Tokyo 2020 Olympics Best Moments: 7 Memorable Highlights

We will remember the Tokyo Olympic Games for the first-ever victories and moments of shared joy and pain. The Olympic flame has been extinguished, marking the official end of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. There were so many examples of courage, athletic behavior, and emotions that fit the new Olympic motto: “Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together”. Read on for some of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics best moments.

Simone Biles: Removal and Return to Win Bronze

One of the main “faces” of the Tokyo 2020 gymnastics competition – and possibly the entire Olympics – was Simone Biles, the most titled American gymnast in history. However, the 24-year-old withdrew from the team all-around after completing the vault. Later she explained that she did not want to risk the team’s medal (the US team won silver). She subsequently dropped out of the finals on three of the four apparatus to focus on her mental health. Both fans and athletes supported her decision. Displaying tremendous fortitude and courage, Biles returned to take part in the finals on the balance beam. And she won the bronze – her seventh Olympic medal.

“This bronze means more to me than all the gold medals because I have been through a lot in the last five years and the last week that I was here. It was very emotional, ”she told NBC’s, TODAY Show.

Tokyo 2020 Olympics Best Moments: Elaine Thompson-Herah Makes Olympic History

Until Tokyo 2020, not a single woman defended Olympic titles in the 100 and 200 meters. But Elaine Thompson-Hera is an unusual athlete. The Jamaican sprinter first ran the 100m in 10.61 seconds on July 31. She broke the late American athletics icon Florence Griffith-Joyner’s 33-year Olympic record of 10.62, which she set in Seoul in 1988. Elaine’s time is second in history after Griffith-Joyner.

Three days later, Thompson-Hera shone again on the track when she showed a time of 21.53 seconds at a distance of 200 meters. Just 0.19 seconds behind the legendary world (and Olympic) Griffith-Joyner record set in Seoul. Thus, Thompson-Hera secured the title of sprint queen, becoming the first woman who managed to issue a gold double in 100 and 200 m at two Olympics in a row.

Tokyo 2020 Olympics Best Moments: Sharing the Gold

In the dramatic ending of the men’s Olympic high jump final, Qatar’s Mutaz Barshim and Italian Gianmarco Tamberi decided to split the gold instead of jumping further until a winner was determined. Both athletes, as well as Belarusian Maxim Nedosekov, had previously overcome 2.37 meters. But the bar was raised to the Olympic record of 2.39 meters. And none of the three athletes was able to complete the jump successfully.

Therefore, instead of moving on to the proposed “jumping over”, Barshim asked the official of the competition. “Is it possible to get two golds?”. He agreed. And happy Tamberi jumped into Barshim’s arms after realizing that he and his good friend would return home as co-champions. On the online sportsbook sites in Japan, you can guess which country will take the most medals home in the upcoming Winter Olympics. Bet365 Sportsbook will be the best guide to place your bets on.

Italy’s Incredible Triple Gold in Athletics

It’s safe to say that Italy hosted an incredible Olympics in Tokyo, winning 40 medals, including an incredible three gold medals in athletics at Olympic Stadium. The first gold, as we have already mentioned, was brought by Tamberi, who shared the victory in the high jump. Shortly thereafter, Marcel Jacobs made history not only as the first Italian to reach the 100m final, but also to win it.

One of the most memorable pictures of these Games is the way Jacobs, with a European record, crosses the finish line, where Tamberi, wrapped in an Italian flag, awaits him. But the fun and story didn’t end there for Italy. On Friday, August 6, in the men’s 4×100 m relay, Italy again made history. They won the country’s first gold in this event. Filippo Tortu in the main sprint of his life at the final stage did everything to catch up with Briton Netanel Mitchell-Blake and win gold with a difference of one-hundredth of a second.

Australia’s Most Successful Olympian: Emma McKeon

At the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Soviet gymnast Maria Gorokhovskaya set a record by winning seven medals. Nobody could repeat the achievement of Gorokhovskaya until today, but it happened almost 60 years later. Now Gorokhovskaya does not remain alone in the book of records.

Emma McKeon made the Tokyo Games memorable. She won gold in the 50 m freestyle (setting an Olympic record in the process), 100 m freestyle, 4×100 m freestyle relay, 4×100 combined relay, as well as three bronzes – 100 m butterfly, relay 4×200 freestyle, and mixed combined relay 4×100 m.

In addition to the fact that McKeon caught up with the Gorokhovskaya record, she became the most successful Australian at the Olympic Games in history. And she opened a new history page, becoming the first swimmer to win seven medals in one Olympics. Before her, only three swimmers managed to win seven or more medals at one Olympics – Michael Phelps, Mark Spitz, and Matt Biondi. Yes, one more point. A record number of medals earned McKeon the prestigious title of Most Titled Contestant at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Allyson Felix: The Most Titled Athlete in the USA

The Olympic Stadium has been the arena for countless historical events in Tokyo 2020. This includes the coronation of Allyson Felix as the most titled American female athlete in history.

Felix won her first medal at 18 in Athens in 2004 – silver in the 200m race. 17 years later she returned to the track in Japan, where she won her 10th (400m bronze) and 11th (gold in relay 4×400 m) medals. She bypassed the legendary Carl Lewis in the list of the most titled American athletes at the Olympics.

Tokyo 2020 Olympics Best Moments: Naomi Osaka Lit the Olympic Flame

Lighting the Olympic flame is an iconic part of any Olympics and Tokyo 2020 is no exception. Even though the opening ceremony was significantly changed in the months before the Games due to the postponement of Tokyo 2020 for a year and the subsequent banning of spectators from the stands, the moment Naomi Osaka (who received approval for normalizing the fight for mental health) lit the Olympic flame became historical. It marked the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity. Online sportsbook sites in Japan will welcome anyone who wishes to bet. On Bet365 Sportsbook you can find the best odds on the upcoming events including the 2022 Winter Olympics.

So these were Tokyo 2020 Olympics’ best moments. Another hallmark of the modern Olympic Games, regardless of the year, is the excellent examples of athletic behavior and camaraderie that come to the fore and inspire millions of people around the world. Check out our article about athletic behavior in the Olympics, where we explained all the Olympic values.

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