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Going for the Gold! Most Memorable Olympic Moments: Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte and More

Every year the world comes together to support their country’s athletes in the Olympic Games. Over the years, there have been more than a few memorable moments.

At the 1996 opening ceremony in Atlanta, 1960 Olympic champ and legendary boxer Muhammad Ali — who once claimed to have thrown his gold medal into the Ohio River after encountering racism in his native Louisville, Kentucky, — surprised the crowd by lighting the torch. The first Olympic basketball squad to boast NBA players — including Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone and Scottie Pippen — “was like traveling with 12 rock stars,” their coach said of the team, which easily won the gold by beating opponents by an average score of 44 points in Barcelona, Spain, in 1992. The now-iconic shot of sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who had won the gold and bronze medals in the 200-meter event, shows how they took a stand against racism with their salute during the “Star-Spangled Banner.” They were quickly expelled from the Mexico City Games in 1968, and both runners, as well as Australian silver medalist Peter Norman, who wore a human rights badge in support of the gesture, were penalized amid heavy criticism.

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