Katarina Witt Strips Down
The German figure skater, a gold medalist in 1984 and 1988, proved she still had it going on in a big way when she posed for Playboy in 1998 and hers became only the second issue in the magazine's history to sell out. The first? Playboy's inaugural issue featuring Marilyn Monroe as "Sweetheart of the Month."
Carl Lewis Eazes Into Rap
"Just like Carl Lewis, I'm ballin' the f--k out," rapped Eazy-E in N.W.A.'s "100 Miles and Runnin"—and that was before Lewis had amassed his 10 track-and-field medals, nine of them gold.
Apolo Anton Ohno Can Dance
The speed-skating champ and most decorated athlete in Winter Olympics history became the first of a series of Olympians to win the coveted mirror-ball trophy on Dancing With the Stars.
Kellogg's Flakes on Michael Phelps
Though he had just become the most decorated Olympic athlete of all time in Beijing, the cereal maker dumped the swimmer after he was photographed holding a bong. Cue Phelps' regret for not just going with Wheaties in the first place.
Homer and Marge Curl Up in Vancouver
The Simpsons' first brush with the Olympics was in 1999, when Bart ruined Springfield's bid to be a host city. So it was high time, just as the 2010 Vancouver Olympics were getting under way in real life, for Homer and Marge to win gold in what has to be the Winter Games' most obscure sport—mixed curling.
Him, Johnny Weissmuller—You, Swooning
The Austro-Hungarian swimmer and five-time gold medalist was the sixth guy to play Tarzan on film—but he's the one we remember.
Sonja Henie's Career on Ice
Briefly the highest-paid actress in Hollywood in the mid-1930s, the glamorous Norwegian figure skater won gold at three consecutive Winter Games, appeared on the cover of Time in 1939 and became a U.S. citizen in 1941. Too bad she was all buddy-buddy with Adolf Hitler during that time. Didn't really sit well in California.
Peggy Fleming Gets Phished
Trey Anastasio was apparently really grateful to the figure skater for winning the sole U.S. gold medal in 1968. "We love her, it's the other guy we're making fun of," Anastasio informed the audience at NYC's Terminal 5 in February 2011 before launching into his tale of a Fleming-obsessed fan.
Jean-Claude Killy Goes Gonzo
Nicknamed "the Chocolate Kitty" on U.S. shores because of the way he pronounced his own name, the dashing French skier—a three-time gold medalist in 1968—became somewhat of a professional product endorser and had cameos in multiple movies, including the awesome-sounding Copper Mountain with Jim Carrey and Alan Thicke. On a more highbrow note, Hunter S. Thompson examined the unique celeb in his 1970 article "The Temptations of Jean-Claude Killy."
Kristi Yamaguchi Skates on Dancing With the Stars
The 1992 gold medalist was won of the best female contestants the show had ever seen when she won in 2008.
Tommie Smith & John Carlos Salute Civil Rights
The gold- and bronze-medal winning sprinters raised their black-gloved right fists in Black Power solidarity while the U.S. national anthem played during their medal ceremony in 1968—and thereby were captured in one of the most iconic images in Olympics history.
Eric Liddell & Harold Abrahams Catch Fire
The British runners won gold in the 400 meters and 100 meters, respectively, in 1924—and 57 years later their stories were dramatized and set to one of the most recognizable theme songs ever in Chariots of Fire. Come on, let's hum it all together now!
The Monarchy Goes to the Olympics
In honor of London's turn as host this year, let's remember that Princess Anne, the accomplished equestrienne daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip, remains the only member of the British royal family to compete in the Olympics to this day.
What Would Brian Boitano Do?!
Did anyone at all care what the 1988 figure-skating champ would do in case of emergency until Stan, Kyle and Cartman asked the question in South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut?
Gail Devers Nails It
If the three-time gold medalist's manicure style ever caught on with the public at large, we've thankfully blocked it from our memories. But who can forget those big, blue nails on her? They obviously didn't hold her back in the 100-meter dash in 1992 and 1996 or weigh down the U.S. women's 4x100-meter relay team in Atlanta!
Shaun White's Snow Storm
Already a stud on the Winter X Games circuit, the decorated snowboarder showed up for one Winter Olympics event—the halfpipe—in 2006 and 2010 and nailed 'em both. Rolling Stone noted in February 2010 (White's second cover appearance) that he had grown tired of his "Flying Tomato" moniker, before which White had told ESPN he had decided to embrace his Muppet resemblance and go with "Animal" instead.
Marion Jones Admits to Steroid Use
Talk about your cautionary tales. The once-glorified U.S. track star was stripped of the three gold and two bronze medals she won in Sydney in 2000 after a positive test for a banned substance in 2006 resulted in her admitting she had lied to two grand juries about doping before the Olympics. And she went to prison for six months.
Amanda Beard Shows Off Her Breaststroke
The swimmer became the most decorated Olympic athlete (two golds, four silvers and one bronze) to ever appear on the cover of Playboy—which the hottie did in July 2007 following appearances with other Olympians in the September 2004 issue of FHM and in the 2006 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.
Plumber Plus Hedgehog Equals Olympic Greatness
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games was both the first official video game of the 2008 Summer Olympics and the first sanctioned crossover game featuring the iconic Nintendo and Sega characters. The hugely successful title was followed by Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympics and Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Buster Crabbe's Flash of Greatness
Winner of the 400-meter freestyle in Los Angeles in 1932, the dashing swimmer was fished right out of the pool by Hollywood. He went on to star as all of the most popular comic-strip characters of the day—Tarzan, Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers—in film serials.
Dorothy Hamill Whips Her Hair Back and Forth
Every era's got its haircut, and long before the Rachel, the adorable figure skater's bob 'n bangs were de rigeur after her gold medal performance in 1976.
Mitch Gaylord's Shirtless Version of Himself
A member of the gold-winning U.S. men's gymnastics team in 1984, he moved on to film work, including playing a football player turned gymnast who aspires to the Olympics in American Anthem. What, couldn't you tell that by looking at the poster?
Kurt Thomas Razzed
The gymnast didn't medal in Montreal in 1976 and the U.S. boycotted the Moscow Olympics in 1980—but he did ultimately add to his World Championship and Pan American Games-packed trophy case after his turn in the notoriously terrible martial arts flick Gymkata won him a Razzie for Worst New Star.
Burt Lancaster Plays Jim Thorpe
The Oscar winner suited up as arguably the greatest athlete of the 20th century, including pentathlon and decathlon wins in 1912, in Jim Thorpe—All-American.