With the Athens games only days away, what would you consider the greatest single event performance in Olympic history? (in Athletics)
I put a few that I could think of off the top of my head.
Bob Beamon-the definition of performing out of your mind on the grandest stage…what every person on this board has secretly dreamed to do for themselves…
Check out the looks on the people’s faces behind him!
i vote for MJ but another great performance was the powell’s 8.95m
The WR of USA’92 cannot be between the greatest performance beacause in '93 they made the same tima but without Carl (who in Barcellona ran his leg in 8"8…)
Powell’s 8.95 was at the '91 Worlds, not the Olympics. The best Powell did at the Olympics was a silver.
If any 4x100 relays would account as the best performance they would be Brazilians, GDR or something like that, a performance that is great for the runners involved, the record should be under 37 if the Americans practiced as intensly as those other nations.
True enough. In retrospect I should have put Tommie Smith’s 200 m run at the 1968 Olympics (what an Olympics that was!) Smith broke the world record (19.83) with a pulled groin muscle and bandaged thighs.
Does Jim Thorpe winning the decathlon and pentahlon count as 1? 
What about Abebe Bikila winning the Marathon at Rome in WR time running barefoot? :eek: In the process he became the first Black African to win a gold medal.
Dick Fosbury revolutionising high jump?
My pick though would be Lasse Viren at Munich falling in the 10,000m getting up and winning in WR time. :eek:
Beamon jumped at altitude in Mexico didn’t he? Check out the video and tell me the green flag that is on the film isn’t blowing at over 5mph in the right direction.
MJ’s 19.32 has to be the best for me.ok BJ’s run in soeul in those conditions back in 88 was unreal and BB’s jump was fantastic for that period but MJ’s 19.32 blew everyone into a different zone.will not be touched for many years to come!!
yes, i know… but his performance was great at same (olympic games or not oympic games)!
No denying that, I just wanted to keep an Olympics theme for this thread.
Dick Fosbury! Nice! I almost forgot about him.
You think that record will last 23 years?
Yes i think it will last that for sure