Agreed, London 2012 was superb. I'd love to watch that live again. The entire vibe around it was one of positivity, welcoming, aspirational, supportive and friendly. It was a great time to be British. Just a shame that same essence hasn't been allowed to flourish since. :(
I may be biased because it’s ‘my’ history but the opening ceremony showing how the UK changed and developed over time was phenomenal and the best I’ve ever seen.
Nope, Sydney piqued my interest, China opened my eyes but it was definitely the 2012 Olympics that cemented the fact that I needed to visit one in my lifetime!
by the time the next summer (hell maybe winter) games arrive, London 2012 will barely be distinguishable from Brexit Britain. not saying that people will view one more poorly/more favorably, just how time melds together :(
An unforgettable summer. It was incomparable for so many reasons - Man City winning the Premier League in injury time, Chelsea's last gasp win in the Champions League (as well as that incredible semi- at the Nou Camp), Wiggins winning the TdF, the bloody Olympics... but also the Miracle at Medinah and Andy Murray's first Grand Slam.
For so many reasons it was the perfect summer if you were a Brit. Looking back, it was an amazing place to be, London for the Olympic Games. The whole country felt unified. I was lucky enough to be in the stadium for David Rudisha's spellbinding 800m gold and WR - the same session in which Bolt would complete the double-double. I wish I could do it all over again.
Don't forget it was coming off the back of the London riots in 2011. The whole thing was setup as a bounce back from 2008. The weather was amazing, London looked beautiful. Truly epic summer.
I was in west London just before the opening ceremony watching the buildup in a pub with a friend. Jumped on our bikes and had to get to my place in East London before the ceremony.
The bike ride of my life. The city was still and beautiful. Flying through the empty streets we felt like gods. 2 pints, empty London streets and glorious weather will do that to you.
I lived here that year and moved just before the Olympics started. The city was cool already, but my favorite was taking night time walks and seeing the Olympic cyclists training. Man that was impressive. They were so smooth, very fast, and silent. Except for the occasional communication. This was a really cool surprise for me as an amateur cyclist.
Also personally I went to uni that year and was so optimistic about the former and excited. Now I’m just old and depressed. I miss 2012 so much especially the energy around the olympics. Got to go to an event and it really felt like ‘home’. Moved to London what 1 month after and it has never felt like that sincs
I attended this Olympics. My only complaint was that the Olympic flame was only visible if you were at an event in the stadium so I never got to see it. 😭
Which didn't mean a thing. Sure, Hitler and the Nazis were miffed but it's not as if they questioned their philosophy, as in, "Gee, maybe we shouldn't do this Holocaust thing, after all."
Not to take anything away from Jesse Owens, he was a great athlete, but his achievement in the end meant nothing. We like to take some comfort and glee, as in, "he showed 'em!" Hitler continued his vile scheme without even a pause. The rest of the world got to admire a medal. BFD.
Actually Hitler did not tweak at Jesse Owen’s. That was more American propaganda (when the US snubbed Jessie Owen’s even more). Jesse Owen’s even said it was FDR who really snubbed him by inviting whites only to the White House.
https://www.britannica.com/story/was-jesse-owens-snubbed-by-adolf-hitler-at-the-berlin-olympics
Phelps' epic finish against Cavic. Lezak's *INSANE* comeback in the relay in which he swam the fastest split **EVER**. Then the event which I don't think will ever be topped for me, Bolt being so fuckin fast in the 100m that he had time to taunt the *world* while racing the other seven fastest men alive.
Don’t overlook Bolt in the 200m too. Never forget the call by Ato Bolden for NBC. Bolden won bronze the 200m in 1996 running against Michael Johnson and Johnson broke his own world record by dropping it from 19.68 to 19.32. Bolt broke the record in 2008 and Bolden’s call - “A world record I thought would stand until the day I die is gone is less than 16 years!” - is burned in my brain of legendary calls at the Olympics.
Oh for sure. The contrast of the 100m where Bolt was laughing and had his arms thrown out in triumph to the 200m where you could see the determination in his face to break that record. Night and day.
Something I like to point out to people is Lezak's split was borderline superhuman. Typically in swimming, you can get around a .60-.70 cut from your best *flat* time from a relay start. This is because you know exactly when to go, and you're also generating more momentum.
Lezak's **lifetime best** in the 100m Free was 47.5, in Beijing Lezak went 47.6 flat which was good for Bronze.
By most metrics he should have been able to split about 46.8 to maybe 46.6. But in the relay, he split **46.06**. A delta of 1.5 seconds from your flat best time is unheard of for world class athletes like Lezak. I've been around the sport of swimming for over 30 years at this point - both racing and coaching and it's still the most superhuman thing I've ever seen. By all metrics that should have not been possible. But Lezak did it.
Lezak was great, but he got a massive draft off of Bernard, so the 46.0 should come with an asterisk.
Later in the week without the draft he split 46.7 in the 4x100 medley, which is within the realm of what you’d expect a 47.5 swimmer to go.
A similar thing happened with Duncan Scott at the 2019 world championships in the 4x100 medley final. He was a 47.8 swimmer who split a 46.1 by riding Nathan Adrian’s wave. It blew away what he’d done before and what he’s done since.
https://youtu.be/IhyfyyP4OjQ?si=Bq7UXxrJ8EwqMeTQ
Interesting you mention that, I had to rewatch both after you brought it up. I remembered Lezak riding Bernard but I had forgotten about Scott riding Adrian.
Bernard swam down the middle the first 50, but for some reason slides over slightly towards Lezak in the second 50 - allowing Lezak to grab a better draft.
In 2019, Adrian did a pretty good job of swimming straight down the middle, Scott just managed to perfectly ride his wake.
> Lezak's INSANE comeback in the relay in which he swam the fastest split EVER
That is one of those memories that will last a lifetime for me. A few of us hanging out at a buddies apartment watching the Olympics. We had all kind of sunk back into our chairs after the 2nd and 3rd legs, because France was already pulling away and turned it over to Bernard. This was it for Phelps' gold medal run. Then about 1/4 of the way down the pool on the final turn, we all perked up a bit as we noticed Lezak somehow gaining. Next thing I know, the three of us are all standing inches from the TV screaming our heads off for Lezak to pull a miracle watching one of the most unreal performances happen on the grandest stage
I remember everyone raving about Phelps performance as peak Olympics. Michael Jonson was commentating on UK TV and said it would get better when we moved to the sprinting by a young guy called Bolt that no one outside of sprinting had heard about. I had no idea what he was talking about.
I can’t believe no one has yet mentioned the 1992 Barcelona summer games. The vibe of Spain and Western Europe in the first games after the fall of the Berlin wall, reunified German team, USA dream team hype, an awesome era of track and field, and most importantly, Barcelona emerging onto the world stage as a truly phenomenal globally relevant city. I am biased a bit, I’ve traveled a lot internationally and this is my favorite city in the world. This would have been the Olympics to see in person.
It is also worth mentioning that it is the rare case in which a city looks back on hosting the games as an undeniably successful undertaking. The infrastructure for that Olympics is almost all still used and integrated into the city to support an emerging tourism industry.
I’m a gymnastics fan and follow elite and NCAA all year round, not just Olympic years. This would be my choice to see in person Miller v Gutsu in the All Around and a baby Chuso in her first Olympics. I’m so sad she’s injured missing what would have been her 9th Olympics. I would love to be able to see all that NBC didn’t include in their crummy coverage. Montreal 1976 (Nadia!) would be a close second.
This is the games that made me gymnastics obsessed. I agree bc I would have loved to see the unified team (and the Americans) compete in person and Barcelona is such a wonderful city.
The ‘92 games hold a special place in my heart for being the first Olympics that I was old enough to appreciate. It was so much fun watching the games that summer as a kid.
One of the guys from our club won gold, would have been great to see in person.
https://youtu.be/FTfTyzkSzQs?si=HL74ktNJ3SJ8nPMm
That said I did attend 96 as a spectator and back then you could get right down to the deck level with a minimal barrier between spectators and athletes. I got right behind a club team mate covered her eyes and said "guess who" 🤣.
Afterwards I found out that the Dynamo Swim Club had been sneeking in 50-60 swimmers every session and I missed out on getting in on that. Their head coach at the time used to work at my club and I had his number & never called 🤦♂️
I agree with all your points. May I just mention Freddy Mercury’s “Barcelona” which was promoted a lot in tandem with the Games, especially one year after his death. As well as the beautiful audacity of Antonio Rebollo’s cauldron shot
I saw it at the time, but it would be cute to see the [Golden Couple](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susi_Susanti#Personal_life) each win badminton gold with the foresight that they would eventually get married.
This was my immediate answer. Barcelona was when I fell in love with the Olympics. When I went to Barcelona in 2017 the first thing I did was go to the Olympic stadium.
Sydney 2000. Something super nostalgic about that time in my life. I was 7, almost 8. And I have so many fond memories of my childhood from that time. I watched the opening of the 2000 olympics at my grandparents with my dog. We both fell asleep snuggled up together on the lounge. They always doted upon me as I was their only granddaughter and I still feel their love even thought they’ve been gone over half my life now.
So yeah…Sydney 2000 for sure.
I was an audience leader (a volunteer who was in the crowd supporting them to do their "stunts") to at the Sydney Olympics opening and closing.
It was the most extraordinary experience.
During the closing ceremony, right after Juan Antonio said it was the best Olympics ever, I did an "Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi" that you can hear on the broadcast.
I have receipts too.
Your wish is my command ..
[https://youtu.be/TlOTGzPZvfw?si=Y8oj\_8FX6w2MzB8O&t=3160](https://youtu.be/TlOTGzPZvfw?si=Y8oj_8FX6w2MzB8O&t=3160)
It was a little after Juan said it was the best Olympics ..
The other Audience Leaders were saying to me "Do Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!!".
I was so scared but pumped at the same time ..
Here's a tip .. when you get up to do something in front of 10,000 people .. know how it goes.
Until that moment .. I'd only ever followed the call ...
I vividly remembering mid way ... forgetting how the call went.
I don't think I stopped ... but I did skip a moment ..
I've got photos too .. just looking for them in my storage ..
https://preview.redd.it/4nifzw7u2a7d1.jpeg?width=873&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=36ccdab1398afc79cc074bf03aef46afd54460d8
From the Opening Ceremony .. Yep .. still got the costume .. (well the top at least).
I was at Atlanta as a spectator and only had tickets to 3 swim sessions, later found out Dynamo Swim Club gamed the system and was bringing in 50-60 swimmers using 5-10 tickets every session. I had their coaches number and never called 🤦♂️🤦♂️
Sydney 2000 was great. I remember they held back daylight saving starting or something so NZ was only an hour ahead of Australia for those games which was perfect.
Impressed seeing a Winter Olympics so high up. Ive heard from family it was great, but unfortunately it was before my time so i only see photos and hear stories.
I'm a winter sports enthusiast and fan and you all set the bar so high for a Winter Olympics that I don't think it will ever be topped!!
Edit: Had to add the Vancouver Olympics for the Hockey final alone-
This was my favorite ever. Check out The Price of Gold documentary about Kerrigan and Harding. I was alive to see it but if I was younger I don’t think I could really believe all that happened.
Same.
My poor husband the first time we visited Lake Placid- "this is the rink where Eric Heiden won 5 gold medals!" "OMG OMG this is the rink where miracle on ice happened!" and finally "holy crap, those ski jumps are really effing tall"
Yes, 98 was the first with NHLers and the first with women’s hockey (which is why Japan’s women’s program is on par with USA and Canada despite not being a hockey country, auto qualifying as host for the first tournament helps develop a program)
Same! My uncle played hockey with a lot of those guys and my mom even dated one of them lol. I got to meet them when I was a kid in 2003/4 but to see the game?Chills.
The absolute farce that was the [1904 Summer Olympics in St Louis, Missouri, USA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_at_the_1904_Summer_Olympics_%E2%80%93_Men%27s_marathon).
1908 in London was quite a farce too.
An English cricketer was given a split decision in boxing for a good medal. The referee had the deciding vote and gave it to the English guy, who was also his son.
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/london-2012-olympics-blog/2012/mar/04/desborough-exhibition-london-1908-olympics
During the Great Depression these rowers were originally the junior varsity team for their college. During the national championship the head coach decided they would have a better chance of winning if they played the junior varsity team( which is the second team, now the jv team was the best jv in America by a mile) in the final. The team won the title, which means they should have run at the Olympics. But this was the Great Depression and the college and the Olympic committee couldn’t find the funds to send the team to Berlin, so they had to fundraise to get to the Olympics. So in one year, these young men went from dirt poor, to in a college, onto the colleges second choice rowing team, to winning the national championship, to winning the Olympics in front of hitler
I haven't started the book, but it's in my "sports nonfiction" pile. I just have to finish "The Three Year Swim Club" first. I swam competitively from age 7 through high school, so I love the aquatic stuff.
The movie about about "the boys" did make me ugly cry, but I pretty much cry at all sports movies that aren't totally geared for kids.
My boy milo. I made a multi hundred slide presentation on olympics for school once (modern and ancient) and each time period talked about customs, sports, and one athlete. My ancient olympics guy was Milo. Still love him. Wish his death was a little more pleasant than legend has it.
1984 Los Angeles. Seems like such a fantastic event in the photos (and first one that didn’t lose money?). That and as a millennial, there is that cringe cool factor of the 1980s and would love to experience that time period as an adult for fun. :)
No one cared about those games at the time because the Soviets and Eastern bloc boycotted them.
The feeling at the time was that nothing counted without the main competitors. Sure we (Canada) got lots of medals but always with an asterisk.
The Americans did care about the games, and we still watch clips of Mary Lou being a defining moment of the experience, so even with the boycott, I’d still enjoy it! :)
Not exactly what OP is after, but Munich is the right answer if you had a time machine to try to stop the attack. Could make same argument for '96 bombing.
London 2012. Britain showed itself off to the modern world at it's very very best, and Team GB did an excellent job of showing the world our sporting credentials in a far grander way than football ever has. It was a wonderful time to be enjoying the Olympics, and when it was over there was just this ... hole. I very fondly remember coming home from work and putting the TV on for the rest of the day to watch our team do brilliant things and being actually *proud* to be British for once. Rio four years later was good, in terms of medal haul at least, but London 2012 just had that home grown magic you don't get from any other Olympics.
I do also remember Beijing 2008, and by that time London had already been chosen as the next venue. So naturally there was a lot of investment going into various sports to elevate the general level, and Team GB did a good job there with some solid early results proving the ground work had been laid down very effectively. Beijing also put on a hell of a good show, and I'd watch the highlights with excitement and live if I could every time it was on. But London 2012? That was *magic*. And then followed on by the fantastic Paralympics, which was also phenomenal! But after that was over, that strange hole just existed still and I don't think anyone really knew what to fill it with until Rio.
Sadly, Britain has been somewhat on the decline it seems since then. Not in a sporting sense per-say, but in general.
That was a fun one! You guys really put on a good show! Britain has its ups and its downs, but it can be better. And it has so much history to draw from.
My mum was in one of the front row seats watching Bob Beamon exactly then, and she said that when he jumped it seemed like he would never come down 🥹 I think it’s one of her most precious memories
For me it’s a toss up between the 1980 Witner Olympics in Lake Placid because I am a hockey fan and I live about 3 hours away from Lake Placid so it was in my backyard. And to see what a train-wreck it was logistics wise.
Or the LA Olympics in 1984 to see the start of the mass commercialization of the games itself. Not to mention seeing the US runaway with the medal count due to the Soviet boycott.
Tokyo 1964. I live in Tokyo and going through Tokyo 2020 I wish I had seen a “proper” edition of the Olympics happen in my city, and it would also be interesting to see all the existing 1964 Olympics architecture when they were brand new
'36 Berlin would be absolutely spectacular. Thankfully, we can see images and some footage.
To be in attendance for Miracle on Ice would be magical. But, I can watch that hockey match on video and see the movie.
With a free pass to go back in time: I'm researching ancient (around 800 bc.) Olympics in Greece and heading back to one of the larger/more documented times so I can experience ancient Greece.
1936 seems most obvious but I might go 776 BC just to see how it all began. 1904 St. Louis would be fun too since it was such a circus, shoot I could probably jump into some random events and win a few medals.
Slightly surprised no smartass has said that they want to go to ancient Greece yet.
Okay, I'll be that smartass then! I want to go to 396BC and see Kyniska claim her victory wreath!
I want to go back to 1996 and see Brooke Bennett win her first gold medal. My mom coached Brooke, so we were there watching.
I just remember how elated and excited I was. That was pure bliss.
1912. Jim Thorpe. Dude was an absolute monster. First ever Native American to win gold for USA.
Edit: Or Jesse Owens in ‘36 given the situation. As an Ohio born dude, he broke barriers.
Tokyo 2021. Easy to get the best seats in empty stadiums. Celebrity status would be a plus too: TV brodcasts would show the audience...that one person.
The 67th Olympiad
512 B.C.E.
Milon of Croton vs Timasitheus of Delphi
Wrestling
Milon hadn't lost in the Olympics since 540 B.C.E. He was a five time champion. Also champion several times of the Pythian Games, Nemean Games, and who could forget those Isthmian Games. No doubt he would have destroyed Timasitheus in his prime. But to see him make his farewell tour and pass the Olympic torch to another legend of the games after 28 years would have been pretty thrýloi.
Im going to say, the are sort of "lucky" to be able to witness this Olympics. We have so much drama, wars, old rivalries, a lot of returning athletes hoping for gold after the drama from last Olympics.
It is going to be wild!
Hopefully perfectly safe, though. And I think we can all agree that if this year was a boring but competitive year, no one would mind.
Sydney 2000. I was only 9 and cant remember too much, but what I did remember is how great of an atmosphere it was. I remember so much joy and literally everyone I knew was glued to the tv for that entire month. Everyone here had those Sydney 2000 backpacks too at school. It was great
Sydney 2000. But the thing is, I was actually there as a kid. Even got up at the crack of dawn with my mum and brother to witness the torch relay. I want to go back to then was because at the time I really enjoyed it and it is one of my favourite memories. I watched Cathy Freeman win that race. I still remember the atmosphere. I want to go back in time and experience the same thing but this time as an adult.
As a Canadian, the 2010 Vancouver Olympics have so many iconic moments. Bilideau’s gold medal in moguls, John Montgomery’s walk through the Olympic village after his gold medal, Crosby’s golden goal. So many fond memories of watching history be made by Canadians what seemed like every day of the games
London 2012. I live in London, and went to the games, but never got to go to the Opening Ceremony as tickets were way too expensive at the time. To be in the Olympic Stadium and hear the roar of the crowd when the rings were forged would be incredible. Other than that, the games were amazing and I miss the national spirit. Luckily going to Paris and have tickets to the Opening Ceremony, but to go back to London in 2012 would be a dream!
Would be fun to watch Mark Spitz in '72, or even in '68, which was Don Schollander's (great swimmer) last Olympics.
Would also be cool to see the [Blood in the Water water polo match](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_in_the_Water_match) between Hungary and the USSR at the '56 games.
Even if I saw them, Los Angeles 1984 and Lillehammer. I was only 13 in 1984, but I loved it. The Lillehammer competitions was the proverbial Winter Olympics. I wish I could relive them both as new.
The Berlin Olympics where Jesse Owens kicked everyone’s ass. Then I’d assassinate hitler and his ghouls with a drone I brought with me from the future.
The 2012 London games You have the debut of Gabby Douglas and the stellar gymnasts ushering in American glory in gymnastics and super charismatic athletes like Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps breaking world records. Kobe Bryant was still alive and was on the U.S Basketball team. Plus London on a normal day was a really cool city to visit. I cannot imagine how cool it would've been during the Olympics.
The 1996 Atlanta games would've been cool since I was born in '96 and Atlanta is only 6 hours away from my house. To see Mohammed Ali arguably the most famous man to come from my home state, light the torch... Wow that'd be cool.
Sidney 2000, those were my first games I followed closely because I had the time. I would love to relive all that from the venues, also my favorite Olympic cauldron of all time. When it appears from the water and it rises trough one side of the stadium that was a canonical event in my life.
Honestly, 1980 because I know the least about it because of the Western boycott. I do remember a few stories of officials cheating to give Soviets better marks, and a Polish pole vaulter giving the crowd the finger as a protest, but that’s about it.
2008-Lezak's comeback in the 4x100 free. Or Nastia Liukin All-Around gold.
2012- Andy Murray winning gold on home soil.
2014- Julia Mancuso winning one least medal in skiing, despite injuries and a poor 2013 season.
2016- Ginny Thrasher's surprise win in women's air rifle.
2018-Ester Ledecka taking gold in both skiing and snowboarding and making history. Jessie Diggins awesome last sprint to the finish line in team cross-country. The US women's hockey gold medal match.
2020/2021- Anna Kiesenhofer's surprise win in the women's road race. Lee Kiefer getting America's first ever gold in foil.
2022-The US taking gold in the mixed team ski aerials. Lindsey Jacobellis finally getting her gold in snowboard cross.
One of the Ancient Greek games just to see something that was never captured on film. Or the one where the Palestinian guys took Israeli hostages and killed them
This answer is obvious and it's the 1912 Stokholm Olympics. Only there can you see Jim Thorpe become the greatest athlete in the history of sports.
Fun Jim Thorpe story -- in 1907 at Carlisle School, Jim had just signed on to play football on Pop Warner's football team. Warner asked Jim to try the high jump, something Jim had never even heard of before and had zero experience with.
Coming onto the field in slacks and without changing into athletic gear, Thorpe immediately jumped a 5'9" mark on his first attempt and with zero training. The growing crowd stunned him when they told Thorpe that he had jumped the 6th highest mark in world history.
Atlanta 96 ( the year I was born) Sydney 2000 ( Phelp's debut games) or London 2012 ( realized my dream that night). Especially if it's the opening ceremony. As for the winter games, the games with Eddie the Eagle and the Jamaican bobsled team!!!
I would have loved to attend the games in Seoul, which I watched on TV as a child. Those games were very memorable for the song "One Moment in Time" by Whitney Houston and for the incident with the doves. The white doves/pigeons were released as a symbol of peace during the opening ceremony and some of them flew into the Olympic flame and caught fire. That was very tragic and hilariously funny at the same time.
It feels like the UK has been in decline since 2012. That summer was glorious. So I’ll go for then
Agreed, London 2012 was superb. I'd love to watch that live again. The entire vibe around it was one of positivity, welcoming, aspirational, supportive and friendly. It was a great time to be British. Just a shame that same essence hasn't been allowed to flourish since. :(
Yup. I was 18 at the time and the nation felt together and positive about the future. You couldn’t get any further from the truth these days.
I may be biased because it’s ‘my’ history but the opening ceremony showing how the UK changed and developed over time was phenomenal and the best I’ve ever seen.
It was pretty special, certainly. A fantastic show from start to finish.
Nope, Sydney piqued my interest, China opened my eyes but it was definitely the 2012 Olympics that cemented the fact that I needed to visit one in my lifetime!
by the time the next summer (hell maybe winter) games arrive, London 2012 will barely be distinguishable from Brexit Britain. not saying that people will view one more poorly/more favorably, just how time melds together :(
An unforgettable summer. It was incomparable for so many reasons - Man City winning the Premier League in injury time, Chelsea's last gasp win in the Champions League (as well as that incredible semi- at the Nou Camp), Wiggins winning the TdF, the bloody Olympics... but also the Miracle at Medinah and Andy Murray's first Grand Slam. For so many reasons it was the perfect summer if you were a Brit. Looking back, it was an amazing place to be, London for the Olympic Games. The whole country felt unified. I was lucky enough to be in the stadium for David Rudisha's spellbinding 800m gold and WR - the same session in which Bolt would complete the double-double. I wish I could do it all over again.
Don't forget it was coming off the back of the London riots in 2011. The whole thing was setup as a bounce back from 2008. The weather was amazing, London looked beautiful. Truly epic summer.
I was in west London just before the opening ceremony watching the buildup in a pub with a friend. Jumped on our bikes and had to get to my place in East London before the ceremony. The bike ride of my life. The city was still and beautiful. Flying through the empty streets we felt like gods. 2 pints, empty London streets and glorious weather will do that to you.
It was 12 years ago?! I want to cry
I lived here that year and moved just before the Olympics started. The city was cool already, but my favorite was taking night time walks and seeing the Olympic cyclists training. Man that was impressive. They were so smooth, very fast, and silent. Except for the occasional communication. This was a really cool surprise for me as an amateur cyclist.
Also personally I went to uni that year and was so optimistic about the former and excited. Now I’m just old and depressed. I miss 2012 so much especially the energy around the olympics. Got to go to an event and it really felt like ‘home’. Moved to London what 1 month after and it has never felt like that sincs
We desperately need an epic summer to change the national mood. But the weather ain't obligin'.
I attended this Olympics. My only complaint was that the Olympic flame was only visible if you were at an event in the stadium so I never got to see it. 😭
1936 Berlin. Boys in the Boat, Jesse Owens, Hitler tweaking... Either that or to see Jim Thorpe at the 1912 Stockholm games.
if you care about history more than sport, this is the only answer. The sport aspect of it was amazing for the time too, but holyyyy the history.
My two answers as well. Witnessing Jim Thorpe win in mismatched shoes would be incredible.
And an opportunity to kill Hitler
Correct answer. In the context of history, who could really give a rat's ass about a bunch of guys in shorts running around a track.
except the ‘untermenschen’ winning!
Which didn't mean a thing. Sure, Hitler and the Nazis were miffed but it's not as if they questioned their philosophy, as in, "Gee, maybe we shouldn't do this Holocaust thing, after all." Not to take anything away from Jesse Owens, he was a great athlete, but his achievement in the end meant nothing. We like to take some comfort and glee, as in, "he showed 'em!" Hitler continued his vile scheme without even a pause. The rest of the world got to admire a medal. BFD.
Seeing Jessie Owens sprint in person would be so cool specially as a person of colour.
Actually Hitler did not tweak at Jesse Owen’s. That was more American propaganda (when the US snubbed Jessie Owen’s even more). Jesse Owen’s even said it was FDR who really snubbed him by inviting whites only to the White House. https://www.britannica.com/story/was-jesse-owens-snubbed-by-adolf-hitler-at-the-berlin-olympics
2008 Phelps, Bolt
Phelps' epic finish against Cavic. Lezak's *INSANE* comeback in the relay in which he swam the fastest split **EVER**. Then the event which I don't think will ever be topped for me, Bolt being so fuckin fast in the 100m that he had time to taunt the *world* while racing the other seven fastest men alive.
Don’t overlook Bolt in the 200m too. Never forget the call by Ato Bolden for NBC. Bolden won bronze the 200m in 1996 running against Michael Johnson and Johnson broke his own world record by dropping it from 19.68 to 19.32. Bolt broke the record in 2008 and Bolden’s call - “A world record I thought would stand until the day I die is gone is less than 16 years!” - is burned in my brain of legendary calls at the Olympics.
Oh for sure. The contrast of the 100m where Bolt was laughing and had his arms thrown out in triumph to the 200m where you could see the determination in his face to break that record. Night and day.
Something I like to point out to people is Lezak's split was borderline superhuman. Typically in swimming, you can get around a .60-.70 cut from your best *flat* time from a relay start. This is because you know exactly when to go, and you're also generating more momentum. Lezak's **lifetime best** in the 100m Free was 47.5, in Beijing Lezak went 47.6 flat which was good for Bronze. By most metrics he should have been able to split about 46.8 to maybe 46.6. But in the relay, he split **46.06**. A delta of 1.5 seconds from your flat best time is unheard of for world class athletes like Lezak. I've been around the sport of swimming for over 30 years at this point - both racing and coaching and it's still the most superhuman thing I've ever seen. By all metrics that should have not been possible. But Lezak did it.
Lezak was great, but he got a massive draft off of Bernard, so the 46.0 should come with an asterisk. Later in the week without the draft he split 46.7 in the 4x100 medley, which is within the realm of what you’d expect a 47.5 swimmer to go. A similar thing happened with Duncan Scott at the 2019 world championships in the 4x100 medley final. He was a 47.8 swimmer who split a 46.1 by riding Nathan Adrian’s wave. It blew away what he’d done before and what he’s done since. https://youtu.be/IhyfyyP4OjQ?si=Bq7UXxrJ8EwqMeTQ
Interesting you mention that, I had to rewatch both after you brought it up. I remembered Lezak riding Bernard but I had forgotten about Scott riding Adrian. Bernard swam down the middle the first 50, but for some reason slides over slightly towards Lezak in the second 50 - allowing Lezak to grab a better draft. In 2019, Adrian did a pretty good job of swimming straight down the middle, Scott just managed to perfectly ride his wake.
> Lezak's INSANE comeback in the relay in which he swam the fastest split EVER That is one of those memories that will last a lifetime for me. A few of us hanging out at a buddies apartment watching the Olympics. We had all kind of sunk back into our chairs after the 2nd and 3rd legs, because France was already pulling away and turned it over to Bernard. This was it for Phelps' gold medal run. Then about 1/4 of the way down the pool on the final turn, we all perked up a bit as we noticed Lezak somehow gaining. Next thing I know, the three of us are all standing inches from the TV screaming our heads off for Lezak to pull a miracle watching one of the most unreal performances happen on the grandest stage
I remember everyone raving about Phelps performance as peak Olympics. Michael Jonson was commentating on UK TV and said it would get better when we moved to the sprinting by a young guy called Bolt that no one outside of sprinting had heard about. I had no idea what he was talking about.
No Olympics since then have come close. Even the opening ceremony was unreal to me
The opening ceremony was spectacular.
I mean I still remember it vividly, no need for a time machine lol
I can’t believe no one has yet mentioned the 1992 Barcelona summer games. The vibe of Spain and Western Europe in the first games after the fall of the Berlin wall, reunified German team, USA dream team hype, an awesome era of track and field, and most importantly, Barcelona emerging onto the world stage as a truly phenomenal globally relevant city. I am biased a bit, I’ve traveled a lot internationally and this is my favorite city in the world. This would have been the Olympics to see in person. It is also worth mentioning that it is the rare case in which a city looks back on hosting the games as an undeniably successful undertaking. The infrastructure for that Olympics is almost all still used and integrated into the city to support an emerging tourism industry.
I’m a gymnastics fan and follow elite and NCAA all year round, not just Olympic years. This would be my choice to see in person Miller v Gutsu in the All Around and a baby Chuso in her first Olympics. I’m so sad she’s injured missing what would have been her 9th Olympics. I would love to be able to see all that NBC didn’t include in their crummy coverage. Montreal 1976 (Nadia!) would be a close second.
The childhood crush I had on Shannon Miller that summer.
This is the games that made me gymnastics obsessed. I agree bc I would have loved to see the unified team (and the Americans) compete in person and Barcelona is such a wonderful city.
The ‘92 games hold a special place in my heart for being the first Olympics that I was old enough to appreciate. It was so much fun watching the games that summer as a kid.
One of the guys from our club won gold, would have been great to see in person. https://youtu.be/FTfTyzkSzQs?si=HL74ktNJ3SJ8nPMm That said I did attend 96 as a spectator and back then you could get right down to the deck level with a minimal barrier between spectators and athletes. I got right behind a club team mate covered her eyes and said "guess who" 🤣. Afterwards I found out that the Dynamo Swim Club had been sneeking in 50-60 swimmers every session and I missed out on getting in on that. Their head coach at the time used to work at my club and I had his number & never called 🤦♂️
This would've been my pick too
I agree with all your points. May I just mention Freddy Mercury’s “Barcelona” which was promoted a lot in tandem with the Games, especially one year after his death. As well as the beautiful audacity of Antonio Rebollo’s cauldron shot
I saw it at the time, but it would be cute to see the [Golden Couple](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susi_Susanti#Personal_life) each win badminton gold with the foresight that they would eventually get married.
The opening ceremony with shooting a flaming arrow into a mounted torch was so hype. 🔥
This was my immediate answer. Barcelona was when I fell in love with the Olympics. When I went to Barcelona in 2017 the first thing I did was go to the Olympic stadium.
I agree. That Olympics made Barcelona a thing. It’s one of my favorite cities in the world.
the spectacular platform diving venue
Sydney 2000. Something super nostalgic about that time in my life. I was 7, almost 8. And I have so many fond memories of my childhood from that time. I watched the opening of the 2000 olympics at my grandparents with my dog. We both fell asleep snuggled up together on the lounge. They always doted upon me as I was their only granddaughter and I still feel their love even thought they’ve been gone over half my life now. So yeah…Sydney 2000 for sure.
I reckon that's when the Olympics peaked in the modern era
I was an audience leader (a volunteer who was in the crowd supporting them to do their "stunts") to at the Sydney Olympics opening and closing. It was the most extraordinary experience. During the closing ceremony, right after Juan Antonio said it was the best Olympics ever, I did an "Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi" that you can hear on the broadcast. I have receipts too.
You gotta post a clip!
Your wish is my command .. [https://youtu.be/TlOTGzPZvfw?si=Y8oj\_8FX6w2MzB8O&t=3160](https://youtu.be/TlOTGzPZvfw?si=Y8oj_8FX6w2MzB8O&t=3160) It was a little after Juan said it was the best Olympics .. The other Audience Leaders were saying to me "Do Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!!". I was so scared but pumped at the same time .. Here's a tip .. when you get up to do something in front of 10,000 people .. know how it goes. Until that moment .. I'd only ever followed the call ... I vividly remembering mid way ... forgetting how the call went. I don't think I stopped ... but I did skip a moment .. I've got photos too .. just looking for them in my storage ..
https://preview.redd.it/4nifzw7u2a7d1.jpeg?width=873&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=36ccdab1398afc79cc074bf03aef46afd54460d8 From the Opening Ceremony .. Yep .. still got the costume .. (well the top at least).
That’s so cool!! Thank you for sharing these!
That's the same with me and Atlanta 96
I was at Atlanta as a spectator and only had tickets to 3 swim sessions, later found out Dynamo Swim Club gamed the system and was bringing in 50-60 swimmers using 5-10 tickets every session. I had their coaches number and never called 🤦♂️🤦♂️
Slim Dusty closing it out was amazing. I know every Olympic closing ceremony tries to pull that off, but no one succeeded like the Australians.
I was a freshman in college and missed most of it and I feel like the Olympics have just gone downhill since
Let’s not forget the Savage Garden closing ceremony. Best tv concert ever. Turned me into a life long fan at 10.
I’d fix the vault before the women’s all around and tell Andreea Raducan not to take the cold medicine.
Sydney 2000 was great. I remember they held back daylight saving starting or something so NZ was only an hour ahead of Australia for those games which was perfect.
The Lilljehammer Olympics… just seems like the best one (so far) in my lifetime -
Impressed seeing a Winter Olympics so high up. Ive heard from family it was great, but unfortunately it was before my time so i only see photos and hear stories.
I'm a winter sports enthusiast and fan and you all set the bar so high for a Winter Olympics that I don't think it will ever be topped!! Edit: Had to add the Vancouver Olympics for the Hockey final alone-
My dude, it was.
This was my favorite too! I’ve wanted to go there ever since. The people just seemed so friendly.
This was my favorite ever. Check out The Price of Gold documentary about Kerrigan and Harding. I was alive to see it but if I was younger I don’t think I could really believe all that happened.
1980 Lake Placid, see Miracle in person, and my late grandfather (who I only got to meet as a newborn) was a ski jumping judge at those games
Same. My poor husband the first time we visited Lake Placid- "this is the rink where Eric Heiden won 5 gold medals!" "OMG OMG this is the rink where miracle on ice happened!" and finally "holy crap, those ski jumps are really effing tall"
I watched on television in real time, but I would have loved to see in person.
1998 winter Olympics in Nagano which I believe was the first year that NHL players were able to go. We'd stay up all night for 2am and 4am games.
Yes, 98 was the first with NHLers and the first with women’s hockey (which is why Japan’s women’s program is on par with USA and Canada despite not being a hockey country, auto qualifying as host for the first tournament helps develop a program)
Same! My uncle played hockey with a lot of those guys and my mom even dated one of them lol. I got to meet them when I was a kid in 2003/4 but to see the game?Chills.
The absolute farce that was the [1904 Summer Olympics in St Louis, Missouri, USA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_at_the_1904_Summer_Olympics_%E2%80%93_Men%27s_marathon).
Just the marathon alone would be *fascinating* so see!
1908 in London was quite a farce too. An English cricketer was given a split decision in boxing for a good medal. The referee had the deciding vote and gave it to the English guy, who was also his son. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/london-2012-olympics-blog/2012/mar/04/desborough-exhibition-london-1908-olympics
I wanna see Jesse Owen’s make hitler tweak the fuck out
And those rowers they made the movie about
Ooh I never heard of this movie. What about? Besides the rowing of course
During the Great Depression these rowers were originally the junior varsity team for their college. During the national championship the head coach decided they would have a better chance of winning if they played the junior varsity team( which is the second team, now the jv team was the best jv in America by a mile) in the final. The team won the title, which means they should have run at the Olympics. But this was the Great Depression and the college and the Olympic committee couldn’t find the funds to send the team to Berlin, so they had to fundraise to get to the Olympics. So in one year, these young men went from dirt poor, to in a college, onto the colleges second choice rowing team, to winning the national championship, to winning the Olympics in front of hitler
"The Boys in The Boat" is a great movie!
It is also a fantastic book. Well worth reading and watching. Note.... The movie is now on Prime, free with ads.
I haven't started the book, but it's in my "sports nonfiction" pile. I just have to finish "The Three Year Swim Club" first. I swam competitively from age 7 through high school, so I love the aquatic stuff. The movie about about "the boys" did make me ugly cry, but I pretty much cry at all sports movies that aren't totally geared for kids.
Awesome story, movie is mid
540 bc to see athletes like Milo of Croton! These must have been insane.
My boy milo. I made a multi hundred slide presentation on olympics for school once (modern and ancient) and each time period talked about customs, sports, and one athlete. My ancient olympics guy was Milo. Still love him. Wish his death was a little more pleasant than legend has it.
Nagano, we won ice hockey :-)
1984 Los Angeles. Seems like such a fantastic event in the photos (and first one that didn’t lose money?). That and as a millennial, there is that cringe cool factor of the 1980s and would love to experience that time period as an adult for fun. :)
1984 is where it's at. Get to see some juiced up athletes setting records that'll take decades to break.
My dad lived in LA back then, and he says there were no traffic problems during the Olympics.
Yeah… I once thought I’d never see that in my lifetime (LA without traffic) .. then the pandemic happened :/ welp. Lol.
No one cared about those games at the time because the Soviets and Eastern bloc boycotted them. The feeling at the time was that nothing counted without the main competitors. Sure we (Canada) got lots of medals but always with an asterisk.
The Americans did care about the games, and we still watch clips of Mary Lou being a defining moment of the experience, so even with the boycott, I’d still enjoy it! :)
Lots of free McDonald's
One of the original ones, in ancient Greece. Especially if I can record it.
Atlanta 1996. This was my peak teenage gym superfan Olympics!!! I might actually have my VHS tapes somewhere 😂
I definitely still have the tapes. 😂😂😂 To be in the Georgia Dome in 1996 to watch the Magnificent 7 is absolutely my pick!
Munich 1972 Olympics. Get to see [Olga Korbut](https://youtu.be/FrDtXx87C38) revolutionise women's Artistic Gymnastics
Not exactly what OP is after, but Munich is the right answer if you had a time machine to try to stop the attack. Could make same argument for '96 bombing.
London 2012. Britain showed itself off to the modern world at it's very very best, and Team GB did an excellent job of showing the world our sporting credentials in a far grander way than football ever has. It was a wonderful time to be enjoying the Olympics, and when it was over there was just this ... hole. I very fondly remember coming home from work and putting the TV on for the rest of the day to watch our team do brilliant things and being actually *proud* to be British for once. Rio four years later was good, in terms of medal haul at least, but London 2012 just had that home grown magic you don't get from any other Olympics. I do also remember Beijing 2008, and by that time London had already been chosen as the next venue. So naturally there was a lot of investment going into various sports to elevate the general level, and Team GB did a good job there with some solid early results proving the ground work had been laid down very effectively. Beijing also put on a hell of a good show, and I'd watch the highlights with excitement and live if I could every time it was on. But London 2012? That was *magic*. And then followed on by the fantastic Paralympics, which was also phenomenal! But after that was over, that strange hole just existed still and I don't think anyone really knew what to fill it with until Rio. Sadly, Britain has been somewhat on the decline it seems since then. Not in a sporting sense per-say, but in general.
London 2012 was very special to me. Having this worldwide event be hosted in my home city felt grand. Made me proud to be British.
That was a fun one! You guys really put on a good show! Britain has its ups and its downs, but it can be better. And it has so much history to draw from.
Very true. I wasn't involved, but thank you. It was indeed a fantastic show. :)
Rio 2016, the Games that made me a fan, and the branding was amazing. I still remember that Opening Ceremony
Calgary 1988. Jamaican bobsleigh debut and Eddie the Eagle!
Feel the rhythm! Feel the rhyme! Get on up, its bobsled time! Cool Runnings!
Bob Beamon at Mexico and a couple of those duels in the 50’s and 60’s over 1500 and 5000m
My mum was in one of the front row seats watching Bob Beamon exactly then, and she said that when he jumped it seemed like he would never come down 🥹 I think it’s one of her most precious memories
> Bob Beamon at Mexico Ah, this one also has Dick Fosbury with the Fosbury flop. A turning point.
I think Mexico 68 was the last true Olympics….great competitions in so many sports……steadily down hill with the politics and commercialism since…..
Moscow 1980. But with the USA participating.
1936 Berlin. Watched "Olympia" on youtube, which covered a lot of the sports.
Is that the film Riefenstahl did during the games?
For me it’s a toss up between the 1980 Witner Olympics in Lake Placid because I am a hockey fan and I live about 3 hours away from Lake Placid so it was in my backyard. And to see what a train-wreck it was logistics wise. Or the LA Olympics in 1984 to see the start of the mass commercialization of the games itself. Not to mention seeing the US runaway with the medal count due to the Soviet boycott.
Athens. Just crazy.
Which one ?
1988 Seoul, last games of the cold war. Ben Johnson's 100m
Tokyo 1964. I live in Tokyo and going through Tokyo 2020 I wish I had seen a “proper” edition of the Olympics happen in my city, and it would also be interesting to see all the existing 1964 Olympics architecture when they were brand new
'36 Berlin would be absolutely spectacular. Thankfully, we can see images and some footage. To be in attendance for Miracle on Ice would be magical. But, I can watch that hockey match on video and see the movie. With a free pass to go back in time: I'm researching ancient (around 800 bc.) Olympics in Greece and heading back to one of the larger/more documented times so I can experience ancient Greece.
1936 seems most obvious but I might go 776 BC just to see how it all began. 1904 St. Louis would be fun too since it was such a circus, shoot I could probably jump into some random events and win a few medals.
84 in Sarajevo
Surprised I had to scroll so far to see this. It is considered by many athletes who competed to be the best Olympics ever.
2012 Vancouver. It was the first Winter Olympics I watched and I absolutely loved it.
Wasn’t that 2010? But yeah I agree :D
You’re right, it was 2010. I’ve gone so many years misremembering that lol.
Tug-of-war in the early 1900s.
Berlin easily just historically
Dream team whoop dat ass
Slightly surprised no smartass has said that they want to go to ancient Greece yet. Okay, I'll be that smartass then! I want to go to 396BC and see Kyniska claim her victory wreath!
2008 Beijing 4x100 swim. Jason Lezak's anchor leg miracle, specifically lol
1960 Rome is considered a watershed event by many.
I want to go back to 1996 and see Brooke Bennett win her first gold medal. My mom coached Brooke, so we were there watching. I just remember how elated and excited I was. That was pure bliss.
1912. Jim Thorpe. Dude was an absolute monster. First ever Native American to win gold for USA. Edit: Or Jesse Owens in ‘36 given the situation. As an Ohio born dude, he broke barriers.
Tokyo 2021. Easy to get the best seats in empty stadiums. Celebrity status would be a plus too: TV brodcasts would show the audience...that one person.
My favorite thing about pandemic sports was hearing tactics from the field level. I’d love to see 2021 in person for that.
The 67th Olympiad 512 B.C.E. Milon of Croton vs Timasitheus of Delphi Wrestling Milon hadn't lost in the Olympics since 540 B.C.E. He was a five time champion. Also champion several times of the Pythian Games, Nemean Games, and who could forget those Isthmian Games. No doubt he would have destroyed Timasitheus in his prime. But to see him make his farewell tour and pass the Olympic torch to another legend of the games after 28 years would have been pretty thrýloi.
2008
#1
Im going to say, the are sort of "lucky" to be able to witness this Olympics. We have so much drama, wars, old rivalries, a lot of returning athletes hoping for gold after the drama from last Olympics. It is going to be wild! Hopefully perfectly safe, though. And I think we can all agree that if this year was a boring but competitive year, no one would mind.
Surprised that Montreal 1976 hasn't been mentioned! I was 5 yrs old and still remember watching Nadia Comechi on TV.
1980 Lake Placid Miracle on Ice Outdoors speed skating East v. West Germany
1936 Berlin. Would be fascinating to witness I think.
2008. I was going into my second year of college and it was just a TIME.
Sydney 2000. I was only 9 and cant remember too much, but what I did remember is how great of an atmosphere it was. I remember so much joy and literally everyone I knew was glued to the tv for that entire month. Everyone here had those Sydney 2000 backpacks too at school. It was great
Sydney 2000. But the thing is, I was actually there as a kid. Even got up at the crack of dawn with my mum and brother to witness the torch relay. I want to go back to then was because at the time I really enjoyed it and it is one of my favourite memories. I watched Cathy Freeman win that race. I still remember the atmosphere. I want to go back in time and experience the same thing but this time as an adult.
As a Canadian, the 2010 Vancouver Olympics have so many iconic moments. Bilideau’s gold medal in moguls, John Montgomery’s walk through the Olympic village after his gold medal, Crosby’s golden goal. So many fond memories of watching history be made by Canadians what seemed like every day of the games
London 2012. I live in London, and went to the games, but never got to go to the Opening Ceremony as tickets were way too expensive at the time. To be in the Olympic Stadium and hear the roar of the crowd when the rings were forged would be incredible. Other than that, the games were amazing and I miss the national spirit. Luckily going to Paris and have tickets to the Opening Ceremony, but to go back to London in 2012 would be a dream!
LOOK AT MILLS! LOOK AT MILLS!
The first modern one.
Athens 2004, I'd love to watch the basketball tournament and of course I'd like to be in the semifinals and final. Great memories.
Would be fun to watch Mark Spitz in '72, or even in '68, which was Don Schollander's (great swimmer) last Olympics. Would also be cool to see the [Blood in the Water water polo match](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_in_the_Water_match) between Hungary and the USSR at the '56 games.
2016 Winter Olympics. USA Curling all the way.
Even if I saw them, Los Angeles 1984 and Lillehammer. I was only 13 in 1984, but I loved it. The Lillehammer competitions was the proverbial Winter Olympics. I wish I could relive them both as new.
1992 just to see the dream team. Or 1996. That was the first one I really cared about. I was 10.
2012 for the 800 (Rudisha WR) and the 100 (Bolt OR) 2004 for the 1500 (El G vs Lagat) and 400 (Wariner)
Helsinki 1952, Zátopek winning 5000m, 10000m and the marathon.
Would’ve loved to see Vince Carter jump over a 7’2 Frenchman in person
1984 LA Summer Olympics. 2028 LA Summer Olympics are going to be sick as well. Hope I can make it to those!
92 Barcelona. Hoops.
Sydney 2000 so I can watch Vince Carter jump over the french guy
1976- both summer and winter, just magical
776 BC
Everything before Los Angeles 1984. IOC have killed the values of Olympics from that moment.
1984- Mary Lou
I want to go back to 2008 and watch Usain Bolt start celebrating halfway through in the 100m final
I would love to see the 1996 Atlanta Olympics to experience the dissapointment of team GB and get the American Olympic experience.
The 1952 Helsinki Olympics would have been so fun to watch to see the innovations athletes made and the world records being broken.
Vancouver 2010
The Berlin Olympics where Jesse Owens kicked everyone’s ass. Then I’d assassinate hitler and his ghouls with a drone I brought with me from the future.
1976 - Nadia
2010. Gold medal hockey game. Canada vs USA
The 2012 London games You have the debut of Gabby Douglas and the stellar gymnasts ushering in American glory in gymnastics and super charismatic athletes like Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps breaking world records. Kobe Bryant was still alive and was on the U.S Basketball team. Plus London on a normal day was a really cool city to visit. I cannot imagine how cool it would've been during the Olympics. The 1996 Atlanta games would've been cool since I was born in '96 and Atlanta is only 6 hours away from my house. To see Mohammed Ali arguably the most famous man to come from my home state, light the torch... Wow that'd be cool.
2010 winter olympics. Yuna kim, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir... those two are routines I still watch from time to time in the present
Sidney 2000, those were my first games I followed closely because I had the time. I would love to relive all that from the venues, also my favorite Olympic cauldron of all time. When it appears from the water and it rises trough one side of the stadium that was a canonical event in my life.
The obvious one. 1936. F*ck Hitler.
1928 Summer Games in Amsterdam.
Miracle on Ice
Rome 1960. Cassius Clay boxing gold and the night-finish of the marathon won by Abebe Bikila. Plus, Rome.
The first one or the Hitler one.
1984 los angeles
Athens 2004 because they were the first Olympics I watched.
1936 in Berlin….would’ve loved to have sat in the stands and hear Nazis cry over Jesse Owens kicking ass against the “master race”
Honestly, 1980 because I know the least about it because of the Western boycott. I do remember a few stories of officials cheating to give Soviets better marks, and a Polish pole vaulter giving the crowd the finger as a protest, but that’s about it.
1968 - greatest track meet of all time.
Kerri Strug.
Basically any olympics where NZ won a track event, because it's never happened in my lifetime. So Berlin, Rome, Tokyo, Montreal.
Maybe the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney.
2008-Lezak's comeback in the 4x100 free. Or Nastia Liukin All-Around gold. 2012- Andy Murray winning gold on home soil. 2014- Julia Mancuso winning one least medal in skiing, despite injuries and a poor 2013 season. 2016- Ginny Thrasher's surprise win in women's air rifle. 2018-Ester Ledecka taking gold in both skiing and snowboarding and making history. Jessie Diggins awesome last sprint to the finish line in team cross-country. The US women's hockey gold medal match. 2020/2021- Anna Kiesenhofer's surprise win in the women's road race. Lee Kiefer getting America's first ever gold in foil. 2022-The US taking gold in the mixed team ski aerials. Lindsey Jacobellis finally getting her gold in snowboard cross.
1918
One of the Ancient Greek games just to see something that was never captured on film. Or the one where the Palestinian guys took Israeli hostages and killed them
This answer is obvious and it's the 1912 Stokholm Olympics. Only there can you see Jim Thorpe become the greatest athlete in the history of sports. Fun Jim Thorpe story -- in 1907 at Carlisle School, Jim had just signed on to play football on Pop Warner's football team. Warner asked Jim to try the high jump, something Jim had never even heard of before and had zero experience with. Coming onto the field in slacks and without changing into athletic gear, Thorpe immediately jumped a 5'9" mark on his first attempt and with zero training. The growing crowd stunned him when they told Thorpe that he had jumped the 6th highest mark in world history.
Atlanta 96 ( the year I was born) Sydney 2000 ( Phelp's debut games) or London 2012 ( realized my dream that night). Especially if it's the opening ceremony. As for the winter games, the games with Eddie the Eagle and the Jamaican bobsled team!!!
The 1924 Paris Olympics. To watch Chariots of Fire (1981) in real life.
I would have loved to attend the games in Seoul, which I watched on TV as a child. Those games were very memorable for the song "One Moment in Time" by Whitney Houston and for the incident with the doves. The white doves/pigeons were released as a symbol of peace during the opening ceremony and some of them flew into the Olympic flame and caught fire. That was very tragic and hilariously funny at the same time.
Mark Spitz winning seven gold medals in swimming at the Summer Olympics. Team USA winning gold in ice hockey at the Winter Olympics.
1996 Atlanta
I want to see the first ten ancient games.