New cinema release Soul Surfer tells the true-life tale of Bethany Hamilton, who revived her big wave career and went onto win numerous competitions after losing an arm in a shark attack. With that in mind, Glen Ferris took a look at some of sport’s most memorable comebacks…
Manchester United and the 1958 Munich Air Crash
On February 6, 1958, a plane carrying the Manchester United team crashed on take-off, killing eight players – seven of whom were in the first team, including the revered likes of Duncan Edwards, Tommy Taylor and Roger Byrne – and injuring many more, among them manager Matt Busby who fell into a coma.
Remarkably, just a few months later, United were in the FA cup final facing off against Bolton Wanderers. They were subsequently defeated them 3-1 but the spirit showed by the reformed team drove them onto an incredible golden era. The following season, Busby was back in charge of the team and subsequent years saw the likes of Bobby Charlton, George Best and Denis Law – collectively known as Busby’s Babes - winning the FA Cup and the league title twice.
Lance Armstrong beats cancer and conquers the Tour De France
When it comes to inspirational figures, they don’t get much more incredible than Lance Armstrong. Not only did the American cyclist win the intensely gruelling Tour de France a record seven consecutive times but he did it as after having survived testicular cancer that had metastasized to his brain and lungs.
After shrugging off the poor diagnosis, Armstrong shattered the previous record of five wins shared by Miguel Indurain, Bernard Hinault, Eddy Merckx, and Jacques Anquetil during an awe-inspiring run from 1999 to 2005, at which point he retired from the sport. A few years later in 2009, he returned to the Tour and finished third before retiring for good.
Michael Jordan breaks out of retirement
Having quit basketball to try his hand at baseball – and an ill-fated stab at acting – Michael Jordan returned to what he did best when he joined the Chicago Bulls in 1995.
His first comeback (he subsequently jacked it all in and re-emerged on one other occasion) saw Jordan reach the peak of his powers as he led the Bulls to the first of three consecutive NBA titles.
Nikki Lauda’s post-crash comeback
Despite voicing concerns at the safety of the famous Nürburgring at the 1976 German Grand Prix, Nikki Lauda was compelled to take part in the race. It was a decision he would forever regret as, on the second lap, Lauda's Ferrari swerved off the track, hit an embankment and rolled back onto the track into the path of Brett Lunger's car. The Ferrari burst into flames and Lauda was trapped in his car. Amazingly, he survived but suffered severe burns to his head, damaged his lungs after inhaling toxic gases and slipped into a coma.
Even more amazingly though, Lauda returned to the season only two races later and finished fourth in the Italian GP. He had lost too much ground to win the world championship that year – losing to James Hunt by a single point – but the following year he won the championship for the second time.
Kelly Holmes beats injury and age
For much of runner Kelly Holmes career, it looked as though she would always be the metaphorical bridesmaid. For years, she had been dogged by injuries and bad luck and, while she went into the 2004 Athens Olympics at full health, she did so at the relatively old age of 34 and having endured the worst year in her professional life.
She went on to win both the 1500m and 800m gold and later revealed that she did so while suffering from clinical depression. Holmes retired a few years later and decided to parlay her energies into a legacy trust to ‘create life chances for young people’.
Liverpool grab the 2005 Champions League Final from the jaws of defeat
When Rafa Benitez’s Liverpool side came off the pitch trailing 3-0 to AC Milan at the 2005 Champions League Final, it looked as though the game was well and truly over. Not only were they outclassed on the pitch but forward, Harry Kewell, was injured and taken off.
Strangely, it was that latter stroke of bad luck that changed the team’s fortunes around as, having had to reshape the midfield, Benitez brought on defensive midfielder Dietmar Hammann for the second half.
All of a sudden, the game turned Liverpool’s way with Steven Gerrard now able to push forward and score. Then, in an incredible six minutes, Vladimír Šmicer and Xabi Alonso, knocked another two into the back of the net. The game then went into a penalty shoot-out and Liverpool scraped an unlikely win in the world’s biggest club tournament.
Owen Hargreaves waves goodbye to injury woes
After spending three years on the bench (due to a particularly nasty case of patellar tendinitis, injury fact fans!) and following ejection from Manchester United last year, Owen Hargreaves kicked off his resurrected midfield career with Manchester City in very fine style this week when he led his new team to 2-0 Carling Cup victory against Birmingham.
Speaking after the match, the one-time England midfielder was clearly delighted to be back in the game: “I never anticipated in my life I would be out for three years – but I am back and I am happy,” he said. “There were times when it looked bleak and I spoke to the best medical people and asked if I was barking up the wrong tree, but they said I had football left in me.”
Now, if only we can get him back in the England squad…
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