The Top 10 Best Sports Moments For Team USA of All-Time

When Jack Hughes scored the winning goal in overtime, it cemented the Americans’ first gold medal in men’s hockey at the Olympics since 1980. An iconic moment that goes down in history as one of the most important moments in U.S. sports. But where does it rank all-time? Here are our top ten best sporting moments for Team America.

10. Michael Johnson at the 1996 Olympics

At the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, American sprinter Michael Johnson achieved a historic “double,” becoming the first man to win both the 200m and 400m gold medals at the same Games. Wearing iconic golden spikes, he set a monumental world record of 19.32 seconds in the 200m final and an Olympic record of 43.49 seconds in the 400m. The 200m record was broken later by Usain Bolt in 2008, while the 400m mark lasted for nearly 17 years before the South African Wayde van Niekerk broke it in 2016.

9. Mary Lou Retton at the 1984 Summer Games

Mary Lou Retton became an American icon at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, winning five medals—including the individual all-around gold.  She became the first American woman to win the all-around, and she secured the victory with perfect 10s on the floor and vault. What was incredible about this story, Retton was just 16 years old and coming off knee surgery just six weeks before the Games.  She was the most decorated athlete at the 1984 Games, and her performance led to a major increase in U.S. gymnastics participation, changing the sport for generations to come.

8. Landon Donovan’s 2010 World Cup Goal

At the 2010 World Cup, the Americans were minutes away from elimination until Landon Donovan’s 91st-minute goal against Algeria not only secured victory, but top spot in the Group.

It remains the most important goal in men’s soccer as it saw a considerable shift in the sport in the United States. This marked just the third time the U.S. reached the knockout stage but would be eliminated in the Round of 16, a 2-1 loss to Ghana. Still, the Donovan goal remains the most iconic goal in men’s soccer for the nation.

7. Simone Biles at the 2024 Olympics  

Simone Biles solidified herself as the greatest gymnast of all time by winning four medals, 3 gold and one silver at the 2024 Paris Games at the age of 26.  She completed a “redemption tour” following her withdrawal from Tokyo 2020, becoming the first woman ever to win two non-consecutive Olympic all-around titles.   Biles was named SI’s 2024 Sportsperson of the Year. What made her story intriguing, she documented her mental health struggles that led to her missing the 2020 Games. 

6. Mark Spitz’s 7 Golds at the 1972 Games 

Mark Spitz’s legendary performance at the 1972 Munich Olympics remains one of the most iconic feats in sports history. Over eight days, Spitz entered seven events.  Not only did he win gold in each one, he set a new world record in every event.  What made this even more remarkable, Spitz was favored and predicted to win six gold medals four years earlier at the 1968 Mexico City Games, but would only win two, both in relays.  His record for most golds in a single Olympiad stood for 36 years.  

5. 1999 Women’s World Cup Victory

When the 1999 American women captured the World Cup on home soil, Brandi Chastain’s iconic celebration changed the landscape of women’s soccer in the U.S. and around the world.   The United States defeated China 5-4 in a penalty shootout with more than 90-thousand fans at the Rose Bowl, marking a record for a women’s sporting event.  The win significantly boosted the popularity of women’s soccer in the United States, leading to two more World Cup titles and solidifying the Americans as the best women’s soccer nation for the last 2 decades.

 4. Michael Phelps’ 8 Golds at the 2008 Summer Games

Michael Phelps’ performance at the Beijing Olympics remains one of the greatest individual feats in modern history.  Phelps won eight gold medals in a single Games, breaking fellow-American Mark Spitz’s record of seven. The ‘greatest swimmer ever’ won gold in every event he entered and set world records in seven of them.  Phelps finished with a ridiculous 

17 races in just 9 days. Phelps has 28 total medals, including 23 gold medals across four Olympic Games, the most ever by any athlete in history.

3. The 1992 Olympic Dream Team

The 1992 Dream Team is considered the greatest sports team ever assembled.  In 1992, the Summer Games allowed NBA players for the first time, and the United States roster, as expected, was stacked.   The roster featured 11 future Hall of Famers and one collegiate star.  Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, just to name a few.  The U.S. would finish 8-0 on the way to gold and won by an average of 43.8 points.  Chuck Daly, the head coach, didn’t use a single timeout through the tournament.  The Dream Team changed the landscape of the sport and league as it globalized professional basketball.

2. Jesse Owens at the 1936 Olympics

At the 1936 Berlin Games, American Jess Owens cemented his legacy as one of the most important sporting figures in U.S. history by winning four gold medals in track and field 

(100m, 200m, 4x100m relay, and long jump) while defying Adolf Hitler’s narrative of Aryan supremacy.  Owens was the first American track and field athlete to win four gold medals at a single Games, a record that stood for 48 years. Owens became a pioneer for African American athletes as he defied intense segregation and prejudice, becoming a lasting icon of endurance and the power of sports to promote social change.  He remains one of the most important sporting figures in American history. 

1. 1980 “Miracle on Ice.”

It’s one of the most stunning sporting upsets in history.  In 1980, The U.S. The Olympic hockey team, made up of mostly college players, faced the powerful and heavily favored Soviet Union in the semi-final at the Lake Placid Games. Led by head coach Herb Brooks, the U.S. defeated the Soviets, who had won gold at the previous four Olympic Games. The “Miracle on Ice” led to the U.S. capturing gold, and the win versus the Soviets, during the Cold War, remains the pinnacle of American sports, and Al Michaels legendary line of “Do you believe in miracles? Yes!” is reverberated decades later.

Honorable Mentions

At the 2015 World Cup, Carli Lloyd scored a hat trick in just 16 minutes against Japan, the fastest three goals in a World Cup. Lloyd remains the only woman to record a hat trick in a World Cup Final.

Muhammad Ali lighting the cauldron at the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta remains an iconic moment as Ali, who was suffering from Parkinson’s disease, appeared in an emotional and historic moment. 

At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, American wrestler Rulon Gardner beat Russia’s Aleksandr Karelin in what is known as one of the greatest upsets in sports history. Karelin had been undefeated for 13 years and had not surrendered a point in six years.