The Most Successful Athlete at the 1984 Games

So here we are.  The Olympic Games are underway and now that the excitement of being able to watch anything and everything has dwindled somewhat it’s time for the serious business of picking what I actually want to watch.  One of my favourite Olympic sports is artistic gymnastics and my fascination with it started back in 1984.

The Soviet Union boycotted the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics in retaliation for the US boycott of Moscow 1980.  Of the Soviet allies, only Romania bravely defied the boycott and sent their team to the Olympics where they ended up an impressive 2^nd in the medal table behind the hosts.  One of the Romanian medals came in the women’s artistic gymnastics team event where they narrowly won gold, by a single point, over the USA team.  This rivalry set things up nicely for the All-Around competition, the most coveted prize for the best individual gymnast across all 4 disciplines.

Ecaterina Szabo

It was a classic East vs West encounter.  For the West - American Mary Lou Retton; for the East - Romanian Ecaterina Szabo.  Szabo was slim and graceful with a messy ponytail, blue eyeshadow and a serious expression whereas Retton was strong and powerful with fashionably short hair and an easy, winning smile.  Their contrasting styles made the contest all the more exciting and my 6-year-old self was firmly on the side of the Romanian.

Mary Lou Retton

In the absence of the Soviet gymnasts, including the famous Natalia Yurchenko, Szabo was the favourite for the title.  She was a Hungarian immigrant whose name was changed from Katalin to the Romanian Ecaterina by a communist regime keen to hide her ethnic origins and normally that’s the sort of story that makes you a crowd pleaser – plucky young immigrant from a brave defiant nation etc.  But this was Los Angeles, and American dreams needed to be realised:  there had never been an All-Around Olympic champion from outside Eastern Europe and it was Retton who was set to make history and capture the hearts of the nation. After trailing Szabo for the first two rotations, Retton gained a perfect 10 for the floor and then, propelled by the strong home support, she flung herself at the vault with amazing strength and gained another 10.  She beat Szabo to the All-Around title by 0.05 of a point and became America’s sweetheart and a household name.

Retton won 5 medals in total at the 1984 Olympics but, no, she wasn’t the most successful athlete of the games.  That accolade goes to…(drum roll)…Ecaterina Szabo.  After the disappointment of the All-Around competitition, Szabo picked herself back up for the individual apparatus finals where she won an impressive 3 out of the 4 – vault, beam and floor.  Add the gold from the team event and that’s a remarkable haul of 4 golds and 1 silver making Ecaterina Szabo the most successful athlete of the 1984 games (in 2^nd place, with 4 golds, was some bloke called Carl Lewis).

Ecaterina sorts her hair out

Sport in Films

This Friday (13th July) sees the re-release of the Academy-award winning epic Chariots of Fire.  It tells the story of two British athletes (Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams) competing at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris.  I won't give the ending away but it's an excellent film so go see for yourself.


Sport in films, or rather films about sport, can be enthralling, comedic, corny, or inspiring.  I've picked 10 of my favourite sporty films.  They aren't in any order or preference as that changes with my mood but I hope they'll inspire you to go watch some.

1. Champions (1984)

Back in 1981, before people got all touchy about horse racing, a cancer survivor (who was told he was going to die) rode a once-lame horse (who was nearly put down) to victory in that most gruelling of races, the Aintree Grand National.  This film tells that story with understated emotion and features a fantastic score by Carl Davis.  I dare you not to be moved to tears.

2. A League of their Own (1992)

Featuring Madonna's finest moment as an actress (not that there's a giant pool of fineness to draw from...) this film is about a women's baseball league trying to fill the void during WWII when all the men are overseas.  Strong performances from Tom Hanks and Geena Davis keep it on the good side of schmaltzy. Just remember - "there's no crying in baseball!".

3. Karate Kid (1984)

I was a lucky kid growing up in the 80s.  We had some classic films to watch on the last day of school before the holidays - Back to the Future, The Goonies, Ghostbusters.  Karate Kid was always the favourite though because the whole class had a crush on Ralph Macchio, even the boys.  It's a charming tale and probably responsible for more than one copy-cat related injury.  Wax on, wax off.

4. Cars (2006)

Owen Wilson provides the voice for Lightning McQueen in this enjoyable Disney film about an arrogant little racing car.  Admittedly most of the action is centred around his cathartic experiences in the small town of Radiator Springs, rather than the race track, but there is some racing as well so it makes the list.  And there's a cameo from Michael Schumacher.  What more do you want?

5. Grand Prix (1966)

Now this has some racing in it.  And some gut-wrenching crashes.  Well-researched and with the cast bulked out with actual F1 drivers (including Graham Hill, Phil Hill, Jack Brabham and Bruce Mclaren) it paints a powerful picture of F1 in the 1960s.  It's a long film at just under 3 hours (it has an intermission!) but so are most grand prix and you don't need earplugs and sun cream to watch this.

6. The Damned United (2009)

Michael Sheen is like a thinking man's Alistair McGowan.  His talent for impersonation is such that he effortlessly becomes Brian Clough to the point where you could be watching a documentary, it's that good.  Based on the book by David Peace (his Red Riding trilogy is well-worth a read, btw) this is an elaboration of events (if you are feeling pedantic) but entertaining nonetheless.

7. Cool Runnings (1993)

Now this is a feel-good film.  This is based on the true story of the first Jamaican bobsled team to make the Winter Olympics, and is one of the last films to feature the late, great John Candy.  The scenes where they first try sledding are pure slapstick - a bit like a carribean Last of the Summer Wine if you will. 

8. Raging Bull (1980)

Robert De Niro won an Oscar for his portrayal of psychotic boxer Jake LaMotta.  Brutal, bloody and, at times uncomfortable to watch, it is a brilliant film that manages to retain poignancy and pathos in the midst of such violence.  Sterling support from Joe Pesci and directed by Martin Scorsese this is a modern day masterpiece in black-and-white.

9. Remember the Titans (2000)

The 3rd Disney film on the list and yet another one that's based on a true story.  It's Virginia in 1971 and two previously segregated high schools are forced to merge.  This story of simmering racial tensions centres around the school football team, The Titans, now coached by Denzel Washington.  Can they pull together, black and white, for the sake of the school, the community, and glory?  Hell yeah.

10. Field of Dreams (1989)

"If you build it, he will come".  It's not a film about baseball, it's not a ghost story, it's not a work of science fiction - it's an amalgamation of all of that.  This is a classic with Costner at the top of his game, before he started doing weird things.  Grab a box of tissues and a nacho hat (isn't that what people wear to watch baseball?) and get watching.