- 6 months ago
From triumph against impossible odds to displays of superhuman skill, winter sports have given us unforgettable Olympic moments. Join us as we count down the most inspiring and impressive feats in Winter Olympic history! Our list celebrates the victories and heartbreaks that showcase the true Olympic spirit and the remarkable resilience of athletes on the world's biggest winter stage.
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most inspiring and impressive moments in the history of the Winter Olympics.
00:07For this list, we'll be focusing on the victories and losses that emphasize the resilience of the human spirit.
00:12We will not be covering any scandals.
00:14I definitely remember thinking how ridiculous the idea was and that nobody was ever going to get me to go on one of those things.
00:22Number 10, USA wins first gold women's hockey.
00:26Women's ice hockey made its Olympic debut at the 1998 Winter Olympics, and history arrived immediately.
00:31For years, Canada had dominated the women's game, entering Nagano as the clear favorite.
00:40Team USA, however, had already sent a warning shot.
00:43They handed Canada its first ever Olympic loss during the preliminary round.
00:46Powered by stars like Cammie Granato and goalie Sara DaCosta,
00:49the American surged through the tournament and finished atop the standings.
00:53Setting up a rematch with Canada in the gold medal game.
01:00In a tense physical final, the US delivered another statement win.
01:03Capturing the first ever Olympic gold in women's hockey.
01:12Number 9, Peggy Fleming nets the USA its only gold medal.
01:15The 1968 Winter Olympics were a rough outing for Team USA.
01:19American athletes struggled in every event.
01:21I remember being, you know, terrified.
01:25Really?
01:26Medals were few and far between.
01:27The Americans failed to net a single gold medal.
01:29In the middle of that disappointment, Peggy Fleming delivered a rare bright spot.
01:33Skating with remarkable control and elegance,
01:35Fleming dominated the women's singles competition.
01:38When the games ended, her victory stood alone as the United States sold gold in Grenoble.
01:42More than a podium finish, Fleming's performance became a moment of national pride.
01:46Even during a difficult Olympics, she rose above the field and defined the games for an entire country.
01:51I remember it was really nerve driving to watch.
01:55Number 8, the perfect routine from Torval and Dean.
01:57At the 1984 Winter Olympics, ice dancing was transformed by a single performance.
02:01British duo Torval and Dean took the ice with an unconventional choice.
02:06Maurice Ravel's Ballero.
02:07Their routine opened with the pair kneeling motionless, allowing the music to build before they even moved.
02:12What followed was a spellbinding display of control, emotion and innovation that pushed the sport beyond technical checklists.
02:19The judges responded with a wave of perfect scores for artistic impression, an unprecedented result that left the arena in awe.
02:36Decades later, the routine remains a benchmark for artistic excellence.
02:40I think that the routine had a real drama and emotional content to it.
02:45Number 7, Eric Hyden's Domination.
02:47At the 1980 Winter Olympics, many events featured fierce competition for the gold.
02:51Speed skating was not one of them.
02:53Eric Hyden delivered a performance so overwhelming it still defies comparison.
02:57Everybody seemed to think before they started that Eric Hyden was going to win a lot of medals.
03:02They weren't sure he would win all five.
03:04Racing across five different distances, spanning both sprint and endurance events, Hyden won gold in all five events.
03:10His feat has never been replicated at the Winter Games.
03:13Hyden didn't only win, he set Olympic records in every event along the way.
03:17When the news came that Eric had won another race and set another record, the news was in every classroom in the building here within a matter of seconds.
03:28In a sport defined by specialization, Hyden's sweep rewrote the limits of what a single athlete could achieve.
03:34His performance is easily one of the most incredible individual achievements in Olympic history.
03:38The real problem was getting Eric Hyden to pose with five gold medals.
03:43Number 6, Yuzuru Hanyu's back-to-back wins.
03:46At the 2018 Winter Olympics, men's figure skating reached a new peak of precision.
03:50Yuzuru Hanyu entered the games carrying enormous expectations.
03:53The defending champion was expected to medal once again, but there was a little problem.
03:57He entered the Olympics with a serious ankle injury that had kept him out of competition for months.
04:10Defying the odds, Hanyu delivered two near flawless programs, combining technical difficulty with perfect control.
04:16His performances earned him a second straight Olympic gold, making him the first men's single skater in over six decades to defend the title.
04:28Beyond the medals, Hanyu's comeback electrified the arena.
04:31He exited the games as one of the most complete and resilient champions the sport has ever seen.
04:35You're the most complete figure skater of all time.
04:40Number 5, Canada wins the hockey gold in Vancouver.
04:43At the 2010 Winter Olympics, the men's hockey tournament came with a side of unbearable pressure for the host nation.
04:48Canada had stumbled earlier in the games, but the squad managed to right the ship in time for the gold medal finals.
04:53There, the Canadians faced their long time rival, the United States.
05:05The game was a national event, with Canadian pride on the line.
05:08After a frantic back and forth, regulation time ended with a tie.
05:11The contest then spilled into sudden death over time.
05:14Minutes in, Sidney Crosby scored what instantly became known as the Golden Goal.
05:23The eruption inside the arena echoed across the country.
05:26Canada won the gold in their national sport on home ice in one of the most electric moments in Canadian sports.
05:32Is that the greatest moment of your life?
05:35It's up there. I would say definitely in my hockey career.
05:40Number 4, Dan Jansen's comeback.
05:42At the 1994 Winter Olympics, the speed skating competition delivered an incredible moment of human perseverance.
05:48Dan Jansen arrived in Lillehammer carrying years of heartbreak from previous games.
05:52As heavy expectations had repeatedly ended in disappointment.
05:55In six Olympic races, he has yet to win a medal.
05:58When he again failed to medal in his early races, it seemed as though the sad pattern might continue.
06:03Everything came down to the thousand meter race.
06:05Skating with urgency and precision, Jansen had the race of his life.
06:08Setting a world record and finally capturing Olympic gold.
06:11Dan Jansen creates a world record.
06:13Eleven hundredths of a second faster than Kevin Scott of Canada's former Marvel.
06:18He goes into first place.
06:20The victory was an emotional release, where years of frustration would set him up for one of the Olympics most cathartic victories ever.
06:26But we all remember it. We remember that moment. Do you remember what it felt like to be in that moment?
06:32I do. The emotions I felt. How I felt during and then certainly when I crossed the finish line.
06:38Number three. The Herminator.
06:40One crash nearly ended Hermann Meyer's Olympics before they had truly begun.
06:44The Austrian skier nicknamed the Herminator was catapulted violently off the course during the downhill.
06:48Meyer tumbled helplessly through the air, landing in a horrific crash.
06:52At that moment, many feared he had suffered catastrophic injuries.
06:55Most assumed his games were over.
06:57Astonishingly, Meyer walked away relatively unscathed.
06:59When he returned days later, he was ready to rock.
07:01He went on to dominate the Super G in giant slalom, winning gold in both events.
07:05The comeback was incredible, making the news around the world.
07:08His near disaster led to one of the most dramatic reversals in Olympic history.
07:11The Herminator became known as one of the toughest competitors the Winter Games have ever seen.
07:16Number two. The Jamaican bobsleigh team.
07:18They practiced for months. It was a grueling regime.
07:21And incredibly, they qualified for the 1988 Calgary Games.
07:26At the 1988 Winter Olympics, winning wasn't the only thing that mattered.
07:29With no cold climate and no real tradition of winter sports,
07:32the Jamaica national bobsleigh team arrived as total outsiders.
07:35Competing with minimal resources and support, they became scrappy underdogs and unlikely crowd favorites.
07:41Their games sadly didn't end on the podium.
07:43A dramatic crash during the four-man event ended their run.
07:46But what followed became iconic.
07:48The team rose from the crash, lifted their sled, and continued down the track as the crowd erupted in applause.
07:54In a competition obsessed with timing and medals,
07:56the Jamaicans reminded the world that the games are really about resilience.
08:00They defied impossible odds with courage, which mattered just as much as winning.
08:04I didn't win an Olympic medals, as it were, so I had to settle for a participation medal.
08:09Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
08:13The Battle of the Bryans.
08:14Brian Boitano edged out Brian Orser in a legendary Olympic figure skating duel.
08:19Of course, I've been very disappointed and devastated.
08:22But what a great trip.
08:24Lindsay Jacobellis lost out on Olympic gold when she fell while showboating.
08:28Oh, drama! Jacobellis is down!
08:32Korea briefly unified.
08:34North and South Korea fielded a unified women's hockey team at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
08:38It's a great game.
08:40It's a great game.
08:41It's a great game.
08:42It's a great game.
08:43It's a great game.
08:44The Eagle.
08:45Michael Edwards finished last in ski jumping but became a fan-favorite underdog.
08:53Surya Bonali's backflip.
08:54Surya Bonali broke the rules, landing a banned backflip at the 1998 Winter Olympics.
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09:19Number 1. The Miracle on Ice
09:21At the 1980 Winter Olympics, the pressure on Team USA Hockey was palpable.
09:25The home team hadn't even meddled since its unlikely triumph at the 1960 Winter Olympics two decades earlier.
09:30This time, the odds were even longer.
09:32The Americans were a scrappy young group of college kids facing the best the Soviet Union had to offer.
09:37The Soviets were technically amateurs, but they trained and competed year-round like professionals.
09:47On February 22nd, the impossible happened.
09:49The U.S. stunned the Soviets 4-3 in a game that felt bigger than sport.
09:52The victory didn't immediately secure gold, but it ignited a nation exhausted by economic woes and a months-long hostage crisis.
10:05More than an upset, the Miracle on Ice became a cultural landmark.
10:08I kept saying, I can't believe we beat the Russians, I can't believe we beat the Russians, and the celebration was incredible.
10:14After that game, it made you want to hug your television set.
10:18Do you think the 2026 Winter Olympics will have an iconic moment? Let us know in the comments below.
10:23hope is one more time, and that'll take a jump.
10:26Feel very soon.
10:27Let us know in the comments below!
10:29Yeah!
10:30Well, never to'll...
10:32Tell us in the comments below!
10:34To send us a link in a chat, below, we'll see what um-and- réflate.
10:36See the next episode!
10:37We'll see you!
10:38We'll see you next time...
10:39Masse- Finland faults!
10:40We'll see you next time...
10:41But hopefully we'll see you next time on the問題 as soon as soon as soon as we get to S Brat.
10:43We'll see you next time through the answers.
10:46So leave us a few moments!
10:48We can see you next time!
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