With Rio less than a week away, Olympic fever is heating up!
But before we celebrate this year’s nail-biting achievements, let’s take a look back at some of the most memorable underdogs of the Olympics. The unlikely heroes and disadvantaged sports stars who took on the favourites and blew everyone away with their sheer determination and even inspired a movie!
Because there’s nothing the world loves more than a good ol’ underdog.
Brought to you by Eddie the Eagle, out now on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital
Michael “Eddie the Eagle” Edwards become everyone’s favourite underdog during the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics where he competed as Britain’s first ever Olympic ski jumper. He might have finished last, but he cemented his status as a national treasure. The unlikely hero even got the Hollywood treatment this year when a movie about his life, Eddie the Eagle, starring Taron Egerton and Hugh Jackman was released.
Speed skater Steven Bradbury was considered the outsider in the short track 1000m final at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. What the crowd didn’t count on was all four of his competitors crashing at the last minute, leaving him to claim gold! Relive Steven’s victorious moment in the next slide. Gallery continues after the video!
Mariel Zagunis didn’t qualify for the 2004 Athens Olympics, but ended up in the tournament when Nigeria pulled out. While all hopes were pinned on her fellow American (and the world #1 in women’s fencing) Sada Jacobson, underdog Mariel won gold becoming the first American to win an Olympic gold for fencing in 100 years. How’s that for a story!
Wild-card Eric “The Eel” Moussambani Malonga from Equatorial Guinea took part in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, despite having never seen or swam in an Olympic-sized pool before. After his two competitors were disqualified, Eric had to swim his heat solo. He was slower than anyone in Olympic history and, at one point didn’t look like he would finish, but the crowd got behind him because he was a battler.
No one expected Japan to beat the American softball team in the finals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but they underestimated pitcher Yukiko Ueno. Her performance is still hailed as one of the best in the game and it resulted in one of the sport’s greatest upsets in Olympic history. Go, Yukiko!
Even Misty Hyman herself couldn’t believe that she’d beaten Susie “Madame Butterfly” O’Neill to take out gold during the final of the 200m butterfly at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Just look at that face!
Setting a new world record at the Olympics is impressive enough. But when you consider that South Korean archer, Im Dong-hyun, has 20/200 vision, legally making him blind, it makes his new world record at the 2000 London Olympics that bit more remarkable.
Sure, you know her as the gold-medal-winning pro snowboarder, but Torah Bright didn’t make the podium during her Olympic debut at the 2006 Torino Winter Olympics. Never one to let anything stand in her way, Torah came back bigger and better taking out gold at Vancouver four years later.
In a nail-biting battle for gold with the Russians at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, American gymnast Kerri Strug proved how worthy she was of a medal when she performed a second vault to help her teammates clinch first place, despite seriously injuring her ankle on the previous attempt.
Back in 1996 at the Atlantic Games, Kieren Perkins wasn’t in his best shape. He scraped into the final by a fraction of a second, but the underdog spirit put some fire in his belly and he had the swim of his life, earning a gold medal all the way out in lane eight.
The Jamaican bobsled team were considered the ultimate underdogs when they entered the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics, even having to borrow spare sleds to compete. The team may not have taken away any medals (ever) but they did compete in five more Winter Olympics.
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