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
LONE OLYMPIC LOSS AMERICAN KERRI WALSH JENNINGS EXTENDED HER OLYMPIC BEACH VOLLEYBALL RECORD TO 26 0 DURING THE 2016 OLYMPICS She and her previous partner Misty May-Treanor had won 21 Olympic matches only losing one Olympic set during their 11 years together Now competing with partner April Ross Walsh Jennings was two wins away from a fourth gold medal Agatha Bednarczuk left blocked a shot from Kerri Walsh Jennings at the 2016 Olympics 6
1 match Barbara Seixas became a hero after she and Bednarczuk brought home a historic win for Brazil Many expected Walsh Jennings and Ross to beat their Brazilian opponents in the 2016 semifinal in Rio de Janeiro Brazil Instead the women found themselves in an unfamiliar position They had lost the first set 22 20 Now they were facing match point Opponent Agatha Bednarczuk finished with a kill that bounced off Ross and out of bounds Brazil won 21 18 Bednarczuk and teammate Barbara Seixas jumped up and down On the other side of the net Walsh Jennings put her arm around Ross It was the first time Walsh Jennings lost a beach volleyball match at the Olympics She and Ross won the bronze medal that year instead of gold FINAL SCORE USA BRAZIL 2 7
