10 of the Funniest Moments from These Olympics

The key, it appears, is to ignore all self-respect and simply throw yourself across the line. The philosophy is simple: The bruises will heal, but the medals will be real.

Fair play to Neville, however, as his unorthodox dive (maybe he'd do well in the gymnastics?!) undoubtedly stole him a bronze. Completing an American one-two-three in the event, he might also have “stumbled” across a new way to finish sprint races—with a dive like that, could Bolt go sub 9.5s?!

1. You Don’t Pick the Horse, The Horse Picks You

Judged on the last two weeks, the show-jumping phase of the modern pentathlon must rank as the most random event in the whole Olympics. For a start, you have to wonder why horse-riding is part of a supposed “modern” event—I mean, wouldn’t trying to navigate rush-hour traffic in a Hyundai Sonata be a more appropriate task?

Whatever the reasoning, show-jumping is one of the five disciplines. But unlike the individual horse-riding events, the pentathletes do not have their own horse; instead they ride a completely unfamiliar horse. One they picked out of a hat, earlier the same day.

Fortunately, all horses come with a description, which appear to fall into three categories: “spooky”, “lazy” or “normal”. That, and 15 mins to "get to know" the horse, are all the competitors get.

Riding a horse is pretty simple (or so I've been told). The problem, however, comes when the athletes actually try to jump a few hurdles. With unforgiving conditions disturbing the horses, onlookers were treated to a spectacle of failed jumps, refusals and even falls. Many riders (in the men’s event at least) couldn’t even complete the course—as their new partners simply refused to move.

For the world’s greatest sporting event, such a show of incompetence must serve as one of the funniest moments of Beijing 2008. Any time an Olympic competitor gets 628 penalty points you can't help but have a chuckle.

So these are my picks for some of the funniest moments of the Olympic Games. But I haven't seen every event (although God knows I've tried!), so please let me know if you think there are any incidents I have missed out!

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