Best victory laps

[Thrower]

Any time a weightman can do a full circuit, THAT is the best victory lap!!!

[marknhj]

Alan Pascoe falling flat on his arse twice attempting to re-hurdle the first two on his lap of honour (can't remember if it was the CG or EC, anyone help?) in 74.

Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.....

Commonwealths. Not only did he fall on his arse twice but he hurdled them backwards so they tipped up and he landed on the crossbeam thing with his back and bent them. Jon or someone must be able to dig up a pic.

[Master Po]

Tulu and Meyer after the 1992 Oly 10 was pretty touching.

I have seen few of these, either in person or on teevee -- but I do remember Tulu & Meyer. Kind of like Freeman in Sydney in 2000 -- both had additional meanings, along with the victories themselves.

The other related moment I remember -- not a victory lap per se, but a victory moment -- was my first T&F memory: watching Bikila's exercises on the infield in Tokyo after his marathon victory. As a little kid, that made some kind of impression on me, probably because the adults who were watching were commenting on it.

[bad hammy]

A recent one I saw where the athlete was having a GREAT time jogging and waving to the crowd and was just as happy as could be: Xiang Liu at this year's Pre meet. gh had to play traffic cop, preventing Liu from running through the women as they were getting ready for their hurdle race.

Something tells me that the Lausanne victory lap was even a bit better . . .

[Daisy]

Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.....

I was looking for the Pascoe fall when I came across this classic footage from the 1912 Stockholm games. It's amazing how much the high hurdles has changed.

steeple chase and high hurdles

As far as great victory laps. I thought is was cool when Allan Johnson spent about an hour making his way through the crowd after his Olympic gold in Atlanta.

[coachhollywood67]

Tulu and Meyer after the 1992 Oly 10 was pretty touching.

I have seen few of these, either in person or on teevee -- but I do remember Tulu & Meyer. Kind of like Freeman in Sydney in 2000 -- both had additional meanings, along with the victories themselves.

The other related moment I remember -- not a victory lap per se, but a victory moment -- was my first T&F memory: watching Bikila's exercises on the infield in Tokyo after his marathon victory. As a little kid, that made some kind of impression on me, probably because the adults who were watching were commenting on it.

Mention of Bikila reminds me of one of my favorite memories of an athlete on his victory lap - Frank Shorter stopping his VL for the 72 marathon to shake the hand of Bikila, who was in his wheelchair spectating. Unless my old timer memory is wrong I thought it was done in a very classy way, as a way to give honor to Bikila during Shorter's own moment of glory.

Anybody else remember this?

Another memory of a gesture that I liked that occurred during or immediately prior to a victory lap - the way Ivo van Damme quickly congratulated Juantorena after their Olympic 800 in 76 and then gestured to Juantorena that the crowd was yelling for him to take a lap (or so it seemed). van Damme another class individual who died too young...

[BisonHurdler]

Don't recall when/where, but I remember hearing about Don Bragg running into the stands, hoisting his wife up over his shoulders, and taking a victory lap like that. Can anyone confirm that this actually happened?

[JohnG]

Daley milked his victory laps and included the added ingredient of those t-shirts (In LA: "Is the World's Second Athlete Gay?" and in Stuttgart, something like: "Germany's favourite sons . Karl Heinz, Boris & Daley").

Most annoying victory lap ever was Young after his gold in Barcelona or Stuttgart. He turned it into a Nike ad, taking great pains to position his spikes prominently as he posed for photos.

[tandfman]

Most annoying victory lap ever was Young after his gold in Barcelona or Stuttgart. He turned it into a Nike ad, taking great pains to position his spikes prominently as he posed for photos.

It may have annoyed you, but I'm sure it pleased the people who were actually providing Young with a financial reward for what he achieved. I can't blame him for doing that.