The Best Olympics Moments In History

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Every four years we are graced with the Olympic Games with athletes competing from all over the globe. Each Olympic games are full with amazing moments and memories full of incredible individual achievements. Check out a list of some of the best Olympic moments in history. 

Michael Johnson

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Michael Johnson was an American Sprinter who competed in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. He cemented his status as an all time Olympic great with his stunning performance becoming the first man in history to win both the 200 and 400 meter Olympic crowns. He was nicknamed "the man with the golden shoes" because of the custom-made gold kicks that he rocked.

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Yelena Isinbayeva

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Yelena Isinbayeva won the gold medal in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing for the women's pole vaulting event. Mostly everybody knew that she was going to win do to her domination of the sport long before the 2008 games. What the fans were excited to see you was if she could repeat her amazing feat from the prior Olympic Games by setting a new world record of the biggest stage of all.

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Soviet Union Defeats USA in Basketball 1972

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One of the greatest sports controversies of All Times comes in 1972 at the Olympic Games in the men's basketball final between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. The United States originally won in the final seconds of the game but due to an issue with the clock the Soviet Union was allowed a final three seconds for one more chance resulting in a 51-50 win over Team USA. To this very day none of the members of the United States team have collected their silver medals. 

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Fanny Blankers-Koen

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Fanny Blankers-Koen was able to achieve gold in the Olympic Games after many years of patience. The Dutch athlete first competed in the Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936 but finished 6th Place at best. She was not given another chance to compete in the games due to the Second World War but was finally able to compete in London in 1948 as a 30 year old mother of two. Many believe that due to her age and half and half having had two kids that she would not be able to succeed but she proved on a Sears Wrong by winning gold in 4 different events.

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Eric Moussambani 

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Eric Moussambani makes the list not due to his achievements in the Olympic Games but because of the crazy series of random events that led him to winning a heat in an Olympic game setting. Eric competed in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney as a swimmer even though he only learn to swim just of that year. He was able to compete in the Olympics do to a wild-card system that was designed to give competitors from developing nations a chance in the Olympics. His two competitors in the 100 meter freestyle heats were both disqualified for false starts leaving Eric to swim the length alone and win. 

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Emil Zatopek

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Emil Zatopek what's an Olympic athlete from the SEC Republic and ranks as one of the greatest distance runners in history after his performance in Helsinki. And those Olympic Games he was able to win 3 gold medals in the span of eight days. He clinched his final gold medal after deciding late in the games to compete in his first marathon ever. 

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Muhammad Ali 

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The world came to know the name of Cassius Clay in the 1960 Olympics in Rome after Winning boxing gold. 36 years after his amazing achievement in the Olympics he was asked still light the Olympic torch at the opening ceremony of the Atlanta games 1996. Ali's boxing days lead to him becoming impaired by Parkinson's disease and he only recently passed away breaking the hearts of millions across the world. He lives on now as a legend. 

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Paavo Nurmi

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Paavo Nurmi was regarded as the best middle and long-distance Runner of his time. His performance in the Olympic Games in Paris in 1924 cemented his legacy as one of the greatest Olympic Runners of all time. He won two gold medals in two different events that were within an hour and a half of each other while also setting a new world record in each event. 

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Michael Phelps

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Michael Phelps is a fish out of water who answered the history books we broke the record for most gold medals won in a single Olympic Games. Phelps pulled in 8 gold medals at the Beijing Olympics 2008. What's more amazing is that Phelps have won six gold medals in the previous Olympics in Athens. 

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Bob Beamon

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Bob Beamon made his Mark in the Olympics in Mexico in 1968 when he set a new world record for the long jump at 8.9 meters. He crushed the previous record buy an amazing 55 centimeters easily cementing his name in Olympic history. When he heard the results be man was so overcome with joy and emotion that he collapsed to the floor and placed his hands over his face. 

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Symbol of Black Power as their National Anthem Played

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A couple of Olympic American runners by the names of Tommie Smith and John Carlos would leave a mark on the 1968 Olympic Games. After the two African- American athletes secured a gold and bronze medal in the 200 meter dash they each bow their heads and raised the symbol of black power as their national anthem played and the world watched. They also wore black socks with no shoes in a protest against racism in the United States, and it became one of the most iconic images ever in Olympic history. 

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Spyridon Louis 

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Spyridon Louis was a Greek Runner who competed in the first modern-day Olympic Games. He became a national hero after winning in the marathon at the Athens Olympic Games in 1896. 14 of the 17 athletes to compete in the marathon were all Greek.

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Dorando Pietri 

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Dorando Pietri was an Olympic runner who competed in the Olympic Games in London in 1908. The marathon that he competed in had been extended buy 26 miles to ensure that the finish line was in front of the royal box. Pietri seemed to have a certain win after starting off with such an enormous lead but ended up collapsing several times before being carried by officials over the finish line. Due to the fact that you received assistance he would end up being disqualified by the British judges.

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Israeli Athletes Attacked at Munich Games 1972

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The world watched their television sets in horror when eight terrorists from a Palestinian terrorist group conducted an attack against unarmed Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympic Games in 1972. Two Israeli athletes were killed in the initial attack, while nine more were killed during a botched rescue attempt. Five of the Palestinian terrorists were killed and three of them were captured. 

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Gail Devers

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Gail Devers competed in the Olympics in Barcelona in 1992 and was able to achieve both triumph and despair. Her first gold medal win came in such a close race that it needed a photo finish in order to separate them. She almost went on to win a second gold medal in the hurdles but just before claiming victory she hit the very last hurdle causing her to lose her footing and roll to the ground and end up finishing in 5th place. 

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Mark Spitz

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Mark Spitz was a swimmer who competed in the Olympics for Team USA and made a big Babe Ruth like prediction claiming he would win 6 gold medals. He ended up doing even better than he predicted claiming a total of 7 gold medals and setting seven new world records in the process. His victories at the time had gone down as the single most outstanding performance in the Olympic Games. 

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Ben Johnson

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Ben Johnson had a short-lived stay as an Olympic winner in the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. Shortly after his victory however the Olympic Doping Control Center found Johnson's urine samples to contain traces of banned anabolic steroids. Johnson was stripped of his gold medals and forced to leave the Olympic Games even though he denied the fact that he took steroids. 

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Steve Ovett and Sebastian Coe went head to head in 1980 Games

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One of the greatest rivalries ever to go down in athletics is between Steve Ovett and Sebastian Coe when they went head-to-head in 800 meter dash in the Moscow games in 1980. Prior to the games the two had previously competed in the same event at the European championships. Despite the fact that Ovett was in sixth place at the halfway mark, he stormed through the field in the closing stages to win the gold medal by 3 meters with Coe finishing second. Coe would go on to claim revenge six days later though by winning the 1500 meter and defeating his rival in that race. 

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Sohn Kee-Chung

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Sohn Kee-Chung won Olympic gold in the men's Marathon at the Berlin 1936 Olympic Games. What is interesting about this win is that Sohn Kee-Chung is a Korean who won a gold medal for the Japanese team. At the time of these Olympic Games Korea was a colony of the Japanese empire so Chung was instructed to compete under a Japanese name of Son Kitei. 

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Steve Redgrave

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When Steve Redgrave won gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics in the men's rowing coxless he clinched his fifth gold medal in five consecutive Olympic Games. Funny enough Steve had claimed after the 96 Olympics that if anyone ever saw him rowing a boat that they had his permission to shoot him. He made the right call by reversing that decision as he went on to win another Olympic gold medal etching his name in Olympic history. 

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Cyclist Chris

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Cyclist Chris went down for becoming the first Britain in a hundred years to win 3 gold medals at the same Olympic Games in Beijing 2008. Chris has also previously won Olympic gold four years earlier at the Olympic Games in Athens of 2004. He was able to win gold in 4 different track cycling events.

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Hicham El Guerrouj

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Hicham El Guerrouj was a middle-distance runner who finally won Olympic gold in Athens in 2004. Guerrouj had competed earlier in his life in the Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996 but suffered heartbreak when he tripped and fell during his event. He stole the show in Greece however when he became the first man in 80 years to win the 1500 and 5000 meters in the same Olympic Games. 

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Birgit Fischer

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Birgit Fischer came out of retirement in 2004 for one last appearance at the 2014 Olympic Games at the incredible age of 42 years old. Prior to the 2004 games she had already made a name for himself locking down 10 Olympic medals, 7 of which were gold. The German competitor was able to secure one more gold medal in her 40's etching her name in Olympic history. 

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Suzanne Lenglen

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Suzanne Lenglen makes the list for being the first true tennis celebrity in history. The French athlete was well known for both her amazing athletic talents and for the daring attire she chose to wear. She lost only one singles match in the time frame between 1919 and 1926 as well as winning herself 6 Wimbledon titles.

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Nadia Comaneci 

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Nadia Comaneci was the first gymnast to ever achieve a perfect score in the Olympics Games. She achieved this incredible feat at only 14 years old becoming one of the Ssars the Canada games. The scoreboards at the time were not even able to reflect the four digit score so instead the scoreboard read 1.00. 

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Greg Louganis

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Greg Louganis what's an Olympic gymnast for the United States team who was a heavy favorite in the Olympic Games Seoul in 1988. He had already won two gold medals in 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles as well as two world championship titles in 1986. One of his more memorable moments game when he banged his head against the diving board falling unconscious into the water. Louganis found a way to pull himself out and still competed 35 minutes after receiving stitches to his scalp. 

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Aleksandr Karelin

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Aleksandr Karelin's loss in the final of the men's super heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestling competition at the Sydney 2000 Olympics went down as one of the biggest upsets in Olympic history. Prior to entering the games of 2000 Karelin went in as an overwhelming favorite to win the gold having gone 13 years unbeaten in the sport and having three Olympic titles. The Russian is considered the greatest ever Greco-Roman wrestler in history which is what made a loss such an upset. 

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Maarten van der Weijden

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Maarten van der Weijden is an Olympic Dutch swimmer who was diagnosed with leukemia in 2001. Even got to the point of fearing for his life on his body would not respond to the chemo treatment he was undergoing. After two painful years of battling the illness he finally defeated it and was able to return to the sport that he loves and is so talented at. He went on to qualify and compete in the Beijing Olympics losing the gold by just 1.5 seconds. 

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Jim Thorpe

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Jim Thorpe win a gold medal in the Olympic Games in 1912 in Stockholm in both the decathlon and pentathlon. upon winning one of his gold medals he set a new world record which enticed the King of Sweden to greet him by saying, "you sir are the greatest athlete in the world." In a disturbing turn of events, Thorpe's gold medals were taken away from him due to the fact that he had played baseball for a few dollars which was against the strict amateur laws of the sport of Athletics at the time.

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Carl Lewis

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For a long time many people all over the world knew Carl Lewis has the fastest man alive. He is one of the greatest track and field athletes ever to grace the games. He ended his Olympic career with a total of 9 Olympic gold medals and one silver medal. 

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Eric Liddell

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Eric Liddell's achievements in the Olympic Games at Paris 1924 were so inspirational that it lead to the Oscar-winning film Chariots of Fire. Liddell was a devout Christian who refused to take part in the 100 meters because the races were staged on a Sunday so instead he concentrated on the 200 and 400 meter in Paris. He would go on to win Olympic gold in the 400 meter while also setting a new world record. 

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Liu Xiang

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Liu Xiang was a Chinese hurdler who competed in the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008. At the time of the Beijing games he has currently been 210 meter hurdle world record holder as well as the world champion and the reigning Olympic champion. The hosting Nation had high hopes for their star athlete but a problem with his Achilles tendon would prevent him from repeating the success and holding his title. 

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Usain Bolt

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One of the greatest moments in Olympic history came at the 2008 Beijing games with Hussain Bolt's breathtaking performance to win the 100-meter final. The Jamaican sprinter was able to make his stamp as the fastest man on earth without even breaking a sweat. What's more amazing is that the Sprinter did not even tie his shoes before the race begins. 

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Mary Decker

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Mary Decker was a heavy favorite to win the gold at our home town in the Los Angeles Olympics of 1984. Decker however collided with a South African-born Great Britain Barefoot Runner halfway through 3000 meter events causing them both to crash onto the field ridding her of all chances to win the gold. The runner she collided with was initially disqualified for tripping her but upon further review it was a tournament that they Tangled legs and she was reinstated. 

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Paula Ivan

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Paula Ivan was a Romanian runner in the Olympic Games. Ivan made history at the Seoul 1988 Games when she bounced back from a silver medal to win a superb gold in the 1500m. Six days earlier she had lost out in a sprint finish to big rival Tatyana Samolenko of the Soviet Union. 

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Jan Zelezny

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Jan Zelezny was an Olympian who competed inthe 2000 Games in Sydney. He was able to win 3 gold medals by the time he reached 34 years old. He is the only man in the history of the javelin to win three Olympic golds. 

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Larysa Latynina

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Larysa Latynina was the most decorated Olympian prior to the Olympics of 2012 in London. she was able two lockdown 18 medals between 1956 and 1964. She went on to win the floor routine and the team all-around competition and all three of her Olympic appearances. her medal count consists of 9 Gold, 5 silver, and 4 bronze medals. 

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Andreea Raducan

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Andreea Raducan was an Olympic gymnast who competed in the Olympic Games in Sydney in 2000. She became the first gymnast to be stripped of an Olympic medal. She was only 16 years old when she won it but she was later disqualified for testing positive for pseudoephedrine, a banned substance at the time. 

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Shun Fujimoto

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Shun Fujimoto broke his kneecap during the floor routine of the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. Somehow he managed to hide the extent of his injury even from his coach, and miraculously scored 9.5 on the pommel horse. He also went on to better this on the rings, dismounting onto his broken knee with a triple somersault, achieving his best score ever of 9.7 before collapsing in agonizing pain. 

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Karoly Takacs

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Karoly Takacs has a more unique story of Olympic glory than others. He was a marksman shooter who won gold at both the London Games of 1948 and the Helsinki Games of 1952. He had served as a Sergeant in the Hungarian National Army, which prevented him from competing at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. After a gernade accident took his right hand, he trained himself to use his left hand to shoot. He would go on to claim gold in the rapid fire 25-meter pistol event in 1948 along with setting a new world record. 

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Jesse Owens

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The two gold medals that Jesse Owens won in the Berlin games of 1936 left such an impact because it came at a time when African-Americans were still denied equal rights in many parts of the United States. As the Olympics took place during the reign of Adolf Hitler and taking place in Germany the games were meant to be a stage to show the power of Adolf Hitler's country. Even though Germany ended up taking the most gold at the end of the games it was Jesse Owens who everybody remembered prowering his way to the gold in the hundred-meter relay and the long jump. 

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Dawn Fraser

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Dawn Fraser goes down in Olympic history for becoming the first female swimmer to win three successive gold medals in the same swimming event. She accomplished this feat at the Tokyo Games in 1964. The Australian's third victory in the 100 meters freestyle also came in a new Olympic record time. 

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Jackie Joyner-Kersee

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Jackie Joyner-Kersee was one of the rising stars to emerge from the Seoul 1988 Olympic Games. She won the silver 4 years earlier in the heptathlon, she then went on to win gold 4 years later setting a world record while doing so. The US athlete added to the list with further big scores in the long jump, high jump and 200m leading her to victory.

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Usain Bolt

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All of the Jamaican's rivals realized they were in a battle for the minor medals. Especially after Bolt's awesome victory in the 100m just a few days earlier. Due to some disqualifications for runners running out of their lanes, this ended up being one of the most memorable 200m final in Olympic history.

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Muhammad Ali

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Before the world knew him as Muhammad Ali, the 18 year-old competed in the Rome Olympics in 1960 going by the name of Cassius Clay. In a sign of things to come the light heavyweights won all four of his fights comfortably and was able to take home a gold medal. That gold medal was eventually thrown into the Ohio River after he was refused service at a whites-only restaurant. 

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Boris Onishchenko

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Boris Onishchenko was a Ukrainian pentathlete who was thought to be the best fencer in the Soviet Union. He competed in the Montreal games 1976 for the Soviet Union defeating Great Britain's Adrian Parker during his very first match. He would end up being disqualified from the Olympics however when it was discovered that his sword was wired to cheat the electronic scoring system which enabled him to score points without touching his opponent. If you ain't cheating you ain't trying... 

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Al Oerter

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Al Oerter competed in the Olympics in Mexico City in 1968. His victory in the men's discus competition saw the American thrower take his place in Olympic history. He had won Olympic gold in the 3 previous Olympic Games, making him the first person in history to win gold at 4 consecutive Olympic Games. 

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Abebe Bikila

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Abebe Bikila was a runner in the Olympics from Ethiopia who became the first African marathon runner to ever win a gold medal. He did so in the Rome Olympics of 1960 making his country extremely proud. Upon winning the gold medal he also set a new world record, not only that he ran the race Barefoot due to the fact that his shoes did not fit him comfortably. He would end up repeating his gold medal win in Tokyo four years later, this time with you soon though. 

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Prior to the Olympic Games 1988 there was a tradition carried out at each ceremony with the releasing of white doves after the lighting of the Olympic torch. The dogs were used as a symbol of peace and released before the flame had been lit. Most of the doves scattered out in different directions while a few were not so lucky and burnt alive as the world watched. Animal rights groups were not happy with this and as a result the tradition ended in 1988. 

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Cathy Freeman

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Cathy Freeman became the first Aboriginal athletes to compete in the Olympics when she ran the 400 meter and her home town in the Olympics at Sydney 2000. Freeman was also the person who lit the flame at the opening ceremony for the 2011 pics. When she finished in Victory she ran a Victory lap holding both the Aboriginal and Australian flags. 

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