A Look Back at Some of Team USA's Most Moving Moments in Olympic History

For many, it was a foregone conclusion that the Soviet Union — the four-time defending gold medalists — would dominate the men's hockey tournament at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. But with incredible teamwork and determination, Team USA managed one of the biggest upsets in Olympic history, defeating the Soviet Union and going on to win gold.

American sprinter Florence Griffith Joyner won four medals at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, including gold in the 100-meter and 200-meter dash — but those medals were just the start of her legacy. More than 30 years later, the world records Griffith Joyner set in the 100-meter and 200-meter sprints — clocked at the US Olympic Trials and in Seoul, respectively — still stand, making her the fastest woman to have ever lived.

Venus and Serena Williams had won several Grand Slam titles by the time they arrived at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, but the sisters' dominance at the Games seemed to mark the official start of a new era in tennis. A day after Venus won the singles tournament, she and Serena clinched yet another gold for Team USA, one Venus told reporters was particularly meaningful, "because I had this victory with Serena, my sister, my family member, my best friend." It would be their first of three gold medals in Olympic doubles.

Two-time Olympic medalist Michelle Kwan never captured that elusive gold, but at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, she certainly captured hearts. After finishing in third behind fellow American Sarah Hughes and Russia's Irina Slutskaya, Kwan took to the ice for what would be her final Olympic skate: a stunning exhibition routine set to "Fields of Gold," which moved both Kwan and the audience to tears. She finished her career four years later with nine US Championships and five World Championship titles.

Though Michael Phelps would go on to win a record eight gold medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, his seventh was undoubtedly the most thrilling. During a stacked final in the men's 100-meter butterfly, Phelps came from behind to touch the wall just one hundredth of a second before Serbia's Milorad Cavic, securing the gold for Team USA in one of the tightest races of all time.

Coming into the 2012 London Games, all eyes were on Kerri Walsh Jennings and Misty May-Treanor, the American beach volleyball duo that had won back-to-back gold in 2004 and 2008. Olympic audiences wondered if the pair could somehow clinch a third consecutive win, and in an unbelievable final match, they did just that, becoming one of the most dominant volleyball teams in the history of the Olympics.

The 2016 Rio Games marked Aly Raisman's second Olympic appearance, where she once again served as captain of the US women's gymnastics team. Raisman's leadership was evident during the individual all-around, when she held a tearful Simone Biles as the two awaited the scores that would name Biles the Olympic champion and Raisman a silver medalist. Moments later, Biles motioned for Raisman to join her on the floor, so she too could take a bow — a display of friendship and sportsmanship that captured the true spirit of the Games.