From Sidney Crosby's golden goal to Eve Muirhead's redemption, the Winter Olympics have provided countless emotional moments. Here are six that stand out as classics.
In 2010, the men's ice hockey final between Canada and the USA went to overtime. With the score tied, Sidney Crosby, then 22, slipped the puck between Ryan Miller's pads to secure gold for Canada, a goal forever known as 'The Golden Goal'. Meanwhile, Lindsey Jacobellis's 2006 snowboard cross final saw her lose gold after a premature celebration, but she made amends in Beijing 2022 at age 36, becoming the oldest American woman to win Winter Olympic gold.
Austria's Hermann Maier survived a terrifying crash during the 1998 men's downhill, cartwheeling through safety nets at 120km/h, only to return three days later to win gold in the Super-G and giant slalom. On Valentine's Day 1984, British ice dancers Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean captivated Sarajevo with their perfect Boléro routine, earning 12 sixes and watched by an estimated 24 million in the UK.
Eric Heiden's 1980 performance in Lake Placid remains unparalleled: he won five individual speed skating golds, setting Olympic records in each, including a world record in the 10,000m. Eve Muirhead's curling gold in 2022 came after years of near misses; she led Team GB to a masterclass victory over Japan in the pandemic-affected Games.
