Does it have to be a gold medal winning performance? John Treacy winning the silver at the 1984 Olympics in his first ever marathon was one hell of an effort. He looked like he was suffering terribly over the final miles and still managed to out kick Spedding for 2nd place.
Off the track (at least the one not on ice), Eric Heiden winning every Speed Skating gold in 1980 could be considered the greatest individual achievement in Olympic History. No one will ever do that again.
Bikila barefoot in Rome under lights in 1960 was prett a great achievement. Zatopeks triple. Farah (I know). Rudisha. Dave Wottle coming from way back.
Zatopek’s 5000, 10,000, Marathon triple, never to be repeated*, was at Helsinki 1956. And I agree.
Honorable mention: (track) Gebrselassie vs. Tergat in the 10,000 at Sydney 2000 (can it really be 24 years ago?). At the time, the two best ever sprinting neck & neck and leaning at the line. Literally breathtaking! (off the track) Rulon Gardner beating Alexandr Karelin in the Greco-Roman wrestling final at Sydney 2000. Gardner was the underdog, and Karelin was the 3-time defending Olympic champion who had not been beaten in 13 years. Talk about an Olympian effort! (winter) USA vs. USSR hockey 1980.
* Lasse Viren does not get enough credit, imo, for the crack he took at the triple at Montreal 1976. 5000-1st, 10,000-1st, Marathon-5th. Imaging someone doing this today.
For ones I actually watched live, Rudisha's WR was surpassed by Warholm (and Benjamin/dos Santos) in 2021. That one has to be in contention for greatest race ever.
Although I am very skeptical it was a clean performance, I second the Warholm 400m hurdles in Tokyo. Outside of track, Michael Phelps total gold medal count is likely an unbreakable record.
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Watching el g win gold was almost unworldly. The commentators before hand saying he might be the greatest never on the day.. and he put on a mf clinic. 1:46 for the final 800 and then coming back when he’d been passed. I can’t think of a more deserving athlete to truly win gold after 3 separate attempts he deserved it.
1972 10000 m finals. Lasse Viren gets tripped up and falls, got up, won the race AND set a WR in the process.
This. ABC showed it live and never cut away. I saw Bedford go out like a wild man, Shorter (set the AR in the heats, broke it three days later in the final) covering the surges, Virén pop up from his fall and rapidly take the lead--just an incredible race. I was beside myself.
Although Virén's 5,000, some days later, was pretty good too: 3:59.8 for the last four laps. In 1972.
That was the most perfectly executed race ever, from the moment he took the lead on, he ran each 100n segment faster than the last one.
How does one even do that? How can one have so much control over pace and effort? The battle against Lagat in the final straight was epic, and there was also the context of the race, he already being the greatest 1500m runner ever and despite that he had lost the last two olympics. So he basically HAD to win, and by god, he won.
Zatopek’s 5000, 10,000, Marathon triple, never to be repeated*, was at Helsinki 1956. And I agree.
Honorable mention: (track) Gebrselassie vs. Tergat in the 10,000 at Sydney 2000 (can it really be 24 years ago?). At the time, the two best ever sprinting neck & neck and leaning at the line. Literally breathtaking! (off the track) Rulon Gardner beating Alexandr Karelin in the Greco-Roman wrestling final at Sydney 2000. Gardner was the underdog, and Karelin was the 3-time defending Olympic champion who had not been beaten in 13 years. Talk about an Olympian effort! (winter) USA vs. USSR hockey 1980.
* Lasse Viren does not get enough credit, imo, for the crack he took at the triple at Montreal 1976. 5000-1st, 10,000-1st, Marathon-5th. Imaging someone doing this today.
Great race for sure. Bedford out like a demon. Puttemans put it to him but came up a few strides short. A young Yifter in 3rd (couldn't run in 76). Frank a very strong 5th after running heat/final. Noteable a young Carlos Lopes out in the heats.
The Olympics is here! Opening ceremony tomoz, Can't wait!
Lets have a bit of fun....
I have seen many but 3 that stand out for me are :
1 - Abebe Bikila - Winning the Marathon in Rome 1960. Here is what was shocking, he run it bare foot. ON COBBLE STONES of Rome :) another thing that is shocking, it was the first EVER gold medal for Africa and it inspired many Africans to take up distance running, esp Ethiopians who still hold him up as a hero.
2 - Almaz Ayana , winning the 10k in Record time. Going past world club athlets with ease. Almost lapping everyone. I love Kennenisa Bekele and Haile but i have never seen anyone dominate an Olympic even with such ease The determination, the belife to take it up so early, her running so so graceful. I would put that and her World Championship win in London as the best track running domination i have ever seen.
3 - Sure Bolt was fast but there was no one that could come close to the great Michael Johnson. He was in a class of his own. I remember Roger Black who finished 2nd to him, the brit saying, there was a Michael Johnson race, and there was a race for the rest. They always knew they could only dream of winning Silver with MJ about. Him running that 200 in them gold shoes in the USA and breaking record will stay in mind always.
by the way, i am Ethiopian, i am a bit biased and chose to Ethiopians at top :)
In the stadium the night Cathy Freeman won 400m 10 days after lighting the Olympic Cauldron. My best Olympic moment.
greatest performance vs biggest impact on me....was Frank Shorter 1972 Gold......I have watched many many Olympic races and performances since then, but this one stands out, the one I remember most!
Greatest Olympic track performance I’ve watched live on TV has to be Bolt’s 9.69 WR with celebration in 2008. Granted, I don’t really remember any Olympic races prior to ‘04 and I’ve missed watching a lot of events live (like Rudisha 2012) being at work.
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