Michael Phelps Ties Mark Spitz Olympic Record Medal Count

On August 16, 2008, U.S. Olympics Michael Phelps ties Mark Spitz Olympic record medal count in remarkable fashion.

Without a doubt, the biggest storyline of the 2008 Beijing Olympics was that of American swimmer Michael Phelps, who was vying to win a record eight gold medals. At the previous Olympics, he had finished with six gold and two bronze, and now that he had perfected his training regiment and was a little bit older, experts believed it was his year. His expectations were not modest, as anything but a perfect eight-for-eight would be deemed a failure.

In his seventh event, Phelps competed in the 100-meter butterfly. If he won, he would tie fellow American Mark Spitz, who won seven gold medals at the Munich Olympics in 1972. 50 meters into the race, Phelps' quest for perfection was in enormous trouble, as he was in seventh place as they swam to the finish. But Phelps made up an enormous deficit and was neck-and-neck with Serbian swimmer Milorad Cavic as they neared the finish.

With just a few feet to go, Cavic was clearly ahead of Phelps; but he tried to glide to the wall, while Phelps made the crucial decision to attempt a half-stroke. Phelps' maneuver worked and allowed him to close the gap. 

In an unbelievably close finish, both men placed their hands on the wall sensor at almost exactly the same time. 

When both men emerged from the water, they stared at the scoreboard in anticipation, as neither knew who would come away with the gold. The results finally emerged, and the Americans in the crowd cheered ecstatically: Phelps, with a record time of 50.58 seconds, had beaten Cavic by 0.01 seconds.

''I'm really at a loss for words,'' he told reporters. ''I'm excited. I just don't know what to say.''

Serbian swimming officials immediately filed a protest, but they dropped their appeal after seeing the footage of the race. The race was so close that even still pictures of it appeared inconclusive. 

But Olympic officials looked over the material and confirmed that after several reviews, Phelps had indeed won the race.

Cavic described the loss as "devastating," but he tried to assure that he was satisfied in defeat. ''I'm stoked with what happened," he said.

"I'm very, very happy. I don't want to fight this. It is a gold medal at stake. It's a difficult thing to lose, but you have to understand I came into this competition with the goal to win a bronze medal. I went my best time and did better than bronze. I got silver and almost got gold.''

The next day, Phelps completed his mission by winning his eighth gold medal of the Beijing Olympics -- an amazing feat considering that in his second-to-last event, he was just a few hundredths of a second from losing.

President Carter Announces United States To Boycot Moscow Olympics

On March 21, 1980, the President of the United States of America, Jimmy Carter announces that the United States will boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Russia.

 

Led by the United States, 65 countries boycotted the games because of the Soviet war in Afghanistan, though some athletes from some of the boycotting countries participated in the games, under the Olympic Flag.

This prompted the Soviet-led boycott of the 1984 Summer Olympics that were held in Los Angeles, Calif.

Some of the later events of the games were also nearly marred by the death and unauthorized mass funeral of the immensely popular and beloved singer-songwriter Vladimir Vysotsky.

Although approximately half of the 24 countries that boycotted the 1976 Summer Olympics (in protest of apartheid in South Africa) participated in these games, the 1980 Summer Olympics were disrupted by another, even larger, boycott led by the United States in protest of the 1979 Soviet war in Afghanistan. Many of the boycotting nations participated instead in the Liberty Bell Classic (also known as the "Olympic Boycott Games") in Philadelphia.

Eighty nations participated – the smallest number since 1956. However, the nations that did compete had won 71% of the medals, including 71% of the gold medals, at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.

Of the 80 nations represented at the Moscow Games, six nations made their first Olympic appearance in 1980: Angola, Botswana, Jordan, Laos, Mozambique, and Seychelles. Cyprus made its debut at the Summer Olympics, but had appeared earlier at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. Sri Lanka competed for the first time under its new name (previously as Ceylon), Benin had competed previously as Dahomey and Zimbabwe competed for the first time under that name (previously as Rhodesia).

As a form of protest against the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan, 15 countries marched in the Opening Ceremony with the Olympic Flag instead of with their national flags, and the Olympic Flag and Olympic Hymn were used at Medal Ceremonies when athletes from these countries won medals. Competitors from three countries New Zealand, Portugal and Spain; competed under the flag of their respective National Olympic Committees. Some of the teams who marched under other than their national flags were depleted by boycotts by individual athletes, and others did not march.

The Soviet Union took home the most medals with 195 total medals, including the most Gold medals of any country with 80. They also won 69 Silver medals and 46 Bronze medals.

The East Germans took home the second most medals with 126, including 47 Gold medals, 37 Silver medals and 42 Bronze medals.

The Bulgarians took home the third most medals with 41, including eight Gold medals, 16 Silver medals and 17 Bronze medals.