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Pastimes : Olympics: Best and Worst -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kenneth Kirk who wrote (1)	9/3/2004 4:05:02 PM
From: Kenneth Kirk	Respond to of 7

Worst moments in modern Olympic history: 10. Stockholm 1912: Jim Thorpe wins both pentathlon and decathlon, an incredible feat, but has the medals stripped for having played in a minor league baseball game. 9. Sydney 2000: women's gymnastics officials set the vault height 1" too low, costing Svetlana Khorkina a chance to medal. 8. Mexico 1968: Tommie Smith and Juan Carlos are stripped of their 200 dash medals for giving a black power salute on the medal stand. 7. Athens 2004: a freak in a kilt attacks the leader of the marathon, costing him gold. 6. Paris 1900: French marathoners show up first at the finish, looking like they hadn't run, and not having passed anybody along the way. 5. Sydney 2000: Eddie the Eel embarrasses swimming. What a slap in the face to all those good athletes who didn't make it to the games. 4. Moscow and LA, 1980 and 1984: boycotts mean the games weren't "fully attended". Nonetheless those records, such as the record by a gymnast for most medals in one olympics, stand as official records. 3. Melbourne 1956: "Blood in the water". Hungary and the USSR get into a slugfest in water polo after a Hungarian player is hit hard in the eye. The USSR had just invaded Hungary. The match is ended early as the fighting was spreading to the stands. 2. Munich 1972: The Soviets get extra seconds, twice, so they can defeat the US in basketball. The US team is so disgusted they refuse the silver medals. 1. Munich 1972: Terrorist kill several Israeli athletes. Suddenly the rest of the list doesn't seem so bad.

To: Kenneth Kirk who wrote (1)	9/4/2004 10:42:12 PM
From: X Y Zebra	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 7

Other Ten 'greats' to add to the Olympic moments: 10. Sarajevo 1984 (winter games) Beauty, elegance and grace in motion... Katarina Witt wins her first gold medal dazzling and captivating the judges with the sheer beauty of her performance. Four years later in Calgary she repeated her performance and again wins the gold equaling Sonja Heine's defense of her title in 1936. 9. Calgary 1988: (winter games) The Jamaican Bobsled team... In spite of their seemingly oxymoronic appearance and their last place in the standings, they captured the imagination of the crowds and in spite of being the clear under-dog they were loved by the crowds... and proved to be more than a flash in the pan, as they return in the Lillehammer games in 1994 finishing 14th in the four men sled... AHEAD of the TWO US team sleds... still, in it of itself such effort qualifies (in my eyes) as a great moment in the history of the olimpic games. 8. Tokyo 1964: Australian Dawn Fraser completes her feat of defending her previous title (gold in swimming 100 free style) in three different Olympic Games... Melbourne ('56); Rome ('60) and Tokyo ('64). Only athlete (both sexes) to achieve such. She also won gold in relay 4 x 100m in '56 and 4 silver medals in other events throughout her career. 7. Atlanta 1996 Carl Lewis defends successfully his long jump title to win gold for the fourth time in the same event. In addition, Lewis equaled Jessee Owens feat of winning four golds (in Los Angeles, 1984) gold in 100m, 200m, long jump and 4 x 100m relay. 6. Helsinki 1952: Emil Zapotek (Czechoslovakia) wins gold in the 10,000, 5,000 meter AND Marathon only athlete to ever achieve such; his wife takes gold in the Javelin. 5. Sydney 2000: Briton rowing star Steven Redgrave wins historic 5th gold in five consecutive Olympic games. After gold medals in Los Angeles, 'coxed fours' ('84) Seoul, 'coxless pairs' ('88) Barcelona, 'coxless pairs' ('92) and Atlanta, 'coxless' pairs ('96) 38 year old (at the time) wins his fifth gold in Sydney 'coxless fours' (2000). He was 'knighted' by the Queen in 2001. 4. Munich 1972: Mark Spitz wins seven gold medals in swimming competition * 200 meter, butterfly; * 100 meter, butterfly; * 800 meter, free style -relay- team; * 400 meter, free style relay -team-; * 200 meter, free style; * 100 meter, free style; * 400 meter medley (butterfly)relay -team-. Simply... Amazing ! 3. Mexico City 1968: the most successful flop ever... the "Fosbury Flop" wins gold and sets Olympic record with a jump of 7' 4 & 1/4 " with a then unconventional jump style of throwing himself backwards against the bar clearing it with his back first and then 'floping' his legs over the bar last. Phenomenal !! 2. Mexico City 1968: Jim Hines brakes for the first time what was then considered unbreakable '10 second barrier' in the men's 100 meter dash with a 9.95 world and Olympic record. * I personally had to brake all sorts of records dashing, rusing and jumping through crowds and barriers -with girlfriend in tow (literarily pulling her by the arm for the entire run)- to arrive at the stadium 'just in time' to see Jim Hines smoke the competition and win his gold i doubt she ever appreciated such effort on my side to be able to witness such a great victory... the seats were perfect location for the event, right at the finish line in the second story of the stadium... what a superb moment !!! 1. Lake Placid (USA) 1980: (Winter Games) The amateurish American hockey team emerges victorious over the Soviet giants (considered unbeatable) by a cool 4 x 3 final score taking the gold. * I also remember this game well... at the end of the game (watched by TV) I was speechless...*