The most memorable moments in Olympic history
<p class="Body">Every four years, the iconic Olympic Games
brings with it superhuman displays of brilliance, gut-wrenching
defeats, and inspirational heroes that we cherish forever. It's
impossible to make a definitive list, but here are just some of the
headline-making moments in Olympic history that really got us
talking. And crying. And leaping in the air high-fiving.
<p class="Body">
Getty ImagesLondon 2012's Oscar-worthy opening ceremony
If you thought opening ceremonies were a bit naff, director's Danny Boyle's 2012 extravaganza was a gold-medal masterpiece to change even the most cynical of minds. With too many highlights to mention, let's just say: THE QUEEN - and that helicopter jump. David Beckham on a motor boat. Screening the lesbian kiss from Brookside. And David Bowie's Heroes. So British, so perfect. Can we watch it all again, please?
Getty Images13-year-old Eli Simmonds wins gold - twice
What were you doing when you were 13 years old? If you're swimmer Ellie Simmonds, you were smashing out two gold medals in the 100m and 400m at the 2008 Paralympics In Beijing and sky-rocketing to fame, that's what.
PA PhotosJessica Ennis-Hill's 2012 triumph
Some people get really good at one event - Jessica Ennis-Hill is Olympic-level champion at SEVEN. The heptathlete took an amazing silver this year in Rio and did us all proud, but it was her incredible victory to gold in London 2012 that made the nation really roar with pride
Getty ImagesThe fall we're still talking about 32 years later
Talk about controversy. In 1984, South-African-born GB runner Zola Budd collided with the US's Mary Decker in the 3,000 metre finals at the Los Angeles Games. Decker couldn't finish, and 18-year-old Budd - who would run barefoot - dropped to 7th place amidst boos from the crowd. The accident was later ruled not to be her fault, but even today, experts are still trying to work out what happened.
Getty ImagesMo Farah falls - then still wins
We could fill a gallery all by itself with photos of Mo Farah celebrating - not least his two golds at London 2012. But for up-to-date mega-greatness, Farah's thrilling victory in Rio this year to retain the 10,000m was heart-in-mouth extraordinary thanks to a mid-race fall that threatened to take away the dream. It didn't, he won. The Mo Bot was performed. Gold stuff.
Getty Images1960: The year a champ was made
A fear of flying meant that Cassius Marcellus Clay nearly didn't make it Rome in 1960. Luckily for us, he did. The 18-year-old boxer - who in 1964 took the name Muhammad Ali - took gold, and a hero was born. The world lost one of its greats when the champion, who had a long battle with Parkinson's, died earlier this year in June.
Getty ImagesNicola Adams makes boxing history
Gaming-changing moment alert. London 2012. Women are allowed to compete in boxing for the first time ever. Nicola Adams, from Leeds, then 29, enters the ring with a big smile and one hell of a punch and fights her way into the history books, striking gold for GB and equality. What a champ.
Channel 4The Superhumans arrive
Not a sporting moment, as such, but big whoops and cheers for Channel 4's extraordinary Meet The Superhumans campaign in 2012. The 90-second advert got us talking about the Games like never before and London 2012 became the first ever Paralympic Games to sell out. Featuring incredible athletes including Hannah Cockroft, Ellie Simmonds, Jonnie Peacock and Richard Whitehead, Channel 4 helped change the way many people looked at disability and sport. We can't wait to see what happens at the Rio Paralympics in September.
Getty ImagesWomen participate in the Olympics for the first time ever
Shout out to the 22 women (versus 975 men) who competed at the 1900 Olympics in Paris - the first modern-day Olympics to allow women to participate. England's Charlotte Cooper - playing tennis in a long white skirt - was the first woman to win. Back then, women could only take part in four sports: lawn tennis, croquet, golf and sailing. It only took 112 more years before we were allowed to compete in every event (sigh).
Getty ImagesWhen ice skating got violent
For you-couldn't-make-it-up drama fit for a soap opera, look no further than Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding. The arch rival American figure skaters made headlines when Kerrigan was struck with a baton during practice in 1994 in an attack planned by Harding's ex-husband to destroy her Olympic chances. But seven weeks later, Kerrigan took silver at the Winter Olympics, and Kerrigan came 7th. The latter was then barred for life.
Rex FeaturesTom Daley shows the world how to celebrate
Happiness is... this photo of diver Tom Daley after he won the bronze in London 2012. "It was just an awesome moment," said the star, then 18, when his team celebrated the success by leaping into the pool with him.
PA PhotosPaula Radcliffe's shock drop-out
There was heartbreak in 2004 for one of our most cherished sporting heroes, when stomach problems caused a dream-shattering defeat for Paula Radcliffe. Having set the marathon world record of 2:15:25 the year before, Radcliffe was predicted to take the gold, but at mile 22, she just stopped, sat down on the side, and wept. And so did we all.
Getty ImagesThe world meets Usain Bolt
The Beijing Olympics in 2008 marked the first moment (but not the last) when collective jaws around the world dropped to the ground as Jamaican superstar super-sprinter Usain Bolt stormed passed his opponents, taking the 100m in 9.69 seconds. The fastest man EVER, the Lightning Bolt held his titles for the 100m and 200m four years later and has now defended his 100m title again - making history as the first man ever to do so - in Rio.
PA PhotosJesse Owens proves Hitler wrong
In one of the Olympic's most powerful and significant moments, African-American sprinter and long-jumper Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics - a triumph in the face of Hitler, who having risen to power three years earlier, had hoped the Games would prove the superiority of the "new Aryan man".
Getty ImagesThe Russia doping scandal
It’s the biggest Olympic drugs story ever – and the revelations just keep on coming. Just one day before the Rio 2016 opening ceremony, 167 Russian athletes were removed from competing (though, controversially, not all) after a report found evidence that Russia operated a state-sponsored doping programme. Three days later, the entire Russian team was banned from the 2016 Summer Paralympics, due to state-backed cheating during the 2014 Winter Paralympics. Even as the second week of Rio unfolds, Russian athletes' validity to compete is still being challenged.
