Source: Female Gymnast (Simone Biles)(1X7A5521ed(m)) A drawing by… _Flickr
Always expect the unexpected. Be it in the field of education, war, or sports. There are many athletes who prove this true by achieving legendary status in their respective sports. Their feats defy all odds and demonstrate their prowess and resilience.
Some do it on their first tries, while many others leave their mark by making awesome comebacks. They overcome whatever life throws at them and showcase extraordinary skill. Their work inspires millions of future generations of kids around the world who want to grow up to become just like their future idols.
Swimming Across the English Channel
Source: by_Store norske leksikon_Gertrude Ederle
As a mark of her resilience and determination, Gertrude Ederle accomplished the seemingly impossible task of swimming across the English Channel and became the first woman in history to do so. She shattered several previous records while doing so- if just becoming the first woman to cross the channel wasn’t enough, she also broke several gender barriers.
In 1926, Ederle swam for 14 hours to complete her lap across and she did it while battling the cold, rough and strong currents. Her strength overpowered all sorts of mental and physical signs of distress and she beat the men’s record by almost two hours. This made her accomplishment all the more awesome. This feat was nothing short of extraordinary and paved the way for future female athletes.
An Awesome Comeback
Another sportswoman who became an inspiration is Ana Fidelia Quirot, a Cuban track legend who reminded everyone that her injuries don’t decide when she retires. Nicknamed the ‘Storm of the Caribbean’, Quirot was nearly invincible in the late 1980s when she won more than 30 consecutive races between the years 1987 and 1991.
Ana Quirot was involved in a severe domestic accident in 1993 where she suffered from dangerous burns which were quite life-threatening- she was fighting for her life and severely doubtful about her career. But she still defied all the negative odds to make a comeback and return back to the track less than two years later. Her hard work paid off and she won gold medals at both the 1995 World Championship games and 1996 Olympics. This wasn’t the end and she continued winning more titles until the end of her career in 1998.
Her story is a testament to her courage and resilience, and inspires many others who face similar situations in life.
Skateboarding on top
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tony_Hawk_ollie.jpg
In a career spanning 21 years, Tony Hawk has garnered enough respect and fame to be referred to as the greatest skateboarder of all time. Hawk was able to take skateboarding from being a hobby to becoming a global phenomenon. He started and gained momentum from the 1980s and early 1990s, became stupendously famous in the late 90s and early 2000s, and retired in 2003 but never stopped being a cool mentor for the new gen skateboarders.
Hawk achieved his legendary status when he became the first skateboarder to successfully land a ‘900’. This trick requires the skateboarder to complete two and a half aerial spins. Nailing this trick was groundbreaking and great news for the whole skater community.
After retiring, Hawk maintained his image and popularity with the help of his social media presence and ability to stay relevant in the sport even after entering his 40s. His influence doesn’t die down even today.
Redefining Gymnastics
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Simone_Biles_Rio
Known for her complexity and consistency as the one of the greatest gymnasts in the history of the sport, Simone Biles has set a number of records since her first stint in 2016. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Biles became the first female U.S. gymnast to win four gold medals at a single Games. She was also the first gymnast to have won six four gold medals at a single Games. Other than the Olympics, Biles has also left her mark in the World Championship games when she won 30 medals here- out of these, 23 are gold.
Biles asserted her dominance in this sport, not just by winning medals, but also through the introduction of many new moves. Many of these are so difficult that they have been named especially after her. Most of these were made after her or her coaches felt like she could add some extra move to already existing routines for a challenge. Some of them are Biles I (a double layout with half twist), Biles II (double backflip, triple twist), Biles (double twisting, double backflip dismount), Biles (Yurchenko half-on with two twists), and another Biles II (Yurchenko double pike).
Shooting his way to the Olympics
How can we talk about extraordinary feats in sports and not talk about the most recent global phenomenon in the Games? The world stared in awe when Turkish sports shooter, Yusuf Dikec made a name for himself in the shooting games when he won the silver medal without using any special equipment made for shooters. When he competed in his fifth Olympics Games in 2024, he was the oldest Turkish Olympic athlete to have won a medal in the Games.
Dikev played for his country for the first time in the Beijing 2008 Games but wasn’t ever able to reach the medal podium till the 2024 Games. In 2024, he reached the medal podium and also invited a wave of social media attention to himself after his video of competing in the Games went viral. Onlookers were amazed when they saw Dikev shooting without wearing equipment and with one hand in his pocket. This and the fact that he was able to acquire such a feat at advanced age was a hit.
These are just a few of the many awe-inspiring sports incidents that have wowed the socks off of people’s feet. Sports is a field full of hard working and strong people. Anything can happen here.
Resources
- Admin. (2023, May 24). Tony Hawk: The Skateboarding Legend Who Transformed an Era – The Wellix. The Wellix. https://thewellix.com/onsports/tony-hawk-the-skateboarding-legend-who-transformed-an-era/
- Nischal Schwager-Patel. (2024, August 3). Meet Yusuf Dikec: The Turkish shooter who has gone viral at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Olympics.com; International Olympic Committee. https://olympics.com/en/news/yusuf-dikec-turkish-shooting-viral-paris-2024-olympics
- Park/Tokyo, A. (2024, July 22). These Are All the Gymnastics Moves Named After Simone Biles. TIME; nextgen. https://time.com/6083539/gymnastics-moves-named-after-simone-biles/
- Little, B. (2018, August 3). The First Woman to Swim the English Channel Beat the Men’s Record by Two Hours. HISTORY. https://www.history.com/news/gertrude-ederle-first-woman-swim-english-channel
- Robinson, C. (2015, July 8). Cuban Track Legend Ana Fidelia Quirot: “I can’t ask more of life” – Havana Times. Havana Times. https://havanatimes.org/interviews/cuban-track-legend-ana-fidelia-quirot-i-cant-ask-more-of-life/
- Marchese, D. (2024). Tony Hawk’s Greatest Trick? Becoming a Middle-Aged Skateboard Star (Published 2021). The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/05/24/magazine/tony-hawk-interview.html
- Simone Biles | Biography, Olympics, Medals, & Facts | Britannica. (2024). In Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Simone-Biles
