Founded in 1896, the Olympic Games have celebrated the world’s best athletes for over a century, pushing men and women to their limits while shining a light on the fire of the human spirit. The games themselves are much more important than just showcasing the world’s top athleticism, and through the years, have become synonymous with overcoming adversity.
Now with the 2018 Winter Olympics set to kick off in South Korea in historic fashion (both North and South Korea have agreed to work together for the games), we thought what better time to check out the 10 Best Olympic Moments!
Videos by PopCulture.com
Do any Olympic moments stand out as particularly important to you? Check out the video at the top of the article to see if it lands on the list, or scroll down to read about these historic moments.
10. Michael Johnson
Starting off the list at No. 10 is Michael Johnson who took home two Gold medals while simultaneously crushing two world records at the Olympic summer games in 1996. By doing so, he became the only male athlete in history to win both the 200 metres and 400 metres events at the same Olympics. Later, Johnson would become the only man to successfully defend his Olympic title in the 400 metres, but it was this moment that cemented his legacy as one of the all time best.
9. Kurt Angle
While known better today as a WWE superstar, Kurt Angle legitimately won a Gold Medal for freestyle wrestling in Atlanta at the 1996 games with a broken friggin’ neck. While the crowds often chant “You suck!” at the Olympic gold medalist, this moment proved without a shadow of a doubt that Angle does, in fact, not suck.
8. Jamaican Bobsled Team
No. 8 is the Jamaican Bobsled Team from 1988. The prospect of Jamaica, a tropical island, having a stake in the winter games seemed completely unfathomable, but … you know what? We could explain why, or you could just go watch the Disney film based on their story, Cool Runnings.
7.Kerri Strug
In 1996, gymnast Kerri Strug injured herself on a bad landing. With her team tied for first place, she was relied upon to make another jump despite despite two ligament tears, and as history shows, she landed perfectly, winning the gold for her entire team. After she collapsed in pain, she was picked up by her coach. The moment of triumph made her an instant celebrity and she soon earned her own Wheaties box and appeared on Saturday Night Live as a result.
6. Michael Phelps
No. 6 belongs to Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, who became a household name by winning 8 Gold Medals in the 2008 games, more than anyone else in history. He would go on to become the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time, with a total of 28 medals, 23 of which are gold.
5. Muhammad Ali
In 1960, Muhammad Ali (then known as Cassius Clay) won the Gold medal in boxing, but lost the physical medal himself in controversial fashion when he heatedly threw it into a river. 36 years later, despite suffering Parkinson’s, Ali returned to the 1996 games to light the flame in what many people consider one of the most touching moments in Olympic history.
4. Women Compete for the First Time
No. 4 happened at the 1928 Olympics, a historic and ground breaking year for women around the would. This year would mark the first time women were allowed to athletically compete, which would lead to American Betty Robinson becoming the first lady to win the first ever Women’s Gold Medal.
3. Derek Redmond
No. 3 happened at the 1992 games. Derek Redmond popped his hamstring during the race, but he refused to quit. Even as paramedics tried to help him, he simply refused. After turning away a stretcher, Derek’s own father ran past security and helped his son limp across the finishing line in one of the most bittersweet, heart warming moments the entire world would see.
2. 1936 Berlin
The No. 2 spot went down in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Hitler himself attended the games and had hoped to prove that Aryan athletes were better than everyone else. So imagine his surprise when Jesse Owens, an African American, singlehandedly destroyed that theory by winning multiple Gold medals.
1. Miracle on Ice
But the all time best Olympic moment goes to what is now referred to as “the Miracle on Ice,” when the 1980 ragtag American Hockey team would shock the world by defeating the unbeatable Russians. The story was so powerful, it was later turned into a film called, who’d have guessed it – Miracle, starring Kurt Russell.
