At almost every Olympic Games, various great athletes are heralded as the overall star, and good-natured arguments follow for years to come.

The Nordic combined was an event where one nation was expected to dominate, and that nation was Norway. A Norwegian athlete had always won gold in previous Games. In fact, Norwegian athletes had won every medal in the four Games where Nordic combined had been included. Rarely has any nation held such a stranglehold on any sport.

Controversially added to the team at the last minute, Jesse Owens lined up for the 4x100m relay with a chance to add an incredible fourth gold medal to his collection. Under typically difficult circumstances, what followed was just as typically extraordinary.

Two events completed, two gold medals in the bag, Jesse Owens lined up for the 200m at the Berlin 1936 Olympic Games on the verge of a very special achievement. In sublime form, full of confidence and with his major rival Ralph Metcalfe absent, the stage was set for an Olympic hat-trick.

The Japanese swimming team arrived at the 1932 Olympics as genuine challengers to the all-conquering USA, who had stormed to six golds at the Amsterdam Games four years earlier.

At the turn of 1932, Bill Carr was a virtual unknown on the athletics circuit, having never won a competitive race.

In the Official Report of the 1932 Games, there is a grainy photograph showing the runners at the start of the marathon. Leading from the front is a 20-year old called Juan Carlos Zabala. Just over two and a half hours later, he became the youngest man to ever win an Olympic marathon.