OT: Your Greatest Olympic moments so far

[VAMike23]

My favorite .non-basketball .moments to this point (and it's almost over):

Women's 4 x 100M sprint relay. Palpable greatness! Signature image: Carmelita Jeter pointing the baton at the clock while crossing the line. Usain Bolt's 100M and 200M heroics were spectacular, but a performance this great came almost out of the blue. A 27-year-old WR smashed by half a second? Are you kidding me? In Bolt's words, I 'basked in the glory' of this team's achievement. Probably watched it 10 times on replay already. Jeter is victory personified. A transcendent performance.

Allyson Felix taking home gold in the 200m. Been waiting a while for this one!!! Nuff said!

Gabby Douglas's face after winning all-around gold. She wasn't perfect in any event, but she showed what you can do when you "believe, don't fear.... just believe." She put it all together and likely changed the dynamics of women's gymnastics in the US.

Misty and Kerri with the golden 3-peat. Misty comes back at Kerri's behest for one last go-round. Storybook finish.

Women's 4x100 Medley Relay. A dominant performance by Team USA, and a true changing of the guard. Four young guns forming a new core on the women's side for American swimming, capping a huge performance all week by the team.

 

[alexrgct]

Roger Federer-Juan Martin Del Potro semifinals match that culminated in a 19-17 third set.

And Serena's dominance in general.

 

[CTGirl15]

US Women's Soccer Team coming back 3 times against Canada and then scoring the winning goal in the 123rd minute. Incredible.

 

[VAMike23]

US Women's Soccer Team coming back 3 times against Canada and then scoring the winning goal in the 123rd minute. Incredible.

Yeah I would definitely add that game and the closing minutes of the gold medal match to my favorites !!!

Alex's header for 4-3 definitely belongs on my list.

 

[rocky rococo]

Just a preliminary in women's table tennis, with players who will be little noted nor long remembered. When I clicked through it, Toth of Hungary had swept the first three games from Chen of Taipei, and had her at match point in Game 4. So I figured, I'll stay and watch the coup de grace. And from that point of being all the way back up against the wall, Chen not only won the fourth game, but came storming back to win the match in seven. True heart, the Olympic spirit at its finest

 

[alexrgct]

The men's 4x100 was incredible too.

I guess for me, the enduring memories of this Olympics will be twofold. For one, the US emphatically reestablished itself as THE force ahead of china. Secondly, this was made possible by our women athletes, who showed determination, toughness, consistency, and precision of the biggest and grandest of stages. It's been an amazing and groundbreaking experience to watch it unfold. And it has a social significance that goes beyond sports.

 

[huskyharry]

David Rudisha in the men's 800 m...absolutely dominant...led after first 100 meter and set the world record

 

[Fishy]

In no particular order....

The women's 4x100 relay was just freaking jaw-dropping. The Olympics are all about people doing things that people should not be able to do, but that relay was just inhuman even by Olympic standards.

A supposedly-diminished Michael Phelps calling it a career on a high-note unseen since John Elway called it a day.

Mo Farah and Galen Rupp in the 10,000. And then Mo Farah and Gembremeskel in the 5,000. Basically, Mo Farah. (And Alberto Salazar who refuses to believe that the west should surrender the middle distances to the east Africans.)

The women's 10K open swim marathon - a two-hour race where first and second were separated by 0.4 seconds.

The Men's 800. Aside from David Rudisha killing his world record, the race was so fast that the guy who finished last would have won gold at the last three summer Olympics.

Allyson Felix - anyone who runs is jealous of her stride.

Kirani James, the 400m winner. He just seems like a nice kid and the back story is terrific. He goes to Alabama on a student visa, has to take a full course load and he is now Grenada's first and only medal winner. Aside from asking Oscar Pistorius to trade bibs, he might have been the only gold medal track winner who sought out and shook hands with every other runner instead of either not doing it or waiting until people came to him. And he's just 19 - kid has it sorted out.

Usain Bolt.

 

[MilfordHusky]

The women's triathlon, where a 2-hour competition was decided by 0.1 second.

Any of the triathletes or marathon swimmers who actually put their face in the murky Serpentine.

Misty and Kerri. Kerri and Misty.

An Italian immigrant coaching perhaps the most dominant team in London to gold.

Usain Bolt and the Jamaican. With or without a bobsled.

The locals, including Mo Farah and Jessica Ennis.

The Brownlee brothers kicking butt in the triathlon.

 

[boontonbomber]

when beach volleyball was finally finished.

 

[VAUConnFan]

1. Usain Bolt
2. The women's 4 x 100 relay(they not only got the baton around the track, they smashed the world record)
2. The men's 4 x 100 relay(the greatest relay of all time. I knew the result and was still thrilled)
3. The men's 100 meter dash(is it still called a dash?)(the greatest race of all time)

 

[bruinbball]

I got to love local kid David Boudia winning bronze on the sync diving and then Gold on the platform.

 

[wallman]

So many but the women's soccer v Canada priceless.

 

[EricLA]

1) Seeing Oscar Pistorius compete and make it to the semi's in the 400
2) Michael Phelps. Hands down worlds greatest olympian. not even close.
3) Eaton and Hardee going 1-2 in the decathalon
4) Missy Franklin in every race she swam. Sheer joy
5) USA women in the 4x100 and 4x400 relay. Fantabulous.


Usain Bolt may be the most arrogant Olympian I've ever seen. Taking pot shots at Carl Lewis? Total bush league from a total a$$wipe. He may be a freak of nature, but he still somehow managed to become one of the biggest jerks of the games.

 

[UConnChapette]

I got to love local kid David Boudia winning bronze on the sync diving and then Gold on the platform.

ESPECIALLY since he was the last qualifier for platform. He barely made it into the finals. Now THAT is a come back!

 

[JACKofallTrades]

The Men's 800. Aside from David Rudisha killing his world record, the race was so fast that the guy who finished last would have won gold at the last three summer Olympics.

I didn't know that... that's quite amazing. The 800 is (IMHO) the most brutal track race. (although the current 1500 times are getting insane too).

My fave was Katie Ladecky... the youngest kid we had over there... just finished her freshman year in HS... and she sets an American Record in the 800m. That's better than 2 of the greatest American swimmers ever... Shirley Babashoff and Janet Evans. Going in it seemed possible (& great) if she'd been able to (somehow) get a bronze... but she went out fast, and never backed down. Almost all the medals over there went to seasoned athletes, record holders, & faves... but this was an unexpected, amazing performance by a young unknown.

 

[VAUConnFan]

1) Seeing Oscar Pistorius compete and make it to the semi's in the 400
2) Michael Phelps. Hands down worlds greatest olympian. not even close.
3) Eaton and Hardee going 1-2 in the decathalon
4) Missy Franklin in every race she swam. Sheer joy
5) USA women in the 4x100 and 4x400 relay. Fantabulous.


Usain Bolt may be the most arrogant Olympian I've ever seen. Taking pot shots at Carl Lewis? Total bush league from a total a$$wipe. He may be a freak of nature, but he still somehow managed to become one of the biggest jerks of the games.

The shots Usain Bolt took at Carl Lewis were hardly pot shots; Not with Lewis insinuating that Bolt's ascendancy were steroid aided. Maybe Bolt could have let Lewis' claims go without comment, but when he did respond, he prefaced that he was about to say something controversial. The fact that Lewis is not as univerally well liked makes it much easier for Bolt to avoid a firestorm of media controversy.

I agree it was great to see South African, Oscar Pistorius compete. We will probably see more physically challenged Olympians competing at a very high level. The controversies will not start until they start winning.

You liked the women's relays, they were great, but the men's 4x100 was an incredible race; Maximum drama.

 

[Fishy]

Carl Lewis earned Bolt's scorn. Lewis essentially called all of the Jamaicans cheaters.

The names are all a jumble, but I forgot to add the Massachusetts gymnast who won the individual gold in the floor scampering. That was pretty impressive.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Re: Bolt -
I didn't expect to like him much, but came away impressed. Very well spoken, and I don't think he has to have shots taken at him and not respond.

The most shocking thing - that he was one of the 8 olympic athletes with the highest income last year, joining 2 tennis players and 5 USA men's bb players.

 

[meyers7]

Usain Bolt may be the most arrogant Olympian I've ever seen. Taking pot shots at Carl Lewis? Total bush league from a total a$$wipe. He may be a freak of nature, but he still somehow managed to become one of the biggest jerks of the games.

He's not the most humble guy around is he? But he's a "legend".

 

[Icebear]

In his own mind. And becoming so elsewhere.

It would be so much easier to praise him if he didn't beat you to it.

 

[VAMike23]

He's not the most humble guy around is he? But he's a "legend".

It reminds me a little bit of Ali, who was as arrogant as they come....but when someone is at the pinnacle like that, it comes off differently to me. (Not saying he's at Ali's level of fame--not sure anybody short of Michael Jordan has gotten there.) And also, I haven't heard him badmouthing competitors. He doesn't appear to taunt. His stuff just appears to be self-adulatory. I was especially tickled by his "Bask in my glory" comment. Definitely shades of Ali with that one!

I accept Bolt's 'tude and choose to enjoy it. IMO it is a net positive for track & field, which has few identifiable 'characters' in the broader world of sport. Others will surely feel differently, which is well and good.

 

[alexrgct]

I can't recall the last humble sprinter, but it's been a while to say the least.

 

[Waquoit]

The competition everywhere was great. I ended up being fixed to that men's mountian bike race. Three guys wheel to wheel for about the final 30 minutes of an hour and a half race with several lead changes, the winner getting up by just a second. I could actually feel how grueling it was, if I heard right they took longer to pedal a mile than it takes to run a mile. Plus the brief announcement that one guy was out the race with an "open ankle fracture". Ouch.

 

[Waquoit]

I can't recall the last humble sprinter, but it's been a while to say the least.

How humble could you be? You are talking about literally the fastest man in the world. Must be an awesome feeling.