Every four years people all over the globe* turn their eyes to watch the best of the best that the world has to offer in terms of athletes.  Among all of these amazing athletes there are always some world favorites, favorites for both amazing performances but also because of heartbreaking disappointment or good sportsmanship.  We may not yet know who will walk, run, or row away from the 2012 London Olympics as our favorite athletes, but we can look back at some of the most amazing athletes and athletic accomplishments of the previous games.  Here is a short list of some awe inspiring* feats of athletes from previous Olympics.  If you know of any other amazing Olympic events or stories you would like to share please be sure to add them as a comment to this post.  I hope you are enjoying the games!

• At the age of 4  American Wilma Rudolph was diagnosed with polio, but with determination and perseverance Wilma went to the 1960 Rome Olympics and won 2 gold medals in track and field.
• In the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Canada’s Lawrence Lemieux was sailing in the second place position when he left his course to help save two sailors whose boat had capsized**.  Lemieux did not win the silver medal, but did win the Pierre de Coubertin medal which is awarded to athletes for exceptional sportsmanship.
• Ethiopia’s Abebe Bikila won the marathon competition in the 1960 Rome Olympics running bare footed (without shoes)! He was the the first African to win an Olympic gold medal.
• American Michael Phelps won 8 gold medals in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. This is the highest number of gold medals ever won by a single person in a single Olympics.
• In the 1976 Montreal Olympics, Romanian Nadia Comaneci was the first female gymnast to score a perfect 10 (the highest score in gymnastics at that time) and she then became the first Olympian to score a perfect 10 seven times in a row.
• Iranian Hossein Rezazadeh holds all the Olympic heavyweight records after competing in both the 2000 Sydney Olympics and 2004 Athens Olympics.
• Karnam Malleswari was born in a small village of India and started weight lifting at the age of 12.  She was the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal, which she won in weight lifting at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.
• Only two athletes in history have won gold medals at six different Olympic games.  These two athletes are: Germany’s Birgit Fischer (winning kayaking gold medals in 1980, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004) and Hungry’s Aladar Gerevich (winning fencing gold medals in 1932, 1936, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960).  Wow!

*the globe = the earth
**awe inspiring = amazing, inspiring admiration or wonder
***to capsize = when a boat over turns or turns upside down in water

The answers to yesterday’s scavenger hunt:

1. You can click on the word ‘Tickets’ in the top right hand corner of the main page (the word ‘Tickets’ is written in black with a white background, next to the words ‘Shop’ and ‘Paralympic Games’).  This will take you to this webpage: http://www.tickets.london2012.com/.  You can also look at the bottom right had side of the main webpage there is a boxed section called ‘Spectators’, within this section you can click on picture and word ‘Tickets’ and ‘Get More Information’.  You will be taken to this webpage: http://www.london2012.com/spectators/tickets/index.html.
2. This can be found along the right hand side of the main page (website homepage) a little less than half-way down the page in a boxed section with the following headings: ‘Next Events’, ‘Live’ and ‘Results’.  Just click on ‘Results’ to see which countries are winning in various competitions.
3. The answer is £ 10.00.  You can find this information in the bottom right hand corner of the main webpage in the boxed section called ‘Online Shop’.  There are 10 different items for sale that are highlighted in this box and also a link to an online shop where you can find more Olympic related merchandise.
4. There are 36 sporting events listed in alphabetical order.  You can find this drop down menu near the top center of the main webpage.  The word ‘Sports’ is written in white in front of a black background, next tot the words ‘Torch Relay’ and ‘Athletes’.
5. The mascots’ names are Wenlock and Mandeville.  This information you could have found in a number of ways, including looking in the ‘Online Shop” area or doing a search for the word ‘mascot’ in the search area at the top of the website next to the magnifying glass icon.