50 Memorable Moments: 40-31

Jordan Burrough backs it up, badminton goes bust, Sarah Attar breaks barriers, and Mitchell runs on a broken leg. Here are 10 more memorable moments from the London Olympics. Enjoy No. 40 though  No. 31.

40. Lighting of the Cauldron (watch)
Debate raged and wagers were made about who the honorary Cauldron lighter at the Opening Ceremony might be. Everyone from Roger Bannister, to Steve Redgrave, to Daley Thompson was named, but in the end the Brits quite literally passed the Torch to the next generation, letting seven teens light 204 petals that rose to form the Cauldron.

39. Attar breaks barriers for Saudi women (watch)
She finished 30 seconds behind her nearest competitor, but Sarah Attar became the first female Saudi track athlete ever when she ran 800 meters around the track at Olympic Stadium. Attar, who joined wrestler and fellow Saudi Wojdan Shaherkani in breaking barriers for women from their country, received a standing ovation as she crossed the finish.

38. Mitchell breaks leg, keeps on running (watch)
After 400m gold medalists Jeremy Wariner and LaShawn Merritt went down with injuries, Manteo Mitchell knew he needed to power through to help the U.S. 4x400m team. One problem: Mitchell broke his leg midway through his turn around the track. Spurred on by teammates, Mitchell ran his split in 45 seconds to help his team qualify for finals.

37. E-Rupp-tion in American distance (watch)
It had been nearly 50 years since an American had even medaled in the 10,000m , but Galen Rupp, who broke two of Steve Prefontaine’s U.S. Trials records a month earlier, grabbed silver by keeping pace with British friend and training partner Mo Farah. Three nights later, Leo Manzano won the first U.S. medal in the 1500m since 1968.

36. Soni breaks the world record… twice (watch)
Dressed to impress in her pink swimsuit, Rebecca Soni waltzed into the 200m breaststroke semis as the favorite, and then broke the world record. The next night she did it again, swimming a half-second faster and winning gold in the process. She added another world record in the medley relay two nights later, because why not?

35. Burroughs backs up the swagger (watch)
American Jordan Burroughs was the favorite to win gold in 74kg freestyle wrestling, and the man who tweets at @alliseeisgold lived up this his billing. In a rematch of the 2011 world championship final, Burroughs launched quick takedowns of Iran’s Sadegh Goudarzi at the end of the first and second rounds to secure the title. A Twitpic of Burroughs holding up his medal followed soon after.

34. The endless discuss celebration (watch)
Germany’s Robert Harting was so excited by his win in the men’s discus that tearing his shirt off in front of his cheering section in Olympic Stadium wasn’t quite enough. So he draped himself in the German flag and ran down the track, half-leaping over hurdles to the crowd’s delight.

33. Scandal rocks badminton (watch)
Almost as soon as the Games began, a scandal in badminton rocked London. In an effort to get easier draws during round robin play, two teams from South Korea and one each from Indonesia and China deliberately tried to lose matches, making little attempt to hide their intentions. The four teams were expelled, but it didn’t matter to China – the country won gold in all five badminton events.

32. Eaton becomes the “world’s greatest athlete” (watch)
A month after setting a new world record in the decathlon, Ashton Eaton became the 12th American to win Olympic decathlon gold. He led the competition from start to finish to claim the title of “world’s greatest athlete.” Teammate Trey Hardee, who won silver, summed up Eaton’s accomplishment: “Eaton is the greatest athlete that’s ever walked the planet, hands down.” Jim Thorpe might have a thing or two to say about that, but Eaton has officially put himself in that stratosphere.

31. Shields punches her way into history (watch)
In the first year that women’s boxing was an Olympic event, 17-year-old American Claressa Shields thundered her way to gold medal behind a strong right hand and an aggressive style befitting a brash teenager discovering her immense natural ability. The pride of Flint, Michigan didn’t just take home the first Olympic gold in women’s boxing for the U.S. – she became the youngest boxer to win Olympic gold since 1924.

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