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During the 1980 Winter Games successful Lake Placid, New York, the US men's crystal hockey team, composed of amateur assemblage players, defeated the Soviet Union's nonrecreational squad (which had won the erstwhile 4 Olympic golden medals) 4–3.
This became known arsenic the "Miracle connected Ice" and is considered to beryllium 1 of the biggest upsets successful sports history. It was besides erstwhile the celebrated line, "Do you judge successful miracles?!" came from sportscaster Al Michaels during the game's broadcast.
2. "Surya Bonaly getting fed up and doing a backflip." —janes4c411b247
During the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics, Surya Bonaly performed a one-bladed backflip during her last escaped skate. This determination had been banned by the International Skating Union (ISU) since 1976, and the judges deducted points for it, dropping her from 6th to 10th place.
Despite this, Surya's determination became known arsenic the "Bonaly Flip," and her enactment of defiance made history. In 2024, the ISU yet legalized the backflip successful competition.
3. "Scott and Tessa's epic headdress to their vocation with their Moulin Rouge program. I'd seen it successful galore competitions starring up to Pyeongchang, but determination was thing astir that Olympic show that conscionable captivated everyone." —Anonymous, Alberta, Canada
During the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, Canada's Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir performed a record-setting escaped creation routine to a medley from the movie Moulin Rouge. The regular earned them the golden medal successful crystal dance, marking their 2nd Olympic rubric successful the event.
During the 2010 Winter Games successful Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili died astatine property 21 during a grooming tally astatine the Whistler Sliding Centre. He mislaid power successful the last turn, was thrown from his sled implicit the sidewall, and was fatally struck by a alloy column.
The calamity prompted contiguous changes to the track, including adding padding to the alloy poles and altering the exit of the last turn. Nodar was besides honored during the opening ceremonial with a infinitesimal of silence, a tribute from IOC President Jacques Rogge, and a lasting ovation for the remainder of the Georgian delegation.
On Jan. 6, 1994, Nancy was clubbed connected the limb by a hitman hired by Tonya's ex-husband and her bodyguard to forestall Nancy from competing successful the Winter Olympics. Kerrigan recovered and went connected to triumph metallic successful the 1994 Winter Olympics successful Lillehammer, Norway, portion Harding was aboriginal banned for beingness from the US Figure Skating Association aft pleading blameworthy to hindering prosecution.
6. "The velocity skater from, was it Australia? Well, anyway, helium won due to the fact that everyone astatine the apical fell, and helium conscionable calmly slid by. It was truly fun, and helium was precise happy." —Gurkanserdig
During the 2002 Winter Games, Australian velocity skater Steven Bradbury accidentally won golden successful short-track velocity skating erstwhile each 4 leaders (Li Jiajun, Apolo Ohno, Mathieu Turcotte, and Ahn Hyun-Soo) collided and fell successful the last crook of the past lap, allowing Steven to walk by and unafraid Australia's first-ever Winter Olympic golden medal.
This infinitesimal made the Australian idiom "doing a Bradbury" popular, referring to unexpectedly succeeding done others' mistakes oregon misfortune.
7. "Joannie Rochette skating aft her mom's passing." —Anonymous, Alberta, Canada
At the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, Canadian fig skater Joannie Rochette’s mother, Thérèse, died abruptly of a bosom onslaught astatine property 55, conscionable 2 days earlier the competition. Thérèse had precocious arrived successful Vancouver to ticker her girl vie and was recovered by her husband.
Despite the tragedy, Joannie inactive decided to compete, believing her parent would person wanted her to support going. Four days aft her mother's death, Joannie went connected to triumph the bronze medal with her incredible performance.
8. "Snowboarding was introduced to the Winter Olympics successful Nagano. Ross Rebagliati was the archetypal idiosyncratic to triumph golden and was promptly stripped of his medal and arrested for investigating affirmative for marijuana. Marijuana wasn’t really banned by WADA, truthful his medal was restored. Now he’s a cookware mogul." —janes4c411b247
At the 1998 Winter Games, Ross Rebagliati won Canada's first-ever Olympic golden medal successful snowboarding (giant slalom), but was past stripped of it aft investigating affirmative for THC. However, it was reinstated 2 days aboriginal by an appeals tribunal due to the fact that cannabis was not explicitly listed arsenic a prohibited substance astatine that time. Today, Ross is an entrepreneur successful the cannabis industry.
9. "As a Brit, we are reminded of Torvill and Dean's crystal creation to 'Bolero' each clip the Winter Olympics rotation around." —Gurkanserdig
At the 1984 Winter Games successful Sarajevo, Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean received 6.0s for creator content from each justice for their ice creation routine. The brace started the regular connected their knees for the archetypal 18 seconds to enactment wrong their 4-minute, 28-second clip limit, and they performed Ravel's "Boléro" from commencement to finish.
Catherine, William, and Michael each delivered a monologue astatine the closing ceremony, humorously portraying the Canadian stereotype of being overly polite and apologetic.
11. "Canadians Jamie Salé and David Pelletier being cheated retired of their pairs fig skating golden medal due to the fact that the French and Russian judges were vote-trading. They got it later, but it's not truly the aforesaid benignant of winning moment. Especially since the Russian skaters fell." —mrskimberlycoates
At the 2002 Winter Olympics, Canadian brace skaters Jamie Salé and David Pelletier were progressive successful a large ungraded involving Russia's Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze. Despite a noticeable stumble by Anton, the judges awarded the Russian brace a 5–4 determination successful the escaped skate competition.
Following an investigation, Jamie and David were promoted to gold, and each brace received their ain sets of golden medals. This contention led to the replacement of the 6.0 fig skating judging strategy with a much detailed, point-based system.
12. "The USA/Canadian crystal hockey lucifer successful 2010. I've been a hockey instrumentality for a agelong time, and this was hands down the astir tense and breathtaking crippled I've ever seen. I judge Canada won successful the end, but I didn't adjacent attraction that the USA mislaid due to the fact that the crippled was truthful good!" —Female, 43, Los Angeles
At the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, Canada's men's hockey squad bushed the US 3–2, marking the archetypal clip a big federation won golden successful the athletics since 1980. Sidney Crosby’s celebrated "golden goal" successful overtime secured Canada's grounds 14th golden medal, the astir ever won by a state astatine a azygous Winter Games.
13. "Oksana Baiul upsetting Nancy Kerrigan adjacent though she (Baiul) intelligibly two-footed a landing that should person resulted successful a nonaccomplishment of .10. I haven't gotten implicit 1994, period." —Female, 43, Pennsylvania
At the 1994 Winter Olympics successful Lillehammer, Norway, 16-year-old Oksana Baiul defeated Nancy Kerrigan to triumph gold. Despite errors connected her landings (two-footed), the judges favored Oksana's artistry implicit method mistakes, adjacent though Kerrigan executed 5 cleanable triple jumps.
After the results were announced, Nancy was caught connected camera saying, "Oh, travel on. So she's going to get retired present and outcry again. What's the difference?"
14. "Lindsey Jacobellis not winning the golden medal contempt being mode retired successful beforehand successful the Snowboard Cross final, 'cause she went for a showboat. Then having to hold 16 years to yet triumph the gold." —lifetheuniverseandeverything
At the 2006 Winter Games, USA's Lindsey Jacobellis wiped retired during the women's snowboard transverse finals, losing a 50-yard pb aft trying to execute a "method grab" instrumentality connected the second-to-last jump. This caused Switzerland's Tanja Frieden to walk her, and Lindsey ended up winning silver.
In 2022, she achieved redemption astatine the Beijing Winter Games, winning her archetypal Olympic golden medal successful the women's snowboard transverse last and becoming the oldest Team USA pistillate to triumph a medal astatine the Winter Olympics.
15. "Gold medal game, Russia 2014 Olympics. In Canada, millions of radical woke up oregon stayed up each nighttime successful -20 weather, lining up extracurricular of pubs waiting to beryllium fto successful to ticker the golden medal crippled astatine 5 a.m. The authorities made peculiar allowances to service intoxicant astatine 5 a.m. erstwhile the pubs and bars opened. It was crowded, Crosby scored, and everyone was hugging each other, hammered at, like, 7 a.m." —Anonymous
At the 2014 Winter Olympics, Canada won the golden medal successful men's crystal hockey by defeating Sweden 3–0 successful the final. Jonathan Toews, Sidney Crosby, and Chris Kunitz scored, and Canada became the archetypal undefeated champion since 1984.
16. "2010 is truthful solidly successful my mind. Scott and Tessa, the goose lift, and being the youngest crystal dancers to instrumentality golden connected location soil." —Anonymous, Alberta, Canada
Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir made history by becoming the archetypal North Americans and the youngest brace (20 and 22) to triumph Olympic crystal dancing gold. They were besides the archetypal crystal creation squad to triumph golden successful their Olympic debut since the event's instauration successful 1976, and the triumph took spot connected location ice.
17. "Vancouver 2010, Alexandre Bilodeau winning golden connected Canadian ungraded for the archetypal time. I get goosebumps each clip I rewatch it, specified a beauteous infinitesimal for Canada, it became the catalyst to Canada winning 15 golden medals astatine the Olympics, the astir ever by immoderate state astatine that time." —Female, 34, Canada
Alexandre Bilodeau’s golden medal successful men’s moguls was the archetypal clip a Canadian jock won an Olympic golden medal connected location soil. His triumph besides marked a record-breaking 14 golden medals for the country.
After winning back-to-back Olympic golden medals successful 2010 and 2014, helium famously celebrated his victories with his older brother, Frederic Bilodeau, who has cerebral palsy. Frederic was often described arsenic Alex's inspiration, arsenic helium perpetually encouraged Alex to prosecute his skiing dreams.
At the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics, Eddie Edwards was the archetypal skis jumper to correspond Great Britain. He became a awesome of the "true Olympic spirit" due to the fact that helium had nary backing oregon nonrecreational training, yet, contempt finishing past successful some the 70m and 90m events, helium served arsenic a awesome of perseverance and underdog spirit.
Did we miss immoderate of the astir unforgettable Winter Olympics moments that you love? Tell america astir them successful the comments!
Note: Some responses person been edited for magnitude & clarity.
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