Beyond Sport
Stories beyond the game itself: the nights, comebacks, and legends worth remembering.
The Scoreboard Could Not Display Her Perfect 10: Nadia Comăneci's Impossible Night
Nadia Comăneci was fourteen years old when she became the first gymnast to receive a perfect 10.0 at the Olymp…
The Man Who Didn't Fight Back: Jackie Robinson, Baseball's Loneliest Hero
Jackie Robinson (January 31, 1919 — October 24, 1972) was the first Black player in Major League Baseball, bre…
The Only Man to Win Everything Twice: Ma Long, the Greatest Table Tennis Player Who Ever Lived
Ma Long (马龙) (born October 20, 1988) is a Chinese table tennis player widely regarded as the greatest male pla…
Two Fists Raised: The Silent Protest That Changed Sports Forever
Tommie Smith (June 6, 1944) and John Carlos (June 5, 1945) were American sprinters who, at the 1968 Mexico Cit…
He Ran 5,373 Kilometers on One Leg. Then He Died at 22.
Terry Fox (July 28, 1958 – June 28, 1981) was a Canadian cancer research activist and long-distance runner who…
He Won the Tour de France. He Also Saved 800 Lives. No One Knew.
Gino Bartali (July 18, 1914 — May 5, 2000) was an Italian road cyclist and three-time Giro d’Italia champion. …
“My Medals Were Won by Someone Else” — The Swimmer Who Told the Truth About East German Doping
Petra Schneider of East Germany won the 400m individual medley at the 1980 Moscow Olympics at age 17, setting …
Birgit Fischer: The Woman Who Won Olympic Gold at 42 — Across Six Games and Two Countries
Birgit Fischer — the most decorated female paddler in Olympic history — won eight gold and four silver medals …
He Won China's First World Championship at 21. By 31, He Was Erased from History.
Rong Guotuan (容国团) struck a forehand drive in a Dortmund gymnasium in April 1959 and changed China forever. He…
One Leg. One Olympic Pontoon. Sixteenth in the World: The Natalie du Toit Story
Natalie du Toit was born on January 29, 1984, in Cape Town, South Africa. At seventeen, she lost her left…
The Time He Lost Was Greater Than the Time He Won – Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali — born January 17, 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky. Died June 3, 2016 at age 74. Three-time world he…
She Took Off Her Hat and Made History: Marguerite Broquedis, France's First Olympic Gold Medalist
Marguerite Broquedis — born April 17, 1893 in Pau, France. Died March 13, 1983, age 89. At the 1912 Stockholm…
“What Is Five Million Dollars Compared to the Love of the Cuban People?” — Teófilo Stevenson
Teófilo Stevenson — born March 29, 1952 in Puerto Padre, Cuba. Died June 11, 2012 at age 60. Three-time Olympi…
The Gymnast Who Outran History: Ágnes Keleti at 103
Ágnes Keleti — born January 9, 1921 in Budapest, Hungary. Died January 2, 2025 at age 103. Hungarian gymnast. …
The Girl Who Swam Through Impossible: Gertrude Ederle
On August 6, 1926, a 19-year-old girl from New York City waded into the waters of Cape Gris-Nez, France, and…
The Swimmer Who Nearly Quit, Lost Her Father, and Won Silver — María de Valdés Álvarez
María de Valdés Álvarez — born October 19, 1998 in Fuengirola, Málaga, Spain. Spanish open water swimmer. In F…
The Man the GDR Couldn't Break — Wolfgang Lötzsch, the Cyclist Who Beat the System
Wolfgang Lötzsch was the most gifted cyclist the German Democratic Republic ever produced — a three-time Spart…