My top five Summer Olympics memories

In the summer of 1996, a bunch of my friends and I drove down from New York to Atlanta, Georgia for the Summer Olympics. None of us had ever been to the Olympics and we figured Atlanta was a great chance to go.

The Atlanta Games were a lot of fun. We saw many live events including boxing, baseball, gymnastics, beach volleyball, boat races including skulls and canoes, and basketball. The atmosphere in Atlanta was incredible, and the workers and people in the city could not have been nicer or more helpful. The only complaint we had was that we had to travel to many different, sometimes far away, locations to see some of the events, but mass transit was free as long as we had Olympic tickets.

We had a big scare at the Atlanta Olympics, as we were in the Centennial Olympic Park the night before nut job, Eric Robert Rudolph, set off pipe bombs there and killed two people. Overall though, going to the Olympics in Atlanta was a great experience. Two of my top five Summer Olympic memories occurred in Atlanta.

5. Muhammad Ali Lighting the Flame at 1996 Atlanta Games

Watching Muhammad Ali, his body wracked from Parkinson's Disease, take the Olympic flame from Janet Evans and light the torch that shot up to light the cauldron, with Beethoven's Ode to Joy playing in the background at the Opening Ceremonies of the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta was a great moment. Ali, who went by Cassius Clay at the time, won an Olympic Gold Medal in boxing for the USA at the 1960 Olympics in Rome.

That was a great way to start the 1996 Olympics. My girlfriend's father owned a used car lot in New York City, and sponsored many boxers, including a young Cassius Clay, in the early 1960's. One of her family's most treasured possessions is a signed photo from Muhammad Ali (signed Cassius Clay).

4. Emil Zatopek Wins 5000, 10000 and Marathon in 1952

I'm a runner, and run five miles a day about 320 days every year. I remember as a kid reading about this crazy runner named Emil Zatopek from the Czech Republic (I'm part Czech). In the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Zatopek did something truly incredible. He was one of the best 5000 and 10000 kilometer runners in the world, and had already won gold medals in both categories when he decided to try something new.

Just for the heck of it, Zatopek decided to try running the marathon. He had never run a marathon in his life, and his strategy for the race was simple. He ran next to Jim Peters, the best marathoner of the time. After around 10 miles, Zatopek asked Peters how they were doing. Peters, trying to trick Zatopek, said they were going too slow. Zatopek then accelerated away and won the race, setting a new Olympic record.

3. Mary Lou Retton Records Perfect 10s and Wins Gold in 1984

Until the 1984 Summer Olympics, the Eastern European Communist countries owned women's gymnastics at the Olympics. Mary Lou Retton changed all that at the 1984 games in Los Angeles. With all the Communist countries sitting out the games in protest, except for powerhouse Romania, 16 year old Mary Lou recorded perfect 10 scores in the floor exercise and vault to win the women's all-around gold medal in gymnastics.

Retton became a huge sensation in the United States for winning the gold, and especially for recording the perfect 10s. Her picture appeared on the Wheaties cereal box, and Sports Illustrated named her Sportswoman of the Year in 1984.

2. Michael Phelps Wins 16 Olympic Medals

In both the 2004 games in Athens and the 2008 games in Beijing, Michael Phelps swam his way into history. Phelps won six gold and two bronze medals in Athens, and an incredible record eight gold medals in Beijing.

Who can forget the incredible finish in the 100 meter butterfly, when Phelps edged out American-born Serbian swimmer Milorad Cavic by 1/100 of a second to win his seventh gold medal in Beijing? At least that's what we all thought at the time watching the slow-motion video, but it has since been admitted by Omega, the official time-keeper of the race, that Cavic touched the wall first, but Phelps hit the wall with more force and registered first.

Nevertheless, what Phelps accomplished in 2004 and 2008 was incredible. It will take some doing for any Olympic athlete to outdo what Michael Phelps accomplished.

1. Kerry Strug Sticks Landing on Injured Ankle in 1996 to Win USA Gold

After having watched some of the early gymnastics live in Atlanta, my friends and I watched the finals of the women's team competition on TV. With the USA in a tight race for the gold with Russia, Kerry Strug took her first turn on the vault and missed her landing. She fell and strained tendons and caused a third-degree lateral strain in her left ankle.

After the injury, Strug, who could barely walk, did not even want to do her second vault, but USA coach Bela Karolyi told her the team needed her to record a good score to win the gold medal. So Strug limped to the runway and vaulted her way into Olympic history.

She did a near perfect vault in the air, and then stuck the landing, basically on one foot, and the USA won the gold. My friends and I rose in unison to cheer as we watched Strug stick that landing.

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