Talking Sport: My top 10 Olympic favourites (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Talking Sport: My top 10 Olympic favourites

7:43am Wednesday 25th July 2012 in Sport By Chris Flanagan, Sports reporter

THE events of London 2012 will provide sporting moments to remember for years to come, for a whole variety of reasons.

Here I look back on my personal list of my top 10 most memorable Olympic moments from the past two decades, stretching from Barcelona to Beijing.

Athletics , the iconic sport of the Games, features heavily.

10 The real McKoy: Colin Jackson was favourite for victory in the 110m hurdles in Barcelona in 1992 but ended up seventh, stumbling after hitting the last hurdle. Mark McKoy took the gold.

9 Herbert’s tears: Brothers Jonny and Greg Searle rowed to Olympic gold in Barcelona in 1992 but it is their cox, Garry Herbert, who is remembered the most for his tears on the podium.

8 A relay good show: Great Britain’s 4x100m relay team were infamous for baton mishaps but they got it spot on to shock the Americans and take gold in Athens.

7 Paula’s disaster: The nation was willing Paula Radcliffe to victory on the famous Marathon to Athens course in 2004, but the gruelling conditions forced her out of the race, leaving her disconsolate by the side of the road.

6 Double for Holmes: Kelly Holmes was Great Britain’s star in Athens as she stormed to victory in the 800m and then the 1500m.

5 Redmond’s bravery: Few things encapsulated the Olympic spirit better than Derek Redmond’s moving struggle to complete the 400m in Barcelona after he pulled up with a hamstring injury early in the race. His father leapt out of the crowd to help him over the line.

4 It’s Linford Christie: The words of BBC commentator David Coleman accompanied Christie’s surge to victory in Barcelona in the prestigious 100m.

3 Five-star Redgrave: At the age of 38, Steve Redgrave secured an incredible fifth consecutive gold medal in Sydney in 2000.

2 Lightning Bolt: His 200m world record in Beijing in 2008 was stunning, but his 100m display remains my favourite. Has anyone else ever broken a world record despite slowing down and thumping his chest to celebrate metres before the line?

1 Johnson, by yards: Again David Coleman summed it up best. Just as Beijing was about Bolt, Atlanta was about Michael Johnson. He had already set a new mark in the 400m when he obliterated the 200m world record by an incredible 0.34 seconds.

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