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10 Unforgettable Olympic Awards Moments

For over 100 years, every four years, the most incredible athletes from over 200 countries have come together to compete in more than 300 events in the modern summer Olympic games. The games are full of history-making moments, from unbelievable world records and shocking winners to brave political protests. And whilst many of these moments are born on the track, in the water, or on the pitch, many others happen upon the podium. 

With the 2024 Paris Olympics just around the corner, we thought we’d take a look back at some of the unforgettable podium moments that have graced our screens from the biggest sporting competition in the world.

Top Olympic Moments

1. London 1948: Vicki Draves becomes the first woman to sweep the diving events AND the first Asian-American to win an Olympic medal

Born in 1924 to a Filipino father and English mother, Vicki Draves grew up battling discrimination and prejudice surrounding her ethnicity – she even had to conceal her Filipino heritage in order to be accepted in a diving school. 

Draves achieved her first national title in 1946, and in the first Summer Olympics to be held after World War II in 1948, she became the first woman to get the gold from both the 3m springboard and 10m platform events. She was also the first Asian-American person to win any Olympic medal, heralded as one of the top two athletes of the 1948 games and, as well as receiving other awards, Draves was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1969.

London 1948 - Vicki Draves

Public Domain Image – Vicki Draves pictured in 1948.

2. Tokyo 2020: High jump gold medal sharers

Mutaz Essa Barshim from Qatar and Gianmarco Tamberi from Italy put on an incredible show in their high jump event in the recent Tokyo games. Both jumpers had experienced a rocky road to get to these games, with torn ankle ligaments threatening both of their careers a few years prior. They already made history by both recording clearances of 2.37 metres, the first time two jumpers had done so at an Olympic Games. 

After both of them had three failed attempts at clearing the Olympic record of 2.39 metres, they had two options: take part in a jump off, or share the gold. In a historical, and emotional, moment, they decided to share – becoming the first joint Olympic gold winners in athletics since 1912.

3. Rome 1960: Ethiopia’s barefoot marathon champion Abebe Bikila becomes the first African to win a gold medal in the Olympics

When Ethiopian marathon runner Abebe Bikila arrived in Rome, there were no shoes to fit him. After trying to make do with an ill-fitting pair, Bikila decided to go without – luckily, running barefoot was exactly how he had trained. Bikila’s selection for the Ethiopian team was a surprise, despite the skill he’d been showing in training. 

These days, the Olympic marathon starts first thing in the morning, but in Rome in 1960, the race started in the late afternoon and finished after the sun had set. Bikila only pulled away from his closest competitor, Moroccan runner Rhadi Ben Abdesselam, pictured wearing the 185 bib below, in the last 500m – yet he managed to win by 25 seconds, breaking the world record in the process. 

He became the first athlete from sub-Saharan Africa to win an Olympic gold medal, retaining his title 4 years later in Tokyo 1964 and launching an area of African distance-running excellence that continues today.

Rome 1960 - Abebe Bikila

Public Domain Image – Abebe Bikila pulling away from his closest competitor in 1960.

4. Beijing 2008: Usain Bolt’s domination begins

In 2008, Usain Bolt burst onto the scene seemingly from nowhere to become the fastest man in the world. After a disappointing first games in Athens 2004 in the 200m and 400m, Bolt managed to convince his coaches to enter him into the 100m, dropping the 400m as he hated the endurance training that came with it. 

A couple of months before the 2008 Olympics, Bolt raced and beat the world record holder, USA’s Tyson Gay, in what was only his fifth competitive 100m race. He won with a new world record time of 9.72 seconds, placing him as the favourite to win at the Beijing games. And win he did, smashing his own world record with a time of 9.69 seconds and leaving silver medallist Richard Thompson (Trinidad and Tobago) metres behind. 

This marked the start of Bolt’s sprinting domination, lowering his world record to 9.58 in 2009, a record which still stands today (in July 2024). Bolt’s 100m win in Beijing 2008 remains as one of the most unforgettable Olympic awards moments of all time.

5. Rome 1960: Wilma Rudolph becomes the first American woman to win three gold medals in track and field at a single games

Nearly 50 years before Usain Bolt was breaking world records, American Wilma Rudolph was doing the same. In Rome 1960, she dominated the track and field events so much that she became the first American woman to win three gold medals in the discipline at a single games, with gold in the 100-metre and 200-metre individual events, and the 4×100-metre relay.

The 1960 Olympics was one of the first to be televised worldwide, lifting Rudolph to international stardom. She was one of the most highly visible black women in America, becoming an important role model for black and female athletes with her success at the Olympics helping to promote women’s track and field in the US and beyond.

Rome 1960 - Wilma Rudolph

Public Domain Image – Wilma Rudolph sprinting to gold in 1960.

6. Tokyo 2020: First gold for the Philippines

Despite the success of Vicki Draves and other athletes with Filipino heritage over the years, the Philippines as a nation had not yet won a gold medal going into the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. The nation first competed in the games in Paris 1924, but their near century-long wait for an Olympic gold finally came to an end thanks to four-time Olympian weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz. After winning a silver medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics, Diaz beat the world record holder in the women’s 55kg weightlifting category to bring home a Philippine gold for the very first time. 

7. Berlin 1936: Jesse Owens wins four gold medals

Amidst a tense Olympic games in Nazi Germany, American track and field athlete Jesse Owens overcame adversity to win four gold medals across the 100m, the 200m, the 4x100m and the long jump. This made him the most successful athlete of the 1936 games, and the first American to win four track and field golds at a single Olympics – a record that wasn’t broken until 48 years later.

Germany had planned for the 1936 Olympics to showcase white supremacy. Owens single-handedly stopped this in its tracks – especially after beating German athlete Luz Long in the long jump. His impact can still be felt today.

Berlin 1936 - Jesse Owens

Public Domain Image – Jesse Owens pictured in 1936.

8. Atlanta 1996: Canada beats the US in the 4x100m

In Atlanta 1996, the Canadian men’s relay team shocked the world by beating the US team to the finish line in the 4x100m. Previously, the US team had only ever lost through disqualification – no team had ever ran faster than them at an Olympic games.

The men’s 4x100m relay has been part of the Olympics since Stockholm 1912, taking place 25 times since. The US men’s team has won 15 of those 25 times, with the second most successful teams of Great Britain, Jamaica and the Soviet Union only winning twice each. Canada’s 1996 win remains as their only men’s 4x100m relay gold, making this Olympic award moment all the more spectacular.

9. Mexico City 1968: Tommie Smith and John Carlos make an unforgettable statement

In the Mexico City Olympic games in 1968, African American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos competed in the 200m sprint to win gold and bronze respectively, with Smith also setting a new world record. This was mere months after the Civil Rights Act of 1968 was passed after the death of Martin Luther King Jr – a very important time for the civil rights movement in the US and a period of massive political unrest.

The podium was where the two athletes made their statement. With their heads bowed, wearing black socks with no shoes, they each raised a black-gloved hand as the US national anthem played. Smith raised his right fist to represent Black Power. Carlos raised his left fist to represent black unity. 

Following this incredible, brave moment, the International Olympic Committee condemned Smith and Carlos, and they were suspended from the US team and sent home days later. They were vilified by the media and banned from future competitions. It wasn’t until 2008 that they were honoured with the Arthur Ashe Courage Award for what is considered one of the most powerful political statements in modern Olympic history.

Public Domain Image – Tommie Smith and John Carlos protest racism in the United States in 1968.

10. Rio 2016: Michael Phelps achieves a lifetime total of 28 medals

American swimmer Michael Phelps is the most decorated Olympian of all time. He was the most successful athlete of the games for four Olympics in a row, with a total of 28 Olympic medals, 23 of which are gold. In Beijing 2008, he won 8 gold medals, breaking fellow American swimmer Mark Spitz’s record of seven golds at a single games – which was set 36 years prior in 1972. 

This success culminated in Rio 2016, when Phelps, who had originally retired after London 2012, came back to win five golds and a silver at what would end up being his final Olympic games. Back in 2012, Phelps had already beaten the existing world record for lifetime Olympic medals, previously held by gymnast Larisa Latynina who had won 18 medals for the Soviet Union between 1956 and 1964. Phelps’ medals from the 2016 Olympics put him leagues ahead.

You don’t need to be an Olympian to get an award!

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