Every four years the eyes of the entire sporting world are watching the Olympic Games. From time to time amazing things happen. Some of them are remembered for years. It’s really hard to choose the best of them but… we’ll try. Let’s look at STATSCORE’s top 5 moments of all time from the Summer Olympics!

1. Jesse Owens’ four gold medals – Berlin, 1936

During the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Adolf Hitler wanted to prove that the Aryan people were the best and the strongest race. His plan failed – American Jesse Owens won four gold medals – in the 100 meters, 200 meters, 4 x 100 meters relay and the long jump – he became the first American to win four gold medals at one Olympics. After his performance, Hitler tried to shun Owens – but after such success, the American became a very popular sporting figure.

2. Usain Bolt’s three world records – Beijing, 2008

There’s no doubt – Usain Bolt is the best sprinter in history. In 2008, during the Beijing Olympics he did something incredible – he became the first athlete to set three world records in a single edition of the Olympic Games – he ran the 100 meters in 9.72 seconds, the 200 meters in 19.30 seconds and with the Jamaican 4 x 400 meters relay team set a new world record of 37.10 seconds. It is worth mentioning that all of these records were later broken – by Usain Bolt!

3. Michael Phelps’ eight gold medals – Beijing, 2008

The Beijing Olympics were an incredible time. Usain Bolt was not the only person to shock the world. The American swimmer Michael Phelps won 8! Yes, 8 gold medals in 8 events. Additionally, he set seven world records (4 individually & 3 in medleys). In achieving this feat, he beat the record set by Mark Spitz, who won seven gold medals 36 years earlier in Munich.  Phelps during his career won 28 Olympic medals (23 gold) over 5 Olympics.

4. Derek Redmond’s injury – Barcelona, 1992

It’s remembered as one of the most touching moments in the history of sport. Derek Redmond, Great Britain’s 400 meter runner, fought with injuries for many years. At the 1988 Seoul Olympics, he injured his Achilles tendon just 90 seconds before his heat and had to pull out. In 1992 his dream to take part in the Olympics finally came true and he advanced to the semifinal with the best time from the first round and went on to win his quarter-final heat. He started the race but after 250 meters his hamstring tore and he fell down in a lot of pain. Redmond decided to finish the race and a  few moments later his father rushed past security to help his son complete the lap. The 65,000 people in the stadium gave them a standing ovation.

5. Nadia Comaneci’s perfect appearance – Montreal, 1976

 Not many people tend to watch gymnastics and many of them know this little piece of history. At only 14 years old the Romanian gymnastic, Nadia Comaneci got the perfect score of four 10’s from judges during the uneven bars competition. No one had ever been awarded a perfect score before and this day is still seen as one of the greatest days in the history of sport.

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