The Summer Olympics are held every four years. They command the attention of almost the entire country, bringing people together to cheer for a country, or a person. My family makes a sincere effort to watch the Olympics every four years. It's a chance to see the worlds best athletes compete at the hardest stage. Here are just 10 great moments from the Olympics.
1. Nadia Comaneci's Perfect 10
Comaneci was a 14 year old girl from Romanian at the time of the 1976 Olympic. It was her first Olympic and until that time no one had ever received a perfect score. Her 30 second uneven bar routine was so flawless and perfect that the judges had no choice but to give her a 10. The problem, there was no way to display her score. So the judges put up 1.00, to show a 10.2. Bruce Jenner's Decathlon
Jenner's gold caused some to proclaim them the greatest athlete in the world. He won the gold medal in the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. The decathlon is a two day event, day 1 consist of; 100 meters, long jump, shot put, high jump, and the 400 meters. Day 2 is 110 meters hurdles, discus throw, pole vault, javelin throw, and the 1500 meters. Jenner set a world record score of 8, 616 points.3. Michael Phelps Olympic Records
In 2004 Phelps became the 2nd athlete to win eight medals at a single Olympics. He then repeated this in 2008 at the Beijing Olympics. Phelps continued to take the swimming world by storm, at the 2012 Olympics he won four more gold medals. At the Rio Olympics Phelps won a total of medals. All together the man consisted to be the best swimmer of all time has; 28 medals (making him the most decorated Olympian of all time). He has 23 gold medals and hold all-time records for 13 Olympic events.4. Usain Bolt Fastest man alive
Bolt is a runner from Jamaica and regarded as the fastest man ever timed. He has competed in 3 Olympics and is the first man to hold both the 100 meter and 200 meter world record. He has a total of 6 gold medals. At the Rio Olympics, Bolt became the first track athlete to win three gold medals in one discipline.5. Jesse Owens Proving Hitler Wrong
At the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Jesse Owens showed the world that the Aryan race was not dominate. He also became the first American to win four track and field gold medals at a single Olympics by winning the; 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay and long jump. This record was unbroken for 48 years.
6. Abebe Bikila's Barefoot Run
Bikila was a runner from Ethiopia who sealed his place in Olympic history by winning the marathon gold medal at the 1960 Olympics while running barefoot. Bikila was added to the Olympic team last minute and their shoe sponsor (Adidas) had very little shoes left. Bikila was left with ones that didn't fit comfortably, so instead to decided to run barefoot. Which was the way he trained for the race.7. Bob Beamon Amazing Jump
Beamon is an American track and field athlete. At the 1968 Mexico Olympic, Beamon shocked the world in setting a world record in long jump, with a jump of 8.90 (on his first jump). This beat the pervious record by 2 feet. This record remained for 22 years.8. Kerri Strug's One-footed Vault
At the 1996 Olympic Games, Strug was part of the Magnificent Seven. During the Vault time of the competition, the United States was coming up short, Strug was the last to Vault. On the landing of her first vault, Strug had torn two ligaments in her ankle. After seeing her score she decided to take another. She performed her second vault perfectly and landed on one foot. As soon as she was done she collapsed and had to be carried off.9. Michael Johnson's Greatest.
Johnson is an American sprinter who won four Olympic gold medals, and formerly held the World and Olympic records in the 200m and 400m. He is considered one of the greatest and most consistent sprinters in the history of track and field.10. The Dream Team
The 1992 United States Men's Olympic Basketball Team, was the first American Olympic team to feature current NBA players, and is considered to be the greatest sports team ever assembled. The team competed at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona where they won the gold medal beating their eight opponents by an average of 44 points. This team gave the world a glimpse of basketball at its finest.