London, 1908 (Dorado Pietri) On the final day of the 1908 London Olympics, 100 000 people packed the stadium in White City, London, to witness the marathon. With two miles to go, Italy’s Dorado Pietri took the lead but as soon as he entered the stadium he started to look unsteady, and fell a number of times before being helped up by umpires, and eventually crossing the finish line. Despite coming first, he was disqualified for being assisted, and the American runner who came second was given the title. AFP

Berlin, 1936 (Jesse Owens) 1936 was the perfect opportunity for Adolf Hitler to showcase the superiority of the Aryan race. But 22-year-old American Jesse Owens proved him wrong. He first won gold in the 100 meter, and then picked up a gold in the long jump. His third gold came in the 200 meter dash, breaking the Olympic record. Owens achieved his fourth gold medal in a more controversial fashion when he and Ralph Metcalfe replaced Jewish team members Marty Glickman and Sam Stoller in the 100m relay. AFP

1956, Melbourne A water polo match between Hungary and Russia came to a bloody end as one of the Russian players hit a Hungarian player in the eye. Throughout the match there were a lot of kicks and punches handed out from both sides. But the final incident began when Russia’s Valentine Prokopov swam up to Ervin Zador of Hungary and punched him in the eye. Eventually the match was stopped and Hungary won with four goals in hand. AFP

Munich, 1972 The Munich Massacre was one of the most infamous days in Olympic history. Members of the Israeli Olympic team, including 11 athletes and coaches, were taken hostage and eventually killed by Palestinian group Black September. A West German police officer was also killed. Five of the eight Black September members were killed by police officers during a rescue attempt. The other three members were captured but later released. AFP

Munich, 1972 (Mark Spitz) At the 1972 Games Mark Spitz was bidding for six gold medals. But he did more than that, getting seven. What is even more spectacular is that Spitz broke a world record in each of these events. Spitz is only one of five people to have ever won nine or more Olympic gold medals. Spitz’s record of seven gold medals was not surpassed until Michael Phelps at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. AFP

Montreal, 1976 (Nadia Comaneci) Nadia Comaneci became the first person to score a perfect ten in Olympic gymnastics history. The Montreal Forum scoreboard was unable to pick up all the digits and simply read 1.00. The 14-year-old from Romania also achieved gold on the balance beam, as well as on the uneven bars, and got bronze in the floor exercise. The Romanian team finished second in the team competition, which earned Comaneci a silver medal.AFP

Los Angeles, 1984 (Mary Decker) Mary Decker was probably the favourite going into the women’s 3000 meter run. It was her first opportunity to win an Olympic gold medal, but South African Zola Budd, who was part of the British team, stood in her way. Budd, who trailed Decker for the first half of the race, decided to pass her going into the third turn. As she cut in front, Decker got tangled up in Budd's left foot and fell. In the end, Budd finished in seventh place with tears streaming down her face. AFP

Seoul, 1988 (Greg Louganis) American Greg Louganis is still rated as one of the best divers to have set foot on the springboard. His 1988 victory in Seoul came with high drama. With many medals behind his name it was clear that Louganis was the favourite, but the way in which he won stunned the world: the diver managed to qualify despite hitting his head against the board in his next-to-last qualifying dive. Despite suffering concussion going into the final, Louganis completed the two and a half pike and won gold. AFP

Seoul, 1988 (Ben Johnson) In 1988 Ben Johnson smashed the 100 meter world record in 9.79 seconds, but was soon stripped of his gold medal for doping. Johnson’s urine sample was found to contain Stanozolol, and was he disqualified three days later. Five other sprinters in the same race were disqualified for either doping or were implicated in a drug scandal at some point in their careers. The race is now described as the most corrupt race ever run. AFP

Barcelona, 1992 (Derek Redmond) Derek Redmond was in good form heading towards the final of the 400 meter race. He posted the fastest time in the first round, but during his semi-final heat his hamstring snapped. He fell to the ground but decided he wanted to finish the race. As the medics arrived, Redmond started to hobble along the track. He was joined by his father , and as they crossed the line a 65 000 strong crowd gave them a standing ovation. But because of his father’s assistance, he was disqualified. AFP

Atlanta, 1996 (Mohamed Ali) Four-time discus gold medallist Al Oerter was the final runner to arrive at the stadium and ignited the torch held by Olympic champion Evander Holyfield. He was joined by runner Voula Patoulidou of Greece. Together they ran around the track and gave the torch to three-time gold medallist Janet Evants. As Evants began to climb the ramp a confident Mohamed Ali appeared and took the torch from her. Ali raised the torch triumphantly and lit the Olympic flame with a shaking hand. AFP

6 October, 2007 (Marion Jones) Marion Jones became one of the stars at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games after winning three gold medals in the women’s 100m, 200m and the 4x400m relay and bronze medals in the long jump and the 4x100m relay. Jones later confessed that she was part of the BALCO doping scandal and was stripped of all her Olympic medals. AFP