From sweet to silly, attempt these at your own risk
Italian athlete Dorando Pietri was disqualified from the marathon at the 1908 London Olympics for being helped over the line, despite finishing first. As compensation and in keeping with the spirit of the occasion, Queen Alexandra presented Pietri with a special Gold Cup, much to the delight of the hapless athlete and the crowds. The Gold Medal went to John Hayes of the USA.
Odd as it sounds, tug-of-war was an official Olympic team sport from 1900 to 1920. In a last hurrah at Antwerp, England beat the United States in what was seen as a huge upset. The medals awarded for such an event must surely rank as among the most unusual Olympic memorabilia.
At the tender age of 11, Norwegian figure skater Sonja Henie competed for her country at the 1924 Chamonix Winter Olympics. She eventually went on to win more Olympic and World titles than any other ladies' figure skater. After the 1936 World Figure Skating Championships, Henie moved to California and enjoyed a successful movie career.
The 1896 Summer Games held in Athens were the first international Olympic Games in modern history. Among noted events was Greek water carrier Spyridon Louis (1873–1940) winning the first marathon of the modern era. He ran with Crown Prince Constantine and Prince George of Greece (pictured) during the last lap of the competition, to huge and enthusiastic applause.
In 1932, the Olympic Alpine Prize, a non-competitive gold medal for mountaineering, was awarded to German brothers Franz and Toni Schmid at the Lake Placid games for their "first ascent of the North Face of the Matterhorn."
One of the highlights of the politically charged 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics was Jesse Owens' amazing four gold medal wins at 100 m, long jump, 200 m, and 4 × 100-m relay. Hitler refused to acknowledge the black athlete's achievements; neither was he invited to the White House to shake hands with the president.
At the 1948 London Summer Olympics, decathlete Bob Mathias of the United States became the youngest male ever to win an Olympic gold medal at the age of 17.
Emil Zátopek of Czechoslovakia made Olympic history when he won gold in the 5,000 m and 10,000 m runs, and then a third gold after winning the marathon. He is the only athlete to win these three disciplines at the same Olympic Games.
In 1960 in Rome, a young up-and-coming fighter named Cassius Clay claimed gold in the light-heavyweight competition. Muhammad Ali, as he was soon to be known as, was on his way to becoming the "Greatest." Clay is pictured with runner-up Zbigniew Pietrzykowski of Poland and joint bronze medalists Giulio Saraudi of Italy and Australia's Anthony Madigan.
Also at Rome, American sprinter and former polio patient Wilma Rudolph made her mark by winning three gold medals for the 100 m sprint, 200 m sprint, and as anchor in the 400 m relay. She was acclaimed the fastest woman in the world in the 1960s and was the first American woman to win three gold medals in a single Olympic Games.
The Rome Summer Olympics produced another star athlete in Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia, who won the marathon barefooted to become the first black African Olympic champion.
Czechoslovak gymnast Věra Čáslavská won three gold medals at Tokyo, in the balance beam, the vault, and in the individual all-around competition at Tokyo. In all, Čáslavská won seven Olympic gold medals in her career, and is one of only two female gymnasts, along with Soviet Larisa Latynina, to win the all-around gold medal at two consecutive Olympics.
American figure skater Peggy Fleming's emotional gold at Grenoble went some way to commemorate the devastating 1961 plane crash that wiped out the entire US figure skating team. She's seen on the winner's podium with Gabrielle Seyfert and Hana Makova.
American high jumper Richard Fosbury is famous for his unusual "flip-flop" technique of clearing the bar, a style that won him gold at Mexico and has been adopted by every high jump competitor since.
African-American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos raise their fists and give the Black Power salute at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City. The move was a symbolic protest against racism in the United States. Smith, the gold medal winner, and bronze medalist Carlos were subsequently suspended from their team for their actions. The silver medal went to Australian Peter Norman. He didn’t raise his fist that day, but he sympathized with Smith and Carlos and his career suffered as a result.
Mark Spitz was the most successful athlete at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, winning seven gold medals, all in world record time. He's pictured with four of them.
Then known as Bruce Jenner, the American athlete put on a record setting performance in the decathlon in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. In 2015, Jenner publicly came out as a trans woman, Caitlyn.
Fourteen-year-old Romanian gymnast Nadia Comăneci won the hearts of thousands with her gold medal-winning routine on the uneven bars. But it was her perfect score of 10—the first Olympic gymnast to achieve such a feat—that endeared her to the world.
Team USA celebrates their 4-3 victory over the Soviet Union in the semi-final Men's Ice Hockey event at the 1980 Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid. The game was dubbed the "Miracle on Ice." The USA went on to win the gold medal by later defeating Finland 4-2. The 2004 movie 'Miracle' starring Kurt Russell accurately depicts the momentous victory.
American track and field athlete Florence Griffith Joyner was renowned as much for her colorful sartorial style as her prowess on the track. She famously set the world record for the 100 m and 200 m sprints in Los Angeles, both of which still stand. She died tragically young, succumbing in her sleep to an epileptic seizure in 1998 at the age of 38.
Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards soars over the crowd as he makes his attempt during the 90-m ski jump competition at Calgary. Edwards, Great Britain's lone ski jumper and the first competitor since 1928 to represent their nation in Olympic ski jumping, finished last in all his competitions, but won the crowd's admiration for his plucky spirit.
The 1994 attack on figure skater Nancy Kerrigan in Detroit, carried out in an attempt to stop her competing at the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics, made headlines around the world. Her nearest competitor, fellow American Tonya Harding, was later implicated in the assault. Kerrigan went on to win the silver medal at Lillehammer while Harding finished in eighth place. The pair are pictured in practice. The movie 'I, Tonya' (2017) is loosely based on the events.
American gymnast Kerri Strug was a member of the "Magnificent Seven," the victorious all-around women's gymnastics team that represented the United States at Atlanta and who despite a serious ankle injury claimed victory on the vault. She's pictured being carried to the podium to join her teammates by coach Béla Károlyi.
North Korea and South Korea symbolically unified for the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics opening ceremony when their respective delegates marched under one Korean flag, featuring a unified Korean peninsular.
Abby Wambach and Julie Foudy of the United States women's soccer team celebrate beating Brazil 2-1 in extra time to score gold in Athens.
American swimmer Michael Phelps' haul of eight gold medals in as many days at Beijing overturned the seven golds won by countryman Mark Spitz in 1972. He is currently the most decorated Olympian in history after competing in London in 2012 and Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and retiring with a career total of 28 medals, 23 of which are gold.
Usain Bolt became the fastest man alive at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, and is the only sprinter to win Olympic 100 m and 200 m titles at three consecutive Olympics (2008, 2012, and 2016).
Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina won a team gold medal at Melbourne, the first of a total of 18 medals (nine gold, five silver, four bronze) from three Games— Melbourne 1956, Rome 1960, and Tokyo 1964. She was the most decorated Olympian ever before Michael Phelps' peerless run of victories.
Mo Farah of Great Britain celebrates winning gold in the Men's 10,000 m Final on Day 8 of the London 2012 Olympic Games. Farah crossed the line to cap 47 minutes that will go down in British sporting history, and there was barely a dry eye in the Olympic Stadium, reported the UK's Guardian newspaper.
Rio 2016 was noted for a historic milestone when US swimmer Simone Manuel won gold for the 100-m freestyle, becoming the first black woman to win Olympic gold in an individual swimming event.
Despite getting stitches for a head wound he received during practice, American diver Greg Louganis recovered enough to return to the pool the next day and take gold on both platform and springboard at Seoul, and repeat his double gold win he achieved in Los Angeles four years previously.
Biles was open about the mental struggles she was dealing with, and she was widely criticized for putting her safety ahead of the competition. She bravely returned for the final events, despite the fact that she was still suffering from the twisties, and took home a bronze medal. She remains an outspoken advocate for the mental health of athletes and will compete in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Sources: (Los Angeles Times) (ESPN) (Smithsonian Magazine) (History) (Olympics) (The Guardian) (ABC News)
Star gymnast Simone Biles was Team USA's not-so-secret weapon going into the 2020 Olympics. However, the decorated athlete ended up withdrawing from several events after suffering from the "twisties"—an issue where the gymnast loses their sense of control when in the air.
The Olympic Games are the pinnacle of athletic excellence. The young stars who make it to the games are the best in their fields, and in most cases, have sacrificed a great deal of their lives to achieve greatness in their chosen sport. The stakes are heightened by the fact that the games only come around once every four years, meaning some athletes will only have one chance to compete. More than a century of Olympic Games have taken place, giving us countless stories of participants overcoming incredible adversity or achieving feats thought to be humanly impossible.
The first international Olympic Games held in modern history took place in Athens in 1896, and it's from there that we take a look at some of the most outstanding and influential incidents in Olympic history. Click through and applaud these memorable moments from the world's foremost sports competition.
The greatest and most inspiring Olympic moments
The 2024 Paris Summer Games are fast approaching!
LIFESTYLE Sport
The Olympic Games are the pinnacle of athletic excellence. The young stars who make it to the games are the best in their fields, and in most cases, have sacrificed a great deal of their lives to achieve greatness in their chosen sport. The stakes are heightened by the fact that the games only come around once every four years, meaning some athletes will only have one chance to compete. More than a century of Olympic Games have taken place, giving us countless stories of participants overcoming incredible adversity or achieving feats thought to be humanly impossible.
The first international Olympic Games held in modern history took place in Athens in 1896, and it's from there that we take a look at some of the most outstanding and influential incidents in Olympic history. Click through and applaud these memorable moments from the world's foremost sports competition.