son Of Coco]

Think this deserves a mention too, surely

I'll second that


This has already been nominated and seconded but I think it's important to relive the swim:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zjCc...eature=related

I love how Eric looks across when he's trying to put his googles on to see what the others have done.

[NUFAN]

Nominated
1 Muhammed Ali lighting the flame at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
2 1992 Opening Ceremony Barcelona, the Archer lighting the flame.
3 Michael Johnson 200m and 400m double at the Atlanta Olympics
4 Greg Louganis, diving hitting his head and coming back to win gold.
85 USA Dream Team - Basketball 1992 - The team was awesome: Jordon, Magic, Bird etc.
6 Cathy Freeman 400m 2000 Olympics, the race that stopped the nation.
7 Perkins 1500 win from lane 8.
8 Eric the Eel. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zjCc...eature=related
9 Seb Coes 'I told you so' in the 1984 1500m. Breathtaking, beautiful and special. A man written off that destroys the field and is still the only back-to-back winner of Olympic 1500m.http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=KupBT6XdC2c
10 Jesse Owens winning 4 Gold Medals in Berlin.
11 Nadia Comaneci first ever perfect 10.
12 Linford Christie winning the 100m in 1992
13 GB beating West Germany in the 1988 hockey final & especially Barry Davies's commentary "Where were the Germans? &, frankly, who cares?" Jingoism at its finest.
14 Derek Redmond being helped round the track by his dad after his hamstring went in the 400m final
15 Redgrave's "If you see me go near a boat you have my permission to shoot me" after winning gold in 1996. He, of course, returned 4 years later.
16 Ben Johnson's run in the 1988 games. Doped he may've been, but it was awesome at the time.
17 The Aussie swimming relay team air-guitaring in celebration after winning gold in a reference to Gary Hall Jnr comment about "Smashing them like guitars".
18 The siege at the 1972 Olympics. Nuff said.
19 Chariots of Fire; Liddle, Abrahams & all that.
20 Some Korean boxer refusng to leave the ring for what seemed like years after losing a points decision in 1988.
21 Bob Beamon's leap in the 1968 Mexico games.
22 Cricket at the 1900 Olympics.
23 Edwin Moses rounding out his stunning career with a bronze in the 400m hurdles at Seoul in 1988...
24 DFK hurdles gold in 1988. [Debbie Flintoff-King]
25 Mark Spitz's 7 Gold and 7 world records - Munich 1972
26 Dawn Fraser wins her 3rd straight 100m freestyle - Tokyo 1964
27 Shane Gould, wins 3 gold, and becomes the first ever female swimmer to win 3 Olympic Gold each in WR time (200m IM, 200m & 400m free). By doing so she also became the only male or female swimmer to ever hold the WR for each freestyle event from 100m to 1500m at the same time. She was only 15 at the time.
28. Shane Heal v Yanks 1996.
29. Jane Saville - Disqualification in the 20km walk, just out of the stadium, losing a certain gold.
30. Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia Wins the Olympic Marathon, Running Barefoot! 1960 Summer Olympic Games in Rome.
31. Olga Korbut's performance in 1972 Russian Gymnast.
32. Cecil Healy 1912 Stockholm - silver in 100m freestyle. Olympic spirit at it's finest.
33. Karoly Takacs, pistol shooter from Hungary, right handed rapid fire shooter loses right hand in WW2, comes back and wins gold with his left hand!
34. Carl Schumann 1896 - Won 3 Golds in Gymnastics and 1 in Greco Roman Wrestling, he also competed in long jump, triple jump and shot put and in weightlifting.
35. African American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos perform their Power to the People salute at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.
36. Sydney Olympic mascots 10m bomb diving http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eg8YS...eature=related

Seconded and through to the finals.
1 Cathy Freeman 400m 2000 Olympics, the race that stopped the nation.
2 Nadia Comaneci first ever perfect 10.
3 Derek Redmond being helped round the track by his dad after his hamstring went in the 400m final
4 8 Eric the Eel. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zjCc...eature=related
5 Perkins 1500 win from lane 8.
6 The Aussie swimming relay team air-guitaring in celebration after winning gold in a reference to Gary Hall Jnr comment about "Smashing them like guitars".
7 USA Dream Team - Basketball - The team was awesome: Jordon, Magic, Bird etc
8 Michael Johnson 200m and 400m double at the Atlanta Olympics
9 Jesse Owens winning 4 Gold Medals in Berlin.
10 Muhammed Ali lighting the flame at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
11 Greg Louganis, diving hitting his head and coming back to win gold.
12 Bob Beamon's leap in the 1968 Mexico games.
13.African American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos perform their Power to the People salute at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.
14. Sydney Olympic mascots 10m bomb diving http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eg8YS...eature=related

[Jono]

Tbf though, it did. Everyone I know was talking about it in the lead up and there was a crazy amount of media build up. I remember in my house, literally every family member stopped what they were doing to watch it, that has never happened before and has never happened since especially as apart from myself and my brother we're not a sporting family at all. It might be cliche but that's what happened.

Haha yep, you're right about that. I was able to watch her race in the heats when I attended the Olympics. Was awesome.

Freeman had captured our hearts back in 1996 anyway, it was just the fact that she missed the gold then that made her 2000 run all the more special (though the French chick that won the gold in 96 ran off cos she was being stalked or something right? ).

I remember in 96 I was in grade 4 and the whole class was allowed to watch the race. We were shattered when she lost, and the teacher told us how she still did us proud and put in a great effort.

Ahh good old Cathy. I also remember her coffee ads as well.

"Is black okay?"
"Black will be fine"