17 of the Most Historic Moments in the Summer Games

We're excited that the 2024 Summer Olympic Games are right around the corner. When the famous flame is lit in Paris, France, it will mark the beginning of another chapter in world history. While there's a lot to be excited about when the games begin, the arrival of the Olympics also gives us a chance to look back at the amazing history of this famous event. With that in mind, it gives us great pleasure to remind you of some of the historic moments in the Summer Games.

There are a lot of great memories to remember from the Olympics of days past. There have been many amazing performances by athletes like Michael Phelps, Mark Spitz, Jesse Owens, Kerri Shrug, and more. Many of the Olympic games have also been overshadowed by noteworthy protests. For instance, there was the time that Japan and Germany were banned after World War II, the time the United States decided not to compete in the 1980 Olympic games, and civil rights protests during the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.

The summer games have also changed a lot over time. There was the first Olympic games in 776 B.C., the first time the Olympics were televised in 1960, and the time that North and South Korea came together during the Sydney Olympics in 2000. There are a lot of wonderful memories, and we think you'll enjoy the ride.

To determine the most historic moments in the Summer Games, 24/7 Tempo checked many historical sources on the web. We learned information from Olympics.com, History.com, The World Economic Forum, and more. If you want to learn more about the history of the Olympics, check out this picture gallery of the Summer Olympics over a century ago.

The most historical moment in Olympics history is when the famous games began. It was 776 B.C. when the first Olympic games were held in Greece in an area known as the Plains of Olympia (hence the name).

Things were much different back then. There were fewer games, almost no other countries were represented, and women could not compete. In fact, women could only come to see the games if they weren't married. Nevertheless, these famous games set up the future athletic competition as we know it today.

Today, we just expect to be able to watch the Olympic games from the comfort of our homes, but that wasn't always the case. One of the historic moments in the Summer Games was during the 1960 Olympics in Rome. That was the first year that the games were televised for the world. It was also the first time that an athlete wore a brand endorsement on their clothing.

Unfortunately, this was also the first games where the world learned that one of the athletes was involved in a doping scandal, proving that you can't hide anything from the cameras.

In one of the most unique moments in history that we may never see again, representatives from both North Korea and South Korea came together. It happened at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. In most cases, separate athletes from each country would carry either a North or South Korean Flag.

However, this time, representatives from each region came together and walked through with a unification flag that showed a unified blue map of Korea. This is a sight that you won't see very often, if ever again.

There was no doubt that long-jumper Bob Beamon was a great athlete, but he wasn't the favorite to win. In fact, he barely made it to the finals during the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico. However, when he did get his chance, he really impressed. Not only did he win the event, but he set a new record.

On his first try, he jumped over 29 feet, which was two feet longer than the existing world record.

The record would be in place for 23 years, until Mike Powell, another American, broke the record. Still, it was very impressive and certainly unexpected.

During the year 2020, the world was turned upside down when the Coronavirus ravaged the planet and led to disease and death on a global scale. The Olympics were supposed to be held in Japan during the summer of 2020. However, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe didn't want to put athlete's lives in danger, so he canceled the games that year.

Not wanting to cancel them outright, he instead postponed them until the summer of 2021. However, they were still called the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

One of the most iconic images in the history of the summer olympics is the one of gymnast Kerri Strug being carried off of the mat by her coach. During the games, Strug sustained an ankle injury that could have ended her chances of helping her team secure a victory.

However, after getting some medical attention, she limped back and competed by putting most of her weight on her good leg. Because of her contribution, she was able to help the Americans beat the Russians and bring home the gold.

After World War II ended, the first Olympic games were held in London. The city was still recovering from the war, and there were a lot of unhappy people. As a result, the committee made the decision not to invite the countries of Germany or Japan to compete in the 1948 Olympic Games.

There was limited time to prepare, and they didn't feel it was right to invite the countries after the war crimes their leaders committed, which caused pain and death to so many people around the world.

One of the most memorable and historic moments in summer games is the introduction of the Dream Team. This was a collection of some of the best NBA basketball players of all time, including Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Magic Johnson, and Karl Malone, among others.

This amazing team entered the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, and they never looked back. They won the eight games leading up to the finale and then won and beat the team from Croatia and home the gold medal. The Dream Team is still talked about to this day.

During his prime, Muhammad Ali, or Cassius Clay, as he was called then, dominated the boxing world. He would box during the 1960 Olympics in Rome and win a gold medal. He was proud of his win, but in the United States, he was still treated as a second-class citizen. One time, he was kicked out of a restaurant. He got so angry that he threw his gold medal in the river. However, during the 1996 Summer Olympics, he was invited to light the flame at the Atlanta games. The International Olympic Committee also honored him with a replacement medal.

One of the most historic moments in summer games is the introduction of female competitors. It was during the 1900 Olympics in Paris when women were welcomed in the sports of golf and lawn tennis. From there, female involvement continued to grow. In 2012, it was the first time that women from every competing country joined the Olympics. It was also that year that the sport of women's boxing was added to the games.

One of the truly historic moments in the Summer Games was when Doctor Ludwig Guttmann helped men in wheelchairs compete in the games for the first time in 1948. The doctor founded the Wheelchair Games with the goal of helping and rehabilitating veterans of World War II. They competed in the regular Olympics but would later be a part of the Paralympic Games as we know them today.

It was truly an inspiring moment that showed people that athletes of all types and backgrounds could impress in front of a global audience.

Though it's more commonplace today, one of the historic moments in summer games occurred during the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. The games took place during the height of the civil rights movement in America. As a sign of protest, two African-American athletes, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, held up their fists while the National Anthem was played. This was after the two athletes had won medals.

After the protest, the athletes were banned from the Olympic Village. However, their silent protest was heard loud and clear on the international stage.

Later, during the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, there was an even greater protest when 22 African nations completely boycotted the Olympics to protest the fact that New Zealand was participating. New Zealand had sent its rugby team to play in South Africa. At that time, South Africa was under apartheid, meaning there was segregation based on race. This was the beginning of many major boycotts during future Olympics since the games are on an international stage where everyone is watching.

If you had watched the 1980 Olympic games in Moscow, you might have noticed that the United States and several other countries weren't there. That's because former President Jimmy Carter urged the U.S. and other U.S. allies to skip the Olympics. It was a protest against the Soviet Union invading Afghanistan.

Instead, we set up our own Olympic-type games in Philadelphia, which was called the Liberty Bell Classic. Many of the U.S. allies came to America to put their athletes in the Philadelphia games instead.

The 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing were pretty spectacular, especially for champion swimmer Michael Phelps. It was this year when Michael Phelps, who already had a handful of gold medals, had incredible success with his teammates winning the medley relay event and earning his eighth gold medal.

That win earned him the record for the athlete with the most gold medals in history. He unseated the previous record-holder, Mark Spitz. After his performance at the games, he became a worldwide celebrity, but he retired from swimming a few years later.

Speaking of Mark Spitz, it's important not to undercut what he did to win seven gold medals during a single Olympic Games. That was the record for a long time until it was beaten by Michael Phelps. Spitz was the first Olympian to ever accomplish the feat of seven in one go. He won gold in four individual events, and he won gold medals in three relay events during the 1972 Munich Games. His victory was marred by a terror attack that led to the death of Jewish athletes. Because of it, Spitz skipped the awards ceremony.

The final of the most historic moments in the Summer Games occurred in 1936 during the Berlin Olympics. Adolf Hitler had an ulterior motive of using the Olympics as an opportunity to prove his ideas of Aryan racial superiority. However, African-American athlete Jesse Owens changed everything when he won several gold medals. Then, he and German competitor Carl Ludwig took a victory lap together as a sign of unity. Owens set records by winning four games, and it wouldn't happen again for 48 years. Check out this list for 15 more of the longest-standing records in sports history.