CONTENTS 30 30 31 32 4 OPENING CEREMONY 5 FACTS AT A GLANCE LONE OLYMPIC LOSS 6 KARELIN DETHRONED 8 10 MIRACLE ON ICE 14 A HUGHES UPSET LOOK AT MILLS 16 JAPAN ENDS USA’S 18 SOFTBALL RUN ALL-AROUND CHAMPION 20 LAST MAN STANDING 22 DREAM TEAM DEFEATED 24 MIRACLE ON SNOW 26 28 CLOSING CEREMONY SOURCE NOTES GLOSSARY FURTHER INFORMATION INDEX
Every Olympic athlete dreams of standing on the podium with a medal OPENING CEREMONY ATHLETES WORK HARD TO GET TO THE OLYMPICS They practice for hours on end for their chance to win an Olympic medal That opportunity only comes every four years Some athletes only make it to the Games once Others might be past their prime competition years by the time they return They want to make their Olympic moment count 44
But one of the most exciting things about Olympic sports is that they’re unpredictable Superstars can make unexpected mistakes and low-ranking athletes can have the best performance of their lives These upsets make the Olympics that much more exciting Sometimes the upset will end the winning streak of a champion on a softball field or beach volleyball court Other times victory will take a little bit of luck on a sheet of ice in speed skating or a hockey game FACTS AT A GLANCE The US men’s hockey team was young and inexperienced at the 1980 Winter Olympics Their opponents were the Soviet Union who had won the previous four gold medals Team USA beat the Soviet Union in a historic 4 3 win Australian Steven Bradbury used a strategy to beat the odds and win gold in short track speed skating in 2002 Skating in the far back Bradbury pulled ahead when all of his opponents fell in a chain reaction Bradbury’s unexpected victory shocked many Czech skier Ester Ledecká became the first woman to win gold in two different sports when she did so at the 2018 Winter Olympics She upset defending champion Anna Veith from Austria in the super-G alpine skiing event and also won a gold medal in snowboarding 55
