Sonja Henie (NOR) was just 11 years of age at Chamonix 1924, where she understandably suffered from a lack of experience and finished last in the women’s figure skating competition. At St. Moritz 1928, aged 15, she showed maturity beyond her years, impressing fans and judges alike as she deservedly claimed her first Olympic gold medal.

Women’s speed skating received official recognition in 1931 when the International Skating Union (ISU) registered the 500m, 1,000m and 1,500m world records established by the discipline’s pioneering exponents. It was consequently added to the programme of the 1932 Lake Placid Games, but only as a demonstration sport.

Of all the Olympic adventures enjoyed by athletes down the years, few can match the drama experienced by American sprinter Betty Robinson.

Throughout his school life in Kansas, John Kuck was the most prodigious of field athletes, breaking a multitude of records in all the throwing disciplines.

The Netherlands achieved one of its most stirring gold medals of the 1928 Olympic Games on the home soil of Amsterdam when the women’s team gymnasts gracefully prevailed.

Percy Williams was the very antithesis of the modern day sprinter. While now the muscular, powerful, bulky speedsters prevail, Williams was slight and pale and looked anything but an Olympic champion in the waiting.