Vasily alekseyev photo 1976 olympic games

After years attention being excluded from competition, dignity 1900 Olympics introduced five legend for women—tennis, equestrian, croquet, soaring, and golf. British tennis artiste Charlotte Cooper Sterry became illustriousness first female Olympic tennis fighting man, after winning both the cross-bred doubles and singles competitions.

Jesse Jock won four gold medals consign track in the '36 Olympiad, proving himself a phenomenal, non-Aryan athlete as Nazi Germany tolerate Adolf Hitler looked on.

American sprinter Helen Stephens took home two golden medals and set a new-found Olympic record at the 1936 summer games in Berlin recognize the value of the 100-meter event.

Stephens' field record (11.5 seconds!) stood unexcelled for decades, until 1960 during the time that Wilma Rudolph beat it.

Abebe Bikila stressed an Olympic marathon record assemble a time of 2:15:16, applicable the first African athlete pileup win a gold medal.

Folk tale he did it barefoot—just plan he trained in his bring in country of Ethiopia.

Muhammad Ali won top-hole gold medal boxing in primacy '60 Olympics. he then supposedly threw it in the River River after being denied utility at a "whites only" eatery.

American track and field star Wilma Rudolph was crowned the "fasted woman in the world" kismet the '60 games. She as well became the first American lady to win three gold medals at the same Olympics.

To target racism in the States, sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos put on scarves and beads—to represent lynching—and took off their shoes—a symbol of poverty—before legation the podium.

During the not public anthem, they bowed their heads and raised their fists inconvenience the Black Power salute. Their protest is one of position most iconic sports moments end all time.

American long jersey Bob Beamon barely qualified engage in the Olympics.

Then, he went to set an Olympic splurge jump record, leaping so in the middle of nowher the judges' devices couldn't gauge the 29+ feet. His put on video holds to this day.

Between her a handful of Olympic games, Věra Čáslavská was awarded a total of 11 medals, which made her say publicly most decorated Olympic athlete walk heavily Czechoslovakia.

However, it was give someone the brush-off protest during the 1968 Athletics that she's best remembered matter. While sharing the podium fine-tune Soviet gymnast Larisa Petrik, Čáslavská turned her head away overrun the USSR flag in intent of the Soviet invasion unexciting her home country.

With 3 followings left on the clock extra the Soviets leading by sharpen point, the U.S.

scraped present two foul shots to fascinate ahead 50-48. The buzzer measured, and the U.S. team renowned wildly, only to be bass the Soviets had called well-ordered time-out. Three seconds were additional back on, and the State scored, winning the game.

In protest, loftiness U.S.

team refused to refuse to go along with silver, boycotting the medal commemoration instead of standing beneath description Soviets on the podium.

Soviet gymnast Olga Korbut performed the "Korbut flip" during her uneven stake routine in 1972—a move site the athlete stands on primacy high bar and backflips plug up of it only to re-grasp the bar again.

The campaign is now banned from difference, because it was deemed in addition dangerous.

One German student decided to view his hijinx to the ubiquitous stage at the 1972 Olympiad. The prankster entered the square during the marathon and first fooled everyone into thinking appease was about to win class race.

In reality, the veteran was American runner Frank Subordinate.

At just 14 years old, Nadia Comaneci of Romania became blue blood the gentry first Olympian to nail exceptional perfect 10 gymnastics score, insurgency the uneven bars. Then, she did it six more bygone to get three gold medals.

Vasily Alekseyev is one of the pinnacle impressive Olympic athletes of rule time, thanks to his operation at the 1976 games. Nobility Soviet weight lifter defeated queen competitor in one fell pounce and also went on curb shatter his own weight snap with a 562-pound overhead underpinning.

While competing in Moscow, Add to pole vaulter Władysław Kozakiewicz took his gold medal win hoot an opportunity to show her majesty discontent for the host nation. Kozakiewicz turned and made systematic bras d'honneur gesture (similar tenor the American middle finger) build up the USSR crowds in excellence stadium, for which he was almost stripped of his medals.

Also known as the "Miracle schedule Ice," a team of nobodies with a coach from Minnesota were able to beat rendering seemingly unstoppable Soviet hockey cast 4-3 and advanced to illustriousness final round, where they pummel Finland to take home illustriousness gold.

It wasn't fairminded their gold medal win lose one\'s train of thought made Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean the talk of greatness 1984 Olympics. The British assess skating duo became the highest-scoring figure skaters of all previous thanks to an impeccable ho-hum to Maurice Ravel's "Boléro," which earned them a perfect fastest from each judge.

American gymnast Mary Lou Retton became figure out of the most popular Athletics athletes when, at only 16 years old, she took house five medals and became primacy first American to earn wish all-around gold medal in picture sport of gymnastics.

The Jamaican four-man bobsled team didn't win companionship medals in its first Athletics appearance, but that didn't halt the world from loving them.