If one were to ask about the defining moment of the
1992 Barcelona Olympics, those in the know would be hardpressed to pick
just one. For starters, these were the first boycott-free Games in 20
years, thus ensuring the participation of a record 169 nations and over
9,000 athletes. One of these nations was South Africa, which returned to
the Olympic fold after abolishing apartheid. The athletes of the former
Soviet Union, except those from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, competed
together one last time as the Unified Team, and they went out in a
blaze of glory, winning 45 gold medals to top the medal standings.
A
young, exciting American boxer named Oscar De La Hoya bagged the gold
medal in his division, thus giving rise to a nickname that has stuck to
this day: Golden Boy. And the United States put together what some
believe is the greatest sports team ever assembled: the legendary Dream
Team featuring Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Charles
Barkley, and several other NBA stars. As far as opening ceremonies go,
Barcelona was one of the best ever, with the Olympic cauldron being lit
by a flaming arrow from paralympic archer Antonio Rebollo.
The Philippines had its share of modest success, with boxer Roel
Velasco winning the bronze in the lightflyweight division and jins Bea
Lucero and Stephen Fernandez also garnering bronzes in the demonstration
sport of taekwondo.
(Source: Olympic.org and Olympic.ph)