'Olympian' is a lofty word, evoking as it does images of supermen and women who, for a brief moment in time, condescend to parade before us their supreme skills.

Every Olympics, thus, brings together the chosen few out of the many billion; the gods of the sporting arena.

But even among the elite, there are the Supreme Beings. Sportsmen and women so incredibly gifted that they stand out from the throng, capture the imagination, become for the duration of a particular Olympics everyone's favourite pinup.
They are the ones who set the standards. Who raise the bar of human endeavour that bit higher. Who by their presence and deeds, inspire the rest to strive harder.
Jesse Owens. Al Oerter. Mark Spitz. Nadia Comaneci. Bob Beamon. Carl Lewis......

A drumroll of honour, that.
And in their honour, in memory of the stars that shone yesterday, this slide show. A collection of the very best and brightest in sporting history.
Enjoy.

Dave Cannon /Allsport

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