Seven Memorable Olympic Moments

Mary Lou Retton -- 1984

The 1984 Games were held in Los Angeles and, as a result, boycotted by the Soviets, leaving the previously dominant Russian gymnastics team at home. That opened the door for 16-year-old Retton to make her place in history. Before Retton, the lasting story of Olympics gymnastics had been Romanian Nadia Comaneci's stunning seven perfect-10 scores in the 1976 Montreal Games.

But Retton, just weeks removed from knee surgery, put together her own string of perfect scores, culminating in a 10 on the final routine to take the gold over Romania's Ecaterina Szabo (a score of 9.95 would have resulted in a tie). In doing so, Retton became the first American, male or female, to win an Olympic gymnastics all-around title.

Carl Lewis and Ben Johnson -- 1988

The buzz surrounding the rivalry between American sprinter Carl Lewis and Canadian Ben Johnson was at a fever pitch. In 15 previous head-to-head meetings, Johnson had the narrow lead by winning eight, but Lewis was the defending 1984 Olympics champion. In 1988's 100-meter sprint in Seoul, Johnson blew away the field with a performance that his coach called "out of the next century."

The sports world was shocked when, three days later, it was found that Johnson had been using steroids and he was stripped of his medal. Lewis was given the gold, becoming the first back-to-back champion in the 100-meter dash. Despite the anticipation for the great rivalry between the two sprinters, it was Johnson and his fall from grace that had the most lasting effect, essentially beginning the scandals and subsequent rule changes regarding Olympians and steroid use.