Top moments by U.S. athletes: A look at the most memorable individual performances

As the United States celebrates patriotism and its 250th birthday, Newsday looks at the most memorable individual performances by American athletes in which they represented their country in world competition. Events listed in chronological order. 

Jim Thorpe wins pentathlon and decathlon

Jim Thorpe won gold medals in the pentathlon and decathlon at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm. The Sac and Fox Nation athlete made history as the first Native American to win an Olympic gold medal. Sweden’s King Gustav V famously called Thorpe "the greatest athlete in the world." But his medals were stripped a few months after the Games. It was discovered Thorpe had played semi-pro minor-league baseball for a few dollars, which violated the strict amateurism rules of the era. Many historians suspected the ruling was rooted in anti-Native American prejudice. Following decades of campaigning by his family and sports historians, the IOC, in 1982, reinstated Thorpe as the co-winner of his events. In 2022, the IOC officially recognized Thorpe as the sole gold medalist in both the pentathlon and decathlon in 2022. 

Jesse Owens dominates 1936 Olympics

Jesse Owens made history in Berlin, becoming the first American track and field athlete to win four gold medals at a single Olympic Games. He swept the 100- and 200-meters, long jump and 4x100 relay. Owens’ dominant performance shattered Adolf Hitler's Nazi propaganda and his “superior Aryan race” ideology. While rumors spawned that Hitler intentionally "snubbed" Owens by refusing to shake his hand, records show that Hitler actually stopped congratulating all gold medalists after the first day of the Games. In the words of one writer, "Jesse Owens, the master athlete, humiliated the master race."

Wilma Rudolph first woman to win three golds

At the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, sprinter Wilma Rudolph became the first American woman to win three track and field gold medals in a single Games. In the span of eight days, Rudolph ran nine races. She won the 100- and 200-meters, and anchored the winning 4x100 relay. Her achievements were especially remarkable because of the severe childhood illnesses she had to endure. She suffered from polio, scarlet fever and double pneumonia, which forced her to wear leg braces and orthopedic shoes until the age of nine. As an Olympic champion, Rudolph was among the most highly visible black women in America and abroad and became a role model for black and female athletes.

Al Oerter wins fourth Olympic discus gold

Al Oerter, who graduated from Sewanhaka High School in Floral Park, was the first track and field athlete to win Olympic gold in the same individual event  — the discus — in four consecutive Games, setting an Olympic record every time. After winning his first gold in 1956 in Melbourne, it seemed his career was over at age 20 when he was almost killed in an automobile accident. But he recovered and won again in 1960 at Rome and at Tokyo in 1964. In 1968 at Mexico City, at age 32, he had a record throw of 212 feet, 6 inches for his fourth gold.

Bob Beamon’s historic long jump

Bob Beamon made his name after setting the world record in the long jump at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. Beamon’s jump was an incomprehensible 29 feet, 2½ inches, establishing a world record that stood almost 23 years until it was broken in 1991 by Mike Powell (29, 4 1/4). Beamon shattered the existing long jump mark by almost two feet.

Mark Spitz wins seven gold medals at 1972 Olympics

Swimmer Mark Spitz, a nine-time Olympic champion, had a historic performance at the 1972 Summer Games in Munich. He became the first athlete to win seven gold medals in a single Games, setting a world record in each event. His golds came in the 100- and 200-meter freestyle, 100- and 200 butterfly, the 4x100- and 4x200 freestlye relays and the 4x100 medley relay. Four years earlier in Mexico City, Spitz won two gold medals, a silver and a bronze.

Eric Heiden sweeps five Olympic skating golds

Speed skater Eric Heiden made Olympic history at the 1980 Winter Games in Lake Placid, becoming the first athlete to win five individual gold medals in a single Olympics. He swept all men's speed skating events, setting four Olympic records and one world record. His wins came at 500, 1,000, 1,500, 5,000 and 10,000 meters. As a 17-year-old, Heiden competed in the 1976 Innsbruck Winter Games, finishing seventh in the 1,500 and 19th in the 5,000. But his talent blossomed and he won the overall title at the next three World Championships.

 C arl Lewis matches Jesse Owens

At the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, Carl Lewis matched Jesse Owens' 1936 mark of winning four gold medals in a single Games. He struck gold in the 100- and 200-meters, long jump, and 4x100 relay. At the 1988 Seoul Games, Lewis won the 100 and the long jump and claimed silver in the 200. Four years later in Barcelona, he won a third gold medal in the long jump and also anchored the world record-setting U.S. relay. Four years later in Atlanta, Lewis claimed his fourth Olympic long jump gold, becoming one of seven Olympians to win the same individual event four times.

Gymnast Mary Lou Retton: Perfect 10

Mary Lou Retton became an American icon at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, as the first American woman to win an individual all-around gold medal in gymnastics. Trailing Romanian Ecaterina Szabo by 0.5 points going into the final rotation, Retton needed a perfect score, and delivered two consecutive flawless 10s on the vault, clinching the gold. Retton won five medals, more than any other athlete at the 1984 Games. She added silvers in the team and vault events, and bronze in uneven parallel bars and floor exercise. It’s been said that her all-around routine emphasized “explosive athleticism and power over the fluttering, balletic styles of the time,” and transformed women's gymnastics in the U.S.

Flo-Jo d omin ates 1988 Seoul Olympics

Florence "Flo-Jo" Griffith Joyner is widely celebrated as the fastest woman in history. She won three gold medals at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and finished her career with five golds. At Seoul, Flo-Jo won gold in the 100- and 200-meters and the 4x100 relay. She also grabbed silver in the 4x400 relay. Four years earlier in the Los Angeles Olympics, she won a silver medal in the 200. She set the world record in the 100 of 10.49 seconds and the 200 world record of 21.34 seconds during the 1988 season. Those marks still stand.

Michael Phelps’ Olympic gold rush

Swimmer Michael Phelps had a historic performance at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, winning an unprecedented eight gold medals, shattering Mark Spitz's record of seven. Phelps set seven world records and one Olympic record. His golds came in the 400-meter individual medley, 4x100 freestyle relay, 200 freestyle, 200 butterfly, 4x200 freestyle relay, 200 IM, 100 butterfly and 4x100 medley relay. In his career, Phelps won a staggering 23 Olympic gold medals, a record. In total, he won 28 Olympic medals, including three silver and two bronze, and remains the most decorated Olympian of all time.