Memorable Moments of the Olympic Games

The Olympic Games are filled with memorable moments, drama and human interest stories. Although, by population, Canada is not a large nation, it seems to find itself at the center of some of the most controversial and strange moments in the history of the games. Two of these events involved sports where the judging was an issue. One of these stories involved the swimmer Sylvie Frechette and the Summer Games and the other involved pairs skating couple Jamie Sale and David Pelletier during the Winter Games.

In 1992, Sylvie was competing in the summer Games in Barcelona. She was the favorite to win the gold medal, and she did not disappoint. She swam an amazing program and there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that she should win the gold. However, one of the judges made a mistake entering their marks into the computer. The judge even admitted that it was a mistake and tried to get the score changed. Nonetheless, officials would not listen to reason. Sylvie took home the silver medal. Canada, however, would not let it rest and sixteen months later Sylvie was awarded the gold medal that she had earned.

The case of Jamie and David was similar in many ways. Jamie, David and Jamie were on the brink of winning gold. They went out and skated the performance of their lives, and were clearly the best. The Russians had done well, but they had made mistakes. However, when the scores were posted the Canadians were second. The world and the pair were stunned. Clearly, the Canadians were the better team, in the eyes of everyone but the judges.

What would follow would rock not only the world of skating but every sport where judging was an issue. After days of investigating it was discovered that the judge from France had a deal with the Russian to place them first. The decision was made to award both the Russians and the Canadians the gold medal. This solution appeased the Canadians but brought into question all the judging in the world of sport. How many times had this happened in the past?

Although, these moments may not be the happiest in the world of Olympic Sport, they are among the most memorable.

More Sports Trophy Trivia

silver trophyThe FIFA World Cup Trophy

Every four years FIFA holds its famous world cup. The winner of this event is presented with the FIFA World Cup. This cup has been awarded since 1974. Prior to 1974 the winner was given the Rimet World Cup. This trophy was awarded from 1930 until 1970. It had organically been called “Victory” but the name was changed to honor Jules Rimet the former President of FIFA.

The Rimet trophy was made of lapis lazuli and gold plated sterling silver. The trophy was of the goddess Nike, who is known as the winged goddess of victory. It had to be replaced after Brazil won it for the third time in 1970,  since according to FIFA any team that won the trophy three times would win the trophy outright. Sadly, the trophy was stolen in 1983 while it was on display in the Brazilian Football Confederation Headquarters. Although four men were convicted of the theft, the trophy was never recovered. In 1984 a replica of the trophy was made and presented to the President of Brazil. Continue reading

Sports Trophy Trivia

NBA

The winner of the NBA is awarded the Larry O’Brien Trophy. This trophy replaced the Walter A. Brown Trophy which was awarded from 1949 until 1977. The trophy was a challenge cup which means that the winning team would keep the trophy for a year and then return it to the league to be given to the next winner. The Cup was simply called the NBA Finals Trophy until 1964 when it was renamed the Walter A Brown Trophy.

Walter Brown, (1905 – 1964) was the first owner of the Boston Celtics. He played a major role in uniting the BAA and the National Basketball League into today’s NBA.  The Walter A. Brown trophy is on display in the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield Massachusetts. In 1977 a new trophy was designed for the league, but the name remained the same. Continue reading