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www.thevillagenews.co.za
25 March 2020
MY SPORT
Famous athletes who triumphed after illness By Tony O'Hagan
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OVID-19 has had a devastating impact on world economies. Industries across the spectrum are feeling the negative effects of this illness, which is spread by the Coronavirus. The sport sector is one of many suffering economic disaster, as sporting events are cancelled or postponed throughout the world. This applies to all sporting disciplines. Consider just one example – the English Premiership. With the current shutdown in the UK, clubs are losing income as matches are cancelled, yet still have to pay their staff and players’ salaries and keep up the maintenance of sportsgrounds. The Football Association is now devising plans for financial assistance, fearing the permanent closure of clubs, particularly those in the lower leagues with minimum resources. This scenario applies to all other sporting associations. The advent of COVID-19 got me thinking about disease and the manner in which it has ended the careers of athletes, some in the prime of their sporting prowess. However, there are many who overcame serious illness to participate again at the highest level. There are also those athletes who overcame injury and returned to compete again. Some of those who battled disease and excelled after comebacks include:
immediate success but soon after, was diagnosed with advanced testicular cancer which had spread to his abdomen, lungs, lymph nodes and brain. He was given a 40% chance of survival.
world tennis rankings in 1995, but personal problems during his tumultuous marriage to actress Brooke Shields, coupled with injuries that led to poor performances on the court sent him into a gaping abyss of depression.
He opted for surgery and aggressive chemotherapy treatment. Despite the debilitating effects of chemo, Armstrong went on cycling between chemo sessions. He saw cancer as his greatest competitor and determined to beat it.
This depression led him to self-medicate using crystal methamphetamine, and his ranking plummeted to number 140. Although many believed at this point that his run as one of the sport's premier competitors was over, Agassi cleaned up his act and worked his way back to top physical and mental shape. In 1999, he was back at No. 1.
Armstrong went on to make a full recovery and returned to professional cycling, winning the Tour de France seven times. He married Kirstin Richard in 1998 and they have three children. The pregnancies were made possible thanks to sperm that Armstrong had banked before chemotherapy and surgery. The couple divorced in 2003. Armstrong fell from grace after he was exposed for taking performance-enhancing drugs administered into the bloodstream, and was banned from cycling for life. Ervin ‘Magic’ Johnson (2), the legendary LA Lakers and American basketball player who was part of the famous American ‘Dream Team’, tested positive for HIV in 1991. He immediately retired to deal with his health and spend time with his family.
Cyclist Lance Armstrong (1), who was hated as much as he was loved, but universally admired for his comeback after being diagnosed with life-threatening cancer.
This decision didn’t sit well with him, though, as he felt there was plenty of play left in him. He started coaching but this did not satisfy him. After four seasons’ hiatus, at the age of 36, he was back on the basketball court in the 1995/6 season, averaging a healthy 15 points per game. He went on to become a two-time inductee into the Basketball Hall of Fame, an advocate for HIV/AIDS, an entrepreneur, philanthropist, broadcaster and motivational speaker.
Armstrong entered the cycling world achieving
André Agassi (3) was ranked number 1 on the
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Agassi went on to become the fifth male player in the history of tennis to have won all four Grand Slam titles. In 2002, he became the oldest player in the world, at that time, to reach the No.2 ranking. Agassi married Steffi Graf in 2001 and they have two children. The couple has multiple business interests in America. Phil Mickelson (4), the winner of five golf major championships, thought his career was over when he began experiencing severe joint pains in 2010. He was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis, a type of autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system attacks the joints. Symptoms of this disease include joint pain and swelling, along with itchy patches that form on the skin. Now, with regular treatment to help manage the condition, he is able to compete at the elite level of the sport he loves. Mickelson is one of only 12 players in the history of golf to win three of the four majors. (The only major he hasn’t won is the US Open, where he has finished runner-up a record six times.) Mickelson has spent over 25 consecutive years in the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2012.
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