Top 10 Times Olympians Celebrated Too Early
#10: Wrestling
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Atlanta 1996 Never be sure of your victory, as it could be swept out from under you by the judges. At the end of this bout, Iranian wrestler Abbas Jadidi waved to the crowd, confident he had secured gold for his country. Even his opponent Kurt Angle of the US was sure that he had lost. But the result was not as either expected. Angle dropped to his knees as he was announced the winner, with Jadidi walking over to the judges to protest their decision. As the home crowd cheered, his disappointment was palpable. He walked away with a silver medal, but he clearly thought he was cheated from his victory.
#9: Biathlon
Sochi 2014 If you let success go to your head, it can cost you, as Norwegian biathlete Emil Hegle Svendsen learned during the 2014 Winter Olympics. As an accomplished competitor, he was confidently leading the pack during the biathlon. As he reached the finish line, he didn’t realise that his Frenchman Martin Fourcade was right behind him. As Svendsen raised his arms in celebration, his competitor snuck in beside him, ending in a photo finish. After looking at the replays, Emil was crowned the winner, but barely. Let’s hope that other athletes have learned from his almost heartbreaking mistake.
#8: Water Polo
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London 2012 In the bronze medal playoffs of the women’s water polo event in London, Australia was leading 11-10 against Hungary, who were making one final attempt to close the gap. Hungary took their shot, but the keeper saved it and the Australians celebrated! There was seemingly nothing stopping them from victory! But they neglected to notice that there was actually a total of none seconds left to play. The Hungarian team stole the ball away from the keeper and scored an equaliser, to the shock of the Australians. The game was sent into a tense extra time, where Australia were able to gain the advantage over the Hungarians. But it was definitely too close for comfort!
#7: Table Tennis
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Rio 2016 Kübra Korkut from Turkey showed us all that relaxing for even a moment can cost you. This table tennis player was facing off against Kelly Van Zon from the Netherlands, and they were battling hard. Korkut came in with a well-placed shot, the ball heading to the far right side of the table. Van Zon dove for the ball and replied with an almost impossible shot. Korkut had been so sure that Kelly couldn’t return her shot that she had turned away, and the surprise on her face was intense. Kelly Van Zon went on to win gold in that category of table tennis, with Korkut coming in at silver. It just goes to show, never underestimate your opponent.
#6: Pole Vault
Rio 2016 Talk about rising… and then falling. This women’s pole vault event was very close, with Eliza McCartney of New Zealand eventually claiming the bronze medal. But it was American Sandi Morris and Greece’s Katerina Stefanidi competing for gold. Morris took her run up and…made it! She celebrated in mid-air, screaming with joy. But on her way down, the bar came down with her. The jump wouldn’t count, and she would take home silver instead of gold.While the moment was heartbreaking to see, her performance was brilliant and was something she can always be proud of.
#5: Boxing
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Rio 2016 In the boxing preliminaries of the Light Flyweight Olympic boxing competition, Lü Bin of China was facing off against Kenya’s Peter Mungai Warui. The final round was a nail-biter, with the final decision coming down to the judges. However, as the final bell rang, Lü Bin was convinced of his victory, bowing to the crowd. But it seemed like Peter was also convinced he had won. As the referee took them both in hand, both boxers raised their gloves in triumph... but the Kenyan was announced the winner. The surprise was visible on Lü Bin’s face as Peter hugged him and the crowds cheered. Awkward!
#4: 4 × 100 Relay
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Rio 2016 This one was an intense race, and the US squad was competing hard. But a split-second mistake cost the Americans their prize. But... they didn’t realise that right away. The American relay runners proceeded to their bronze medal victory lap, only to eventually find out that their victory just wasn’t to be, that they had been disqualified! It turns out that the team had passed their baton outside the authorized zone, invalidating all their efforts. For a few brief moments of bliss, their dreams had come true, only for it to be taken away on the world stage.
#3: Speed Skating
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Vancouver 2010 This one was an emotionally rough one. The biggest challenge with long track speed skating is staying in the right lane as you circle the track, and coaches can shout to their athletes on the rink to help guide them. Unfortunately, Dutch coach Gerard Kemkers made a fatal error, directing skater Sven Kramer into the wrong lane halfway through the race. Kramer trusted his coach's decision, and by the end of the race, though he had competed hard and won! But then came the bad news. But at least the pair teamed up and won Gold in the same event at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
#2: Wrestling
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Rio 2016 As Mongolian wrestler Ganzorigiin Mandakhnaran learned, celebrating too early can actually get your medal stripped from you. In the last moments of his bout, Mandakhnaran was leading by one point. He distanced himself from his opponent in the final seconds, raising his hands in celebration of his medal. But that was his premature mistake. As he celebrated with his coaches, the judges disqualified him for not engaging with his opponent, granting his Uzbekistan opponent the bronze. The Monologian team was so distraught, that their officials started stripping in protest. But this, unsurprisingly, didn’t help.
#1: Snowboard Cross
Torino 2006 Ouch. Leading by a comfortable margin, Lindsey Jacobellis was racing down the track of the snowboard cross final. But a self-inflicted disaster loomed ahead. Jacobellis tried to perform a celebratory extra razzle-dazzle trick before she reached the finish line. This unnecessary move ruined her balance, sending her tumbling down the side of the track, allowing Tanja Frieden to speed past her and claim gold. Jacobellis was a fantastic athlete, and while she did win silver, this little mishap unfortunately cost her big. It’s a lesson for us all to always stay focused until the end.
