© Getty Images

1896 Athens Summer Olympics -

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.

© Getty Images 

1908 London Summer Olympics -

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.

© Getty Images 

1920 Antwerp Summer Olympics -

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.

© Getty Images 

1924 Chamonix Winter Olympics -

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.

© Getty Images 

1932 Lake Placid Winter Olympics -

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."

© Getty Images

1936 Berlin Summer Olympics -

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.

© Getty Images 

1948 London Summer Olympics -

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.

© Getty Images 

1952 Helsinki Summer Olympics -

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.

© Getty Images 

1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics -

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.

© Getty Images 

1960 Rome Summer Olympics -

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.

© Getty Images 

1960 Rome Summer Olympics -

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.

© Getty Images 

1960 Rome Summer Olympics -

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.

© Getty Images 

1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics -

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.

© Getty Images 

1968 Grenoble Winter 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.

© Getty Images 

1968 Mexico City Summer Olympics -

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.

© Getty Images 

1968 Mexico City Summer Olympics -

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.

© Getty Images 

1972 Munich Summer Olympics -

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.

© Getty Images 

1976 Montreal Summer Olympics -

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.

© Getty Images 

1976 Montreal Summer Olympics -

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.

© Getty Images 

1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics -

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.

© Getty Images 

1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics -

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.

© Getty Images 

1988 Calgary Winter Olympics -

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.

© Getty Images 

1988 Seoul Summer Olympics -

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.

© Getty Images 

1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics -

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.

© Getty Images 

1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics -

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.

© Getty Images 

2000 Sydney Summer Olympics -

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.

© Getty Images 

2004 Athens Summer Olympics -

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.

© Getty Images 

2008 Beijing Summer Olympics -

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.

© Getty Images 

2008 Beijing Summer Olympics -

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).

© Getty Images 

2012 London Summer Olympics -

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.

© Getty Images 

2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics -

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.

© Getty Images 

2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics -

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. 

© Getty Images

2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics -

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)

See also: Actors you didn't know were Olympic athletes

© Getty Images