Titanic survivor who won gold & pistol champion who had his hand BLOWN off… incredible forgotten tales of the Olympics
THE record-breaking sprinter Usain Bolt revealed that the only thing he ate during the 2008 Beijing Games was McDonald’s chicken nuggets.
And it seems the diet worked for him.
The Jamaican runner won 100m and 200m gold in world-beating times at the event!
BOLT IS LOVIN’ IT
THE record-breaking sprinter Usain Bolt revealed that the only thing he ate during the 2008 Beijing Games was McDonald’s chicken nuggets.
And it seems the diet worked for him.
The Jamaican runner won 100m and 200m gold in world-beating times at the event!
EMPEROR’S BAN
ROMAN Emperor Theodosius banned the Games in 393 CE, more than 1,000 years after they began.
He didn’t like some of the traditions around the Games and wanted people to focus on religion and faith instead.
LEAGUE TOPPERS
AMERICA tops the league table when it comes to those all-important medals.
The USA has won a total of 2,629 since records were first kept in 1896.
That includes a whopping 1,061 gold, 830 silver and 738 bronze.
Britain is fourth, behind Russia and Germany.
Our sportsmen and women have bagged 916 medals, comprising 284 gold, 318 silver and 314 bronze.
DEFYING INJURY
AT 4ft 8in and weighing just over six stone, 18-year-old Kerri Strug became a national hero during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Despite snapping her ankle during her first vault, she put in a second performance that secured the gold medal for the US women’s gymnastics team.
RIDING THE WAVES
SURFING made its Olympic debut in Tokyo in 2020.
Competitors – including Leilani McGonagle of Costa Rica – have about 30 minutes to catch the best waves they can, with each ride marked by a panel of judges.
BREAK FROM NORM
BREAK dancing is the new sport for this year.
Opponents known as B-boys and B-girls go face-to-face in solo dance battles, adapting their moves to the beat of the DJ’s music.
COURTING VICTORY
TITANIC survivor Dick Williams won gold in mixed doubles tennis for the USA at Paris 1924, 12 years after he leapt from the stricken ship into freezing water, swam to a lifeboat and clung on all night waiting to be rescued.
He nearly had his legs amputated but convinced surgeons that he would recover their use.
SAILING SENSATION
GREAT Britain’s Ben Ainslie is the greatest Olympic sailor in history with four golds and a silver.
His main motivation for taking up the sport was to overcome bullying.
A SHOT AT GLORY
In 1938, right-handed Hungarian pistol shooter Károly Takács had his trigger hand blown off by a grenade while serving in the army.
Over the following ten years, he taught himself to shoot with his left hand.
He then broke the world record and beat the favourite to win gold at the 1948 London Games.
JUMPING FOR JOY
AMONG some peculiar Olympic sports was the long jump for horses, pictured, which was won by Extra Dry in 1900.
More recently, hide-and-seek was put forward for Tokyo 2020.
Yasuo Hazaki, head of a Japan campaigning committee, led the bid.
But, sadly, it was unsuccessful.
HELPED TO FINISH
AT the 1992 Barcelona Games, British sprinter Derek Redmond collapsed with a hamstring injury in the semi final of the men’s 400m.
His beloved dad Jim clambered onto the track to help him limp to the finish line.
ON BOARD TO WIN
SKATEBOARDER Sky Brown was 13 when she won bronze for Great Britain at the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
She hopes to compete in Paris and is working to overcome a knee injury.