Incredible stories inspire people all over the world. Athletes who bravely cope with adversity inspire respect. Sometimes some accidents determine the rest of a person’s life.
Wheelchair Games
During World War II, many men were maimed. The percentage of men who had to move around in wheelchairs increased almost fivefold. There were soldiers in clinics and hospitals in England. They needed constant treatment. On our website, you can also find information about new and unconventional sports directions.
Ludwig Guttman worked as a doctor in one of these medical facilities. He communicated with patients and found out that they missed physical activity the most. Then the doctor decided to organize wheelchair games in the backyard of the hospital.
Other institutions also picked up the idea. Clubs of amateur wheelchair athletes began to appear. At the beginning of the fifties of the twentieth century, the first International Wheelchair Sports Games were held. They interested the Olympic Committee and after a while transformed into the Paralympic Games. They have been held since 1960, right after the Olympic Games.
Breaking down Adolf Hitler’s theory
Hitler insisted on holding the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. He was convinced of the superiority of the Aryan race and did not doubt that his athletes would take all the gold medals from the top leagues. History, however, decided otherwise.
In front of delegates from more than a dozen countries, the American athlete Jesse Owens won in four disciplines. Hitler assured his comrades-in-arms that blacks could not be better than Aryans in any area of life. Owens proved otherwise. He had the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash, the relay race, and the long jump to his credit. He also set a world record in the relay.
It was said that Jesse Owens’ victory enraged Hitler. But the athlete himself denied these rumors. After his return to the USA, the athlete became the highest-paid athlete of his time. However, President Franklin Delano of Roosevelt did not pay any attention to the runner.
The Barefoot Run
In 1960, a marathon was held in Rome. Athletes from all over the world gathered for it. Abebe Bikila came from Ethiopia. In his homeland he could not find shoes suitable for the race, so he decided to take up the matter in Italy.
However, Abebe Bikila arrived in the city too late to order shoes to fit the peculiarities of his feet. The solution seemed to be to visit a regular sneaker store. The athlete spent about three hours there, but could not find a suitable pair. All the shoes were uncomfortable and uncomfortable.
Abebe Bikila decided not to give up on his lifelong dream. He went to the start barefoot. This drew laughter from those in attendance. After the runner crossed the finish line first, the spectators were surprised.
The Italian Strike
In the early 2000s, Italian soccer player Paolo Di Canio was constantly in the crosshairs of the cameras. Every time he took to the field, he caused a sensation. He did extraordinary things that angered many.
At one match, Paolo Di Canio hit a coach because he criticized the athlete. To be in the spotlight, the player even took his teammate’s ball during a penalty shootout.
The incredible climax of the Italian deeds happened in the championship of England. His team played with Everton. The opponent’s goal was empty. At that time, the ball was at Paolo Di Canio’s feet and nothing prevented him from scoring the winning goal. However, the player saw that the goalkeeper was injured and left the field for that reason. The Italian decided to play fair and took the ball instead of the decisive goal.
Mortal combat
Billy Miske was successful in sports. However, at the age of 24, during the next medical examination, doctors discovered that he had an incurable disease. The boxer’s kidneys could have stopped functioning at any moment. Medicine did not allow them to effectively cope with the disease, so the doctors told him that he had five years to live and advised him to live happily ever after.
The boxer was desperate. His career was ruined in an instant. Together with his wife, he opened a business selling cars. But within a year, Billy Miske’s company failed. He was left with $100,000 in debt as a reminder.
To pay the bills, Billy Miske decided to return to sports. His health was deteriorating every day, but he still got in the ring. He won most of his fights. After paying his debt, the boxer bought his wife an expensive grand piano and soon died.
The Premier League of American baseball
Before 1947, discrimination against black people in America was acute. Not only were they not hired in offices, but they were even denied membership in sports clubs.
Jackie Robinson had played baseball since childhood. At one amateur game, he was spotted by the head coach of the Brooklyn Dodgers. The athlete’s game impressed. The contract with the team could not be concluded immediately, because everyone around considered it at least abnormal to accept a dark-skinned man in the Premier League.
Jackie Robinson did not give up. He played in a Brooklyn Dodgers uniform for years, even though he was attacked by his peers. With the baseball player, the team’s winning percentage increased significantly.
Youth trumped experience
The fame of the Soviet hockey team spread across the planet. World and Olympic champions were considered indestructible. That changed in Lake Placid. The situation was a real humiliation for the Union.
Against the USSR team, the amateur students fought. At the beginning of the match, the Soviet athletes scored the first goal and immediately received a return goal. This went on three times. In the third period, the student team won, scoring the fourth goal.
The referee is always right
An unusual story happened in 2004 with the Russian gymnast Alexey Nemov. On the crossbar, the athlete showed excellent results. Spectators and commentators were amazed by the program.
The judges did not share the enthusiasm and gave Alexei Nemov low scores. This caused indignation among the fans. The stands chanted the gymnast’s name in protest against the results. Nemov after ten minutes of deafening screams from the crowd came out into the arena and tried to calm the fans. It is an unbelievable story, as athletes are more likely to disrupt competitions in this way.
Forrest Gump
The touching story of runner Forrest Gump has won millions of hearts. It is fiction. But that doesn’t stop real people from doing meaningful, selfless things.
Rob Pope worked all his life as a veterinarian. The only thing that connected him to sports was his daily jogs in the morning. After reading the book “Forrest Gump” the doctor decided to repeat the deed of the main character. The entire route was 25 thousand kilometers. Every day Rob Pope ran 65 kilometers. On the way, he met people who were inspired by his actions. They joined the runner and covered part of the distance together.
The story of the real Forrest Gump went all over America in a matter of days. As Rob Pope ran near towns, residents often shouted to him, “Run, Forrest, run!” During his journey, the vet acquired the same cap as the character in the movie and book. The American also looked like Forrest Gump because of his long beard.
Sydney’s Anti-Record
It is generally accepted that only professional athletes make it to the Olympic Games. Most of the time it is exactly that, but sometimes there are exceptions to this rule. A resident of Equatorial Guinea found himself competing in Sydney in 2000. For Eric Musambani, the very fact of participation was a blessing. In interviews and conferences after the swim, he said that he didn’t even hope for a good result.
He didn’t do any swimming with trainers. Guinean had never even seen a pool. When the start of the swim was announced, all the players except Musambani took to the course a second early. Eric was the only one left in the pool.
Due to the lack of professional training, he swam very slowly. Critics commented on Eric’s complete lack of technique. The spectators had a positive attitude. They supported the swimmer with all their might. As a result, Erik Musambani won and got the only medal in his discipline. His result was the worst not only among the medalists but also among all the competitors in the history of the Olympics. The athlete swam the freestyle 100m in 1.52.72.
