Tokyo 2020 has already had its fair share of upsets, something that happens at every Olympics.
Throughout history, many athletes and teams have put together historic performances on the grandest of stages, coming out of obscurity, and here are five from recent memory.
Rulon Gardner defeats “Russian Bear” Aleksandr Karelin in wrestling
Any time Americans and Russians square off at the Olympics – even after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Soviet Union – there has always a heightened sense of competition. The American Rulon Gardner was a heavy underdog as the “Russian Bear” Aleksandr Karelin had not lost a Greco-Roman wrestling match in 13 years, and was looking to cap off his career with one final victory.
Karelin was also coming off three consecutive gold medals. However, American farm boy Gardner, who grew up wrestling cows to get into shape, stunned the world. Karelin attempted his signature move, a pulverising reverse lift, but Gardner remained firm, and then scored a point when Karelin broke his lock first. That was enough, and David had beaten Goliath.
Argentina beats LeBron James and US men’s basketball team
The USA men’s basketball team was largely seen as an unstoppable powerhouse heading into the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. The Americans had the likes of Allen Iverson, Tim Duncan and of course, a young LeBron James.
But the Argentinians had already smelled blood, as the USA had lost games in the tournament to Puerto Rico and Lithuania in the preliminary stages. Argentina had an average age of 27, while the Americans’ average age was 24, with the older squad definitely putting their international experience to good use. The USA was still favoured to win gold, but Argentina, led by Luis Scola and Manu Ginobili, were a passing-heavy team and pulled out a 89-81 win for the ages, denying them that chance in an unforgettable semi-final.
Japan upends USA women’s softball team in Beijing
The Americans were undefeated in 22 straight Olympic matches heading into the game, however as sports fans know the Japanese are no slouches when it comes to both softball and baseball.
Softball made its Olympic debut in 1996 in Atlanta and the Americans had won every gold medal up to that point. However, Beijing was going to be the last appearance for the sport, which meant this would potentially be the last game of Olympic softball ever.
Japan pulled off a stunning 3-1 victory on the back of monstrous pitcher Yukiki Ueno, a 26-year-old who had previously pitched a perfect game. She tempered an American squad who had hit 13 home runs – an Olympic record– in the preliminary round, and the rest was history as the Japanese pulled off an upset for the ages.
Softball made its reappearance at Tokyo 2020.
Joseph Schooling beats his idol Michael Phelps
The unknown Singaporean swimmer got to meet his idol Michael Phelps at the 2008 Beijing Olympics when he was just 13. Then in 2016, a then 21-year-old Schooling found himself lining up against the American legend in the 100m butterfly.
Phelps was going for an unprecedented fourth straight gold medal in the race, but as swim fans knew at the time, it was not one of his strongest events. This was enough for Schooling to seize the moment and put in the race of his life, at the right moment. Schooling got a big cheque from the Singaporean government, and he also got a parade back home, etching his name into the history books in exactly 50.39 seconds.
Billy Mills comes out of nowhere and wins the 10,000m
The unknown American runner made the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo in both the 10,000m and the marathon. The favourite to win the event was Australian world record-holder Ron Clarke. The other runners expected to challenge him were defending Olympic champion Pyotr Bolotnikov of the Soviet Union, and Murray Halberg of New Zealand, who won the 5,000m in 1960.
However, Mills came out of nowhere and ran the race of his life, keeping pace with Clarke up until the end when he fell behind into third. Then in the last bend, he started sprinting after pulling out to lane four, beating his personal best in the event by 50 seconds.
