Never before has the idea of 'Olympic spirit' been more pertinent as the days close in on a second attempt to stage the 2020 Tokyo Games.
The coronavirus pandemic meant the Olympics had to be postponed for the first time since World War II last year and the ongoing global health crisis has led to continued uncertainty as to whether they can even take place over the rearranged dates of July 23 to August 8.
It is already known that international spectators will not be allowed to travel to Japan, with stadiums to admit only local fans to try to limit the spread of COVID-19.
But, as things stand, it is full steam ahead for Tokyo to finally host the Games of the 32nd Olympiad. As global communities look to match the kind of resolve that makes the Games so special, join us in looking back at 10 of the most memorable moments in Olympics history, with 100 days to go until the action begins.
OWENS DEFIES HITLER AND EARNS LEGENDARY STATUS
It was not just the sensational athletic feats that enshrined Jesse Owens as an all-time great. At the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Owens – an African American – sensationally won four gold medals, in the 100 metres, 200m, 4x100m relay and the long jump, breaking or equalling nine Olympic records and setting three world records along the way. But what was perhaps even more remarkable was the context of his achievements, with Germany under the Nazi rule of Adolf Hitler. Owens' success struck a blow to Hitler's propaganda drive and disproved his theory of Aryan racial superiority. In 1984, Carl Lewis would emulate his idol by winning the same four events in Los Angeles.
BEAMON'S LEAP OF THE CENTURY
The 1968 Games were held amid a tense local political backdrop, with many protesters having been killed by the army 10 days before the Olympics in Mexico City. During the Games, black Americans Tommie Smith and John Carlos - the 200m gold and bronze medallists - gave the Black Power salute on the podium, standing alongside Australian Peter Norman who wore a badge in support of Smith and Carlos' Olympic Project for Human Rights. A day later, Bob Beamon pulled his socks high up in support of his compatriots having achieved what would be known as the 'Leap of the Century'. The New Yorker - who had a troubled upbringing - leapt an astonishing 8.90 metres (29 feet, two and a half inches), which was 55 centimetres better than the previous world record. The jump was so remarkable that officials had to measure its distance manually as the optical device being used at the Games did not reach far enough. To this day, it remains an Olympic record, though the world benchmark belongs to Mike Powell, who jumped 8.95m in 1991.
NADIA'S A PERFECT 10
Prior to the 1976 Games in Montreal, the idea of a 'Perfect 10' in gymnastics felt like somewhat of a fable – an impossible quest. And then a 14-year-old from Romania caught the imagination and the hearts of the watching world on the uneven bars. Nadia Comaneci achieved the impossible, becoming the first gymnast in Olympics history to score a 10 … not that it was immediately obvious. Because the scoreboard allowed for only three digits, Comaneci's score showed up as '1.00'. It was only when the announcer confirmed the score that an elated crowd erupted in celebration. Comaneci would go on to achieve the feat six more times at the Games, while becoming the youngest all-round Olympic gold medallist ever.
HEART AND SEOUL AS FLO-JO SETS RECORDS TUMBLING
The remarkable thing about Florence Griffith Joyner's achievements in 1988 is how relatively ordinary she had been prior to dazzling in Seoul. A silver four years earlier in the 200m came with the caveat of Russia, East Germany and most of the Eastern Bloc opting to boycott the Games. 'Flo Jo' had seemingly given up on athletics completely in 1986, working as a bank clerk and hair stylist before returning in 1987, shedding weight and finishing second in the 200m at that year's World Championship. Considered a decent but not elite 100m runner, all of that changed when 'Flo-Jo' smashed the women's 100m world record with a time of 10.49 at the US Olympic trials in July 1988. She said her transformation was based on modelling her training on that of Canadian Ben Johnson. Johnson famously won the men's 100m in Seoul in what was a world-record time of 9.79s, only to hand the gold medal after failing a drugs test, giving sport one of its most shocking moments. Yet at the same Games, 'Flo-Jo' was the flamboyant queen of the track, taking gold in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m – the former in an Olympic-record time of 10.54 that stands to this day, and the 200m in a world record of 21.34 that also remains unsurpassed. She died in 1998 after a seizure, a tragic end to a staggering story.
JOHNSON AWESOME IN ATALANTA
Before Bolt came along, there was another man who held the unofficial moniker of fastest man on the planet. Michael Johnson's achievement in the 1996 Olympic Games led legendary commentator David Coleman to profess: "This man is surely not human." Just three days after claiming the 400m title, Johnson left rivals in his wake with an astonishing performance in the 200m where his time of 19.32 seconds beat his own world record by over three tenths of a second. It was a benchmark that would stand until Bolt came along with a staggering 19.30s in the final of the 2008 Olympics, later going even quicker with a mind-boggling 19.19 at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin.
FREEMAN THE SYMBOL OF UNITY IN SYDNEY SPACESUIT
Cathy Freeman was the poster girl of the 2000 Sydney Olympics – and Australia's only realistic hope of an athletics gold delivered in memorable style. Her face could be seen on billboards, buses and newspaper front pages throughout the country. Freeman represented more than just an athlete of supreme talent, for the Aboriginal superstar became viewed as a figure of unity, a symbol of reconciliation in Australia. Few will forget the sight of Freeman lighting the flame for the Games, which grew around her in front of a waterfall and left the perception she was floating in mid air. A silver medallist four years previously in Atlanta, the noise of over 112,000 fans caused a deafening roar as Freeman's face was shown on the giant television screens prior to the 400m final on September 25. In her now famous 'spacesuit', Freeman trailed Lorraine Graham and Katharine Merry heading into the final bend but left her rivals in her wake down the straight to claim a memorable gold - Australia's 100th in Olympics history.
STEVE'S FIVE GOLD RINGS LEAVE RIVALS IN OAR
"If anyone sees me go near a boat, you've got my permission to shoot me." Those were the famous words uttered by Steve Redgrave as he won a fourth gold medal at Atlanta 1996, in the coxless pair alongside Matthew Pinsent. But the lure of history proved too much and four years later, here he was again in Sydney competing this time as part of the coxless four and, at the age of 38, winning a fifth Olympic gold – at the time the first Briton to do so. He was the first endurance athlete who could claim to have won five golds at consecutive Games – doing so between 1984 and 2000.
HOLMES DOUBLES UP IN ATHENS
A promising career beset by injuries and illness took its toll on Kelly Holmes, who would later open up on her battle with clinical depression. But the countless hours spent in training, and gruelling rehab sessions, would be rewarded in the most magical of ways across six glorious days at Athens in 2004. The Briton had always harboured dreams of being a 1,500m Olympic champion and was in two minds as to whether she would even compete in the 800m. But race she did, and a textbook in tactics paid dividends as Holmes bided her time among a strong pace to take the lead on the final bend and hold off Hasna Benhassi and Jolanda Ceplak on the line. Just five days later, Holmes would again race towards the back of the pack in the 1,500m before hitting the front on the final straight to defeat world champion Tatyana Tomashova. Holmes became only the third woman in history and the first Briton since Albert Hill 84 years earlier to win an 800m and 1,500m Olympic double in a memorable triumph against adversity.
MAGIC 8 FOR RECORD-BREAKING PHELPS
Four years prior to competing in Beijing, swimming sensation Michael Phelps had collected six golds and two bronze medals at the Athens Games. No Greek tragedy by any stretch, but it was in Beijing where Phelps made history – winning eight gold medals, the most in a single Olympics, beating the record of fellow American swimming legend Mark Spitz who won seven in 1972. Having levelled the tally with a narrow triumph over Milorad Cavic in the 100m butterfly, Phelps' moment of history arrived in the 4x100m relay medley as the USA stormed to victory. Phelps competed five Games between 2000 and 2016, and his tally of 28 Olympic medals is a record.
LIGHTNING BOLT A BLUR IN BEIJING
No list of great Olympic moments would be complete without one of the greatest athletes of all time. In 2008, if you had blinked you could almost have missed Usain Bolt tearing to 100 metres glory as he broke his own world record in a time of 9.69 seconds - a time he would beat with an astonishing 9.58 in Berlin a year later. Bolt's remarkable performance set the tone for an unrivalled period of sprinting dominance as he took gold in the 100m and 200m at the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Games. Jamaica also won the 4x100m relay in each of the Olympics where Bolt competed, and only a doping test positive for a relay team-mate saw him finish his career with eight Olympic golds instead of nine.
Usain Bolt's 100m world record stands firm as longest in history
Running Magazine reports that Usain Bolt, the legendary eight-time Olympic gold medalist, has achieved a remarkable milestone even in retirement—holding the world record for the 100m sprint for the longest period in the event's history.
Bolt's record-setting time of 9.58 seconds, achieved at the 2009 World Athletics Championships final in Berlin on August 16, 2009, has now stood for an impressive 14 years, eight months, and 23 days. This accomplishment surpasses the previous longest-standing record held by American sprinter Jim Hines.
Jim Hines made history by clocking the first sub-10 second 100m in June 1968, becoming the first man to break the 10-second barrier in the event. Hines, known for his prowess both on the track and as a football player, held the world record from 1968 until 1982, marking an illustrious era in sprinting.
Despite being retired from professional track and field since 2017, Bolt remains confident about the durability of his records. In a December interview, Bolt expressed that he was "not worried" about his records in the 100m and 200m sprints being broken any time soon.
"It's a great title to have," Bolt shared in the same interview with World Athletics. "It's something that I enjoy hearing and I enjoy knowing."
Bolt's dominance in the 100m began in May 2008 when he first set the record, followed by breaking it twice more in August 2008 and exactly a year later in Berlin, where he achieved his historic time of 9.58 seconds.
Now at 37 years old, Usain Bolt continues to be celebrated as the fastest man ever, leaving an indelible mark on the history of athletics with his exceptional speed and enduring records. Despite the passage of time, Bolt's legacy remains a testament to his unparalleled talent and dedication to the sport.
Rushell Clayton sets new goals; aims for faster times and podium finish at Paris 2024
In an exclusive interview prior to her 400m hurdles debut at the Jamaica Athletics Invitational in Kingston on Saturday, World Championship 400m hurdles bronze medalist Rushell Clayton has revealed her ambitious new goals for the upcoming season, setting her sights on achieving faster times and securing her first Olympic medal at the Paris 2024 Games.
Clayton, who impressed with a personal best of 52.81 to claim bronze at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, kicked off her season with a lifetime best performance, clocking 51.81 in the 400m at Gainesville, Florida, in early April.
When Clayton won the bronze medal in Doha in 2019, Dalilah Mohammad won in a world-record time of 52.16. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone won the silver medal in a time of 52.20. Since then, McLaughlin-Levrone has gone on to dominate the event while lowering the world record to a seemingly impossible time of 50.68 at the 2022 championships in Eugene, Oregon.
During that time, Clayton was busy rebounding from injury and has been on a pathway of improvement ever since. She was sixth in Eugene in 54.36.
Reflecting on her journey and setbacks, Clayton, who has never made an Olympic final, expressed determination to surpass her previous achievements and target even faster times. "Yes, I have a new goal. Getting into the finals and getting onto the podium, you will have to run fast," Clayton affirmed. "I am more focused on placements than time. I know it may take 51 to get on that podium (in Paris) and I will be ready to run that but I don’t want to focus so much on time because a lot of times when you focus on times you forget about every other thing."
Acknowledging her growth and progress, Clayton emphasized her physical and technical improvements over the past seasons. "I think over the last two seasons, I've got faster, got stronger," Clayton remarked confidently. "I used to be strong but I think I am way stronger now and I have been doing a lot of speed work. When you do speed work, it doesn’t come right away but I am starting to feel like I am getting faster because of my stride patterns now and how I am able to distribute around the track. My training is focused on all aspects needed to run fast."
Clayton's dedication to enhancing her performance includes strategic adjustments to her stride patterns and race tactics. "I have changed my stride pattern between the hurdles," she revealed. "A few people have asked me if I was running a particular stride pattern. The two fastest ladies in the world (McLaughlin-Levrone and Femke Bol), they’re doing 14 strides and I had to try it out and so far it has been doing good. I am learning stride patterns. I am learning more about the event and I am super-excited about my new race pace."
Looking ahead to the national championships in June, Clayton outlined her strategy of preparing through targeted race participation. "I am feeling good. I don’t normally open my season this late but then I remember I ran all the way to September (last year) and I had a PB in my first run (this season)," Clayton shared optimistically.
"I think I am on the same schedule as I did last season. We ran a certain number of hurdle races before trials and that was maybe four so I leaning towards that. There are not a lot of four-hurdle races around the globe and when you line up it’s like a World Championship final so we pick the races; my team and I, we sit down and decide we’re going to run three or four races and we’re leaning towards about four hurdle races before trials and it kicks off at the Jamaica Athletic Invitational."
With a renewed focus on podium placements and faster times, Clayton seems poised to elevate her performance to new heights and make a compelling bid for Olympic success in Paris this summer.
Naggo Head top INSPORTS/Devon Biscuits Primary Schools Central Championships
Naggo Head Primary dethroned Spanish Town as champions of the INSPORTS/Devon Biscuits Primary Schools Central Championship, as they easily romped the event at GC Foster College, on Wednesday.
They amassed an impressive 313 points to pocket the $350,000 winning prize, while Spanish Town (236.5 points) had to settle for second position at the $250,000 runner-up prize, while third-placed Greater Portmore (229 points) received $200,000. The surprise package St John’s Primary (155 points) and Southborough (100 points) completed the top five.
The fourth to 10th-placed teams received $100,000 each for their efforts.
It was another day of record-breaking feats, with Nichkolet Brown of St John’s taking down the first of the day in the Girls’ Long Jump Open with a record leap of 4.57m. She won ahead of Shamielia Anderson (4.35m) of Friendship Primary.
Keneisha Robinson of Naggo Head captured the Girls’ 70m Hurdles in 12.16, with her teammate Shenell Coleman (12.92) finishing third. Afharia Anderson of Spanish Town was second in 23.23.
Donte Barrett and Kaydon Henry secured another 15 points for Naggo Head in the Boys’ 70m Hurdles. Barrett won in a new record 10.77, lowering his own mark of 11.36 set on Tuesday, while Greater Portmore's Dwayne Oakley (11.39) and Henry (11.57) were second and third respectively.
In arguably the race of the championship, Spanish Town’s Katalia Sterling outlasted favourite Waivany Walker of Naggo Head in the Girls’ Class one 400m, winning in a record 1:01.04, just ahead of Walker (1:01.11), who established the previous record on Tuesday.
The outstanding Robinson of Naggo Head returned to claim her second gold capturing the Class Two 300m in a record 43.55.
St John’s Primary controlled the Boys’ Class One 400m and Class Two 300m, which were won by Iandre Brown (58.93) and D’Andre Gobern (43.79).
The sprints turned up some impressive displays, but none more than Kashmer Gunther of Southborough Primary, who stopped the clock at 12.08 in the Boys’ Class One 100m. He erased Jevaney Findley’s 12.13 set last year. Renardo McCalla of Naggo Head took the Class Two event in 12.95, the same time as second-placed Jaden Reid of Southborough.
In the girls’ section, Shamara Chin of Greater Portmore took the Class One 100m with a record run of 12.93, while Allia Royal of Davis Primary captured the Class Two in Na13.91.
There were record runs in the Class Four 60m sprints as Azaria Williams of Naggo Head won in 9.15, ahead of Jada-Kaye Brown (9.45) of Greater Portmore. Vaughn Chambers of Crescent Primary won the boys’ equivalent in a record 8.76, just ahead of Jamair Dixon (8.77) of Kensington Primary.
Perez Pearson of St John’s leapt 5.15m to better his previous record of 4.91m in the Boys’ Long Jump Open. Jaydon Allen (4.97m) of Greater Portmore and Friendship’s Damarion Crooks (4.93) were second and third, respectively.
Pearson returned to anchor his team to Medley relay victory in a record 1:54.32. They won ahead of Kensington (2:00.45) and Naggo Head (2:02.77).
In the Girls Medley Open, Kensington won in 2:00.69, ahead of St John’s (2:06.31) and Naggo Head (2:06.35).
Naggo Head topped the Girls’ 4x200m relay in a record 1:49.12, erasing the old mark of 1:52.31 held by Greater Portmore. Spanish Town (1:52.66) and Greater Portmore (1:54.44) were the runners-up.
Southborough closed the day’s proceeding in style. They won the Boy’ 4x200m relay in 1:46.55, ahead of Naggo Head (1:48.18) and St John’s (1:50.92).
Naggo Head and Eastern Champions Lysson of St Thomas lead the top eight teams into the Grand finale set for May 20-22 to decide the all-island champion.
The Western Championship starts on Thursday.
Top 10 -Naggo Head (313), Greater Portmore (236.5), Spanish Town (229), St John’s Primary (155), Southborough (100), Davis Primary (95), St Catherine (76), Kensington (69), Ascot (56), Homestead (48.5)
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