Best Sports Moments of Your Nation?

[VolleyRuller96 264]

So I realize we actually have two similar topics on Totallympics, so this one may feel repetetive, but one of the other topics is just about the best moments in the Olympic Games for your country, while the other one is dedicated only to best moments from 2017, so I thought about opening a general one  

I want  to ask you - what do you think are your nation's biggest successes in all of sport - World Championships, Continental trophy, or maybe some individual athlete's achievement?  I personally will list only the ones I can remember , but feel free to post about any Moment, regardless if it is from the 1950's or already from 2018   

 

Let me start with my top 5 

5. Handball - bronze medal at the 2015 World Championships

Honestly, I care about this bronze medal much more than that from the 2007 WC due to the circumstances the boys achieved it - after the shameful behaviour of referees in the semifinal game against Qatar I was sure their spirit was crushed. Then I saw one of the best Handball games by our legendary NT, and I will never forget the dramaturgy of the extra time. 

And then, at the end...

4. Cycling (Road) - GOLD MEDAL at the 2014 World Championships by M. Kwiatkowski

I remember Michal's triumph came quickly after our win in Volleyball men's World Chamionship, and many people still in awe of that result kind of overlooked it  It's a great shame, as it is definitely one of the defining moment for our Road Cycling.

3. Ski Jumping - Kamil Stoch's DOUBLE OLYMPIC GOLD, Sochi 2014

Just thinking about what Kamil has done then still gives me goosebumps.  This just proved his amazing talent (and as it turned out, his full potential has not been reached until 2017/18 season) and it was the first time for many Poles,myself included, that they realized Kamil was someone special for Polish ski jumping - perhaps even more then Adam Malysz.
 

 

2. Athletics - Men 4x100 GOLD MEDAL & WR, Indoor World Championship 2018

Our Athletes brought home an amazing number of medals, but what really stood out to me was this one. I did not except such result and definitely not with a World Record. They made not only Polish history, but the history of the sport of Athletics as a whole.

1. VOLLEYBALL - MEN'S GOLD MEDAL, WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2014
(oh,come on, you knew this was coming the moment you opened the thread )

This one is unfogettable to me and millions of Polish people. What they achieved on their home soil was unbevielable. I remember the drama and tension I felt since the opening game against Serbia, and with every game I knew more and more that either something amazing or something terrible is going to happen. And it all culminated beautifully in this game. I remember this day as it were yesterday  I really want to write something more, how big impact this win had on people... but I can't  This was truly something one must experience to understand. The emotions are still too high  But this truly was a magical night.

Over 17 million people (a bit less than 50% of Poland's population) watched the deciding moments of that game. 

And the commentary of the decisive point I will never get it out of my head...

... But what was really special about this tournament was how it brought people together. I remember I was the only guy in the neighborhood which had access to the tv channel that broadcasted the games, so after the opening match which was broadcasted for free I invited some friends and neighbours...then, suddenly during the final - which was also broadcasted free for everyone - there were literally about 25 - 30 people watching the match in my house  And after the game of course there was a big party

Here is a footage of what was happening in Polish streets during the game

 

... And in front of the stadium after the final whistle 

 

[hoversaBR 864]

1 - Handball - World title in 2013. 

 

2 - Modern Pentathlon -  Bronze in London 2012. This will not happen for the next thousand years. 

 

3 - Swimming - César Cielo gold, Beijing 2008. The most exciting podium I have ever seen.

 

4 - The victory over the USA and soon after the world title in women's basketball. I still believe that today we have not even won from Puerto Rico. 

 

5 - Beach volleyball world Championship in 2015. 2 titles and 5 medals of 6 possible. Unforgettable.

[heywoodu 16,460]

3 minutes ago, hoversaBR said:

 

 

5 - Beach volleyball world Championship in 2015. 2 titles and 5 medals of 6 possible. Unforgettable.

Booo  

[Wanderer 1,738]

2 minutes ago, heywoodu said:

Booo  

 

Speed skating in the past decade  

[OlympicIRL 6,305]

This.... unforgettable!

 

[heywoodu 16,460]

11 minutes ago, Wanderer said:

 

Speed skating in the past decade  

 

Nah, not really. Although Gerard van Velde's gold in 2002 definitely would be in my list, but none of the gold medals this or last Olympics really 'did' something for me, it was mostly like "oh"  Probably because as a child I cared completely about simply wanting the athletes with the same flag to win  Whereas now I'm mostly interested in the athletes I actually like.

 

Tom Dumoulin winning the Giro d'Italia last year was absolutely huge, the Netherlands reaching the World Cup final in 2010 was the single biggest 'thing' in Dutch sports that I can at least remember from my lifetime. The Euro 1988 semi final against West Germany was arguably the biggest though: beating the (back then still very much 'hated') arch enemy, on their home soil....it was before I was born, but from what I heard our always quiet and calm neighbour was crying on his knees in front of the TV  The final was nice, but the win in the semi's was the main thing. 

[LDOG 2,477]

5. August 28th, 2004 - In the same day Argentina wins two gold medals in men's football and basketball and breaks a curse of 52 years without the argentine anthem being played at the OG.

 

4. Roland Garros 2004 - 3 out of 4 semifinalists were  . Also it had dramatic final between Gaudio and Coria who didn't like each other that much. Gaudio winning was the ultimate underdog story since he was always seen as a guy that couldn't possibly win a major title, being a complete nutjob like he was.

 

3. Argentina-Brazil at football World Cup 1990 - Crazy epic victory over the neighbours with the team plagued with injuries and playing crap football. Resisted thousands of shots from the opponent for 80 minutes before Maradona placed a fantastic pass to score an unthinkable goal.

 

2. Argentina-USA at basketball world championship 2002 - The first loss of a USA team made up by NBA players (was holding a record of 55-0 since 1992). That was the day the whole world realised that they weren't invincible.

 

1. Argentina-England 1986 & world cup victory - Maradona's magnum opus, nothing else to explain.

[thepharoah 2,413]

Hmmm, I'll rank 5 Best moments for Egypt at least from My Perspective

 

1.  Handball WCH 2001 : Egypt made history in this tournament by defeating Russia in Quarterfinals which was a great super power in the sport on these days along with Sweden and became the 1st Non European team to reach men's Handball WCH Semis 

 

 

2. Karam Gaber Gold medal in Men's Wrestling Greco-Roman Wrestling in Athens 2004 , the 1st Gold Medal for Egypt since 1948 and for sorry the last till now  and in a very big style , his performance in this OG is still considered one of the best ever in Greco Roman at Olympics 

 

 

 

3. Egypt reaching Football WC 2018 for the 1st time since 1990 after defeating Congo 2-1 in Cairo 

 

 

 

4. Alaaeldin Abouelkassem winning Silver medal in men's fencing foil in London 2012 , 1st medal for any African nation in the sport , not many people in Egypt would think the same way , but i think for me it was a very special moment , i was among very few people who believed in Alaa's extraordinary talent since he was young and of his ability to win a medal , despite the very hard draw 

 

 

 

5. Egypt defeating Italy 1-0 in Men's Confederations Cup 2009 in SA 

 

 

Edited March 16, 2018 by thepharoah

[thepharoah 2,413]

34 minutes ago, LDOG said:

 

4. Roland Garros 2004 - 3 out of 4 semifinalists were  . Also it had dramatic final between Gaudio and Coria who didn't like each other that much. Gaudio winning was the ultimate underdog story since he was always seen as a guy that couldn't possibly win a major title, being a complete nutjob like he was.

 

i think Gaudio winning RG , was one of the biggest surprises in history of the tournament , this final was also an epic one, Coria who was unstoppable on clay that time and made a very big tournament led by 2 sets and it was really obvious that he'll win , but then he suffered from an injury and everything went on reverse way , the 5th set was very tight , but Gaudio won at the end , i still remember this final , despite i was not very old , only 10  , but this's among my favorite GS finals ever 

Edited March 15, 2018 by thepharoah

[konig 1,591]

2 hours ago, LDOG said:

5. August 28th, 2004 - In the same day Argentina wins two gold medals in men's football and basketball and breaks a curse of 52 years without the argentine anthem being played at the OG.

 

4. Roland Garros 2004 - 3 out of 4 semifinalists were  . Also it had dramatic final between Gaudio and Coria who didn't like each other that much. Gaudio winning was the ultimate underdog story since he was always seen as a guy that couldn't possibly win a major title, being a complete nutjob like he was.

 

3. Argentina-Brazil at football World Cup 1990 - Crazy epic victory over the neighbours with the team plagued with injuries and playing crap football. Resisted thousands of shots from the opponent for 80 minutes before Maradona placed a fantastic pass to score an unthinkable goal.

 

2. Argentina-USA at basketball world championship 2002 - The first loss of a USA team made up by NBA players (was holding a record of 55-0 since 1992). That was the day the whole world realised that they weren't invincible.

 

1. Argentina-England 1986 & world cup victory - Maradona's magnum opus, nothing else to explain.

Mostly agree except for Roland Garros, i include the title of thw World Cup of 1978 of football, another epic moment was the victory over Serbia with the "last second incredible two points of Manu Ginobilli.

Edited March 16, 2018 by konig