OLYMPIC FLASHBACKS

This collection of 60 short Olympic tales covers the past 125 years. From the early days of running on cinder tracks and swimming in rivers to today's sparkling architectural precincts the Games have become the world's largest two week sportsfest spawning hundreds of champions with their own background from all around the world. Enjoy these stories, relive historical moments, remember the legends, celebrate the heroes… be inspired.

Mark Tonelli OLY
www.marktonelli.com

#OlympicTrivia

Transcript

INTRO
Hello I’m Mark Tonelli. I have been fascinated by the Olympics since watching the 1968 Mexico Games 100m freestyle on an old black and white TV.  Where Australian icon Mike Wenden won a tight battle with Americans Ken Walsh and a young Mark Spitz. That inspired me to compete at two Olympics Games winning Gold with my team mates doing the butterfly leg on the Medley Relay at Moscow...many more sublime summer games followed as a commentator, sponsor, reporter, spectator and Olympians Club director. This flashback series is a collection of 60 of my favourite short Olympic tales covering the past 125 years. Enjoy the stories, relive historical moments, remember the legends, celebrate the heroes... be inspired.

ALL THAT GLITTERS IS NOT GOULD
The 1972 Olympics featured possibly the world’s finest ever female swimmer. The Australian’s reputation was so daunting in the Olympic Village in Munich that, American Swimmers, wore t-shirts saying “All that glitters is not Gould”. Shane Gould went on to win 3 Gold Medals, 1 silver and 1 bronze from 5 individual events holding every freestyle world record from 100 to 1500m at the same time... plus the 200m individual medley and retiring at the age of just 16.

TARZAN
In 1957 on the way to a celebrity golf tournament in Cuba. Hollywood idol and 5-time Olympic Gold Medalist Johnny Weissmuller was held up by armed Castro rebels... some of whom recognised him whispering... Tarzan, Tarzan. That’s Tarzan. Sensing an opportunity, the ‘Ape Man’ beat his chest blasting out “Ah Ah o ah”... The guerrillas were so star struck... after collecting a few autographs... they gave Weissmuller and his group a rebel escort to the golf course.

RIVALRY
One of the great Olympic rivalries between British middle distance titans Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett produced a surprising result at the 80 Moscow Olympics. Coe was the world record holder and favourite for his pet distance the 800 but was unexpectedly beaten by Ovett... six days later Coe turned the tables on Ovett defeating him over 1500 a distance he hadn’t lost in 42 starts. Coe and Ovett both won Gold Medals... but in the other person’s event.

POCKET HERCULES
In the sport of weightlifting Naim Süleymanoğlu proved bigger is not always better. Pound for pound the strongest weightlifter of all time the Turkish legend made Olympic history at Atlanta in 1996 by winning 3 consecutive gold medals in the featherweight division. Weighing in at 60 kilos and standing just 147 centimetres tall the tiny powerhouse nicknamed “Pocket Hercules” is the only weightlifter ever to clean and jerk 10 kilos more than 3 times his bodyweight.

GREEK HISTORY
Olympic tradition dates back almost 3000 years to the Original Olympus Games held in ancient Greece. But it could have been a different story. The father of the Modern Olympics French Aristocrat Baron Pierre De Coubertin wanted the first games to held in Paris in 1900 to coincide with the World’s Fair. Unwilling to wait 4 years organisers opted for Athens in 1896. Aligning the modern Olympics with classical Greek history forever.

GOLDEN GRAND SLAM
Tennis was re-introduced to the Olympics at Seoul in 1988 after a 64-year hiatus. Number 1 in the world at the time was German superstar Steffi Graff who had won the US Open a week earlier adding to her existing Australian, French and Wimbledon crowns that year... completing a rare grand slam. But with the addition of an Olympic Gold medal which she rates as her finest achievement...  Graff became the only person ever to achieve a Golden Grand Slam. 

THE FLYING FISH
American Flying Fish Michael Phelps has rewritten the Olympic record book with amazing sportsmanship. At the 2004 Athens Olympics he was trying to equal Mark Spitz’s haul of 7 Gold in a single Games.  He got 6, along the way giving his finals spot on a relay to a team mate. Four years later in Beijing he collected a record 8 adding to career total of 23 Gold medals – proving nice guys don’t necessarily come last

BLOOD DOPING
Winning 4 Olympic Gold medals ‘Flying Finn” distance runner Lasse Viren completed an historic double-double and changed the rule books in the process. Capturing the 5 and 10 thousand metres at the 72 Munich games, he repeated the feat 4 years later in Montreal amid allegations of blood doping – infusing oxygenated blood just before the competition. Not illegal at the time as it was supposedly his own blood... denied by Viren the practice has since been banned.

PLUNGE FOR DISTANCE
In the original long jump at the ancient Olympics contestants would throw lead weights backward mid air to propel themselves forward. The modern event now features a narrow runway where the competitor accelerates to maximum speed leaping into a rectangular sand pit. Swimming’s attempt at its own ‘long jump’ was a standing dive into the water and gliding face down until stopped. Mercifully the ‘plunge for distance’ made its one and only appearance at the 1904 St. Louis Olympics.

CYCLING DYNASTY
One of Great Britain’s most successful Olympic disciplines is cycling... with 2-wheel legend Sir Chris Hoy spectacularly topping the all-sport leader board at the 2012 London games by winning his 6th Gold medal. Jason Kenny equaled the feat 4 years later at the 2016 Rio Olympics... and took the family total to 10 Gold Medals. Establishing a potential British Olympic cycling dynasty by marrying team mate and most successful female track cyclist ever - 4-time Champion Laura Trott.

PENTATHLON FINISH
Based on the ancient Olympics... the modern pentathlon includes the 5 skills a soldier needed to deliver a message - riding an unfamiliar horse, fighting a sword duel, shooting a pistol, swimming a river and running through the woods. At the 2016 Olympics the battlefield was Rio de Janeiro where unheralded Australian Chloe Esposito came into the final event, running and shooting sitting in 7th place... 45 seconds behind but powered on to spectacularly win the Gold in an Olympic record.

WALKER THE RUNNER
New Zealand had a dramatic effect on the 76 Montreal Olympics both on and off the track. Anti-apartheid African nations boycotted over a rugby test played earlier between New Zealand and sporting pariahs South Africa. Under huge pressure to defend his 1500 metre world record John Walker answered the critics by sprinting early 300 metres out to take the Gold. Knighted that same year Sir John Walker was the first person to break the 3 min 50 barrier.

FLAMING ARROW
Lighting the Olympic flame at Opening Ceremonies is a spectacle not to be missed.... especially at the 92 Barcelona Games. Lone disabled archer, Antonio Rebollo was to shoot a flaming arrow 230 feet into the air on a dark windy night in Montjuïc Stadium to ignite the cauldron with the world watching. He’d missed before in practice but with nerves of steel he lofted the burning shaft directly to its target proudly stating “The Olympics have started.”

DAWN FRAZER
Dawn Fraser was the first swimmer to win the same event at three consecutive Olympics.... Melbourne 56, Rome 60, Tokyo 64 and probably would have won a 4th 100 meters freestyle at Mexico had she not been controversially banned by Australian Swimming. A true living legend. She was the first woman to break 60 seconds for the 100 freestyle. Dawn so completely dominated the women’s blue-riband event... she held the world record an incredible 15 years... taking Shane Gould to break it. 

EMIRATES GOLD
The United Arab Emirates has competed at the last 9 Olympics most recently sending 13 athletes to the 2016 Rio Games to contest 6 sports – shooting, swimming, athletics, cycling, weightlifting and Judo. It was in the sport of shooting at the 2004 Athens Olympics that Dubai Sheik Ahmed Al Maktoum famously won the double trap becoming one of only 4 members of a royal family ever to win an Olympic Gold medal. Superbly fit Sheik Maktoum was also his country’s national squash champion.

FEAR OF HEIGHTS
Australia had never won a medal of any colour at the Olympics in this event until the 2008 Beijing Games. When 26-year-old Melbournian pole vaulter Steve Hooker overcome his fear of heights with hypnosis to take the gold medal in dramatic circumstances. Just making the required height with his 3rd and final attempt on all 4 of his last jumps Hooker went on to become the first Australian male to win a track and field gold medal in 40 years.

GOLD SILVER BRONZE
Winning an Olympic Gold medal is every athlete’s dream. But at the 1st games of the modern era in Athens - silver medals were awarded for 1st place and bronze for 2nd.... no 3rd. Gold replaced silver at the St Louis Games of 1904 with the last solid gold medals being awarded in 1912 at Stockholm. Gold medals are now sterling silver with a covering of pure gold... a step up from the olive branch given to ancient Olympic champions.

DREAM TEAM
There’s no such thing as a certain Olympic gold medal... unless you happen to be playing for the US Basketball team at Barcelona 92. Relaxed professionalism rules created what some consider the greatest team ever assembled, the “Dream Team” - Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Charles Barkley... the core 4. Winning by an unheard of average 44 points point a game the billion dollar basketballers opted to buy their own hotel rather than stay in the village. 

MARK AND CHARISMA
Equestrian eventing at the Olympics combines jumping, dressage and cross country... rider and horse forming an inseparable team. So, it was with Mark Todd and Charisma... the first pairing ever to win back-to-back Olympic Gold Medals... at the 84 LA and 88 Seoul games. Knighted in 1995 Sir Mark Todd won 6 Olympic medals from an incredible career spanning 7 Olympic Games and was voted rider of the 20th century by the International Equestrian Federation. 

MELBOURNE GAMES TWO COUNTRIES
The 1956 Melbourne Olympics were the only Games to be officially held in two countries. The Federal government’s refusal to relax its strict quarantine regulations of 6 months for horses made an unworkable situation for organisers forcing them to stage the equestrian events in Stockholm, Sweden. Australia attending its 1st competition in the sport sent 4 riders and their mounts to contest Jumping and Eventing half way around the world to compete in its own Olympics.

WHAT’S THE WORLD RECORD
Australia’s most recent men’s track gold medal was the 800 metres at the 68 Mexico City Olympics. In a brilliantly executed race, unheralded Melbourne runner Ralph Doubell came from well back in the pack passing Kenyan favourite Wilson Kiprugut half way down the straight to win the classic two lap event by a metre. Asking what the world record was after the race Doubell was pointed to the time beside his name at the top of the scoreboard and told “That is”.

ERIC THE EEL
The Olympics are not all about winning. Dogged determination can bring a crowd to its feet. In the pool at the Sydney Olympics ‘Eric the eel’ Moussambani from Equatorial Guinea almost drowned. Never having swum 100m freestyle before... alone and exhausted on the 2nd lap of the 1st heat he started sinking...until the 17,000 strong crowd began wildly cheering... willing him on. Miraculously he made it recording 1.52.7 the slowest time ever.

MISS PERFECT
Imagine an Olympic performance so good the electronic scoring equipment couldn’t cope. At the 76 Montreal Games – youngest ever all-round gymnastic champion... 14-year-old Romanian prodigy Nadia Comăneci was awarded the first ever perfect 10... trouble is the electronic scoreboard only went to 9.9... she achieved another 8 perfect 10s on the uneven bars, balance beam and floor. Known world-wide simply as Nadia she went on to win a total of 5 individual Olympic Gold medals.

SOLDIER SKILLS
Recognising sport as an ideal way to increase fitness levels and hone soldiers’ fighting skills...The Modern Olympics were born in Athens in 1896. Modelled on ancient Greece’s Olympus games featuring pankration – a mixture of boxing, wrestling, javelin, discus, shot put, running and chariot racing. Modern Games events were to include wrestling, fencing, shooting, weightlifting, gymnastics, athletics and swimming... skills considered essential to the warriors of the day.

STRONGEST MAN IN THE VILLAGE
The coveted title - strongest man in the village – Olympic Village that is... had never been held by an Australian. Until Man Mountain Dinko ‘Dean’ Lukin... a Port Lincoln tuna fisherman hoisted an astounding 240 kilos over his head... 15 more than nearest rivals in his final attempt at the 84 LA Games. A unique training regime of combining lifting free weights and huge blue fin tuna won the unassuming super heavyweight an iconic Gold Medal.

BAREFOOT RUNNING
Running barefoot is a sight you don’t see in an Olympic final. But at the 84 LA Games, South African Zola Bud did exactly that. After a spectacular clash of running shoes and bare feet dropping American favourite Mary Decker to the track in the 3000 metres opinions were divided. But with a world record over 5000 meters to her credit Zola Bud defied the odds sending billion-dollar shoe sponsors nervously back to the drawing board.

THORPEDO
Ian Thorpe is Australia’s most decorated Olympian – with 5 gold medals but his most dramatic win was the 400 Freestyle at the 2004 Athens Games. Thorpe wasn’t even supposed to be in the race after been disqualified for false start in the event at selection trials 4 months earlier in Sydney. But incredibly team mate Craig Stevens gave him his starting spot. World record holder and defending champion ‘Thorpedo’ capitalised on his 2nd chance narrowly defeating fast finishing countryman Grant Hackett.

HOLLYWOOD AT THE GAMES
The Olympic Games have always had a Hollywood spectacle about them... with some Olympians going on to become stars of the big and small screens. Flash Gordon and Tarzan were US swimming Gold Medalists Buster Crabbe and Johnny Weissmuller while Hawaiian team mate Duke Kahanamoku popularised surfing. Spaghetti western idol Bud Spenser was the 1st Italian to break the minute for the 100 Freestyle. ... and Bruce ‘Caitlyn’ Jenner of Kardashian’s fame in another life won the 1976 Olympic decathlon.

SIR STEVEN REDGRAVE
The mantle of GOAT – ‘greatest of all time’ is bestowed upon very few by their chosen sport. In rowing this singular honour belongs to Sir Steven Redgrave – 5 Olympic Gold medals at 5 consecutive Olympics and 9 world championships – enough said. He dominated his sport from 1984 to 2000 winning gold with the British coxed 4 in LA, coxless pairs at Seoul, Barcelona, Atlanta and after retiring came back to take his 5th Gold medal in Sydney.

AUSTRALIAN CRAWL
Records of swimming date back 4000 years to ancient Egyptian times. And has been used in wars by specially trained soldiers over the ages to sneak up on enemy strongholds across unguarded bodies of water. Originally a form of breaststroke a revolutionary front crawl was demonstrated at the British swimming society in 1844 by two native Americans. The first modern freestyle was introduced to competition in 1899 by Australian Dick Cavill. Hence the name Australian Crawl still used today.

STANDS ON THE SANDS
One of the most popular events at the 2000 Sydney Olympics combined the Emerald city’s stunning coastline with beach volleyball. Performing to sell-out crowds the Australian pairing of Kerri Pottharst and Natalie Cook took on the defending Brazilian champions who they had beaten only 3 out of 17 times. In a thrilling final Pottharst and Cook won the gold Medal supported by the rapturous applause of 10,000 sun-soaked spectators in the ‘stands on the sands’ of Bondi Beach.

GOLDEN GIRL BETTY
The first Australian to win 3 Gold Medals at a single Olympics was an unknown 18-year-old named Betty Cuthbert. Dubbed the Golden Girl of the 56 Melbourne Games she took the 100, 200, anchored the 4x100 metre relay coming out of retirement 8 years later to win her 4th Gold Medal in the 400 at Tokyo. An Australian national treasure Betty Cuthbert contracted MS in 1969 and could run no more spending the rest of her life in a wheel chair.

FULLY LOADERED
The first New Zealander to win a gold medal at the Olympic Games was actually a swimmer. Mutiny on the bounty descendant... Malcolm Champion swam the second leg of the Gold Medal 4x200 freestyle relay on a combined Australasian team at the 1912 Games. Fast forward 84 years to Atlanta when Danyon Loader would change stroke from butterfly to make history becoming the first of only 2 male swimmers ever to win Gold in the 200 and 400 metres freestyle.  

LET THE GAMES BEGIN
Since 1896... Olympic Games have been staged every leap year with the exception of Berlin 1916, Tokyo 1940 and London 1944 due to World Wars 1 and 2... plus Tokyo 2020 due to the covid virus. Traditionally games have been awarded by the International Olympic Committee to successful bidding cities 7 years before the event installing world class sporting facilities around the globe. But with crippling multi-billion dollar budgets... host cities that have existing infrastructure and regions are now being considered.

WHATS IN A NAME
Thailand weight-lifter Chan-phim Kan-thatian was told by a fortune teller to change her name to improve her chances of winning an Olympic Gold Medal. So, she did. Now Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarakoon ... She took out the 53 kg division vision at the Beijing Olympics. A powerful lift of 126 kilos in the clean and jerk gave her an unbeatable lead narrowly missing the world record. Although they couldn’t fit her new 31 letter name on the scoreboard... the gold medal perfectly around her neck.

BLOOD IN THE WATER
Two months before the 1956 Melbourne Olympics... Soviet tanks rolled into Budapest to put down a revolution. So... Hungary playing the USSR, in the Olympics’ roughest team sport - water-polo... was always going to be highly charged. With defending champions Hungary leading 4-nil in the semi-final tempers flared and the riot police were called. The match dubbed ‘Blood in the Water’ due to serious injuries sustained was awarded to Hungary who went on to defeat Yugoslavia in the final.

LAST PLACE
“My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race. They sent me here to finish it!”  Are the immortal words uttered by Stephen Akhwari at the end of his 3hrs 25 min marathon effort in a lonely dark stadium at 68 Mexico Olympics. Bloodied, bandaged and limping from a crash with other athletes... the Tanzanian runner went down in Olympic folklore as its most famous last place finisher.

NEW HORIZONS
There can be no greater honour bestowed on an athlete than naming a ground breaking manoeuvre after them.The Fosberry Flop invented by Dick Fosberry to replace the straddle in 1968 is the current technique used by all high jumpers today. Japanese Gymnast Mitsuo Tsukahara lends his name to the Tsukahara Vault. And American Gymnastics’ tiny titan Simone Biles continues to introduce moves previously considered impossible. So technically demanding her competition refuse to attempt them.

OUTSIDE SMOKE
Defending an Olympic gold medal 4 years later is supposed to be hard... but not nearly as hard as this. Just making the team swimming completely out of form... 40 seconds slower than his world record... Kieren Perkins qualified into last place by inches in the 1500 freestyle in Atlanta. Spectacularly reversing form in the final Perkins lead from start to finish from lane 8 to record a famous victory saying afterwards..."I completely brainwashed myself into believing it was mine.''

THE GREATEST
Seven years before Mohamed Ali became one of the most famous people on the planet the 18-year-old boxing prodigy from Louisville Kentucky travelled to the 1960 Rome Olympics competing under his given name Cassius Clay. Along the way to winning the light-heavyweight Gold Medal he defeated Australian star Tony Madigan and three-time European champion Zbigniew Pietrzykowski both by unanimous decisions. Nicknamed the Greatest... Ali went on to become the only 3 time undisputed heavy-weight champion of the world.

CATHY FREEMAN
It’s a fact world record holder, defending champions and favourites don’t always win Olympic Gold medals. Especially with the added pressure and expectations of a home Games but Cathy Freeman came through. At Sydney 2000... In a packed stadium in front of a delirious record crowd of 117,000 spectators...  carrying the weight of a nation on her slender shoulders.... Freeman delivered the Gold. Breaking a 36-year drought since Betty Cuthbert had won the 400 metres on the track in Tokyo.

FIVE RINGS
Introduced at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics the coloured interlocking rings of the Olympic flag is one of the most recognisable brands on the planet. Originally designed by Modern Olympics founder Baron Pierre de Coubertin - the 5 colours... blue, yellow, black, green and red on a white background are drawn from every national flag and the rings represent the 5 continents - Africa, the Americas, Oceania, Asia, and Europe. Antarctica is yet to send a team.

CYCLING QUEEN
Cycling is one of Australia’s most successful Olympic sports. Spearheaded by Anna Mears the most decorated female track cyclist of all time having medalled at 4 consecutive Olympics. Winning Gold in her 1st Games over the 500m time trial at Athens 2004... she courageously came back from a broken neck after a 65 kilometre an hour crash to win her 2nd Gold medal in the sprint at London 2012. A perfect role model she was our flag bearer at the Rio Olympics.

MEAN MACHINE
Teams with nick-names hold a special place in the public’s imagination...especially when you are talking about 4 - 6 foot plus shaven headed Swim stars called the “Mean Machine”. LA was beguiled by Australia’s 4 x 100 freestyle relay team at the 84 games. Rank outsiders behind the unbeatable US home team... but with plenty of heart Mark Stockwell... Greg Fasala... Neil Brooks and Michael Delaney, by taking silver, narrowly missed doing the impossible by a hair.

SIR MO
Great Britain’s most decorated athlete Mo Farah was spectacularly introduced to Olympic distance running at his home 2012 London Games winning the rare 5 and 10 thousand metre double. He went on to sweep all before him in both events at the next 2 world championships and again at the 2016 Rio Olympics... a feat described as history’s first ‘quadruple-double’. Knighted in 2017... track legend... Sir Mo Farah also holds the European record for the marathon.

TAEKWONDO GOLD
The inaugural Taekwondo Gold medal at the Sydney 2000 Games was won by a 26-year-old Melbourne vegetarian whose father was a rock star. Lauren Burns, daughter of Ronnie Burns unexpectedly took out the under 49k Gold Medal. Inspired by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as a 14-year-old she was introduced to the Korean Martial art form by her father and brother. Surely, it’s a story you’d only see in the movies or at the Olympics.

BOYCOTT
The 1980 Moscow Olympics were meant to showcase the communist Soviet Union’s superiority in much the same way as the Nazi propaganda machine driven 1936 Berlin Games. But the Americans had other ideas... looking to end the cold war that had dragged on for 35 years. Nine years later the Berlin Wall finally came tumbling down, but by calling for an international boycott of the Moscow Games the Olympic movement was almost destroyed in the process. 

DAME VALERIE
Shot put is an Olympic event that can be traced back to cannonball throwing in the Middle Ages. Requiring strength speed and agility no woman has dominated this explosive Olympic competition like Dame Valerie Adams. A natural at her chosen sport she was unbeaten a staggering 95 times over 8 years between 2006 and 14 ... winning 8 world, 3 commonwealth and 2 Olympic Gold medals... just missing a record 3rd consecutive title at Rio from 4 Olympics. 

POOL QUEEN
There is only one Michael Phelps but his female equivalent is Katie Ledecky. She won her first Olympic Gold Medal as a 15-year-old in London in the 800 - an event she hasn’t been beaten in since. The 5-time world Female swimmer of the year currently holds world records for the 400, 800 and 1500 metres freestyle... has won 15 World Championships, 5 Olympic Gold Medals. The most ever so far.
 
 

TOUGH EQUESTRIAN
The toughest Olympic Equestrian discipline is the punishing 3-day event of jumping, dressage and endurance riding on the same horse.

At the 96 Atlanta Games South-Australian Gold Medalist Gillian Rolton fell... breaking her collarbone and puncturing a lung. Refusing to let her team down she got back on the horse. Unable to use her left arm Rolton fell again but completed 15 jumps over 3 more excruciating kilometres. Heroically adding a 2nd Gold Medal to her Barcelona triumph. 

DALEY DECATHLON
The Olympic decathlon champion is required to master 10 events over 2 grueling days... the 100, 400 and 1500 metres, 110 hurdles, long and high jumps, pole vault, shot put, discus and javelin... basically a one-man athletics team. Greatest all round British athlete ever Daley Thompson is the only person to hold Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth decathlon titles at the same time. He won 2 Olympic Gold medals and broke 4 world records.

MARATHON DISTANCE
The original marathon was run by Pheidippides in 490 BC bringing news to Athens of the Greek army’s victory over the Persians from the battlefields of Marathon 25 miles away. The distance until the 1908 London Olympics when the British Royal family wanted the marathon to start at Windsor Castle and finish in the Olympic Stadium in front of the Royal box...  the now official distance of the marathon - 26 miles 385 yards.

LADY HURDLERS
Australia has a rich history in Olympic Women’s hurdling with Shirley Strickland taking Gold in the 80m at Helsinki in 52 and Melbourne in 56. Mexico 68 saw 17-year-old Maureen Caird win defeating Aussie team mate Pam Kilbourne. Fast finishing Debbie Flintoff-King captured the 400m Hurdles at the 88 Seoul Olympics. While our latest ‘Golden Girl’ Sally Pearson came off 32 wins from 34 starts to dominate the 100 metre hurdles at the 2012 London Games.

PUNCHING ABOVE WEIGHT
New Zealand has competed as an independent nation at every Olympics since Antwerp 1920 winning its first official Gold Medal 8 years later at Amsterdam when 22-year-old southpaw Ted Morgan won the welterweight division in boxing. A fitting Golden debut for a remote south pacific Island country renowned for punching well above its weight... by winning a total of 117 medals in 13 Sports... with Rio 2016 delivering 18 medals... the most at a single game yet.

UNBEATEN
Undefeated is an accolade reserved for only the rarest of Olympic Champions. In 42 races from 1957 to 61 Australia’s Herb Elliott was never beaten over 1500 metres or a mile including his famous 1500 metre Gold Medal performance at the 1960 Rome Olympics wining by a record 20 metres. Herb Elliott broke the 4-minute mile no less than 17 times and ranks as one of the greatest middle-distance runners ever.

SOUTHERN COUSINS
The Olympic Games are usually held in July/August at the end of the Northern Hemisphere’s summer catering to European and North American athlete preparation. There has only ever been 3 Olympics staged in the Southern Hemisphere... with Melbourne 56 holding theirs in Nov/December. Australia dominated but it would be almost half a century before the games returned back down under to Sydney in 2000 and Rio 2016... with the proviso that they would be held in September and August respectively.

FIRST GOLD MEDAL
It was at the first Modern Olympics in Athens in 1896 that Australia won its first gold medal. Competing as his country’s sole representative and dubbed ‘The Lion of Athens’... 22-year-old runner Edwin ‘Teddy’ Flack... on holidays from his job in London as an accountant with Price Waterhouse...took an historic double winning the mile foot race and 2 days later the 800... kick-starting a 124-year Australian fascination with the Olympics.

GOLD AT EVERY GAMES
Only four countries have competed at every Olympic Games – Great Britain, France, Australia and Greece. But only one has won a gold medal at all of them. Competing under the Union Jack...  Great Britain fields one of the largest contingents drawing competitors from the United Kingdom, Territories and Dependencies. Ireland fields a team with its athletes free to choose. On a winning spree since being awarded London 2012... Team GB’s last two games have been the most successful in over 100 years. 

LIGHTNING BOLT
Fastest man on earth... Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt is in a class of his own. With an amazing 2.7-meter stride in full flight he has won 8 Olympic Gold medals. He’s the only sprinter to win the 100 and 200 metre double at 3 consecutive Olympics, Beijing, London and Rio plus Gold in 2 relays and 11 world championships. Still the fastest ever he holds the world records for 100, 200 and 4x1 relay.

GOLD GOLD GOLD
(“...Gold to Australia Gold”) That frenetic commentary by the late great Norman May is broadcasting Gold. He was calling the men’s 4x100 metres medley relay at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. It had been 8 years since Australia had won a Gold medal and the only time winning that event. Team members were Mark Kerry, Peter Evans, Neil Brooks and yours truly Mark Tonelli.

PODCAST OUTRO

Thank you for the time you have taken to listen to this podcast of many of my favourite Flashbacks, in no particular order, collected from around the world over 50 years with the Olympic Movement. 

It’s been a pleasure bringing you short stories about famous athletes, Olympic history, unforgettable races, unbeatable heroes and inspirational performances.

See you with our next podcast.

© Redfern Productions 2021