Photo credit Getty Images
By Kristen Henneman
Athleticism. Grit. Sportsmanship. Overcoming adversity.
At every Olympic and Paralympic Games, athletes leave their mark on millions of people – not only through the medals won, but through the undeniable talent and moments of human connection that arise on sports’ biggest stage.
Today, on Olympic & Paralympic Day, we celebrate the spirit and ideals of the Olympic and Paralympic movements, as well as the joy sport gives people around the world.
Read below as members of Team USA share their favorite Olympic and Paralympic moments – moments that left a lasting impact and inspired them.
Evan Bates (ice dance): Watching Michael Phelps win the eight gold medals in Beijing (2008), particularly with that one race – the 100-meter butterfly – where he closed so hard. It didn’t look like he was going to get the gold, and he just outtouched the other swimmer at the last second. Because it was in Beijing, I was up in the middle of the night watching it, and I had roommates at the time, and I was silently cheering. It fired me up so much and that was just before I had ever made it to the Olympics myself. It was such a motivating moment. I remember it so fondly.
Christina Carreira (ice dance): Suni Lee when she won (the all-around) in Tokyo. I don’t think she was expecting it, and she was just so happy. I cried a lot watching her. And I love Tessa (Virtue) and Scott (Moir’s) win in 2018. You could feel the pride and the love they have for each other. It was a big moment.
Madison Chock (ice dance): Watching Simone Biles come back and just dominate in gymnastics and win the all-around gold medal (2024 Paris Games). To overcome what she has and to show resilience in sport and her mental strength was incredibly inspiring.
Maximilano Fernandez (pairs): Weightlifter Matthias Steiner (Germany, 2008 Olympic Games). His wife died [a year before the Games] and then he came back to win the gold.
Amber Glenn (women): An Olympic moment that inspired me to skate was Sarah Hughes winning the 2002 Olympics. Hearing her literally squeal on her last jump, that was something very exciting.
Ellie Kam (pairs): Hunter Woodhall, the Paralympian, won gold and his wife [Tara Davis-Woodhall] also won gold (in 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games). It’s when he runs up to her and they hug each other, and they both realize that they both won. It was so touching. What a power couple.
Alysa Liu (women): Suni Lee from Paris. She fell during the warm-up on bars (in the team final), and she got back up and did it perfectly in the event. That was really cool.
Jimmy Ma (men): To keep it light, Chloe Kim in general and how she carries herself very nonchalantly. She’s a beast, but she’s tweeting right before she competes. That’s something that I look up to and I like that vibe.
Maxim Naumov (men): Shaun White when he came back (in 2021 after three-year break from snowboarding competitions). That was insane. It was his comeback [at the 2022 Games]. He was “The Flying Tomato” and I remember watching him back in the day with my parents. When he came back, I watched a documentary on it, because he was trying to do a new trick (triple cork 1440). It was almost emotional watching him come back.
Danny O’Shea (pairs): The 4 x100 meter relay [from Beijing] – Phelps and all of that crew. They weren’t expected to win that relay and they were all so excited. They won by just milliseconds right at the end. The whole team supporting each other, splashing in the water and getting excited – that camaraderie was special.
Valentina Plazas (pairs): The high jump between Gianmarco Tamberi (Italy) and Mutaz Barshim (Qatar) (2020 Tokyo Olympics). They won gold medals together. They kept tying and tying and they were like, “Can we have two golds?”
Anthony Ponomarenko (ice dance): Usain Bolt beating the sprint record for the 100-meter dash (in Beijing in 2008). Unbelievable. It was my first Olympics that I watched at home that I’m able to remember and watching him do that was pretty awesome. I remember sprinting up and down the hallways trying to match his speed. I did not [laughs].
