Before the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, the long-distance runner Lasse Viren was hardly known to anyone. But with his comeback run over the 10,000 metres he wrote himself into the history books. The then 23-year-old Finn fell after almost 5,000 metres, picked himself up again and made a unique comeback. While co-favourite Mohamed Gammoudi, who stumbled over the fallen Virus, had to give up, the Finn overtook the leading British David Bedford and stormed not only to gold but also to the world record time of 27:38 minutes.
Alpe d'Huez is one of the most traditional mountain finishes of the Tour de France. In 1999, one of the most famous falls in the history of the Tour occurred here. Italian Giuseppe Guerini of Team Telekom was on his way to stage victory. As is usual with mountain arrivals, the riders had to cut a path through the crowds. But a fan who had been on the road for too long for a snapshot could not avoid Guerini in time. There was a collision, Guerini crashed, but was able to pull himself up again, get back on his bike and actually finish the stage as winner.
As the leader of the Formula 1 drivers' championship, Niki Lauda entered the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring in August 1976. There, however, the Austrian with his Ferrari had a serious accident. While Lauda lost consciousness in the wreck, the car caught fire. Lauda inhaled poisonous gases and suffered severe burns on his head. The rescue by other drivers, who pulled Lauda out of the cockpit, saved his life. But only 42 days later Lauda started at a race again - despite open wounds on his face and breathing problems he finished fourth in Italy. Although Lauda did not become World Champion in 1976 in the end, in the following year 1977 the Austrian drove to the World Championship title despite health issues after his accident and serious disagreements with the team leadership.
From 1991 to 1993, the Serbian Monica Seles dominated the tennis world, reaching 33 finals in 34 tournaments she played, and was world number one. But on April 30, 1993, a mentally disturbed fan of Seles' rival Steffi Graf stabbed the then 20-year-old in the back during a match in Hamburg. Seles was unable to play a professional match for two years before she returned in August 1995 and even won the Australian Open again in January 1996. Further tournament victories followed - but Seles could not return to the dominance of the early 90s anymore. Ex-player Pam Shriver said in retrospect, with regard to the rivalry between Seles and Graf, which was affected by the assassination attempt: "We have been robbed of the duel for a generation."
After a European Cup match in Belgrade in February 1958, the Manchester United football team had to stop over in Munich to refuel the plane for the onward flight to Manchester. During the take-off attempt in snow-covered Munich, slush on the runway prevented the aircraft from reaching the necessary speed for take-off. The aircraft with 44 passengers, including the club's coach and team, crashed into houses and trees near Munich-Riem Airport at just under 200 km/h. Twenty people, including eight of the team's players, were killed. Coach Matt Busby and nine players, including future world champion Bobby Charlton, survived. Busby turned the battered club into a title team again in the coming years. Ten years after the disaster, United won the European Cup with Busby as coach.
Bethany Hamilton was already one of the best surfers in the USA at a young age, won several junior tournaments, but then she lost her left arm in a shark attack at the age of 13. Hamilton nevertheless continued to fight for her career as a professional surfer, won a sponsor with Rip Curl, published several books and won the Surf 'n' Sea Pipeline Women's Pro in 2014, among others. Her current goal is to qualify for the WSL Women's Championship Tour.
The Italian Alessandro Zanardi was an established figure in motorsport, driving successfully in Formula 1 and the US cart series. But a serious accident at the Lausitzring, in which Zanardi's skidding car was hit by another bolide at 320 km/h, changed everything. Zanardi had to be revived seven times and lost both legs above the knees. But Zanardi fought back, competed several times with prostheses in various racing series and became one of the world's best athletes on the handbike. He won gold at the Paralympics four times. In the summer of 2020 the next tragedy: Zanardi lost control of his handbike during an unofficial race in Italy and collided with an oncoming truck. After months in intensive care and several head surgeries, Zanardi's condition improved in August.
