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10 of the Funniest Moments from These Olympics

by Alex Dimond [HUMOR]

26

3561 reads

Humor

August 22, 2008


Everybody knows that what the Olympic Games do best, provide us with unparalleled feats of human performance. The Olympic motto of “Higher, Faster, Stronger” has never proven more apt, as athletes in Beijing have continued to push the boundaries of what we thought was physically possible.

But, as with any major sporting event, there is a lighter side to the Games. As tensions run high, so do emotions, and not all athletes can control that other inevitable side of human nature—error. Arguably, it is this humorous element that gives the Olympics its unique feel.

So, in only the slightest semblance of an order, here are just a few moments from the past two weeks that gave me a right good laugh:

 

10. Wrestling with the Result

In one of the more widespread stories from this year’s Greco-Roman wrestling competition, Swedish 84kg competitor Ara Abrahamian took a lot of criticism for declining (in perhaps the least polite way possible) his bronze medal, as he believed he had been a victim of “politics” in his semifinal bout.

To be fair, the 2004 silver medalist can be forgiven for being devastated to once again miss out on his target, but a bronze medal is still an Olympic medal. You don’t just put one down and walk away!

Apparently, the big Swede had to be persuaded to even compete in his bronze medal bout, so disgusted was he with the judges' earlier decision. Eventually, he came out and sweated and struggled to earn that medal.

Having gone through all that, he proceeded to get on the podium and just throw away the medal (and his effort). What a waste of time—he didn’t really think that one through, did he?

 

9. The Surprise of Success.

It’s the classic mistake. You train hard for four years, pushing yourself to the limits while focused completely on winning an Olympic medal. What you never once do though, is prepare yourself for how you might react when you actually reach that target.

That was the problem that befell double-trap shooter Francesco D’Aniello. Having secured a silver medal, the Italian had obviously never worked on his celebration. So he did what came naturally—he broke down and cried

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26 comments Last one added 10 months ago — Leave a Comment

  1. J. Michael Morris 10 months ago

    Great article, just written a bit too early. Did you see two dropped batons for the Americans in the 4X100, shocking. The woman who ran the last leg for the Americans blamed it on a voodoo doll that someone, somewhere had. Was she referring to Jamaicans with that comment?

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    • Alex Dimond 10 months ago

      Ha ha, tell me about it - as I watched those relays I realised I had jumped the gun a bit! Especially gutting as Team GB managed to fail on the handovers in both sprint relays. What the hell were they doing?!

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  2. Jason Cottier 10 months ago

    The BMX competitions too. I always turned the channel when BMX came on, but last night thanks to my 2 year old losing the remote, I was on my way to turn the tv by hand when I saw the first BMXer eating the road. It kinda struck me as funny, so I watched an entire race, and was not disappointed. It was quite hillarious...there is just something about someone falling off a bike that gets me laughing so hard I squirt tears.

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  3. the retriever 10 months ago

    Funniest all time Olympic moment was in '76 (I think). A duo from New Zealand was in canoeing or rowing and didn't place. They did what any rationale person would have done: they burned the boat and swam ashore.

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  4. Sue H. 10 months ago

    There is no particular hierarchy here:

    10. The BMX wipeouts..oh my!
    9. The women's marathon (bumping, stopping, quitting, not giving up)
    8. MP splashing the water like a kid after he won his 7th medal.
    7. MP screaming during that final relay.
    6. Amanda Beard not qualifying for nuttin honey.
    5. The US Men's 4x100 relay team getting it all wrong.
    4. The US Women's 4x100 relay team getting it all wrong.
    3. The dive over the line by Neville in the mens 400m race. (Yep, he stole the bronze AND he's a preacher...go figure that one out.)
    2. Bolt's 200m race, falling out on his back then jumping up and dancing a jig.
    1. Bolt's 100m race--the final 50 meters and beyond.

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    • Jason Cottier 10 months ago

      Neville did look like a dodo bird landing a couple steps before the "dive". Maybe he called upon god to help him win a medal, but in a humble way.

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    • Dorothy Willis 10 months ago

      Do you mean like "Dear Lord please let me lurch to victory?"

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    • Sue H. 10 months ago

      But we can assume that God does not cheat, right?

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    • Jason Cottier 10 months ago

      He may, but if you look at the right angle on it, he looks as though he fell...God can't just soar him in front of everyone else...He had to do it right. Maybe if he were specific, and asked for a gold medal, then we would have been able to see the miracle dive in action.

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  5. Jeff Snyder 10 months ago

    You shouldve mentioned the Russian weightlifter who would go nuts after he had a successful lift. By nuts I mean screaming, beating himself, up and knocking over chairs. He won the silver medal.

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  6. Thomas 10 months ago

    bmx wipeouts are fun to watch. good article. very interesting olympics this year.

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  7. CHRIS 10 months ago

    TRY TO COMPETE AT THE LEVEL THEY HAVE WORKED SO HARD TO BE AT BEFORE YOU MAKE FUN OR JUST SIT THERE AND KEEP TYPING.

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    • Jason Cottier 10 months ago

      AWW Chris is really sticking up for these athletes...I think we hurt his feelings. If you don't have a sense of humor then keep your ass off the pages that are humor based...Maybe you should sit there and puff up in defense of people that wouldn't piss on your gums if your teeth were on fire.

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    • TJ Ferguson 10 months ago

      i think i can speak for everyone:

      we don't have to try, we know we can't compete at that level, however, when anyone falls off a bike, or cries, or makes a mistake like dropping a baton, or diving over a finish line, it is still funny.

      it's like when a band is performing, i know they are better guitarists and singers than i am, but if they jump into a speaker and knock it over, or their shit breaks, or they fall down, it is still funny as long as they don't get hurt.

      however, if you do get hurt, but win a medal, it can still be funny as long as you don't die are get a serious injury

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  8. Alan Bass 10 months ago

    I think one of the funniest moments was in that 200M Butterfly that Phelps barely won, that the person in second place lost because he glided to the end instead of taking one final stroke. That was just unreal.

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  9. Collin Whitchurch 10 months ago

    Yeah, dude. That Chris guy really needs to chill out.

    I really enjoyed this article. Well done.

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  10. Alastair McKenty 10 months ago

    To be honest, the funniest, yet most disturbing moment for me has become the reaction of the disqualified Cuban Taekwando competitor who proceeded to kick the judge who DQ'd him in the face.

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    • Jason Cottier 10 months ago

      It was kinda like a laughing what the hell is his deal moment. I have heard he got a life time ban for his actions...imagine that.

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  11. Ryan J. 10 months ago

    Funniest moment for me has been the boxing matches. The scoring is a joke and the Americans were screwed.

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  12. Khalid Shakran 10 months ago

    Nicely written Alex. I think these are all funny. But I would rank Aly Dehleb as the first. Read my article to know more

    http://bleacherreport.com/articles/49215-aly-dehleb-sleeps-in-misses-weightlifting-competition

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  13. Saraswathi Siriginia 10 months ago

    well written article Alex and the fumbling baton of the US relay teams should rate among these dumb moments

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  14. Kenneth Julian III 10 months ago

    Ryan is right, and watching the matches with Teddy Atlas talking about the scoring was great TV. that was funny. The Americans got screwed royally. Though I was kind of waiting to hear to see if China's Badminton Gold Medalist Lin Dan would go off on one of his world wide known temper tantrum in which he has fought another players opposing coach before. Great article... and the Bolt thing is hilarious, like Reggie Bush vs. Fresno State or Kobe vs. the Raptors... Stupid Human Feats of Dominance... lol.

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