20 Best Moments For USA In Olympic History

20 Best Moments For USA In Olympic History

By Cody Williams

20 Greatest Moments In U.S. Olympics History

20 Greatest Moments In U.S. Olympics History
Getty Images

It’s hard to argue against the assertion that the Olympics are the best time in sports. There’s no event that matches those levels of pride, competition and excitement. The United States has always been one of the top of the class in Olympic competition, both in winter and summer. What are the 20 greatest moments for the USA in Olympic history?

20. Cassius Clay Wins Gold (1960)

20. Cassius Clay Wins Gold (1960)
Getty Images

20. Cassius Clay Wins Gold (1960)

20. Cassius Clay Wins Gold (1960)
Getty Images

Before he became The Greatest in Muhammad Ali, Cassius Clay won the gold medal in light heavyweight boxing in 1960. It wasn’t a revolutionary win as much as it was the last great amateur achievement of the man who might be the greatest athlete of all time.

19. Women’s Soccer Team Golden in OT (2004)

19. Women’s Soccer Team Golden in OT (2004)
Getty Images

19. Women’s Soccer Team Golden in OT (2004)

19. Women’s Soccer Team Golden in OT (2004)
Getty Images

Women’s soccer burst onto the scene with the 1999 Women’s World Cup, but the U.S. captured a masterful victory against Brazil in 2004. In overtime, Abby Wambach put away the go-ahead score to give the USA the win and the gold medal.

18. Bob Beamon Shatters Long-Jump Record (1968)

18. Bob Beamon Shatters Long-Jump Record (1968)
Getty Images

18. Bob Beamon Shatters Long-Jump Record (1968)

18. Bob Beamon Shatters Long-Jump Record (1968)
Getty Images

Bob Beamon was the favorite to win the long jump heading into the ’68 Olympics, but he wasn’t expected to set a world record that would then stand for 22 years after he set it. Beamon broke the previous world record by 21.75 inches, a massive margin.

17. First Gold In 4-Man Bobsled In 62 Years (2010)

17. First Gold In 4-Man Bobsled In 62 Years (2010)
Getty Images

17. First Gold In 4-Man Bobsled In 62 Years (2010)

17. First Gold In 4-Man Bobsled In 62 Years (2010)
Getty Images

The United States hadn’t seen a gold medal in the four-man bobsled since 1948. Driver Steve Holcomb and his team changed that in Vancouver in 2010 as they were able to end an enormous drought in the vent and get a huge monkey off of their backs.

16. Jim Thorpe Proves All-Around Dominance (1912)

16. Jim Thorpe Proves All-Around Dominance (1912)
Getty Images

16. Jim Thorpe Proves All-Around Dominance (1912)

16. Jim Thorpe Proves All-Around Dominance (1912)
Getty Images

Granted it was 1912, but Thorpe proved to be the world’s most dominant all-around athlete by winning both the decathlon and pentathlon at the Olympics. He was stripped of his medals due to amateurism concerns, but they were reinstated in 1983. Regardless, winning both events is an achievement for the ages.

15. Rulon Gardner Shocks Greco-Roman World (2000)

15. Rulon Gardner Shocks Greco-Roman World (2000)
Getty Images

15. Rulon Gardner Shocks Greco-Roman World (2000)

15. Rulon Gardner Shocks Greco-Roman World (2000)
Getty Images

Rulon Gardner wasn’t given much of a chance in his gold medal Greco-Roman wrestling match against Aleksandr Karelin of Russia. The Russian hadn’t lost in 13 years of international competition. Gardner overcame the odds, though, as he defeated Karelin and captured gold.

14. Billy Mills Wins 10,000m (1964)

14. Billy Mills Wins 10,000m (1964)
Getty Images

14. Billy Mills Wins 10,000m (1964)

14. Billy Mills Wins 10,000m (1964)
Getty Images

Only the second Native American to win a gold medal (Thorpe), Mills’ victory in the 10,000-meter run is considered one of the greatest feats of an American athlete ever, though it often slips through the cracks. Mills became the first American to ever win the race, quite an astonishing feat.

13. Flo-Jo Stakes Claim As Fastest (1988)

13. Flo-Jo Stakes Claim As Fastest (1988)
Getty Images

13. Flo-Jo Stakes Claim As Fastest (1988)

13. Flo-Jo Stakes Claim As Fastest (1988)
Getty Images

Florence Griffith Joyner is still regarded as the fastest woman ever after she won gold medals in the 100m and 200m races at the 1988 Olympics. With those gold medals also came two world records that still stand. Even though she tragically passed away in 1998, Flo-Jo’s achievements and accomplishments live on.

12. Michael Johnson Makes History (1996)

12. Michael Johnson Makes History (1996)
Getty Images

12. Michael Johnson Makes History (1996)

12. Michael Johnson Makes History (1996)
Getty Images

Johnson and his gold shoes earned more gold in the form of medals in 1996. He became the only man ever to win both the 200m and 400m races at the Atlanta games. His world record in the 200 stood for 12 years and his record in the 400 still stands to this day.

11. Dan Jansen Gets Gold (1994)

11. Dan Jansen Gets Gold (1994)
Getty Images

11. Dan Jansen Gets Gold (1994)

11. Dan Jansen Gets Gold (1994)
Getty Images

Heartbreak was what Dan Jansen went through in the 1988 Olympics. He was informed of the passing of his sister due to leukemia and then fell in both the 500-meter and 1000-meter speed skating races. In 1994, though, he got a chance at redemption as he won the gold in the 1000-meter, dedicating the victory to his sister.

10. Kerri Strug Fights Injury Off For Gold (1996)

10. Kerri Strug Fights Injury Off For Gold (1996)
Getty Images

10. Kerri Strug Fights Injury Off For Gold (1996)

10. Kerri Strug Fights Injury Off For Gold (1996)
Getty Images

With the all-around team women’s gymnastics gold hanging in the balance, Strug injured her ankle on the vault on her first attempt and needed to score well to seal the medal. Injured ankle and all, she stuck the landing and clinched the gold medal for the USA.

9. Tommie Smith, John Carlos Raise Fists (1968)

9. Tommie Smith, John Carlos Raise Fists (1968)
Getty Images

9. Tommie Smith, John Carlos Raise Fists (1968)

9. Tommie Smith, John Carlos Raise Fists (1968)
Getty Images

In the midst of the Civil Rights Movement, Tommie Smith won the gold medal in the 200m at the 1968 Olympics. He and John Carlos held up the Black Power salute on the podium, which became a beacon for the movement going forward and is a symbol still used to this day.

8. Mary Lou Retton Wins Gold Through Injury (1984)

8. Mary Lou Retton Wins Gold Through Injury (1984)
Getty Images

8. Mary Lou Retton Wins Gold Through Injury (1984)

8. Mary Lou Retton Wins Gold Through Injury (1984)
Getty Images

Retton had undergone surgery just a few weeks before the 1984 Olympics, but was still able to do herself and her country proud as she won five medals including an individual gold in the all-around individual competition.

7. Greg Louganis Sweeps Consecutive Olympics (1984-1988)

7. Greg Louganis Sweeps Consecutive Olympics (1984-1988)
Getty Images

7. Greg Louganis Sweeps Consecutive Olympics (1984-1988)

7. Greg Louganis Sweeps Consecutive Olympics (1984-1988)
Getty Images

Greg Louganis is a name synonymous with Olympic excellence and for good reason. The diver is the only male to ever sweep both the springboard and platform diving events in consecutive Olympics, winning both in 1984 and 1988. Even more impressive, he won in 1988 having hit the springboard and suffering a concussion.

6. Michael Phelps Eight Gold Medals (2008)

6. Michael Phelps Eight Gold Medals (2008)
Getty Images

6. Michael Phelps Eight Gold Medals (2008)

6. Michael Phelps Eight Gold Medals (2008)
Getty Images

Winning eight gold medals, Phelps became arguably the greatest Olympian ever in the 2008 games. There’s no denying how impressive what he accomplished was, but he also struggled to dominate in every event. That feels like splitting hairs, but it’ll make sense momentarily.

5. Carl Lewis Matching Jesse Owens (1984)

5. Carl Lewis Matching Jesse Owens (1984)
Getty Images

5. Carl Lewis Matching Jesse Owens (1984)

5. Carl Lewis Matching Jesse Owens (1984)
Getty Images

Carl Lewis set out to match Jesse Owens in winning four track and field medals in one Olympic games and did so in 1984. Lewis won the 100m, the long jump, the 200m, and as a member of the 4x100m relay team.

4. Mark Spitz’s Seven Gold Medals (1972)

4. Mark Spitz’s Seven Gold Medals (1972)
Getty Images

4. Mark Spitz’s Seven Gold Medals (1972)

4. Mark Spitz’s Seven Gold Medals (1972)
Getty Images

You could easily switch Spitz and Phelps on this list, but I give the nod to Spitz simply because of how dominant he was. He set a world record in every event he competed in and only one race of his was even all that close. Just because of the level of dominance, I give the slight edge to Spitz.

3. The Dream Team (1992)

3. The Dream Team (1992)
Getty Images

3. The Dream Team (1992)

3. The Dream Team (1992)
Getty Images

It’s not that the Dream Team won a gold medal in 1992, it’s the fact that they went to Barcelona with wild expectations and arguably exceeded those expectations. There may have never been and may never be a sports team as dominant as the Dream Team was in those Olympics.

2. Miracle On Ice (1980)

2. Miracle On Ice (1980)
Getty Images

2. Miracle On Ice (1980)

2. Miracle On Ice (1980)
Getty Images

On some lists, the Miracle on Ice may be number one. There’s also no denying that the U.S. upsetting the Soviet Union in hockey is one of the most iconic moments in American history. Despite all that it is, though, it isn’t number one on this list.

1. Jesse Owens Winning in Nazi Germany (1936)

1. Jesse Owens Winning in Nazi Germany (1936)
Getty Images

1. Jesse Owens Winning in Nazi Germany (1936)

1. Jesse Owens Winning in Nazi Germany (1936)
Getty Images

Jesse Owens went with the USA to Berlin for the 1936 Olympic games with Adolf Hitler in attendance. With the Germans claiming to be the superior race, the African American Owens owned the Olympics by winning four gold medals. Take that, Nazis.

Share On FacebookShare StumbleUpon

You May Also Like

Related Stories

15 Greatest Athlete Mic Drops on Twitter of All Time
15 Greatest Athlete Mic Drops on Twitter of All Time
UFC Ring Girl Arianny Celeste's Lingerie Picture Will Have You Begging for More
UFC Ring Girl Arianny Celeste's Lingerie Picture Will Have You Begging for More
A Garage for Every Guy: The Starter Garage
A Garage for Every Guy: The Starter Garage
A Garage for Every Guy: The Mini-Garage
A Garage for Every Guy: The Mini-Garage
A Garage For Every Guy: The Man Cave Garage
A Garage For Every Guy: The Man Cave Garage
A Garage for Every Guy: The Ultimate Motorhead Garage
A Garage for Every Guy: The Ultimate Motorhead Garage