Golden surprises

The higher expectation of an athlete's good shape and perfect performance would quite often exert greater pressure on him or her, which would sometimes be too heavy for the athlete. Often this pressure, for former medalists in particular, is self-inflicted as they are more eager to get the medal again and more anxious of losing.

Yet, this is exactly where the charm of this international sporting event lies.

It would be unimaginable of an Olympic Games with only old faces standing on the podium to receive their gold medals time and again, and neither will it be possible.