Introduction

The Olympic Games are the most prestigious worldwide competition that amateur and professional athletes alike look forward to every four yeas. Legends are made and records are broken while the best of the best on Earth duke it out in a head to head battle with other countries in various sports. Throughout the years there have been many moments at these games that have turned heads and will never be forgotten. With all of this prestige also comes controversy. Athletes have been sabotaged by others, taken performance enhancing drugs, and cheated in hopes of winning olympic gold. This blog entails only a few Olympic moments that have taken our breath away, inspired us, and will be remembered for all time.

Kerri Strug's Injured Victory

In the 1996 Atlanta Games, the American women's team was on the heels of the Russians who had a very slight lead going into the final round of team competition. In order for the American women to win, they needed Kerri to repeat a vault that she had already landed to seal the win. On the vault previous to this one, she had landed wrong on her ankle and injured it badly. She pulled herself together for one last run and nailed he jump with an ankle that was swelling up and in serious pain. As soon as she finished the routine, and saluted the judges, she fell to the floor in pain. She was taken to the hospital for a third degree lateral sprain and tendon damage to her ankle. Due to her injury, she had to remove herself from her two individual events which she also qualified in. Many people recall the picture of Kerri Held up by her coach while wearing the gold medal.

Michael Phelps's Eight Gold Medals

One of the most impressive feats in Olympic history belongs to swimmer Michael Phelps. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Michael was faced with a daunting challenge: the chance to win eight gold medals at one Olympic Games. It had never been done before. The only person to come close was Mark Spitz, also a swimmer, at the 1972 Munich games. Spitz won an insane seven gold medals and became one of the most famous athletes ever. Phelps was able to overcome adversity and was victorious in every event that he entered. There were close calls however, such as the 4X100 freestyle relay and where Phelps was almost out-touched in his last individual race of the games: the 100 butterfly. He won the event by one one-hundreth of a second and came away the most successful Olympic champion in history.

Usain Bolt at the 2008 Beijing Olympics

As relatively inexperienced runner on the world circuit, Usain Bolt began racking up medals fast. He had broken a world record in the 100 meter dash previous to the olympics and hoped that he could win the gold medal at the olympics. After breezing through the preliminary rounds of the 100 meter, Bolt was ready to go. He was the fastest off the start and was visibly far ahead as he closed in on the finish, when all of a sudden he let up and began celebrating. Even though he backed off towards the end of the race, he was still able to win gold by a very significant margin and set a world record in the process. I'll never forget the ease with at which Bolt strode across the finish line. The 100 meter was no fluke either. Usain went on to win the 200 meter dash in world record time later on in the games. He was the first person since Carl Lewis to do so and the first in history with electronic timing systems.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qslbf8L9nl0

USA 4X100 Freestyle Relay

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics we saw the emergence of many great athletes that now reign on top of the world. One of my favorite events at this Olympics took place during the swimming competition. It was the best swimming race that I've seen in my life, and I've been a swimmer since I was six. I've never been more excited over an olympic race, and I clearly remember yelling at my television for Jason Lezak to beat the Frenchman next to him. For those who are unfamiliar with this amazing race, I'll explain. After the first three legs of the relay had finished, the U.S. was second place by over two body-lengths with only one more person to catch up: Jason Lezak. He proceeded to draft off of the French swimmer he was up against  and waited until the turn to make his move. By drafting, Lezak had saved some of his energy and exploded off the last wall to begin the chase. Slowly but surely he inched closer and closer to the French swimmer who was also the world record holder in that event, and with five yards left in the race it was dead even. When his hand hit the wall, Jason was embraced by his relay team consisting of Michael Phelps, Garrett Weber-Gale, and Cullen Jones. The US had upset the French and received the Gold and a world record in the process.

http://www.blinkx.com/watch-video/4x100-olympic-relay-full/ap-siprHc0hBONuIB0HxWw

"Miracle on Ice"

In the years leading up to the 1980 Winter Olympics, the Soviet Union had been on top of the world hockey circuit. According to critics, they were an unbeatable force of players that could only be matched by the perfect team. After crushing the NHL All-Star team six to zero earlier in the year, the Americans were nervous about being matched up with the Soviets in the 1980 games. After winning all of their matches and advancing to the gold medal round, they started to believe that they had a chance to win the gold despite it being against the Soviet Union who had also bested their opponents in the preliminary rounds. After a bad start, the USSR was up three to two by the middle of the second period. After a charge from the Americans, two goals had been scored with only ten minutes left in the period. The American team rushed the ice after they had held off the Soviets for the gold medal. Together they had done the unbelievable and defeated the greatest team in the world to then become the greatest team in the world.

Four Gold Medals Won by Jesse Owens at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin

Jesse Owens was an African-American sprinter from Oakville, Alabama that ran for the United States in the 1936 Olympics. During this time period African-Americans were very largely discriminated against yet Owens was allowed to stay in the same hotels as whites as well as travel with them while it remained illegal in many parts of the country. The 1936 games were held in Berlin so Hitler could show the world what Nazi Germany was capable of, and expected to have many of his "superior race" Germans to bring home the gold in many events. Jesse Owens won four gold medals: the 100 meter dash, 200 meter dash, long jump, and as part of the 4x100 meter relay team. After each race, it is reported that Hitler only shook the hands of the German competitors while ignoring the others, including Owens.