Cancer Athletes

A dominant sprinter and long jumper, Carl Lewis has won ten Olympic medals, nine of them gold. From 1981 to 1991, he topped the world rankings in the 100 m, 200 m and long jump events, slowly starting to lose his dominance thereafter, eventually retiring in 1997. Currently a businessperson, he has also appeared in films and television productions.

Sprinter Wilma Rudolph made history by becoming the first American female athlete to win three track and field gold medals in a single Olympic game. As a child, she needed orthopedic shoes to help her walk. The sports icon lost her life to cancer but was immortalized through books and movies.

Wayde van Niekerk is a South African athlete who competes as a sprinter in the 200 and 400 metres. He is the current Olympic and world record holder in the 400 metres. Wayde van Niekerk holds the world record in the 300 metres as well. He won the gold medal in the 400 metres event at the 2016 Olympic Games.

Born without fibular bones, Aimee Mullins had to have her legs amputated below the knee as an infant. Undeterred, she grew up to be a Paralympic record-breaker, competing as a track and field athlete with prosthetic legs. She has walked the ramp for Alexander McQueen and has starred in films, too.

American soccer player and Chelsea defender Matt Miazga has previously also represented the New York Red Bulls. Born to Polish immigrant parents in the U.S., Miazga is a staunch Christian and often expresses his religious views on social media. He was part of the American Olympic campaign in 2016.

Best known for her work on BBC productions like Blue Pete, English television presenter Helen Skelton is also a trained lap dance teacher and an adventurer, who kayaked the entire length of River Amazon to raise fund for Sports Relief 2020. Author of Amy Wild: Amazon Summer, she is also the first person to reach South Pole using a bicycle.

Tia-Clair Toomey is an Australian CrossFit Games athlete and weightlifter. As a weightlifter, she won a gold medal for Australia at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Toomey has also won five CrossFit Games Championship titles so far; she won these titles in five successive CrossFit Games starting from 2017.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias was an American athlete who specialized in golf, track and field, basketball, and baseball. Considered one of the greatest female athletes ever, Didrikson won two gold medals and a silver medal in track and field at the Summer Olympics in 1932. She then went on to win 10 LPGA major championships, becoming USA's first female golf celebrity.

Michelle Jenneke is an Australian track and field athlete and model. She won a silver medal for Australia at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics. She received international recognition in 2012 when her pre-race warm-up dance became famous on the internet. As a model, Michelle Jenneke was featured in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in 2013.

Considered one of the greatest athletes India has ever produced, P. T. Usha is often called the Queen of Indian track and field. She has won 14 gold medals throughout her illustrious career. She missed out on the bronze medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics by a hundredth of a second.

Hurdler Liu Xiang created history by becoming the first Chinese Olympic gold medalist in any men’s track-and-field event. While he excelled in high jump in his younger days, he deviated to hurdles by 15. He has also earned gold medals at the world championships and the Asian Games.

Cave explorer Floyd Collins is remembered for an ill-fated solo cave exploration in Kentucky, when he lost his balance and got stuck in a tight tunnel. His rescue attempt was widely covered by the media, but the tunnel collapsed and he died eventually. His body was recovered after 2 months.

Mary Peters is a Northern Irish former athlete who specialized in the pentathlon and shot put. She was athletic from a young age and received encouragement from her father to pursue her passion. She represented Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the Summer Olympics in 1972 and won the gold medal in the women's pentathlon.  

Paul Sampson is an English rugby union and rugby league player. He became interested in different sports as a child and won the England Schools 100 meters title in 1996. He soon joined the England rugby squad while still a school student and won his first England cap against South Africa in 1998. Rugby player, Dean Sampson, is his cousin.  

Swedish ice hockey player Loui Eriksson has been part of the Boston Bruins and the Dallas Stars in the past and now plays for the Vancouver Canucks. His first NHL goal was in a match against the Colorado Avalanche. He was the Iowa Stars' 2005-06 Rookie of the Year.

Legendary hockey player Dhanraj Pillay, who revolutionized Indian sports with his talent, appeared in four Olympics and four World Cups. He also led India to gold medals in the Asia Cup, the Asian Games, and the Champions Challenge. The Padma Shri awardee is now an Aam Aadmi Party member.

Swedish ice hockey player Oliver Ekman-Larsson now leads the NHL team Arizona Coyotes. Fans love him for his smooth skating skills and his perfect timing and positioning. He was born into a family of sportsmen, with his grandfather being an Olympian. He also owns a luxury clothing line.

South African rugby legend Joel Stransky is best known for scoring all points, including the famous drop goal, in the nail-biting 1995 Rugby World Cup final against New Zealand that he led his country to win. He has also worked with the marketing departments of Altech Netstar and the Steinhoff Group.

Angelica Bengtsson is a Swedish athlete who competes in track and field events with a specialization in the pole vault. In 2010, she became the first athlete to win the pole vault event at the first Summer Youth Olympics. The current national record holder, Bengtsson has won many medals, including bronze medals at the 2015 and 2017 European Indoor Championships.

British snowboarder Jenny Jones, especially known for winning Great Britain's first Olympic medal on the snow, rather than on ice, learned to ski before switching to snowboarding. Eventually she started representing her country in various international competitions, winning medals, making history by finishing third at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, earning a bronze medal in the women's slopestyle event.

Dario Gradi is an Italian-English former amateur football player turned coach and manager. He began his career playing as an amateur for several clubs before turning a coach cum manager. He was associated with Crewe Alexandra for more than 36 years in various capacities as a coach, manager, and director of football. He won the PFA Merit Award in 2004. 

Craig Alexander is an Australian former triathlete who won the Ironman Triathlon World Championship titles in 2008, 2009, and 2011. He is also a two-time Ironman 70.3 World Championship title winner. Since 2014, Craig Alexander has been working as a triathlon coach.

Former rugby player James Hook remains Wales’s fourth-highest point-scorer. Post-retirement, he expressed his wish to serve as a coach. He has also become a children’s author with the series Chasing A Rugby Dream, the first book of which, Kick-off, is soon to be released, after a delay due to COVID-19.

Anna Chicherova is a Russian high jumper who won a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She has also won medals at World Championships, which includes a gold and silver medal. She is the third female high jumper to win medals at both the World Championships and the Olympic Games. She also holds the Russian national record (2.07 meters).

Born in England and raised in the U.S., David Hemery competed for England as a hurdler and won the 400m gold at the 1968 Summer Olympics. He also has two Commonwealth gold medals to his credit. He owns the charity 21st Century Legacy and has penned several books, including a memoir.