July 25, 1992: The 1992 Olympics open in Barcelona, Spain, launching one of the most memorable games ever.
While best known as the first Olympic Games to allow NBA players to participate, giving us the Dream Team, Barcelona gave us so much more to remember, starting off with a torching lighting that became an instant classic:
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The '92 Olympics were the first to be held after the end of the Cold War and the fall of the USSR, which also meant that they were the first games without boycotts since 1972 and the first time Croatia, Slovenia and Czechoslovakia had sent their own teams since 1936. The rest of the Soviet Republics competed alongside Russia under the name Unified Team.
It was also the first time Germany sent a unified team since 1964. South Africa was allowed to participate for the first time since 1960, after ending Apartheid.
It was the first time baseball was featured at the Olympics as a medal sport, with Cuba winning the gold, Chinese Taipei winning silver, and Japan winning bronze.
Chinese female high diver Fu Mingxia also became the youngest Olympic gold medalist of all time, a record that still stands today.
The Unified Team ended up taking the most medals with 112 total, 45 gold, 38 silver and 29 bronze. The U.S. was close on their heels, with 108 total medals, 37 gold, 34 silver and 37 bronze.
But the Dream Team was the centerpiece.
