Minnesota has produced some iconic Olympians, and the Tokyo Games have provided a few more.
That got us thinking about the best moments from the incredible collection of athletes who have represented Minnesota and the United States on the biggest stage.
Here are some of the top performances by Minnesotans at the Summer and Winter Olympics, in chronological order. Choose your favorites in the comments, or add one you think should be on the list.
The Other Miracle on Ice (1960 Winter Olympics, Squaw Valley, Calif.)
They are the lesser known but not lesser accomplished Minnesotans who led the men's hockey team to a shocking Olympic gold medal. The 1960 team was managed by James Claypool of Duluth, featured eight Minnesotans on the roster, and wasn't even considered a medal contender when the Games opened. It would go on to win all seven games it played (outscoring opponents 48-17) and winning the gold in a round-robin medal format. Brothers Roger and Billy Christian of Warroad tied for the second-most points on the roster with nine.
The Miracle on Ice (1980 Winter Olympics, Lake Placid, N.Y.)
Gophers head coach Herb Brooks served as coach for the U.S. men's hockey team, 12 Minnesotans were on the roster, and their 4-3 victory over the Soviet Union was deemed the greatest sports moment of the 20th century by Sports Illustrated. The Americans defeated Finland for the gold medal two days later. The 1960 and 1980 teams remain the only U.S. men's hockey teams to win Olympic gold.
Lindsey Vonn's golden downhill run (2010 Winter Olympics, Vancouver)
The Burnsville native, who learned to ski on the gentle slopes of Buck Hill, was already considered the top woman in skiing before the Olympics, having won the overall World Cup title in 2008 and 2009. She raced five events at the Vancouver Games, becoming the first American woman to win gold in downhill and adding a bronze in the Super-G.
Jessie Diggins' final push for gold (2018 Winter Olympics, Pyeongchang, South Korea)
Stretching, lunging, scratching her way to the finish line in the women's team sprint to give the United States its first cross-country skiing gold medal in Olympic history, Diggins was the definition of iconic, as was the photo of her somehow stretching her ski over the finish line. Diggins, of Afton, and teammate Kikkan Randall defeated Sweden by 0.19 seconds in a race that lasted nearly 16 minutes.
John Shuster's curling redemption (2018 Winter Olympics, Pyeongchang, South Korea)
The 2018 U.S. men's curling team was essentially the Duluth Curling Club. Shuster had dealt with an ignominious stretch of his career after being kicked off the Olympic team following disappointing performances in the 2014 Sochi Olympics and the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. And the United States got off to a poor start in 2018, going 2-4 before rallying for the first curling gold medal in U.S. history. Shuster ended it all with a double takeout shot in the eighth end that earned five points to defeat Sweden.
Suni Lee grabs gymnastics gold (2021 Summer Olympics, Tokyo)
Amid a swirling discussion over mental health in sports after Lee's teammate Simone Biles withdrew from several women's gymnastics competitions, St. Paul's Lee, just 18 years old and the first Hmong American athlete to compete at the Olympics, helped steady the U.S. gymnastics team. She led the team to a silver medal, then won gold in the individual all-around and bronze on the uneven bars.
Gable Steveson's shocking wrestling comeback (2021 Summer Olympics, Tokyo)
All anyone in wrestling could talk about following Steveson's gold medal victory on Friday was that it was impossible. Trailing 8-5 with seconds remaining, Steveson, the 21-year-old Gophers star from Apple Valley, completed two takedowns of Geno Petriashvili in 10 seconds, the last one coming with 0.2 seconds left, to win gold in the freestyle heavyweight division. Steveson dominated every opponent, winning his first three matches by a combined score of 23-0.
