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Striking moments in Olympic history
MUMBAI: Nadia Comaneci, Jesse Owens, Carl Lewis, Paavo Nurmi, Mark Spitz, Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt… It is a long list of sporting heroes that every Olympics throws
MUMBAI: Nadia Comaneci, Jesse Owens, Carl Lewis, Paavo Nurmi, Mark Spitz, Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt… It is a long list of sporting heroes that every Olympics throws up.
Their feats are universally celebrated; the super-human efforts acclaimed by one and all.
These athletes have the extraordinary power to cut across geographical boundaries, race and religion.
There will be ample of such memorable moments at Rio too. Feats like Romanian gymnast Comaneci’s perfect 10, Phelps’ eight gold medals to set the pool on fire at Beijing and Bolt’s 100m and 200m records in 2008 left us dumbfounded.
But Olympics is not just about winning, it is also studded with moments which make our hearts melt.
Imagine the agony of Mongolia’s Pyambuu Tuul, who huffed and puffed his way towards the finish line at the 1992 Barcelona Games, only to find out that no one was there to receive him.
It was a race in which he was determined to complete. Of the 87 athletes who completed the marathon, Tuul was the last to finish it after four hours and 44 seconds. His anguish compounded further with the organisers deciding to kick off the Closing Ceremony and Tuul being forced to complete his race on a warm-up track.
Finishing the race was not the only moment that stood out. Tuul was competing in the marathon since regaining his vision in one eye after 13 years of blindness. Unfortunately, he completed the race with no spectator in view.
It was the same Games that brought out one of Olympics’ epic moments when Derek Redmond was helped by his father, who jumped onto the track, to help his son complete the race after the British runner tore his hamstring midway into the 400m semifinal.
If Olympics have been high on showcasing the human spirit, it has also set some beautiful examples of kindness through acts of selflessness.
Take the 1988 Seoul Games where Canadian sailor Lawrence Lemieux was well set for a silver medal when high winds caused the one sailor’s boat to capsize. What followed afterwards left everyone awestruck — Lemieux abandoned his race to rescue the two injured sailors. He was later given a special medal for his heroic act.
The beauty of Olympics not just lies in gold-silver-bronze, wins or losses — it’s the human spirit, the feeling of oneness that makes the Games memorable. It’s a stage where careers are made and broken, where heart-warming and heart-breaking moments occur in unison. A stage where winning is not the only motto, is what makes Olympics the most awaited event for the world every four years.
Hail the Olympic spirit… this time in Samba land.
