Top ten Summer Olympic memorable moments…
July 13, 2008
I first witnessed the Olympics in 1976. As a ten year old I was blown away by the colour and excitement of the Montreal Olympics opening ceremony. Compared to more recent Olympics it was nothing special however it got me hooked.
As years have gone by I have always been excited as the Olympics come and go. I try to catch every moment I can on television or in more recent times through the internet. I also have bought many books covering the Olympics.
With all this in mind I have been giving thought to the most memorable moments from the Olympics. I have to point out that I am from Australia so it is based on what I have seen as an Australian.
I will count down from 10 to 1. Here goes…
10 - Sydney Olympic opening ceremony. On September 15, 2000 the world witnessed a magical night as the Olympics were officially opened for the 27th Olympiad. The highlight for me was the lighting of the Olympic torch by Cathy Freeman.
9 - The first Basketball Dream Team takes to the court at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992. Seeing the likes of Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson running around together at the Olympics was a special moment. It may not have been great for the opposition teams however as a basketball and Olympic fan I loved it.
8 - Carl Lewis matches the feats of Jesse Owens. At the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics all eyes were on Carl Lewis as he attempted to match the four gold medals won by the great Jesse Owens in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. It was a great moment when Lewis ran the anchor leg of the 4×100m relay to claim his fourth gold at the games.
7 - Ben Johnson and Carl Lewis in the 100m final at the Seoul Olympics. What a race this was. The hype machine was going into overdrive as the final was about to be run. I still remember Ben Johnson crossing the line with his arm raised and him looking across towards Carl Lewis to see that he had won. He blew the field away on that day. We all know what happened next…
6 - Derek Redmond’s dad lends a hand. What the Olympics is all about was best captured during the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Redmond had been forced to withdraw from the 1988 games due to injury. At the Barcelona games he was running the 400m semifinal when disaster struck. Another injury ended his dreams. He did not let this stop him and he started to hobble towards the finnish line. His father then ran down from the stands to help his son complete the painful run. With tears streaming down his face Derek and his dad crossed the line.
5 - Gymnast Kerry Strug sticks a vault landing. In Atlanta during the women’s gymnastics team event Kerry Strug had injured her ankle on her first vault. With the pain from the injury front and centre she knew she had to put this behind her and take the second vault. At stake was an Olympic gold medal for not only herself but the team. Strug despite the pain stuck the landing and the USA won gold.
4 - Australia take the men’s 4×100m freestyle gold in Sydney. Being an aussie this was a great moment in our home town Olympics. Ian Thorpe anchored the team to win the event in a world record time. Beating the USA team was a highlight from the pool on Day 2 of the Sydney Olympics and it ended the stranglehold the US had on the relay gold.
3 - Cook and Pottharst take gold in the Sydney beach volleyball. This may not rank up there with a lot of people but as I played professional beach volleyball here in Australia this is a biggie for me. I used to see these girls all the time on the pro tour. To see them go on and beat the best in the Olympics was a special moment. It was party central down at Bondi Beach during the Olympics.
2 - Nadia Comaneci earns first ever Olympic 10.00 in the uneven-bars event. Apart from the opening ceremony from the Montreal games the feat of Nadia Comaneci in earning a perfect 10 stands out in my mind. She was the darling of the games in 1976.
1 - “And the winner is… Sydney”. This may not be a memorable moment for most however as an Olympic loving Australian this was my most exciting Olympic moment ever. For me it meant the Olympics were coming to my backyard. I still remember sitting up early one morning to watch the announcement. It was around 4 am on September 24 in Australia when Juan Antonio Samaranch said what all of Australia wanted to hear. I was jumping up and down in my lounge room. I then started to think if I could get good enough at handball to make the Olympic team. I figured that and beach volleyball were my best shot.
So there you have it. They are my most memorable Olympic moments. They are sure to be different from yours. Leave a comment and let me know what are your most memorable summer Olympic moments.
There are so many more I could have included such as the archer lighting the flame at the Barcelona Olympics, or Ali at Atlanta. It is so hard to pick just 10 Olympic moments.
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What great memories these 10 events sparked for me. Of course, I could go back a few more olympics in my memory bank.