The world’s athletes are preparing for one of the greatest tests of their lives: the London 2012 Olympics.
It’s the ultimate display of dedication, physical ability and human achievement — and the perfect outlet for anthemic rock tracks.
Our friends at Classic Rock put together this fantastic list of tracks which sway from hidden gems to all-time classics, so put your training shoes on and get jogging — here’s the top 10 rocking Olympic anthems ever.
10. Jackson Browne “Running On Empty”
This feel-good masterpiece could have every word replaced with “montage”. It’s the ultimate theme for slow-motion athletes running towards the finish line.
09. Gun “Race With The Devil”
How’s this for motivational old-school metal? Check out those wild horn blasts too. It might not work on the BBC, but we love it.
08. Thor “Only The Strong”
Thor rings more bells for ancient Rome than Greece — but it’s not too far geographically, so it kind of works.
07. Michael Schenker “Into The Arena”
What better sing for athletes to walk out into a stadium with than this riff-heavy rock-fest from Mr Schneker?
06. Leapy Lee “Little Arrows”
Not to our tastes so much, but you can’t leave all those poor archers out of all the footage.
05. Paul Sabu “At War With The Weights”
Chalk up, lift a tonne and feel the buuuurn!
04. The Eagles “Life In The Fast Lane”
If you train in the slow lane, you’re never going to win. Step up your performance with this breezy classic.
03. Santana “Winning”
Because winning is exactly what you do every time you visit UG.
02. Accept “Losers And Winners”
Like ring and yang, or Mario and Luigi, there must be both losers and winners. Accept explore this concept with mighty riffage. Marvelous.
01. Queen “We Are The Champions”
As fun as the rest of the list is, we all know which anthem suits Olympic winners best. It’s as if Queen as singing about winning this poll. Enjoy a live performance of the song here:
Thanks to Classic Rock for the run down.
Which other songs would be great Olympic anthems? Post your suggestions to the comments, and if you’re extra productive, pop them all into a Spotify playlist for everyone else to enjoy.
Source: Ultimate Guitar
