On July 23, 1996 Kerri Strug became America's golden girl. The gymnast overcame pain to make history for the United States with an unprecedented victory in the all-around team competition at the Atalanta Olympics. While not the most talented of the "Magnificent Seven" her courage saw the tiny 18-year-old become an icon. A quarter of a century on, the sight of Strug being carried to the podium by her coach – into a world of flowers, kisses, and celebrity endorsements – remains etched in the memory. <hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Dawn Fraser: Eternal glory and sorrow

In our new podcast, we delve into the history books to tell some of the greatest stories of sporting endeavour, intrigue and excellence in The Essential Olympic Stories.From Michael Phelps to Dawn Fraser and Muhammad Ali to Nadia Comaneci as well as featuring some of the forgotten heroes of yester-year, a new episode of Essential Olympic Stories will be released weekly until Games-time.The Essential Olympic Stories is supported by Bridgestone. The writers are Laurent Vergne and Maxime Dupuis, and all episodes are translated by Felix Lowe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.