Muhammad Ali accepts a gold medal in Atlanta

1908 - London, England
Archers Willy and Lottie Dod become the first brother and sister medallists, winning gold and silver respectively, while Sophus Nielsen, of Denmark scores 10 goals in a football match against France.

1912 - Stockholm, Sweden
US superstar, Jim Thorpe, dominates the Games, taking gold in the decathlon with a points total that would have earned him silver at the 1948 Olympics.

1920 - Antwerp, Belgium
Germany is banned in the wake of World War I, while Swede, Oscar Swahn, becomes the oldest medallist ever, earning silver in the team double-shot at the ripe old age of 72.

1924 - Paris, France
'Flying Finn', Paavo Nurmi, adds five gold medals to the three he won in 1920, winning the 1,500m and 5,000m finals in the same day.

1928 - Amsterdam, Holland
Asian athletes leap to the forefront, behind golden performances from Mikio Oda and Yoshiyuki Tsuruta of Japan, and the first of six successive triumphs for India's field hockey teams.

Weissmuller won two golds before becoming Tarzan

1932 - Los Angeles, USA
In the interests of international goodwill, the US government relaxes alcohol prohibition to allow French, Italian and other athletes to drink wine. Babe Didrikson, an 18-year-old American, wins three golds.

1936 - Berlin, Germany
Under the shadow of Nazi Germany, black athlete Jesse Owens prevails in the 100m, 200m, long jump and 4x100m relay to refute Hitler's notion of Aryan supremacy.

1948 - London, England
Rebuilding after years of war, London houses athletes in army camps. Fanny Blankers-Koen, of the Netherlands, wins four gold medals.

1952 - Helsinki, Finland
Nurmi opens his home Games and passes the long distance torch on to Czech, Emil Zatopek, who becomes the only person in history to win the 5,000m, 10,000m and marathon at the same Olympics.

1956 - Melbourne, Australia
Equestrian events take place in Stockholm due to Australia's stringent quarantine laws. But Hungarian lady gymnast, Agnes Keleti, makes it to Melbourne and leaves with four gold medals and two silver.

Daley: Decathlon double

1960 - Rome, Italy
The Pope takes time out to watch the canoeing semi-finals from a window at his summer residence as Italian Livio Berruti breaks America's stranglehold on the 200m.

1964 - Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo hosts Asia's first Games and the first Olympic wedding, as two Bulgarian athletes, Diana Yorgova and Nikolai Prodanov, tie the knot. Abebe Bikila becomes the first repeat winner of the marathon less than six weeks after having his appendix removed.

1968 - Mexico City, Mexico
Altitude plays a famous part, lifting Bob Beamon to his 29-foot long jump, while his US team-mates Tommie Smith and John Carlos give a black-gloved salute on the 200m podium.

1972 - Munich, Germany
Palestinian terrorists ruin a Games that propels US swimmer Mark Spitz, and Soviet gymnast Olga Korbut, to impressive individual success.

1976 - Montreal, Canada
Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci is awarded the first perfect 10 to go with three gold medals. Bermuda earns the distinction of being the least populous nation to win a medal, when Clarence Hill boxes his way to bronze.

Carl Lewis: the next Jesse Owens

1980 - Moscow, Russia
The first of the boycotted Olympics gifts Great Britain's Alan Wells 100m-gold in the absence of the Americans, while his team-mates, Seb Coe and Steve Ovett, trade victories in the 800m and 1,500m.

1984 - Los Angeles, USA
This time the Soviet Union stays away and the USA dominates at home. Carl Lewis emulates Jesse Owens 1936 feat to become a quadruple gold medallist.

1988 - Seoul, South Korea
Canadian sprinter, Ben Johnson, surges to victory in the 100m, but is later disqualified when he tests positive for steroids.

1992 - Barcelona, Spain
Britain's Linford Christie and Sally Gunnell take gold in the 100m and 400m hurdles respectively. Men's basketball is opened up to the prodigious and unbeatable talents of professional US players like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.

Flo Jo: Explosive runner

1996 - Atlanta, USA
The centennial Games goes to Atlanta instead of Athens and Muhammad Ali lights the Olympic fire. Marie-Jose Perec, of France and Michael Johnson, of the USA, double up with 200m and 400m wins.

2000 - Sydney, Australia
Steve Redgrave, of Great Britain, wins an unprecedented fifth gold medal in five Games, while home-town favourite, Cathy Freeman, cruises to memorable victory in the 400m.

Sydney passes the Olympic flame to Athens for 2004.