Items36The creator’s order
  1. 1Jesse OwensJesse OwensBorn Sep 12, 1913Four gold medals and the long jump duel with Luz Long, Berlin 1936 Jesse Owens won the 100 meters, 200 meters, long jump and 4x100 meters relay at the Berlin Games, staged under the Nazi regime. The long jump is the part to watch. Owens was in danger of failing to qualify, and the German jumper…0
  2. 2Fanny Blankers-KoenFanny Blankers-KoenFour gold medals at London 1948 The first Olympics after World War II belonged to a 30-year-old Dutch mother of two. Fanny Blankers-Koen won the 100 meters, 200 meters, 80 meters hurdles and 4x100 meters relay, and women were then limited to three individual events, so the rules may have cost her…0
  3. 3Emil ZátopekEmil ZátopekThe distance triple at Helsinki 1952 Emil Zátopek won the 5,000 meters and the 10,000 meters, then decided at the last minute to run the marathon as well. It was the first marathon of his life, and he won it by about two and a half minutes. Three distance titles at one Games is a feat that still…0
  4. 4Abebe BikilaAbebe BikilaBorn Aug 7, 1932The barefoot marathon win at Rome 1960 Abebe Bikila ran the first night marathon in Olympic history without shoes and won it, becoming Ethiopia's first Olympic gold medalist and the first Black African to win Olympic gold. Four years later he defended the title, this time wearing shoes. The…0
  5. 5Wilma RudolphWilma RudolphBorn Jun 23, 1940Three sprint gold medals at Rome 1960 Wilma Rudolph overcame polio as a child, and in Rome she became the first American woman to win three gold medals at a single Olympics, in the 100 meters, the 200 meters and the 4x100 meters relay. Pair her races with Bikila's marathon from the same Games: two…0
  6. 6Dick FosburyDick FosburyBorn Mar 6, 1947The Fosbury Flop wins gold at Mexico City 1968 Dick Fosbury cleared the bar head first and backward while everyone else was still rolling over it face down, and he won the high jump with it. His technique completely revolutionized the event, and he is remembered more for the style than for the…0
  7. 7Bob BeamonBob BeamonBorn Aug 29, 1946The 8.90-meter long jump at Mexico City 1968 Bob Beamon became the first man to jump beyond 28 feet and beyond 29 feet in the same leap, landing at 8.90 meters, or 29 feet 2 1/2 inches. It is generally recognized as one of the greatest single performances in sport, the world record stood until…0
  8. 81968 Olympics Black Power salute1968 Olympics Black Power saluteTommie Smith won the 200 meters in a world record 19.83 seconds and John Carlos took bronze, and on the podium in Mexico City in 1968 each raised a black-gloved fist. The silver medalist, Australia's Peter Norman, wore a human rights badge in support, and it was Norman who suggested they share one…0
  9. 9John Stephen AkhwariJohn Stephen AkhwariFinishing the marathon at Mexico City 1968 John Stephen Akhwari of Tanzania was hobbled by a leg injury, ran on with his knee bandaged, walking and limping through the final miles, and entered the stadium in the dark, more than an hour after the winner. Bud Greenspan's cameras caught it, and asked…0
  10. 10Mark SpitzMark SpitzBorn Feb 10, 1950Seven gold medals at Munich 1972 Mark Spitz set out to win seven events in Munich and won all seven: the 100 and 200 meters freestyle, the 100 and 200 meters butterfly and three relays, every one of them in world-record time. No one won more golds at a single Games until Michael Phelps in Beijing…0