The 15 Greatest Sporting Moments of the 20th Century

Fifteen afternoons and evenings people still describe by where they were watching. A few changed a record; a couple changed a sport.

1

The Miracle on Ice

A US college hockey team beat the Soviet Union 4-3 at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics.

2

The Rumble in the Jungle

Muhammad Ali knocked out George Foreman in Kinshasa in October 1974 to regain the heavyweight title.

3

Jesse Owens in Berlin

Owens won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics in the 100m, 200m, long jump and relay.

4

Jackie Robinson's debut

Robinson broke Major League Baseball's colour line with the Brooklyn Dodgers in April 1947.

5

The four-minute mile

Roger Bannister ran a mile in 3:59.4 at Oxford in 1954, breaking a barrier thought impossible.

6

Bob Beamon's long jump

Beamon jumped 8.90m in Mexico City in 1968, beating the world record by more than half a metre.

7

Nadia Comaneci's perfect 10

The 14-year-old Romanian scored gymnastics' first perfect 10 at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

8

The Hand of God

Diego Maradona punched the ball past England's goalkeeper at the 1986 World Cup and the goal stood.

9

Michael Jordan's Last Shot

Jordan's jumper with 5.2 seconds left won the Bulls the 1998 NBA Finals in Utah.

10

Hank Aaron's 715th home run

Aaron passed Babe Ruth's career home-run record in Atlanta in April 1974.

11

Secretariat's Belmont Stakes

Secretariat won the 1973 Belmont by 31 lengths to complete the Triple Crown.

12

Wilt Chamberlain's 100 points

Chamberlain scored 100 points in a single NBA game in Hershey, Pennsylvania, in 1962.

13

The Immaculate Reception

Franco Harris caught a deflected pass and ran it in for the Steelers in the 1972 NFL playoffs.

14

Kerri Strug's vault

Strug landed a vault on an injured ankle to seal US gymnastics team gold in Atlanta in 1996.

15

Torvill and Dean's Bolero

The British pair took perfect artistic scores for their ice dance at the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics.