Favorite Olympic memory(s) of your lifetime.

Miracle on Ice was the event that made me love sports. I was nine years old and didn't totally understand the political ramifications that were going on or what that game meant to the world. But I do remember watching it over and over days and years later, and I always got goosebumps from hearing the words, "Do you believe in miracles?"

Other memories for me would be

(1980) America boycotting Summer Olympics and then four years later Soviet Union and other Eastern block countries boycotting
(1988) Greg Louganis hit his head on the board and continued to compete and win gold.
(1996) Mohamad Ali lighting the cauldron during the opening ceremonies.

There are so many but the following competitors immediately come to mind

Torvill & Dean - I watched practically every televised competition they were in.
Olga Korbut & Nadia Comeneci
Our rowers Steve Redgrave, Matthew Pinsent and James Cracknell
The Scottish Curling team
Mark Spitz
Kip Keino (my sister in law competed at a meeting he ran at in Kenya)
Princess Anne and her daughter Zara
so many more.

The opening and closing ceremonies of the 2012 London Olympics were fabulous.  Who can forget the Queen and James Bond!

Just off the top of my head, things I remember:

Nadia Comaneci scoring her first 10. The scoreboards didn't know how to do a 10 so it displayed as a 1 and the spectators went crazy with whistling (Europe's version of booing). Also, none of the announcers knew how to pronounce her name and kept saying "Co-ma-nee-chee".

Olga Korbet and her back flip off the high bar.

Greg Louganis hitting his head on the diving board.

Dan Jansen losing his sister to leukemia on the morning of his race. He fell several times, won nothing, didn't do well at the next Olympics, then finally won a gold medal. He skated his victory lap holding his daughter who he had named for his sister.

The Miracle on Ice.

Keri Strug vaulting to the gold medal with a broken ankle, and being carried off afterwards by Bela Karolyi, who was formerly Nadia's coach until he defected to the USA.

Mark Spitz and his medals.

Katie Ledecky and all her medals.

Keri Strug was so memorable. But my most vivid memory was watching the opening ceremony fireworks from my bedroom window in 1984. I grew up in LA within walking distance of the Opening Ceremony. The crowds, seeing police on horseback, hearing the music and seeing the fireworks was pretty cool to see as a kid.

phil and steve mahre in 1984 --gold and silver in men's slalom alpine ski races. they grew up at a washington state ski area.


karl schranz skiing in the fog in the 1960's.. and jean claude killy..
picabo street ski racer and lindsay vonn. picabo grew up near Sun Valley Idaho.. from a lower income family.. the local organizations supported her racing.

I didn't see her ski, but my parents knew Gretchen Fraser, the first american to win a ski gold medal (1948.)

All the above,!!

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Renaldo Nehemiah world record holder, at the time, 110 meter hurdles, missed the 1980 boycotted Olympics. I saw him practicing at his former high school and it was such a pleasure to watch him glide over the hurdles.

Oh yes, Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan. Forgot about that one. 

Magnificent 7

Watching Mary Lou Retton

This is the moment I always think of. 

I sobbed. 

The second moment I think of is Miracle on Ice 


Mark Spitz 
Olga Korbet
Greg Louganis 
Nadia Comaneci
Kari Strug, although I have some mixed feelings about this one. 


A few that haven't been mentioned. Derek Redmond, 1992 summer games. He aggravated old injuries and popped his hamstring while racing. He got up and began limping down the track. Then his dad went down to the field and hobbled with him to the finish line. 

FloJo earning the title of fastest woman in the world in 1988. 

Simone Biles. 

Usain Bolt, considered the greatest sprinter of all time. 

The stolen final basketball game between the US and Russia in 1972. TL;DR: The US was winning, but for reasons still unexplained, 3 seconds were added back to the shot clock. The US still won. Then, again, for reasons unknown, 3 seconds were added back to the shot clock. The US still won. For a third time, the shot clock was reset. The game finally ended with <shock!> the Russians now winning. Absolutely wild. 

Possibly the greatest comeback ever: Dave Wottle, Munich, 1972, in the 800-meter race. www.youtube.com/watch?v=URLc0pGZ0Fc 

(I didn't remember some of these until I looked them up.) 

Finally, a notorious moment in figure skating: when Tonya Harding was complicit in the attack against Nancy Kerrigan

Lisa 

The year both women's and men's (Canadian) hockey teams won gold. I watched the games in the pub and don't think I've ever had so much beer or so much fun watching sports!

Every single time that Canada beats USA at ANYTHING, but especially hockey!

Jon Montgomery and the beer walk thru Whistler at the 2010 games.

Without a doubt, Eric Heiden in the 1980 Olympics. I was glued to the tv, watched every minute of his races, cut out and collected a big box of news articles and photos that are probably still in my parents’ attic. He made speed skating look so fun and effortless I thought I could do it too. Nope! Huge fail.

My family is huge sports fans. We live for the Olympics. All of the big moments were/are special to us. Go USA ❤️🤍💙