U.S. speedskater Eric Heiden's sweep of all five gold medals in 1980 set a standard in his sport, and British figure skaters Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean dazzled the world with their Bolero performance four years later. And in 1988, figure skating's "Battle of the Brians" featuring U.S. star Brian Boitano and Canada's Brian Orser captivated viewing audiences far and wide.
But what was the greatest Olympic moment ever? Some surely will argue for the U.S. hockey team's gold medal performance at Lake Placid 30 years ago. That feat, though, was more an Olympic saga with a new chapter written after each game in the tournament.
Klammer vs. Russi
No, the greatest, most exciting single moment in Olympic history --- both winter and summer --- arguably took place on Feb. 5, 1976, when local favorite Franz Klammer beat out Switzerland's Bernhard Russi for the men's downhill skiing gold medal at Innsbruck, Austria. Specifically, it was the way that Klammer won that remains forever etched in memory.
High Expectations for Two Champions at Innsbruck
To set the stage, the 27-year-old Russi was the defending Olympic downhill champion, having won the gold medal at Sapporo four years earlier. In 1976, he had high expectations of a repeat at Innsbruck. But Klammer, 22, had expectations every bit as high after winning eight of nine World Cup downhill races in 1975. The Austrian also was skiing in front of the home crowd, conversely boosting confidence and adding pressure.
When the event finally came to pass, Russi, the third skier down the 3,145-meter hill, appeared almost a lock as a repeat Olympic champion with a time of 1 minute, 46.06 seconds. But Klammer, the 15th skier, was not deterred. From the moment he left the starting gate, Klammer descended the slope with a seemingly wild abandon. And Klammer's risk-taking ways only increased as he sped further down the hill. A mixture of cheers and fears swept through the crowd, which wondered when the crash would happen.
Klammer's Risks Rewarded
Remarkably, Klammer stayed on course, his all-out, go-for-broke style paying off when crossed the finish line to the roar of the crowd in 1:45.73, one-third of a second faster than Russi, whose hopes for second gold medal faded to silver.
For 2010, present-day competitors will write new chapters in Olympic history. Still, Franz Klammer's 1976 downhill run remains forever etched in memory.
Michael McGreehan - A 19-year staff writer for the Bay Area News Group, Mike's assignments generally involved high school sports. Nonetheless, he developed a ...
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