LEWIS HAMILTON’S little prang with Felipe Massa that dumped the Brazilian out of the Singapore Grand Prix, proves once again how the fickle finger of fate can appear from nowhere to scupper sporting success.
You can check out the Formula 1 fracas on BBC iPlayer, but first whet your appetite with our list of the strangest and most iconic sporting mishaps of all time.
Sunderland v Liverpool
It was October, 2009, and the fact Liverpool were playing like seaside donkeys was reinforced by a beach ball bobbing across the pitch. And, moments later, Liverpool were all at sea as Sunderland’s Darren Bent hit a hopeful shot which deflected off the inflatable pitch invader and past Pepe Reina. ’Pool lost 1-0. Oh, and the beach ball was red with a Liverpool crest. Oops!
Enjoy some more football foul-ups.
Zola Budd v Mary Decker
The world was gripped by a rare bout of 3000m fever as controversial bare-footed, slightly South African, British runner Zola Budd faced local golden girl Mary Decker at the 1984 LA Olympic Games. We’ll never know who’d have won because at the 1700m mark Budd managed to stick her heel into one of Decker’s running spikes, and the pair got all tangled up. Budd limped in seventh, while Decker blubbed and pounded the track with her tiny fists.
Check out extreme running of a different kind.
1951 Boat Race
The Oxford v Cambridge Boat Race has featured a clutch of spectacular sinkings, including 1984 when Cambridge hit a stationary barge while warming up. The chumps. But 1951 is special as Oxford started going down from the gun, and became a total fail boat in a princely two and a half minutes. It was something to do with a westerly wind and the wrong kind of water, apparently.
More messing about in boats.
Riddick Bowe v Evander Holyfield
The ‘Real Deal’ Holyfield’s bid to win the World Heavyweight title was fast becoming a lesson in how not to win the World Heavyweight title, when out-of-control paraglider James Miller landed in the ring at Las Vegas in 1993. During the ensuing chaos, Holyfield sneakily took the opportunity while not being punched to catch his breath, and when the fight restarted he outpointed a confused Bowe to snatch the crown.
Watch paraglider-free boxing here.
1986 Australian Grand Prix
With a six-point lead over Alain Prost going into the final race of the season, Nigel Mansell could have sat in his car on the Adelaide circuit stroking his moustache and going ‘Brrrm, brrmm’, and still won the Formula 1 championship. But a warning that his tyre could possibly explode came too late – and his tyre exploded at 200mph. Amazingly, Mansell steered the car into the escape road, unharmed but not world champion. Apparently, if he’d bothered to crash into the track wall, the race would have been stopped, and he’d have been declared king, or at least Formula 1 World Champion.
Get up close to the current F1 World Champion.
Are these the greatest sporting mishaps ever? What are the other incidents that have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory? Let us know by leaving a comment. And for sport, film and TV chit-chat, follow @tvfrombt on Twitter/tvfrombt
