by Mike Crooks ‘14 and Tom Lee ‘14

10. Jamaican Bobsled Team (Calgary 1988)
People were, understandingly, surprised, when they heard the tropical island of Jamaica was sending a bobsled team to the Winter Olympics at Calgary in 1988. The team made their debut in Calgary and though they did not finish their run, they became a fan favorite, as they were the underdogs of all underdogs. In 1993, Disney released the movie “Cool Runnings,” which was about this team’s unlikely road to the Olympics.

9. Bonnie Blair (Calgary 1988, Albertville 1992, Lillehammer 1994)
Blair makes the list for her excellence over multiple Winter Olympic Games. She won a gold in the 500 and bronze in the 1,000 in Calgary in 1988, and proceeded to win gold in these same two events the following two Winter Olympics (Albertville and Lillehammer). Her success earned her ABC’s Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year in 1992 and the title of The Associated Press’s Female Athlete of the Year in 1994.

8. Controversy in Pairs Figure Skating (Salt Lake City 2002)
Jamie Sale and David Pelletier of Canada were noticeably upset after winning silver at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. Sale and Pelletier delivered a flawless performance in the long program while their Russians counterparts still won the gold even with a minor, yet notable slip-up. After the competition, a French judge admitted she had been coerced into voting for the Russians. As a result, Sale and Pelletier were eventually awarded the gold and the two pairs shared the title.

7. Torvill and Dean (Sarajevo 1984)
British ice dancers Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean gave a brilliant performance and became the highest scoring skaters of all time for a single programme. The two received 12 perfect 6.0s, including a 6.0 from every judge for artistic impression in their gold medal performance.

6. Hermann-ator the Terminator (Nagano 1998)
Back in the 1998 Nagano Games, alpine ski racer Hermann Maier had an epic crash in a downhill race that made viewers cringe and hold their breath. Amazingly, he was able to get back up and even more amazingly he won gold in both the Giant Slalom and Super-G just days later.

5. Heiden Sets Records (Lake Placid 1980)
The American speed skater won gold medals in each of the five men’s races, setting five Olympic records and one world record. He is the only skater to win all five events in any Olympics.

4. Need for Speed (Innsbruck 1976)
Franz Klammer, Austrian alpine ski racer and national hero, provides a perfect example mankind’s need for speed. With little regard for his own safety, Klammer flew down the hill, seemingly on the edge of disaster at every turn. The result? A blistering run that left him .33 seconds ahead of the competition and with the Olympic gold medal.

3. Dan Jansen Wins Gold (Lillehammer 1994)
Jansen was the best speed skater in the world in 1988 and was favored to win the 500 and 1,000 meter races at the Olympic Games is Calgary. However, before the races he learned his sister had died of Leukemia and ended up coming out of Calgary without a medal. He entered Albertville four years later as the favorite again, but again came up empty. At Lillehammer, after losing the 500 meter yet again, he finally won a gold in the 1,000 meters.

2. Kerrigan vs. Harding (Lillehammer 1994)
American figure skater Nancy Kerrigan was hit in the knee when an attacker swung a metal baton at her at the 1994 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. It turned out that the attack was orchestrated by the ex-husband of rival skater Tonya Harding. However, Kerrigan was healthy for the Olympics later that year and managed to finish with a silver medal. Harding, who unbelievably could still participate, finished well behind after multiple mistakes.

1. Miracle on Ice (Lake Placid 1980)
The beef between the Soviet Union and United States already was well-established when the Olympics came to Lake Placid in 1980. The Cold War had been going on for over two decades and the two superpowers were undeniable rivals. The Soviet Union hockey team came in as the heavy favorite to win after winning the previous four ice hockey gold medals, and had multiple world-renowned players who later became hall of famers. Meanwhile, the U.S hockey team was extremely young and only had one returning player from the 1976 Olympic Games. The two teams met in the medal round and the U.S shockingly overcame the odds to defeat the Soviets 3-2, the game ending with Al Michael’s famous words “Do you believe in miracles?” The U.S. team completed the Cinderella story by beating Finland to win gold.