Great sporting moments: heroism & tragedy (Contains graphic images)*Don't quote pics*

winston82

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_%22The_Eagle%22_Edwards

True Legend

Pherekydes

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

1995: Sonia O Sullivan wins World Championship gold to become the first Irish Woman to do so.

That was 1998, when Sonia won European Double gold in Budapest.

Here she is on her way to Gothenburg gold in 1995:

Another iconic pic of Eamon Coghlan, running a sub four minute mile at age 41:

ascanbe

Endless great moments from this man.
Greatest athlete i ever did see.

cocalolaman

Rubens Barrichello wins his first ever Grand Prix at germany in 2000 and is the first brazilian to win a grand prix since Ayrton Senna. It started to rain in the final 10 laps, in which multiple drivers struggled and spun, but Barrichello persisted on dry tyres and won. He held the brazilian flag with him on the podium and bawled his eyes dry. Pretty much every team and driver was happy with the result that day. Such a shame he's in a crap team now.

trackguy

Goran Ivanisevic beats Pat Rafter to win Wimbledon. He had lost in 3 previous finals and only entered the 2001 tournament as a wildcard with a world ranking of 125, and remains the only man to win the tournament as such.

savagecabbages

Jos Verstappen in the hot seat, Germany 1994. He only received superficial burns to his face because his visor was open, didn't even miss the next race!



Markko Martin getting some serious air time at the Rally Finland 2003.


An insane crowd watching rally Argentina circa 2001

Carroller16

Sebastian Vettel becomes the Youngest Formula 1 World Champion in 2010. Vettel went on to dominate the 2011 season and has won the title with 5 races to go.

A new era of F1 domination is upon us it would seem.

ABU DHABI - 2010


JAPAN - 2011

trackguy

Steve Bartman, a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan, reaches out from the crowd to catch a ball during a Chicago Cubs playoff game. His intervention meant the jumping Cubs fielder - Moises Alou - had no chance of catching the ball at a crucial juncture of the game.

The Cubs went on to lose and he became something of a hate figure for the notoriously tortured Cubs fans. The incident, and the scapegoating of Bartman afterwards, is captured in the ESPN 30 for 30 film 'Catching Hell'

Dr.Winston O'Boogie

Can't find a good pic of this and only a video does it justice anyway so hopefully its not removed.

John Treacy amazingly pips an incredibly arrogant Steve Ovett in a 5000m race in Crystal Palace England. Not sure if this was a final or what, but after watching it several times its still amazing to me how he won.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVxxaj1j9nE

laoisforliam

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fw1CcxCUgg

Not a pic but well worth a watch

The Highwayman

^^^^^^^
Great story

Definitely one of the greatest Irish athletes of all time. You've got to admire his determination. Here's a great vid where he closes a huge gap to win the 298km Milan-San Remo. The vast majority of people could barely stand after riding that distance let alone power off the front of a field of world class cyclists.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mL3jQmkj3uI

keith16

From wikipedia:

In Poland, the Bras d'honneur became known as the "Kozakiewicz's gesture" (gest Kozakiewicza). Kozakiewicz made the gesture on July 30, 1980 to Russian spectators in the stadium during the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. The crowd supporting Soviet jumper Konstantin Volkov booed, hissed, jeered, and whistled during Kozakiewicz's spectacular performance. Having just secured his gold medal position, Kozakiewicz made the gesture in defiance to the Soviet crowd. He later confirmed his dominance over the competition by breaking the world record, clearing at 5.78 meters.

The photos of this incident circled the globe, with the exception of the Soviet Union and its satellites.

Captain Havoc

Maradona v Belgium in '82.


The gesture that won Di Canio FIFA Fair Play award for 2001.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWdf5ZLbtYo

Stephen Roche wins the Worlds in 1987

after he had already won the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France that year, only Belgium Eddy Merckx had before or since achieved this.

Damon Hill wins Jordan their first GP in Belgium:


Kevin O'Brien celebrates beating England where earlier he hit the fastest ever century in a World Cup v England


Cheeky fecker Antonin Panenka chips down the middle to win the European Championships for Czechoslovakia:

Dunny

Everton fans, ahead of the 1966 FA Cup Final bump into Muhammed Ali training in Hyde Park ahead of his fight with Henry Cooper

macfhinn

A great sporting moment and a great sporting man!

Dunny

Sir Alex Ferguson Stand in honor of his 25 years of service to Manchester United:

cottager83

Folks, can anybody recommend any website for sports pictures? I was looking through sportsfile but for 50e a picture I thought it was very steep, any other websites do it? would mainly be GAA and rugby

Dunny

inpho.ie

Lustrum

I will never forget this guys name, so much so I wrote a leaving cert essay in English about him!

He won it after a pile up on the last bend - he had lost 4L of blood in a skating accident in 1994 and almost died - broke his neck in another accident in 2000 - he was good mates with the race favourite Anton Apolo Ahno and had actually made his skis for the olympics - as a guinness ad might say, good things come to those who wait

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Bradbury

Superbus

Alex Zanardi, an ex-F1 driver who lost his legs in a ChampCar crash in 2001, wins the handcycle class of the 2011 New York Marathon. He raced to a high standard for 8 years after his accident, and has now declared his intentions to represent Italy at next year's Paralympics, at the age of 45. He's also won the Venice and Rome marathons.

A true sporting hero.

Jimmy Iovine

One of the greatest boxers of all time, Smokin' Joe Frazier, passed away yesterday. A former Olympic gold-medalist and Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion, he was the first man to knock down and beat Muhammad Ali, in a fight billed as "The Fight of the Century". The two men went on to fight a further two times.

The final fight was the infamous "Thrilla in Manilla". In this Frazier fought almost blind for the entire fight such was the ferocity of the punches he received from Ali. Despite their well-documented differences and public squabbles, Ali was respectful of the character and fighting ability of Smokin' Joe, claiming that it was the toughest fight of his career.

Joe lost his battle with liver cancer on Tuesday. It was the toughest fight of his life, but I'm sure he didn't go down without giving a few of his customary left hooks along the way.

R.I.P. Joe

robd55

Paul Gascoigne unleashes his unforgettable free-kick after five minutes, helping Spurs to a 3-1 demolition of Arsenal

Noo

Lustrum wrote: »

I will never forget this guys name, so much so I wrote a leaving cert essay in English about him!

He won it after a pile up on the last bend - he had lost 4L of blood in a skating accident in 1994 and almost died - broke his neck in another accident in 2000 - he was good mates with the race favourite Anton Apolo Ahno and had actually made his skis for the olympics - as a guinness ad might say, good things come to those who wait

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Bradbury

Oh my god i remember watching that live in my grannys house, i thought it was the most amazing thing i had ever seen, absolutely fantastic!
Youtube it people for the full effect.

Cill Dara Abu

Geezer and Banty square up


Dermor Early jr against Antrim, just hours after burying his legendary father.

razorblunt

Never knew the guy, but I love how proud he was reported to be with regard to being Irish, pretty much summed up here!

Clareman

I had the privilege of being at the game last night, another great escape by Munster, as a season ticket holder I've been at some great occasions down through the years.

leposean

Michael Schumacher crashes in the 1999 British Grand Prix, breaking his legs



Jenson Button wins his first ever Formula One race at the Hungaroring


Alex Zanardi unconscious and his legs broken and shredded (they would both be amputated later)


Iniesta scores the winning goal for Spain in the World Cup final and reveals a tribute to his friend Dani Jarque who died after collapsing in a game for Espanyol

leposean

Coulthard brings his team mate Mika Hakkinen back to the pits after Mika had to retire from a 24second lead on the last lap of the Spanish GP in Barcelona 2001.

[Jackass]

O'Driscoll interception to dash 80 metres to put Leinster into the Heineken Cup final for the first time, in front of a world record crowd at a club game, and avenging the 2006 defeat in the greatest rugby rivalry in the world.



Leinster lift the trophy after 15 years of near misses and heartache.



Our finest day over our nearest rivals in our march to the famous 5 in a row.



Leinster lift the European trophy for the second time, after undoubtedly the greatest sporting event I have ever witnessed or been lucky enough to attend, coming back from almost double the biggest deficit ever over turned in a Heineken Cup final



And to end my rugby theme, the greatest day in Irish rugby history..