The 10 Greatest Individual Performances in Olympic History

[@JKral-r6w]

Emil Zátopek and his amazing 3 victories at the Helsinki Olympics are missing. No one will ever do that again.

[@rebelyee4995]

Definitely, there's too many golden memories in Olympic history, only picking 10 is subjective and difficult. I would say Eric Heiden's 5 gold of speed skiing at 1980 is also a super performance.

[@sylviadrees3761]

Die tschechische Lokomotive.

[@dodiad]

Came here to say the same thing about Zatopek, but you beat me to it.

[@tatjanakolman-nq2cl]

A ja se jeste pridam v jeho a me materstine. Kdyz vyhral v Helsinkach 3 zlate, bylo mi 5,5 roku a pamatuji se na to. A k tomu jeho zena Dana zlatou v hodu ostepem.

[@colleenross8752]

That same year, his wife Dana also won a gold in the javelin

[@hankf8723]

Discus thrower, Al Oerter, a four-time Olympic Champion. 1956: Melbourne, 1960: Rome, 1964: Tokyo, 1968: Mexico.

[@kvernon1]

I was thinking the same thing, until I realized this video recognizes achievements over a SINGLE Olympics, not a career. So with all respect to Al, he would have been included in a different category.

[@richspector4461]

Bob Beamon broke the long jump record by 2 feet in Mexico City in 1964. Should be on the list.

[@tonyfranklin8306]

Done at extreme altitude though which helped hugely. His previous best was 8.33metres, a massive freak one off.

[@ricksrnka6171]

1968

[@bugle1100]

Agree! Yes, Beamon was at a higher altitude, but breaking the record by two feet is unimaginable. So let’s not diminish Beamon’s great achievement. The other competitors and other sports that would have benefited from the same high altitude at the Mexico City Olympics came no where close to Beamon’s great performance!

[@normadesmond6017]

@@bugle1100 agree. that was magical.

[@carlcushmanhybels8159]

1968

[@TristanWeijermars]

Fanny Blankers-Koen was already 30 when she won her four golden medals in 1948. She missed two Olympic Games (1940, 1944) that were not held because of WWII. Imagine if she could have competed in those as well.

[@normadesmond6017]

totally agree. And nobody, not even Florence Griffith, has ever beaten her on the athletics. The record still stands. When she returned from London to the Netherlands, she got a new bike to celebrate her victories....

[@paulvanbuggenum5733]

Well and a mother twice over. Makes you wonder Kipyegon improved immensely after giving birthi in 2018 probably others did too

[@erikheymann9390]

Glad you included Blankers-Koen. She is sometimes overlooked (which is odd for the person named IAAF's female athlete of the 20th century) but had a significant impact on women's sports as she won 4 gold medals at age 30 and a mother of two.

[@annettemalaski1967]

One of the most compelling reasons Fannie did so well is that even though the Netherlands was under Natzi controll, they let her train during the war. Most other women athletes did not have that advantage. In fact they had races and events so she could compete.

[@erikheymann9390]

@@annettemalaski1967 Yes, I assume the Nazis were only too happy to have a Dutch woman outperform the English. But she gave birth in 1945 and took 7 months off from training. If you read about her training from 1945-48, it was ridiculously light by modern standards. Also, in the 1948 Olympics, the competitors were only allowed to compete in 3 individual track events, so she withdrew from the high jump and the long jump, in which she held the world records.

[@annettemalaski1967]

@@erikheymann9390 Even that light training was more than her competitors had available to them. I am not putting down Fannie's achievements. But maybe her competition would have been better with her advantages. And it is a shame that they limited her involvement to four events. But that lame excuse the organizers gave for that decision irks me.

[@erikheymann9390]

@@annettemalaski1967 I'm not sure I totally follow your point. The 80m hurdles in 1948 had 2 Austrians, 3 Americans, 2 Brits, an Argentinian, a Chilean, a Jamaican and an Australian. Same thing for the other events, including Italy, Canada and Brazil. A South African runner posted the fastest time in the 200 meter heats. Were they all denied even the opportunity to train during the War? Also, Fanny quit training for 7 months and did only light training after the War, not during. After. Are you saying all of the other competitors were unable to train from 1945-48? And one more point, for which I'll admit I don't have all the facts - Fanny lived through the 1944-45 Hongerwinter in which the Dutch struggled to get enough food, so her nutrition would possibly have suffered considerably. Both of my parents lived through it in Amsterdam; it was no picnic. But perhaps Fanny got special favors during this period. Is there evidence for that?

[@lawrencewood289]

@@erikheymann9390 Wow!!

[@Abbatobia]

Abebe Bikila the barefoot runner from Ethiopia who won the Rome and Tokyo Olympics marathon and who nearly won at Mexico Olympics is missing.

[@kvernon1]

This video honors achievements at a single Olympics. Bikila's achievement is over multiple Olympics. So his would be one of the Top 10 in an Olympic CAREER.

[@FrankDAmico-dr5dl]

Mark Spitz has always impressed me, 7 golds, 7 world records in the same Olympics.

[@batty22222]

I just think it's wild they swam without caps

[@toninho7307]

Fun facts about Fanny Blankers-Koen :She was a mother of two,earning her the nickname "the Flying Housewife",when she won 4 gold medals.From the city of Amsterdam, she received a new bicycle "to go through life at a slower pace".She also held a world record in pentathlon in 1951.At a gala in Monaco, organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), she was declared the "Female Athlete of the Century"

[@pockeyway]

Phelps "almost broke record for most golds at a single Olympics?" 8 golds... He did break the record!

[@bivouacprod2024]

Where do you read almost...? It's "also"

[@edwardimhoff3106]

Kerri Strug.... Astounding courage under fire. I'll say no more.

[@lawrencewood289]

Love Kerri. One better. Shun Fujimoto landing his dismount fromm the rings in 1976 for team gold for Japan ON A BROKEN KNEECAP! When asked later (not sure how long) if it was worth it...he said NO! LOL.

[@ilarikokko8052]

Paavo Nurmi Paris 1924 5 gold metal 1500m and 5000m same day

[@randallmarks984]

I think he won the cross country event as well and wanted to run the marathon and meet officials would not let him so he went back to Finland and ran a marathon breaking the world record.

[@hoopaholicstickum]

Bolt was a freak!!!! Meaning in a positive way…. Look at him in comparison to his competitors… he was physically head and shoulders above them all… dude was so cool!!!

[@drummerchicago]

his record of 9.58 in the 100 meters will probably never be broken

[@lawrencewood289]

@@drummerchicago It will be broken.

[@randallmarks984]

I don't believe for 1 millisecond that Bolt's word records are clean. To many of his Jamaican buddies have been caught along the way. NO to Bolt.

[@keratos8880]

Jim Thorpe & Aleksandr Karelin have an argument for inclusion too - so many greats...

[@vegardaukrust5447]

Where is Bob Beamon 1968? It is the best single performance in olympic history.

[@WmMarkSearcy]

agreed

[@MikeCee7]

Also Agree!

[@jennifertaylor5600]

That is number one to me. Ok. Maybe 1.5

[@kvernon1]

The difference between Beamon and the 10 that were chosen were Beamon only completed in and won one event (long jump). Everyone here won multiple events. Granted that was one spectacular jump, but it was only one jump.

[@TryingToBeKind]

Paavo Nurmi of Finland: Clearly the distance running GOAT, got five gold medals in seven days at the 1924 Olympics and most certainly would have had six if the Finnish team hadn’t forbade him from the 10,000M to give other runners on the team a chance! And…that just scratches the surface of his overall achievements! Seriously, look him up! ❤️✌🏻✌🏻❤️

[@JuliaAshton-Cady-zn4ly]

Olga Korbut doing the Korbut Flip. Kerri Strug winning gold with an injured ankle.

[@carseye1219]

It's not a real list without Paavo Nurmi, maybe the greatest Olympian ever!

[@Fyrd-Fareld]

Matti Nykänen too.

[@gordellis5849]

Paavo Nurmi HAS to be there. Zatopek too

[@gordellis5849]

The 2nd place finisher in the 1936 men's 200 just behind Owens was Mac Robinson, Jackie Robinson's older brother.

[@colleenross8752]

​@@Fyrd-Fareldand Lasse Viren, another distance legend from Finland

[@user-hh5rn4jz6o]

100

[@jeannehall6546]

What about Wilma Rudolph or Paavo Nurmi?

[@brian040263]

Carl Lewis admitted to doping WTF

[@RealLifeFinance]

They all do

[@brian040263]

@@RealLifeFinance no they don’t ! Back then many did and he still thinks he was justified and bad mouths his competitors still to this day . Horrible person .

[@64fairlane305]

@@RealLifeFinance all americans are doped+some others

[@lawrencewood289]

Utterly untrue. His ephedrine results were in the questionable zone and prompted investigation which revealed he took some supplements. Now his results of under 10 ppm would not even trigger investigation!!! Sorry but get your facts straight.

[@christenandersen65]

What about Eric Heiden. He won all the speed skating events in 1980. From the 500 to the 10,000.

[@scottfreckle237]

skating isn't a sport it's what you do on a first date

[@lawrencewood289]

@@scottfreckle237 SPEED skating you ignoramus!! Look at their thighs. They are MONSTER athletes.

[@angelananandadas8267]

Please remember The Germans cheered Jesse Owens Hitler met him and did not walk out of the stadium Roosevelt never acknowledged him When he had to join other US athletes he was asked to enter through a side door. If you don't agree see what Jesse himself wrote.

[@lawrencewood289]

Sorry buddy but no Hitler did NOT meet him. And yes Roosevelt never really acknowledged him. Ok so what. Roosevelt did a lot for the country and faced certain political realities and Owens did a lot and faced bad discrimination.

[@drummerchicago]

fyi...Michael Phelps won the 23rd gold medal of his Olympic career at the 2016 Rio Games. The American standout swimmer won a single-Olympic-record eight golds at the 2008 Beijing Games. Phelps won more than 80% of the events he entered over his Olympic career. His 28 total medals are even more daunting. A record that will never be broken

[@mehmettarkkeskin3971]

1988 Naim Suleymanoglu by far the best weightlifter in history. lifting 3 times his weight+10kg

[@lawrencewood289]

Oooo I forgot about him. Probably a doper...but most weightlifters were. Don't forget pocket Hercules from Greece (who is still alive)

[@andydabilis5157]

You actually got a few of them right but perhaps weren't around to see Billy Mills win the 10,000 meter gold in 1964 after Ron Clarke shoved him out of the way or Dave Wottle win the 800 meter gold in 1972 and coming from last to first in the last lap or Bob Beamon's long jump in 1968 in Mexico City that set a world record lasting 23 years or Wilma Rudolph's three gold medals in Rome in 1960 or Abebe Bikila winning the Marathon in Rome while running barefoot or Olga Korbut's flip in 1972 in Munich or Rulon Gardner beating the unbeatable Russian wrestler Aleksandr Karelin in Sydney in 200 or .... well, let's leave it at that for now ....

[@kvernon1]

Every example you mentioned (except one) were achievements in individual events. All of what the creator of the video chose were winners of multiple events in the same Olympics. That was probably one of the major criteria he used when making his selections. Please give him a break; it is almost impossible to only list 10 from all of Olympic history.

[@RealLifeFinance]

Ginobli was so underrated as a pointguard playmaker

[@lawrencewood289]

Who underrated him? He won NBA titles with the Spurs.

[@stevesherrill139]

So, tell me why Jim Thorpe is not on this list of the 10 greatest performances in Olympic history. In the 1912 Olympic Games Jim Thorpe competed in the first running of the Pantheon and the Decathlon a total of 15 events And WON THEM BOTH. THAT FEAT HAS NEVER BEEN DUPLICATED. In the Pantheon he won 4 first places and one third. In the decathlon he beat the second-place winner by 688 points. In all the coverage done on past athletes never does anyone ever cover this amazing athlete

[@lawrencewood289]

I love JimThorpe. BUT the pentathlon was basically half a decathlon. Clearly correlated. It wasn't the MODERN Pentathlon (non T&F events).

[@rhetorical1488]

Jan Železný absolutely destroyed every javelin record and the javelins were redesigned twice to try and level the playing field. it failed twice.

[@goldfieldfireworks7352]

How could you not include Franz Klammer's downhill run? The greatest performance in Olympic history.

[@jozefserf2024]

Ben Johnson's 100 metres at Seoul 1988 will never be forgotten.

[@Magic-gk9vg]

Agreed..doped or not that was one hell of a race...unfortunately for Ben he wasn't as good as the rest of the field in hiding it.

[@normadesmond6017]

@@Magic-gk9vg true. In that race they were all doped.

[@lawrencewood289]

You mean "Mr yellow eyes". C'mon!!!!

[@lawrencewood289]

@@normadesmond6017 Baloney. Not like Johnson. His times "exploded"...so much faster. . He was good then all of a sudden he was great...like FloJo. THAT shows you a doper.

[@kvernon1]

@@lawrencewood289 For the record, FloJo NEVER tested positive -- not even once -- in spite of every attempt to surprise her with random tests. Innocent until proven guilty.

[@christopherx7428]

I realise that list like this are always subjective but Lasse Viréns 10.000m race 1972, where he fell, got up again and won setting a new WR does stand out to me!

[@katriarjava658]

Pertti Karppinen winning rowing three times in a row (pun intended) 1976, 1980 & 1984.

[@Chris-wj8fz]

Mexico 68 you could say all top 10 happened there 😂

[@gordellis5849]

Why would you pUt a team sport on this list, when you are talking about individual performances??

[@CrazyAboutVinylRecords]

You know there are Winter games, too.

[@64fairlane305]

dopers should not count, and a top 10 without Warholm?

[@geoffmcmillan8720]

What about Peter Snell 800 m 1960. 800 m and 1,500 metres 1964.

[@forestgump8357]

Hahahaha in 1936 they ran in freaking dirt and dug their own hole in that dirt at the starting line to get a takeoff. Those 10.2 or 10.3's would be 9.7's with todays equipment. That doesn't even take into account their heavier shoes. If Bolt had to run with these limiting factors he might pull a 10.1, maybe.

[@ricksrnka6171]

This list is bs.What about Jim Thorpe winning pentathlon and decathlon in same Olympics. Or emil zatopek winning 5000,10,000 and marathon in same olympics. Do your research.

[@scottfreckle237]

uploader is allowed his own opinion since it's his compilation

[@kvernon1]

Please don't be mean, it is clear he did research. And it is very hard to narrow this list down to 10. I'm sure some people would disagree with your Top 10 as well. And mine.

[@jhindle7883]

Where's Johnathon Edwards in this 'greatest in Olympic history' compilation? He broke the world record twice in successive jumps in the triple jump - his record still stands today.

[@darrensmith2982]

That occured at the world championships, not the Olympics.

[@comiconcomic1295]

Emil Zatopek is missing here. Winning 5.000, 10.000 & marathon in the same olympic games. This Milestone stands until today and it is not included in this compilation. Big mistake.

[@kvernon1]

Definitely in the Top 15 and in many people's Top 10. I think trying to narrow this list down to 10 is too ambitious. Everyone's Top 10 list would leave out some of the greatest achievements ever.

[@greentombdive]

Thanks. However, the muzak?! After a couple of minutes - Mute. Much better.

[@gimptf9273]

I guess Nadia had to be 10!

[@robertlevine2827]

Jim. Effing. Thorpe.

[@shravana108]

No Winter Olympics? Eric Heiden, 1980?

[@simonpearn479]

What a great video!

[@lasserviren102]

Faltaron muchos por ejemplo paavo nurmi, lasse viren, Nicolai Andrianov, la locomotora checa Emil Zatopek, michael Jhonson

[@stephenwright1476]

No Alvin Kraezlin: 4 x individual track golds. Lewis and Owens 3 x individual 1x team. Yet he is left out. No Nurmi or Zatopek, Caslava, Latyninya

[@lawrencewood289]

Nice historical references. I do think Latynina benefited from an underdeveloped sport with weaker competition.

[@randallmarks984]

Paavo Nurmi rthe flyjing Finn. Apparently this is just the summer Olympics. If you include the Winter Olympics Eric Heiden's winning of every single speed skating event from 500M to 10K is the most incredible achievement in either Olympics ever. You also forgot Jim Thorpe in track and field. This would be like some track man or woman winning the 100M, 200M, 400M, 800M, and 1500M. Or a swimmer doing the same, It is virtually an impossible feat and Eric Heiden did it. Without chemical help Bolt might have still won but not run those times. He was too much of a poster boy for the IAAF for them to catch him. His buddies Powell and Blake were both caught but not him. Strange. Once testing got better his times ballooned and then he quit.

[@DigonyoPutinnamo]

Teofilo Stevenson, Paavo Nurmi, Laryssa Latynina, Al Oerter

[@andrewstrauss5480]

Dave Wottle and Billy Mills

[@MikeCee7]

It’s crazy to think in 1972, 2:17 (and possibly throughout the 1970s) that swimmers (not only, did not wear swim caps) did not even wear swim goggles. 🤓

[@lawrencewood289]

Frankly swimmers started wearing goggles in the 1990's.Not convinced it aids their performances especially in shorter races.

[@MikeCee7]

@@lawrencewood289 I’m referring to wearing goggles, because of the chlorine in the water & visual acuity. & many swimmers (like myself) had bad eyesight. as you can safely wear contact lenses underneath your goggles. When I was growing up and on swim teams, (summer & high school) in the 1980s, most wore goggles. Also goggles somewhat magnify and improve your vision under water. (even if you have perfect eyesight) In no way was I am implying that goggles enable you to swim faster.

[@jozefserf2024]

Emil Zatopek 5000m, 10,000m and marathon 1952 Helsinki and Ben Johnson 100m Seoul 1988 should be on any top 10 list. That Seoul 100 metres final was probably the best ever.

[@lawrencewood289]

Ben was an utter doper. My goodness his muscles exploded between 84 and 88 and his eyes turned YELLOW! so No. Zatopek yes.

[@_friedie]

Pertti Karppinen? Ulrike Meyfarth?

[@kellyzak2375]

Of course Bolt lost that gold medal in the relay because one of the other runners tested positive for drugs

[@lawrencewood289]

I think the clip was 2012 which he kept not 2008.

[@barontaylor7139]

Summer McIntosh should be considered as well

[@rebelyee4995]

In the future

[@lawrencewood289]

Huh? Slow your roll.

[@lawrencewood289]

Nice videos but no. As another poser mentions Emil Zatopek took the 5000, 10000 and Marathon at a single Olympics. (1952). Also this is the track and swimming ten greatest moments . Where is Teofilo Stevenson winning his third heavyweight gold. Nedo Nadi winning I think FIVE fencing medals at the same Olympics. Al Oerter taking his FOURTH CONSECUTIVE discus title. Or Beamon shattering the Long Jump record. FIFTY plus years later he still holds the Olympic record. Or Paul Elvstrom of Denmark winning the Finn class sailing three or four Olympics in row (Immensely hard).

[@kvernon1]

The reason most of these weren't considered is they are CAREER Olympic achievements. The criteria here were INDIVIDUAL Olympic achievements. Many people agree about Zatopek and I was unaware of Nadi's accomplishment. Thanks

[@lawrencewood289]

@@kvernon1 You're welcome.

[@Chris-wj8fz]

Shane gould carlos juantarino michael johnson

[@lawrencewood289]

Good points.

[@Chris-wj8fz]

@@lawrencewood289 Carl Lewis in Los Angeles 84 was a spectacle twice as good as Michael johnson in Atlanta 96

[@peterprescott3419]

So many others were also the equals or better than some of those mentioned, Nurmi, Snell, Zatopek, Beaumon, just for starters, Or Thorpe, Frazer, Oerter and a whole host of others. Such unquantifiable lists are purely subjective and never, ever agreed upon by most.

[@gertkozijn7969]

USA propanganda. Last Olympics. How many gold medals for USA? 40 with 250 mio people. Netherlands 15, only 18 mio people.

[@lawrencewood289]

Same number of entries in events bubba. India has 1.1 BB and basically a couple medals. It isn't about population entirely.Yes you had a good Olympics.Congrats.

[@bobanbu]

no karelin?

[@cryo9216]

What a joke of a list! I've never even heard of 3 of these people. Where's Jim Thorpe? Paavo Nurmi? Al Oerter? Emil Zatopek? Lasse Viren??

[@lawrencewood289]

Which three?

[@kvernon1]

If this list annoys you so much, please create your OWN video with your 10 choices. Then sit back and watch everyone tear it all apart! C'mon, we will never universally agree on the Top 10. So please don't be so hard on this guy's choices.

[@cryo9216]

@@kvernon1 🙄 Jim Thorpe was named the greatest athlete of the 20th century. If you can't agree he should be in this video, you're as big a loser as the guy who created it.

[@Entenluc]

Wo sind: Hans Günter Winkler, Birgitt Fischer und Ulrike Meyfarth. Und das nur bei den Deutschen.

[@francescomammoliti5774]

What about J. Thorpe. Declared 20 th century greatest athlete. Stick to bSics as well as getting a real job.

[@rebelyee4995]

I definitely know him, but too old to get videos

[@belavizvari1381]

What about modern pentathlon??? Lasse Viren?

[@franciscocalderon6033]

El pódium es claro: 1. Nadia Comaneci, 2. Emil Zatopek, 3. Jesse Owens y Carl Lewis. Te veo falto de perspectiva, muchacho. Lo del baloncesto me ha hecho mucha gracia.

[@lawrencewood289]

No. Nadia benefited from friendly judging. She really wasn't a huge bit better than the 1972 gymnasts.

[@tolabolaji5831]

I don't understand why bolt isn't in number one

[@wade1419]

How about Rudy?!

[@comeacross9]

Billy Mills 10,000 m 1964.

[@lawrencewood289]

Upset yes. Greatest individual performances no.

[@pyrmontbridge4737]

It's not really an Olympic greatest list. It's more an American list with a couple of token foreigners thrown in. Why do this? Just include the actual greatest.

[@לאונידאוסטרובסקי-ט3י]

⁉️ Jamaica bobsled team is 1

[@kvernon1]

It was a Top 10 achievement even to have a team! Why don't we also add "Eddie the Eagle", that ski jumper from England?

[@לאונידאוסטרובסקי-ט3י]

@@kvernon1 Also Venezuelan cross ski runner and Somali 100m female runner

[@Chris-wj8fz]

Jim hines tommy smith lee evans beamon edward

[@bernadetteflynn5005]

Eh was that Flojo the cheater?

[@ceesvegh4904]

To put Koen on 2 and Lewis on 8 is ridiculous.

[@francescomammoliti5774]

What about the winter Olympics. Living in an😂😢😅 authoritarian country does not allow for real information flow?

[@mtnstrand2819]

Flo Jo did it with the help of steroids.

[@kvernon1]

It is a fact FloJo NEVER ONCE tested positive for any PED's -- in spite of numerous attempts to catch her. She is innocent until proven guilty.

[@trevorcook9680]

Probably on drugs

[@Georgecuioana]

F* Y ... don't understand 🚫

[@brianoidperson]

Shitty list

[@kvernon1]

Make your own list if you are such an expert.

[@Meko318]

ABEBE BIKILA....

[@Chris-wj8fz]

Daley thompson ian thorpe raylene boyle