Numbers 25 to 1 Olympics' Most Amazing Moments

The Olympics. The greatest show on earth.

A sporting carnival of athleticism and prowess.

An extravaganza of drama, spectacle and passion.

Yes, The Olympics.

50 most amazing moments.

Welcome to our choice of the very best the Olympics has to offer.

And here's the top 25 coming right up.

Athletes will go to great lengths

in order to earn their moment of glory at the Games

and none more so than American David Neville

who did his best Didier Drogba impression

to secure a bronze in the 400 metres in Beijing.

He dipped really early which meant he was falling through the line.

You must feel awful if you're the guy behind him going,

"really, that's how you're going to beat me?"

There should be an asterix in the Olympic records,

this is how he came third.

At the day, when he looks in the mirror in the morning,

he's got an Olympic bronze medal, so fair play.

Superman dive or not, he got through the line just right.

All that matters is that he finished third and got bronze,

and what a way to do it.

Which other bronze medallist do you remember?

This guy is remembered for being a bronze medallist,

because he did a dive for it.

# Spread my wings

# I can fly... #

To become supreme champions,

athletes must draw on superhuman reserves of cool, calm and collectedness.

But doesn't always pan out that way.

At Seoul in '88, local hero Jung-Il Byun

took on Bulgarian boxer Alexander Hristov.

But rather than trying to outpunch his opponent,

he decided to use his brain and the rest of his face to earn victory.

COMMENTATOR: There's the head of the Korean going in again,

he's an untidy little boy.

Standard rules in boxing, you can't head-butt.

You'll get points deducted.

COMMENTATOR: There again, up and down he goes.

When it came to the judges' decision,

it was Hristov who was celebrating,

prompting Byun and half of Korea to lose their heads.

COMMENTATOR: The crowd don't like it at all.

As soon as they lift Hristov's hand, all hell breaks loose.

COMMENTATOR: There's all sorts of trouble in the ring.

This is most unprecedented from the normally calm and sane Koreans.

It looks like a mix between Wild West fight and a martial arts movie.

It's fabulous entertainment, completely disgraceful.

At one point I thought it was a world Guinness attempt

to see how many Koreans you can fit in a boxing ring.

By the end of it, there was 112 in that ring.

COMMENTATOR: This is absolutely disgraceful.

I've never seen anything like this in any amateur contest whatsoever.

Not content with starting a riot,

Jung-Il then decided he wanted to get his point across

in a more peaceful manner with a sit-in protest.

Looks more like a lie-in, though.

Let's look at this. You head-butt your opponent, you lose the fight,

and you think the best thing to do is stage your own sit-in protest.

Which was hilarious because you've got the most aggressive sport,

which is physical boxing,

and you've chosen the most peaceful protest, to have a sit-in.

The great thing is how they handle it.

They don't try and remonstrate with him.

They turn the lights off and go home and leave him. Brilliant.

If you behave like a brat, that's what's going to happen to you.

They left on one spotlight on him in the corner

and he looked like the saddest clown. Nothing would ever be right again.

Byun lost the fight, but he did at least break one record,

staging the longest sit-in in Olympic boxing history,

before disappearing into the night.

Of course, behind almost everyone who takes part in an Olympic event

there is a story of dedication and hard work.

Yes, have I ever told you how much hard dedication and hard work I put in?

Yes, several times.

But there are some who take part who do not deserve to be there

and who have no right to share a stage with some of the world's greatest athletes.

Do you mean...?

No, much worse than that.

Of all the Olympic events,

the steeplechase is one of the more unusual.

It's a 3,000 metre race, but they have four hurdles and one water jump.

In a way, it's like the Grand National.

It's OK to watch, but what makes it exciting? Crazy guys!

In 1984 it did get a bit crazy,

when this guy decided to mount a late challenge for gold.

He was dressed in the full gear and it looked like he was late for the race, "oh, my God!

"I just got out of bed, so sorry I'm late, I'll just catch up."

COMMENTATOR: There's an idiot come on the track there.

I hope someone gets hold of him.

They're primed for terrorism attacks and chemical warfare

and they can't stop one loony jumping out of the crowd.

To everyone's surprise, he was almost as good at hurdling as he was at outrunning the security guards.

Everyone was going, "Oh, terrible, a protester on the track, awful.

"Oh, he can hurdle!"

Goodness, he can hurdle too. Get him.

To this day, we still don't know what he was protesting about

or if they ever caught him.

When it comes to Greco-wrestling, the Yanks love it.

And one man they love to see wriggling around

whilst not wearing very much, is former WWF star Kurt Angle.

I watched him when I was young being WWF champion,

doing bodyslams to the Undertaker and Hulk Hogan and stuff.

But it was at the 1996 Games on home soil in Atlanta

that Kurt shocked the world by beating Iranian beast Abbas Jadidi

to claim the gold.

Kurt Angle, Hollywood bronzed god up against the mean, evil Iranian with the moustache!

Mwa-ha-ha-ha!

I'll stop now.

But what really made Kurt Angle's victory so amazing

was that he did it with a broken neck.

Yes, you heard me. An actual broken neck.

What was surprising for me was he even had a neck. I couldn't see it.

You'd have to hit him with a bus to break it!

Kurt fractured his neck prior to the Games, but still competed.

This would debilitate most men, but most men aren't Kurt.

No doctor was going to stop him from grappling with some tough Persian ass.

Imagine what he's going to say to his kid if he stubs his toe.

Hey, you stubbed your toe?

Oh really? I did a wrestling match after I broke my neck!

Now eat your peas!

When it comes to the freestyle relay,

the Americans are the biggest fish in the pond.

There's only been a few times they haven't won

the four by 100 metres freestyle relay.

It was their property, almost, that was the way they felt about it.

But at the Sydney Games they were up against the Aussies

and the all-American cowboy of swimming, Gary Hall Jr,

decided to raise the pool temperature just before the race

from lukewarm to boiling.

When asked to about the host's chances of a victory,

he said the Americans would smash the Aussies like guitars.

It's a rubbish metaphor and he probably should have gone for a better one.

He should have said I'm going to mess you up with a pile of laundry.

It was like a public spat between large salmons and tunas,

and with the big race approaching, all eyes and hopes were on the Aussies,

to see if they could upset the Yanks.

It was cat-and-mouse all the way through,

nobody could really call it.

COMMENTATOR: US second with their fastest swimmer going in,

surely the Americans are going to win this one.

By the third relay, the Yankees were looking good for the gold,

leaving a final length show-down between America's Gary big mouth Hall Jr

and the Aussies' Ian Thorpe.

I thought, "This is game over".

COMMENTATOR: I can't believe that Thorpe's going to hang on to him.

Somehow, Thorpe pulled the swim of his life out.

COMMENTATOR: Thorpe is coming back!

I can't believe he is going to do this, he's done it!

The Australian crowd was just going mental.

COMMENTATOR: I cannot believe he's done that.

The goosebumps, tingles down the spine,

that's the best feeling I've ever had in a swimming pool.

COMMENTATOR: It is a new world record. They stuffed the Americans, this is outstanding.

When the Australians won, they did this fantastic thing,

where they all played the guitars, and made them eat their words.

Which was brilliant.

The contrast between the American team and their forlorn faces

and these Aussies on the blocks, it was fantastic.

You know Gary Hall Jr is getting this throughout his life.

"Hey, Gary, how's it going?

"Gary, nice to see you."

MIMICS GUITAR SOLOING

The Sydney Games in 2000. It was an Olympics that went down as a roaring success.

It was by far the best Olympics ever.

But not everyone was having a great time. For some reason,

the Vault gymnasts couldn't rise to the occasion.

There was a couple of good wipeouts on that vault.

I was competing, and I just couldn't figure out what was wrong.

No-one could put their finger on it.

Running up, vault. You're like,

"What's going on? I don't understand."

Then someone thought to measure the vaulting horse,

and discovered it was set 5cm lower than the standard 125,

upsetting years of meticulous training.

I reckon it was just the guy with the overalls

and the spanner. "Did you set the vault at the wrong thing?" "No."

It was like a more aggressive version of You've Been Framed.

They didn't get gold but they got £250 from Harry Hill.

So, you know, every cloud.

Those poor gymnasts, some of those falls looked REVAULTING. Sorry.

Mark Spitz's record of winning seven golds in the 1972 Games

was thought to be unbeatable, but as the 2008 Games in Beijing approached,

rumours were that one man might just be able to top that achievement.

Michael Fred Phelps.

Everyone knew in Beijing that Michael Phelps was going for eight.

So many people said he can't do it.

He looks like the lovechild of Carlos Tevez and Seal.

Not that one. That's the one.

Thanks to feet the size of Alaska,

he can swim faster than an electric eel.

He has huge lungs, gangly arms and big, long feet,

massive levers to help him through the water.

The dude is built for swimming.

But could the merman live up to the hype?

The first final of the Olympic Games. He's ready.

COMMENTATOR: Michael Phelps takes the gold medal. A stunning swim!

Well, the French are trying to hold on, but coming back is Lezak.

Jason Lezak's got the gold!

Michael Phelps is still on for eight.

That is unbelievable.

Every time he won a medal, it was, "He's got his first, second."

COMMENTATOR: Number three is in the bag,

it's just whether he breaks the record.

People were counting down his medals.

Four golds. Four races, four world records.

He was bulletproof. There was no-one going to beat him.

COMMENTATOR: The USA are going to take the gold in the 4X200 freestyle relay.

He was just absolute lightning.

Another world record.

Six golds, six world records in six days.

He's got it! Oh, he's got it!

I was completely shocked.

One one-hundredth is the smallest margin of victory in our sport.

COMMENTATOR: I cannot believe he's just done that.

Not only must he have been knackered, but that's some achievement.

COMMENTATOR: Michael Phelps, in the last race of these Olympic Games.

That is it, eight straight gold medals.

Michael Phelps is the greatest.

Absolutely brilliant.

If I could pick a gold medal to win,

my country's first-ever gold medal, it would definitely be in football.

In 2000 in Sydney, that was the dream of little old Cameroon.

After qualifying as runners-up in their group,

they drew samba kings Brazil in the quarter-finals.

No-one gave them a hope.

Everyone thought they would walk out against Brazil and get thumped.

Oh, that's brilliant!

But they didn't. They beat them, despite having two players sent off.

And he scores!

To beat Brazil with nine men is impressive. 11 is good,

but with nine? If anything, it's arrogant.

In the final they faced Spain, featuring World Cup winners Xavi and Carles Puyol.

The game was a cracker.

We didn't give them a hope against Spain,

because Spain has talent queueing down the block.

We all know how good Spain are.

They were 1-0 down after two minutes.

Oh, what a stance!

Then they went 2-0 down.

COMMENTATOR: This is the chance for 2-0. And it's taken!

At half-time it seemed Cameroon would have to settle for silver,

but the Africans had other ideas.

COMMENTATOR: It's an own goal!

Samuel Eto'o!

It went all the way to spot kicks, where Cameroon became Germany...

..and Spain became England.

COMMENTATOR: Cameroon have never known celebrations like it!

The great thing about the Olympics is that on the day,

if you have luck going your way and everything goes right, you win.

And that was a huge, huge thing for football in Africa.

Now, some people say that true love is inspired by Cupid's arrow.

But what a lot of folk don't realise is that a rifle

-can do the job as well.

-GUNSHOT

Yeah, I just got rid of that bloke who was hanging around the back.

-The skier?

-Yes, he's been a right nuisance.

Meet Matthew Emmons.

In 2004, he was regarded as the fastest,

bestest shooter in the West, and at the Athens games the gold medal

was his if he could just nail his last shot.

Unbelievably, he hit someone else's target.

How could he miss his target?!

All he had to do was hit the target and he'd win!

It's like a footballer kicking it in the wrong goal.

Luckily for Matthew, he was approached later that night by Czech shooter Katerina Kurkova

offering him some kind consolation.

# Celebrate good times, come on. #

He was drowning his sorrows in a bar and he found love.

That's preying on the vulnerable.

He's a bit down, he's a bit insecure, lacking in confidence.

Move in and marry him!

I reckon he was hitting on her best friend,

but his aim was so bad he married her!

At Beijing four years later, now-wife Katerina cheering him on,

it was redemption Michael wanted, not just love.

Once more he found himself a shot away from gold.

All he had to do was score an easy shot.

COMMENTATOR: He only has to hit the target to win the gold medal.

Ready...aim...

D'oh!

COMMENTATOR: Oh, no. I don't believe it.

And I think he's surely blown it.

I think the second time it happened, he was just feeling cocky,

thinking, "This is never going to happen.

"I can close my eyes and turn my head and shoot

"and I will never do what I did last time."

COMMENTATOR: There is no rhyme or reason for Matthew Emmons

to repeat what he did four years ago, but incredibly he has.

But what he lacked in medals, he made up for in love.

Win or lose, I know she is always going to be behind me.

That's what really matters.

What happened in Athens, if for some reason that led us

to get together, I would do it a million more times.

I wouldn't change a thing.

He is definitely the best standing shooter out there.

There is going to be a reason why this happened,

I am just curious why.

No gold medal amounts to that, that's the truth.

It's 1984 and American Evander Holyfield is favourite

to win the gold medal in the light-heavyweight competition.

He demolished his other opponents. He was knocking people out.

He was a shoo-in for gold.

He's an amazing fighter, and a real success story for America.

However, in the semi-finals it all goes pear-shaped against Kiwi Kevin Barry.

Kevin Barry versus Evander Holyfield

wasn't just shocking, it was confusing.

-Stop!

-COMMENTATOR: Oh, he's got him.

Just as the referee said "stop",

so this man threw another punch.

Barry was caught by a left hook that was deemed illegal.

COMMENTATOR: I have a feeling he is going to disqualify

the American for hitting Barry after the command to stop.

Holyfield gets disqualified, but the rules are,

because the fella was knocked out,

he can't box for 28 days, so he's out.

There was no final.

That's right.

Holyfield couldn't go to the final due to disqualification,

and nor could Barry after being knocked out.

What do you do?

So Barry goes down as a bronze medallist, and comes up

as a silver medallist,

Holyfield's disqualified but given the bronze medal, and some other guy wins the gold medal.

The gold medal was given to a guy who said, "It should have gone to Holyfield."

On the podium he lifts Evander Holyfield's hand, signalling he was actually the champion.

He was in no doubt who was the best in the light heavyweight division.

It was a truly sporting gesture in the proud tradition of the Olympic spirit.

Now, it is time to see a true British legend.

He may never have won a gold medal, but the whole nation

can agree his contribution to the cause has been outstanding.

It is hard to overestimate his importance.

-It's my silver medal from Seoul, is it?

-No.

I'm talking about Boris Johnson.

Just as the Chinese closed the Beijing Games with style,

panache and theatre, it was time for the world to get a first glimpse

of what we would have to offer four years later in London.

The world held its breath.

# Always look on the bright side of life... #

When a bus went out to Beijing,

there was something slightly crap about that, it has to be said.

I think they should have been more realistic,

and had the bus turn up late

due to unattended luggage found on it

somewhere on the way to China.

We don't want you to think it's going to be a slick event with CGI fireworks.

Get a bus, get Boris in, and mess it up. That's fine.

They were introduced to Boris Johnson

and they weren't just pointing at him because he was big and blond.

He looked like he'd been picked out at random from the audience,

"We need someone to come up and wave the flag!"

"Go on, Dad!" "OK."

Boris comes up, he's getting it wrong. Great!

COMMENTATOR: Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, receives the flag

and waves it enthusiastically.

Forget fireworks and laser displays, we've got A level dance students,

a lollipop lady, and Optimus Prime's inadequate younger brother.

# Transformers!

# More than meets the eye. #

And what more do you need to really up the Olympics ante?

None other than the musical dream team of Leona Lewis and a gurning Jimmy Page.

You had Led Zeppelin, who the Chinese have never heard of before,

and Leona Lewis who they wanted to turn into soup or glue.

And then the big showstopper. Arise David Beckham in a shell suit,

doing his bit to represent the British skinheads.

All he had to do was put the ball into a huge goal

and everything would be forgotten in one glorious Olympic moment.

He missed.

Inevitably, on the big stage, he bottled it.

I think you'll probably find that there'll be a similarly Carry On style spirit

and as long as we manage that, then I don't think anybody will mind at all.

2008, Beijing, our track cycling team was phenomenal.

13 went. 12 won medals. How amazing is that?

I don't think we'll ever see

the likes of the performance

that we saw in Beijing again.

We had more medals than most countries in one small cycling team.

# Bicycle! Bicycle! #

All our big guns were on top. There was this fellow...

'The Olympic champion is Chris Hoy.'

..this girl...

'Rebecca Romero is the Olympic champion and gold-medal winner.'

..and this guy.

'Bradley Wiggins!

'He's the gold medal winner and Olympic champion.'

It was a truly incredible achievement,

Great Britain excelling at the Olympic Games.

But despite all the glory,

there was one man left feeling a little empty-handed.

Everyone did so well but a lot of people talk about the one athlete

who didn't come home with a medal.

The one man who didn't, our best cyclist, Mark Cavendish.

Sucks to be Mark.

# I am the one and only! #

Officially the fastest man on two wheels...apparently wasn't.

That was proved wrong.

-Everyone knew.

-He just hated the fact he was the only cyclist without a medal.

In the eight months leading up to the 2008 Games,

Cav had won the track world championships

and become the first Brit

to win four stages of the Tour de France.

The disappointment of not winning a gold medal in Beijing

is what has probably driven on Mark Cavendish

to do as well as what he's done.

The guy is talented beyond belief,

but what happened then has certainly spurred him on

to being a much better cyclist and a world beater now.

He's having the last laugh now,

because he's the fastest man in the world in road racing.

But one burning ambition remains unfulfilled.

Can he grab gold in London?

# We can rule the world... #

Colin, you've run a lot of races at the Olympics.

-What kind of shoes do you wear?

-Running spikes, of course.

-Would you ever run in bare feet?

-Nobody would run at the Olympic Games with no shoes on.

All right! Maybe a South African with a British passport

running the 3000 metres, for one.

It's 1984, and at the LA Olympics,

all eyes were on Britain's newly-adopted medal prospect

South African runner Zola Budd, the shoeless wonder.

It looked like adults were competing

with a child who'd forgotten its games kit.

Just vest and shorts but no socks and shoes.

Fast-tracked to a British passport

at the height of South Africa's apartheid sporting ban

by a newspaper campaign, Zola was a controversial figure

and that controversy followed her

all the way to the women's 3000 metres final.

But Budd truly found a place in Olympic history

when she stood toe to toe with an American

and was the only one left standing.

'And Decker's down!'

Zola Budd and Mary Decker, great rivals. They clashed in a tangle.

Mary Decker fell down.

One of the favourites is now flat out on the field.

Zola Budd was in front and Decker was behind

and she ran into the back of her.

If you're driving and you pile into the back of someone, it's your fault

and it's the same in athletics.

I think she'd heard an instruction, not a name. I think she'd heard,

"Mary, deck her."

Mary Decker, Oscar nomination for that drop that she took?

She didn't even have any shoes on.

Get over it.

'Mary Decker is now being helped from the track.'

And yet, just when we were starting to really like her,

Zola dropped down the field and finished seventh.

Daley Thompson proved in 1980 and 1984

that he was the man by winning gold in the decathlon at both Olympics.

But as everyone knows, all good things come in threes.

# Three is the magic number... #

So the world's eyes looked to Daley once more to defend his gold medal

and world record at the Seoul Games.

Daley Thompson was set for an unprecedented third gold at '88.

Daley would not have started that unless he felt he could win gold.

Come on, Daley, come on. You're the best.

'Oh, it's broken!'

I don't know how you break one. I mean, their design,

I think the number one thing would be not to break.

It was unthinkable. Daley's pole, dreams and crown jewels

were in pieces as he injured himself in the process,

meaning he missed out on the medal places.

He came fourth in this Olympics, didn't he?

Nothing wrong with fourth in an Olympics.

No, Dean, as well you know.

He would have got three Olympic golds in a row

in probably the most demanding track event and he got injured doing it.

He didn't retain his title.

You'd be heartbroken, devastated.

Apart from ice hockey, Canada were completely unknown at the Olympics.

This is their one guy, one guy, Ben Johnson.

This is their one chance at a gold medal.

And it came in the 100 metres final

which was shaping up to be the greatest race in history.

In the red corner there was Ben Johnson.

In the blue corner was our Linford

and in the other red corner was Carl Lewis.

Someone was looking particularly intense.

He looks odd.

The mad, bulging eyes, and he was just huge.

His eyes looked like the baddie in 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit?' when they come out of his face.

He looked like he could have gone on that day

and won all of the Olympic events twice in one day.

'They go first time and Ben Johnson got a brilliant start.

'It's Johnson away and clear.

'Lewis is not going to catch him.

'Johnson wins it. Lewis second.

'Christie third.'

And in the blink of an eye, it was over,

with Johnson crowned Olympic champion,

not just breaking the world record but smashing it to smithereens.

'There's no question who is the fastest man in the world.'

# You're simply the best... #

He'd beaten the poster boy at the Olympics,

the American dream, Carl Lewis. He creamed him, he annihilated him.

Linford and all the boys were absolutely smashed

by this little bullet of a man.

The mood went from one of celebrating a new tyro appearing on the scene,

like a guy who was going to reinvent the sport,

into thinking, "Hang on. What actually happened here?"

It seemed too good to be true and sadly for Canada it was.

Just two days later, Johnson was disqualified

for having a banned substance in his blood.

This guy was on drugs.

Not just some drugs, it would appear, ALL the drugs.

Johnson's face said it all.

In recent years he's denied any wrongdoing,

even claiming he had his drink spiked by an American agent.

If that's what happens when you get your drink spiked,

I want my drink spiked on a regular basis.

Win a gold medal in 9.79 seconds? Yes, please. Thank you.

No matter what the truth is,

BJ claims he was more proud of the gold medal than the world record,

as no one could take it away from him. You were wrong. They could and they did.

Lewis got gold and Linford, silver.

I would have sold the medal straight away. I would have pawned it.

He must have known he'd get caught!

The world's disappointment was palpable.

He'd been an unforgettable athlete.

Yes, he cheated. Yes, he was on drugs.

But his legs still ran that quickly and it was unheard of.

At least he took drugs and he won races.

Dwain Chambers took drugs and came fifth in his races.

What are you taking? Red Bull?

-It's Barcelona, 110 metre hurdles final.

-Right?

-Eight men, all of us in different lanes. Ready to go.

-Go on.

The gun goes bang. All of us explode out the blocks.

I take the first hurdle. We keep going.

Second, third hurdle, which seems like it's an eternity.

-As I'm getting closer to the line and ready to dip...

-Where did you come?

-Seventh.

-Oh, right.

-What about in that other race?

-Oh, I picked up a silver medal there.

Yes, that's right.

My Welsh friend Colin Ray Jackson has his own Olympic story to tell,

and what a story it is.

In 1988, Jacko lined up in lane one

in the 110 metres hurdles final

as an inexperienced youngster,

up against the best opponents on Mother Earth,

including world record holder Roger Kingdom.

He did Blighty proud.

'Kingdom comes through. Kingdom's going to win it

'and Jackson's going to get silver. Kingdom wins it, Jackson second!'

A silver medal in the Olympics

and only beaten by a happy-slappy Power Ranger. Incredible.

But four years later in Barcelona, he was red-hot favourite to win

the king of bling, the gold, and he was certainly talking the talk.

To know that you're the best 110 hurdler

in 1992 in the Olympic Games would just be a wonderful feeling.

I think I would definitely earn more respect straight away

from most people when they say, "Colin Jackson, Olympic champion."

But in the semi-final, Jackson looked rusty,

seemingly forgetting that the idea is to jump over the hurdles

rather than hit them.

# Hit me! Hit me! #

'Jackson coming through. He hit that one but clean now.

'McKoy goes through to win it. Jackson second, Blake third.'

But if you're going to make a mistake in the Olympic Games,

better to do it in the semi than the final, right?

Surely Colin in lane three would be on his game when it mattered most?

'And Colin's struggling now. He's gone.'

Um, maybe not.

'McKoy's Olympic champion and Jackson run right out of it.'

'Colin Jackson, when it really came to it, hadn't quite got it.'

Colin's dream of gold medal glory was never realised

as he finished seventh with Mark McKoy of Canada triumphing instead.

Despite this, Jacko will go down in history

as an Olympic silver medallist, an awesome athlete,

and after Tom Jones, the greatest ever thing to come out of Wales.

It's 1996 and the big news?

Chris Evans has blighted our screens with TFI Friday. Horrendous.

Thankfully there was one man on hand to lift our spirits

during this dark, dark time.

Michael Johnson.

At that time, Michael Johnson was the best.

If I was a runner I'd hope I was something like Michael Johnson.

As a human being I wish I was more like him.

Johnson wasn't your shy and retiring type.

He put himself at a disadvantage

because he was wearing Mr T's gold jewellery.

He's got a massive gold chain around his neck.

He had gold, he blinged up, gold shoes.

To wear gold shoes, you've got to know you're going to win. He knew he was going to win.

First up for MJ - no, not that one - was the 400 metres.

Johnson delivered in style,

that weird running style he made famous.

Everyone was criticising his racing technique

because he runs like a chicken.

What they don't realise is it's 300lb weight of gold jewellery from Argos.

His upper body does not move.

Nothing moves apart from his arms and legs going like Road Runner.

'It contradicts all the stylists.'

Up, like that, arrogant, just taking it, taking it, taking it.

'Absolutely bolt upright.'

He ran completely wrong and still won.

'Johnson away and clear!

First up, he brought home the bacon in the 400 metres.

'He ran the perfect race.'

Then he kicked some keister in the 200 metres.

'Johnson is blistering away.'

The man was on fire.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

I literally must have been like, "Look at him. I can't believe it."

'And Johnson is going away. Johnson by a yard!'

You couldn't quite believe that somebody could run that fast.

He was a god of the track, really.

He may have run in his own unique style,

but his 200 metres time smashed its way into the record books.

The bond between father and son is unbreakable, unless you're this guy.

And at the 1992 Olympic Games, we saw a prime example

of a dad and the fruit of his loins working together.

GB's 400 metre runner Derek Redmond

had suffered an injury-ravaged season

but had won both the qualifier and the quarter-final

and hopes were high.

Derek Redmond is our great hope.

Starts off the race amazingly well.

"Dez, you're going to win this. You're going to smash it."

'Redmond got off very fast indeed.'

Pulls his hamstring.

'Redmond has broken down.'

He said, "I heard this pop. I thought it was in the crowd."

And then suddenly he realised it was his own leg.

'He's hopping his way to complete. May not be the wisest thing to do.'

Pull yourself out of the race. Are you going to do that, Derek? No.

The stretchers are there. Just walk off, everyone else would.

But he just refuses to give up.

He wasn't really running. He was kind of hopping towards the finish.

Somehow his dad gets through security,

which is worrying in itself, gets onto the track, goes up to him,

and I think Derek leans on his dad.

'His father has been so close to him. They've been battling through it.

'He just can't hold it. He knows he would have had a chance.'

The applause starts to build up

and there's a real feeling this is a real human moment.

Father and son complete the race together,

an iconic moment and a beautiful story.

Yes, he didn't win the race, but he was still a winner.

It's not about winning. It was just about his determination.

And then he was disqualified for being helped by his old man.

'He's won nothing but admiration.'

I don't think Derek Redmond or his dad actually give a toss that they were disqualified.

The fact of the matter is they did what was right in the moment

and everyone, bar none, everyone would stand up

and applaud them for that, regardless of the result.

Derek Redmond, he may not have won a medal

but he's a true Olympic hero nonetheless.

It's 2004 and in Athens,

Kelly Holmes is desperate for Olympic glory,

but no one gave her a hope.

She was 34. So many people would have retired before then.

Injury-wise, she'd been through the mill so many times.

Ruptured calf, torn Achilles, stress fractures, torn calf,

damaged back, glandular fever.

# One foot in the grave... #

I just think nobody expected or had any idea

that this 34-year-old woman could come back

and get on the medal podium.

First up was the 800 metres and proving to be quite the Brit,

she was miles off the pace.

'Kelly Holmes absolutely dead last.'

You can imagine at that moment that you could completely lose the plot

and change everything and I didn't.

I just stayed there.

'Kelly Holmes and Maria Mutola are doing the right thing,

'sitting off the pace.'

But she wasn't last for long, and as the race reached a climax,

our Kelly was all over it.

As I came around the bend,

I remember trying to overtake Maria Mutola.

'Mutola won't let Kelly Holmes past.'

I was trying to go round her

and she was trying to go round the one on the inside and she barged me.

That probably was the moment that made me win the gold.

'Kelly Holmes fighting for the gold medal!'

I just remember saying to myself, "Relax." As I did it, I took that one crucial step.

'Kelly Holmes bringing it home for Britain. Can she get there?

'Come on, Kelly! One more go.

Come on, Kelly Holmes. It's gold!'

# You're unbelievable! #

When she crossed the line she didn't know if she had won or not.

She checked the board and Steve Cram, who's commentating, is going,

"Kelly, you've won, you've done it," as if she could hear him.

You've won it, Kelly, you've won it!

That face will live as one of the greatest reactions

to an Olympic gold medal, purely because of the out-and-out surprise.

Next up for Kelly was the 1500. This time she was the favourite,

but only two women had ever done the 800/1500 double before.

Surely, she couldn't join them?

Can Kelly Holmes do it again?

This was my dream since the age of 15 to be Olympic 1500 metre champion.

COMMENTATOR: Kelly Holmes moves to the back of the field.

Kelly Holmes now needs to just dig in there.

Can she run as controlled as she did in the 800 metres?

Kelly coming on the outside. It looks so easy.

The way she came through it was unreal. She was like a machine.

And then she was on the home straight.

COMMENTATOR: Kelly looks around to see where the danger is.

I remember thinking in my head, "Go!"

Kelly Holmes for Great Britain wins the 1500 metre title.

You are the double Olympic Champion.

I don't think she could believe it,

everyone watching couldn't believe it.

There wasn't a dry eye in the house.

Throughout the years of the Olympics,

the chances of a gymnast ever scoring a perfect ten

have been as likely as Jedward saying something that isn't stupid.

'Another disaster.'

But all that changed at the Montreal Games in 1976,

when a certain 14-year-old Romanian achieved the impossible.

How can you be perfect?

Surely there's always got to be a little glitch in there

that's not impeccable?

She's an absolute legend.

She was this young girl that came into this woman's sport

and completely transformed the whole world of gymnastics.

This young girl goes out there and just blows everyone away,

getting the first perfect tens in gymnastics.

COMMENTATOR: Ten she's got. It is quite incredible.

She made history.

She was a perfect ten.

The size of a tadpole and the bendiness of a slinky

mixed with the balance and agility of a smug cat.

It was not just one, but one after another and another.

It was amazing as she scored a perfect ten seven times

in the uneven bars, the balance beam and floor exercise.

It was just a shame there wasn't a proper score board built

that could show four digits and go above 9.99.

Before the Games, Omega, who made those clocks,

got in touch with the organisers,

and said, "What if you're not going to be able to show this?"

And they said, "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it,

"because, let's face it, we never will."

'And she's got it again.

'Twice in succession.'

They had to do 1.0.

The commentator had to keep explaining that she hadn't got 1.0,

she had actually got ten.

ANNOUNCER: Nadia Comaneci, Roumanie.

The Olympic Champion steps up, and a real smile.

Even now it still makes you go...

She was just a natural star.

COMMENTATOR: An extraordinarily composed young lady of 14.

Hey, look at this, it goes all the way 12.

Yes, it's a clock, Colin. A clock.

We're back down under for the 2000 Olympic Games,

where it was all about one woman.

Come on, Cathy, you can do it!

As one of only 11 Aboriginals out of 628 Australian athletes,

the world was looking to Cathy Freeman

as the poster girl for the Sydney Games,

and to lead Australia out of its troubled past.

She was this symbol of a united Australia.

It sounds cheesy to say the hopes of a whole nation were resting on her,

and it's such a cliche.

But in this case it's true. I'm sorry to use that.

In Sydney, Cathy Freeman, poor girl,

she had everything. She lit the flame and done the lot.

But lighting the flame was just the start.

The world excepted her to run away with the 400 metre gold,

but could she take the pressure?

Yes, she could, especially as she was dressed as a superhero.

I do think, if I knew that the whole world was watching me,

I might have chosen a different outfit.

She looked so cute with the little hood thing on.

I think she wore it to get into her own little cocoon, a little bubble.

Forget the world, she wanted to run from A to B as fast as she can, and that's what she did.

COMMENTATOR: To quote a phrase which has caught on here,

Cathy has the world at her feet and a nation's soul on her back.

The women's 400m final under way.

The crowd roaring Freeman on and the response is there.

On the near side it's Freeman.

The nation expected and she has not disappointed.

She handled it and with grace.

If you watch that back and don't have a lump in your throat

there is something wrong with you, I think.

There was a good moment when she had the Australian flag

and the Aboriginal flag. Everyone thought, it's about time.

Out of generations of all this mess between native Australians

and these white clowns who came along,

all we needed, was someone to run really fast.

Hat off to Cathy Freeman, legend.

Now, this next one is something that everybody remembers.

Yes, it's a real classic. Something that sticks in your mind for ever.

-Tell the viewers what it is.

-Of course...what is it?

Man U versus Man City.

Jolie versus Aniston. Alien versus Predator.

But in the 1980s, what really divided the nation

was middle-distance running.

And two gangly gentlemen were at the forefront of the battle.

Everyone was talking about this huge rivalry

between Seb Coe and Steve Ovett.

This massive head-to-head.

Such different personalities.

It was like Starsky and Hutch, you had to love one or the other,

and it was the same with Ovett and Coe.

They didn't look like they'd be friends.

One looked like he could be in Chas and Dave

and the other looked like, well, a Tory MP.

Seb Coe, very clean-cut image,

Cambridge University student,

the model athlete on and off the track.

Ovett was a bit more rock'n'roll and edgy.

# Here we go, here we go, here we go... #

I remember him winning a race and 30 metres to go,

he was waving to the crowd.

I was an Ovett man.

He looked like he could have been a keyboard player in a prog rock band.

Children fought in playgrounds.

Families were split. Not quite, but you get the picture.

These two didn't like each other very much.

But come the 800 metre final in Moscow,

Coe was dead cert to win gold, in his favourite event,

over his old rival, Ovett. Nothing could go wrong. Nothing.

They were both very good athletes at the 800 and 1500 metres.

They were going to double up and do that at the Games.

Coe was clear favourite for the 800, world record holder,

and everyone thought he would win it.

'Ovett hits the front. Coe can't get through,

'Steve Ovett coming home to take the gold medal for Great Britain,

'to beat Sebastian Coe who gets the silver.

'And Ovett looks up in triumph.'

It was, like, a massive talking point,

the fact that we knew he was good, but that's Coe's event.

How dare he come in and win the 800.

I suppose I must have compounded more cardinal sins of

middle distance running in 1.5 minutes, than I have in a lifetime.

It was like night was day and day was night,

cats were barking and dogs were meowing.

The very fabrics of what we knew had been shifted.

Days later, the two met again, this time in Ovett's favourite event,

the 1500 metres.

Could Ovett do the double?

COMMENTATOR: And Ovett is on the near side.

Could this be Ovett's first defeat?

Ovett is in trouble

and Coe gets the event he wants.

Coe wins.

In a result that shocked the world, Coe struck back.

It shows the mental strength of Coe that he'd got over

the disappointment of not winning his major event and won the 15.

How much could the British public take?

They won the races that no-one expected and swapped over.

They both came home with an Olympic gold medal, but in the wrong event.

Who knew middle distance running could cause so much chaos?

People are talking about who should light the flame in London 2012.

People are saying it should be a race between those two

and whoever gets there first. I think that's a brilliant idea.

Usain Bolt has saved my sport.

And after Beijing 2008 there wasn't a person on the planet

who didn't know who he was.

Usain Bolt became a megastar in Beijing.

The super-human freak of nature.

The Jamaican was the biggest thing to hit athletics in years,

and not just because of his massive six foot five frame.

'He's a better runner than he is dancer, I'll say that.'

He was a BOLT out of the blue.

All of this before the start. It is brilliant.

I don't know what the celebration is. He says it's a lightning bolt. But I fail to see how.

As he lined up for the 100 metre final,

the world asked if he could live up to the hype.

I was in the Bird's Nest Stadium and it was the event

and it's over so quickly.

You don't fully take it in, even if you're there.

COMMENTATOR: They get away first time. Powell has got a good start.

Here comes Usain Bolt. Usain Bolt streaking away from the field.

It's going to be gold for Jamaica.

That is superb, it's a new world record!

He has blown them all away.

It was clear that Usain Bolt wasn't just the real deal, he was the nuts.

We knew he'd just run the fastest of any human being.

But he didn't run the whole 100 metres.

He was so fast that he could slow down

and just look at the other guys!

-You're out.

-Some in the audience were not amused.

Everyone got so het up about that. Why?

That wasn't disrespectful, that was him pumping his chest saying,

"I'm Olympic Champion."

'My goodness me. What a demonstration.'

But if his early celebrations were enough to wind up his rivals,

imagine how they felt when they watched the race back

and saw his shoelaces weren't done up!

-I don't believe that.

-Gobsmacked.

-I don't believe that for one minute.

It was like winning the X Factor by whistling your favourite song.

Maybe he would have had 9.3 if he'd done his laces up properly.

In the next race, he definitely did his laces up

as he aimed to smash another world record in the 200 metres,

to collect an astonishing double.

Could he do is it?

COMMENTATOR: Usain Bolt already going past.

He set that stage alight. You've got to say.

COMMENTATOR: Blasting round the top bend, Walter Dix in second place.

Shawn Crawford trying to hang on.

What's the time? It's gold for Usain Bolt and a new world record.

I do not believe it. Absolutely brilliant!

19.30. Into a head wind.

Oh, just the fastest man on this planet.

Whatever happens from now on, he'll always be remembered for that.

'Two gold medals, and two world records.'

Bolt is already celebrating the Olympics which he is going to win.

He ran so fast that he went into the future and saw himself win it.

I am number one! I am! Number one!

Britain has much to be ashamed of.

Take this weirdo for instance.

But in Sydney 2000 a whole nation stood proudly

and saluted a home-grown hero.

Sir Steve Redgrave is not your archetypal sports star.

Redgrave never looked like a sportsman. Michael Johnson looks like an amazing runner.

Steve Redgrave looks like the kind of guy you buy your bacon from.

Even his sport isn't what you'd call populist.

Rowing is an elitist sport.

Every year we have Oxford versus Cambridge, never Luton Poly.

And there is gold for Great Britain.

But for most of us, Sir Steve is a hero in spite of all of this,

thanks to five golds in five different Olympics.

Steven Redgrave is making his way into Olympic history.

To win five gold medals,

back-to-back with different teams in different events.

It's an unbelievable feat.

I think he is the greatest sportsperson in this country.

'Redgrave and Pinsent. They are the British Olympic Champions.'

During his career he had surgery to remove his appendix

and was diagnosed with diabetes.

Yet, like the Bionic Man, he kept on winning.

Great Britain, gold medals, Steven Redgrave. Mission accomplished.

It's amazing that somebody could push themselves

to that extreme for that long.

I'd be very, very surprised if he's not lighting the torch in July.

His life could have taken a different turn after he uttered these immortal words in '96.

If anyone sees me go near a boat, you have my permission to shoot me.

And there he is, four years later,

back in the boat winning another gold.

'Great Britain get the gold medal!'

Five Olympic gold medals, it's absolutely unbelievable.

And so, we've finally arrived.

Time to cross the line and find out who our winner is.

We know who has taken bronze and silver.

Let's now find out who is going to stand on top

-of our metaphorical podium.

-What are you talking about?

The winner, the person who has got to number one.

This is our most amazing Olympic moment of all time.

And I will beat any man in the world

and I want everyone on TV to know it.

I am the greatest.

We've seen lots of glorious sporting moments

but the ones that stay in the memory are the ones that transcend sport.

From Jesse Owens enraging Hitler by winning four golds in Berlin,

to the Black Power salutes of Mexico '68,

to Cathy Freeman's Sydney heroics.

Muhammad Ali will be remembered as the greatest sportsman of all time.

The butterfly who stung like a bee inside the ring and outside, too.

It all started when he won Olympic gold in 1960.

A medal he later claims to have thrown into the Ohio River

in protest at racism in America.

He went on to protest against the Vietnam War

and inspired figures as great as Martin Luther King.

So, in 1996, although sadly suffering from Parkinson's,

he was the perfect choice to light the Olympic flame

in Atlanta, the spiritual home of the civil rights movement.

A sporting giant who represented more than just sport,

starting the world's greatest sporting event.

Muhammad Ali lighting the flame is the best moment

of any opening ceremony there has ever been.

He's such an iconic sportsperson.

The greatest name in sport, ever.

Having the opportunity to be recognised.

It was a beautiful moment.

I've never known a stadium of 80,000 people hold their breath.

COMMENTATOR: What a moment. One of the great figures in sport.

# Come on, come on, come on... #

There's no other like him

in any sport. You won't see anyone like him.

COMMENTATOR: The sacred Olympic Flame burning brightly

in the American city of Atlanta.

There he is with the eyes of the world on him

lighting the flame with Parkinson's,

just confronting it, facing it down,

incredible.

Ali is a legend and I think it's only right he carried the torch.

# Till we have built Jerusalem

# In England's green and pleasant land. #

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