Heartbreaking moments in sport

The stain of failure, as England's history in penalty shootouts proves, doesn't wash out easily. And yet there are those who watch sport for the heartbreaking pleasure of unhappy endings.

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Slideshow

Images of some of the worst moments in the world of sport.



Top ten

1: 'Two steps forward, three to the side. Oh, he's down'

After running 26 miles, Jim Peters was 17 minutes ahead of his rivals and certain of gold. But after he collapsed, only yards from victory, he never ran again, Frank Keating recalls.



2: 12 yards: so near and yet always so miserably far ...

England have lost five penalty shootouts in major competitions and, for Andrew Anthony, the first two were the worst. Germans were involved ...



3: The Whirlwind blows his biggest chance

Lee Honeyball: The crowd groaned as he walked back to his chair. With a sense of inevitability, Hendry made a 58 clearance to defeat White again.



4: The night when Ali screamed in pain

Thomas Hauser recalls how Larry Holmes reduced 'the Greatest' to a human punchbag - and called time on an era.



5: Jana dries her tears on the Duchess's shoulder

Nick Greenslade: Her disintegration in the Wimbledon final struck Jana Novotna as she collected her runner's-up medal from the Duchess of Kent.



6: Crisp is caught by Red Rum in the dying strides

Neil Clark: Awful yet glorious: that's how Reg Green described the 1973 Grand National. It's hard to think of a better description for one of the most stirring races of all time.



7: There's unlucky ... and then there's Christophe

Three times, mechanical failure cost Eugene Christophe the Tour de France. Even his skills as a blacksmith couldn't save him, writes Matt Rendell.



8: 'I hated the world. Then I felt a hand on my shoulder'

Derek Redmond was in an Olympic 400m semi-final when his hamstring went. His dad jumped out of the crowd to help him. Lee Honeyball watches a video at Redmond's house of that emotional day.



9: Henman's dreams are washed away in the rain

Tim Adams: There was always next year. Except, after that year, there was not.



10: Francesco Panetta sacrifices steeplechase gold

Geoff Dyer: If sport is all about glory then Panetta had draped himself in it. Not just for that day, but for all time.



The worst of the rest

20: Manchester United hit the net, Bayern hit the deck

Sammy Kuffour: When Teddy Sheringham equalised, then Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scored the winner, it was as if God was saying he didn't want us to win that cup.

21: Nigel Mansell blows up and out Down Under



My heartbreak

Des Lynam | George Foreman | Piers Morgan | Hunter Davies | Gavin Hastings



Letter from ... Australia

Army dreamers

The Ashes were lost in extreme heat and with unseemly haste. But the humour and knowledge of both sets of fans made the series a triumph, writes Jason Cowley.



The back pages

Ten questions for ... Ian Woosnam

US Masters champion, Europe's Ryder Cup-winning captain and boxing and snooker fan.



For whom the bell tolls

Tim Southwell: Rocky's back. And this time he's got a dog in a T-shirt.



So how does it feel to lose your teeth?

DJ Taylor: Of all sports, football must be the most difficult to write about realistically.



Recommended

We're the Famous Man United | You Are the Ref | The Way of the Shark



Frozen in time

West Ham end Hereford's giant-killing FA Cup run

Ronnie Radford's Hereford giant-killers take on the Hammers.



Regulars

Memories are made of this

Editor's letter: The failure of England in Australia - like the repeated failures of the football and rugby teams - is further reminder of our sporting culture of complacency, in which celebrity and consumerism conspire to reduce sustained achievement, says Jason Cowley.



Letters

Benaud's no saint | A good Cooke | Lost in New York | Fear and loathing | Boring, boring WAGS

