Several sporting legends began their Olympic careers in Albertville, including several cross-country skiers. In the men’s competitions, Norway’s Bjørn Dæhlie announced his arrival with three gold medals, while in the women’s events Russian athlete Lyubov Yegorova made just as big a splash.

Life was good for the young Steve Hegg after he was crowned the downhill ski champion of the United States in 1982. He was only a year out of the juniors and had a glistening career on the slopes of the FIS World Cup at his mercy.

Any Olympic athlete will admit that to win gold takes a certain amount of ruthlessness, whether it be sticking rigidly to a training regime at the expense of one’s personal life or setting aside friendships with rivals once competition is underway.

Cycling

Russell Mockridge was one of the world's greatest cyclists, but his path to Helsinki was not a smooth one. Given the choice, he would have become an Australian Rules footballer, but his poor eyesight meant that was not an option. He took up cycling as a hobby when he was 18 and turned out to be astoundingly good, comfortably winning his first race despite not knowing anything about the sport's tactics.

Two other events that only featured at London 1908 were the 3,500m walk and the 10 miles walk, both of which were held in mid-July. Great Britain’s George Larner won both and remains the holder of each title  to this day.