Olympic Games
The greatest moments in olympic games.
15 moments in this segment.
- - Miracle on Ice. February 22, 1980. US college-age hockey team beats USSR 4-3 at Lake Placid Olympics. "Do you believe in miracles? YES!", Al Michaels's call is the most-quoted line in American sports broadcasting.
- - USA Hockey 1980 - Buzzer. Final 30 seconds of the Miracle on Ice. "Do you believe in miracles? YES!" The build-up to the buzzer is one of the most-rewatched 30 seconds of sports footage anywhere.
- - All Blacks Win First Rugby World Cup. June 20, 1987, Auckland. New Zealand beat France 29-9 to win the inaugural Rugby World Cup. Defining moment of Pacific rugby; the haka becomes the defining pre-match ritual of world rugby.
- - Kerri Strug Vault on One Ankle. July 23, 1996, Atlanta Olympics. Kerri Strug sticks the vault landing on a severely sprained ankle, securing US women's team gymnastics gold. Bela Karolyi carries her to the medal ceremony.
- - Phelps 7th Gold - Lezak Anchor. August 11, 2008, Beijing. Jason Lezak's impossible anchor leg in the 4×100 freestyle relay. Touched out France by 0.08 seconds; preserved Michael Phelps's 8-gold run. Considered the greatest anchor leg in Olympic swimming history.
- - Lin Dan vs Lee Chong Wei - Olympic Final. August 5, 2012, London. Lin Dan beats Lee Chong Wei for Olympic badminton gold. Most replayed badminton match in YouTube history; defined modern racket-sports rivalry.
- - Phelps Death Stare at Le Clos. August 8, 2016. Rio. Michael Phelps in the ready room before the 200m butterfly final, Chad le Clos shadow-boxing in front of him. Phelps stares him down. Becomes a meme; Phelps wins the gold.
- - Springboks Win RWC 2019. November 2, 2019, Yokohama. South Africa beat England 32-12 to win their 3rd Rugby World Cup. Siya Kolisi, the first Black Springbok captain, lifts the trophy 25 years after apartheid ended.
- - Simone Biles - Bronze on Beam. August 3, 2021, Tokyo. Biles withdraws from team competition for mental health; returns to win bronze on beam. The smile at the medal ceremony, a different kind of victory.
- - Simone Biles - Paris Comeback. July-August 2024, Paris. Biles wins three golds and a silver, making her the most decorated American gymnast ever (11 Olympic medals). The redemption arc the world watched.
- - 2024 Pan Zhanle Breaks the 100m Freestyle Record. In the men's 100m freestyle final at Paris 2024, China's Pan Zhanle swam the fastest time in history to win gold. It was the first individual Olympic swimming title of its kind for China in that event.
- - 2024 Alex Yee Runs Down the Triathlon Gold. Trailing New Zealand's Hayden Wilde deep into the closing run, Britain's Alex Yee caught and passed him in the final metres of the Olympic triathlon. The two embraced at the line, and the finish became one of the images of the Paris Games.
- - 2024 El Bakkali Defends the Steeplechase. The closing laps of the men's 3,000m steeplechase final at the Stade de France on 7 August 2024, where Morocco's Soufiane El Bakkali retained his Olympic title. The footage was re-posted by the Olympic Games channel the following year.
- - 2024 USA Win the Women's 4x100m in Paris. The women's 4x100m relay final at the Stade de France came down to the anchor leg, with the United States holding off Great Britain for gold. Relay finals are decided as much by baton changes as by speed, and this one stayed live to the tape.
- - 2024 Chaos in the Olympic Madison. The men's Madison at the Paris 2024 velodrome, a two-rider relay scored on sprints and laps, ran to a frantic and contested finish. It is among the hardest track events to read from the stands, and the result stayed uncertain to the last sprint.
