Inspiring Acts of Sportsmanship

1. Be a Sport! Great Acts of Sportsmanship

2. Bobby Moore and Pele, two of the greatest footballers of all time show their sporting respect for each other after a 1970 World Cup match in Mexico.

3. Big G says: • “Being a good sportsman is more important than winning.”

4. 1956 Australian national championships • During the third lap, 19-year-old Ron Clarke, who would go on to set 17 world records during his career, tripped and fell. • Landy, who was trailing close behind, leapt over Clarke and accidentally scraped his rival’s arm with his spikes in the process. • Landy stopped running to make sure that Clarke wasn’t badly hurt before resuming his chase of the pack that had charged ahead.

5. To the amazement of everyone in the crowd, Landy came from behind to finish first in a time of 4 minutes, 4 seconds.

6. Today, a bronze statue in Melbourne commemorates Landy’s good deed It is called, simply, “Sportsmanship.”

7. Michael Phelps is an American swimmer and the most successful Olympian of all time. He has a total of 22 Olympic medals … … 18 of them gold.

8. At 19 superstar Michael Phelps took the swimming pool by storm in the 2004 Athens Games. Victory on the final stroke of the 100 metre butterfly sealed his fourth gold medal of the Games.

9. Phelps had the chance to add another medal to his tally in the 4x100m medley relay as part of a strong US line-up, but announced he would step aside "to give a team-mate a chance”.

10. At the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles, Judy Guinness stood to become the first ever Briton to win fencing gold. She was just 21, so it would have been a remarkable achievement.

11. After a closely contested final against Austrian Ellen Preis, Guinness was declared the winner by the judges, but she pointed out to them that they had missed two hits by her opponent. • Guinness's honesty cost her the gold medal.

12. Stirling Moss the British Grand Prix driver had a great rivalry with Mike Hawthorn in the 1950s.

13. In the Portuguese GP in 1958 his rival Mike Hawthorn was about to be docked points after his car spun off the track. Moss, who had witnessed the incident, insisted at the post-race disciplinary tribunal that Hawthorn had done nothing wrong. Hawthorn was reprieved and beat Moss to the world title by a single point.

14. Mallory Holtman and Sara Tucholsky were on opposing teams in a national softball game in 2008 when Tucholsky hit the first home run of her career. When she hurt her knee and was unable to run after crossing first base, Holtman and a teammate carried her around to home plate.

15. If Sara Tucholsky’s own team mates had done this then she would have been out and the game would be lost.

16. That amazing display of sportsmanship inspired Holtman and Tucholsky to create a foundation to help those in need. The Mallory Holtman and Sara Tucholsky Sportsmanship Foundation was created.

17. In the 1969 Ryder Cup the USA and Britain were level at 15 and a half points each. On the last hole of the last match, America’s Jack Nicklaus holed his putt leaving Tony Jacklin to sink a tricky three footer to draw the match.

18. Nicklaus made one of the great sporting gestures, picking up his opponent's ball marker rather than forcing Jacklin to putt out. Nicklaus told Jacklin: "I don't think you would have missed that Tony, but I didn't want to give you the chance."

19. It is not often you see players of opposing teams going out of their way to console one another after a game has ended. Their interaction is usually limited to a friendly handshake or pat on the back.

20. Japan's Aya Miyama consoles dejected France player Camille Abilly at the end of their women's football semi-final, Japan v France at Wembley Stadium during the 2012 Olympic Games.

21. In the 3rd Test Match of 2005 Ashes series, Australia needed 62 runs to win with one wicket left. Led by Brett Lee, they scored 58 of them … … then Lee’s partner Michael Kasprovic was caught. Ignoring the excitement of victory, England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff consoled Brett Lee. Flintoff explained: ‘I was taught as a kid always respect the opposition first and celebrate after.’

22. On Christmas Day in 1996, a month and a half into the round-the-world Vendee Globe yacht race, English sailor Pete Goss received a mayday notification. Competitor Raphael Dinelli’s yacht had wrecked in a storm in the Southern Ocean. Goss decided to abandon course and attempt a daring rescue of Dinelli, which required sailing his yacht, Acqua Quorom, into hurricane-force winds.

23. While Goss’s yacht was knocked down several times en route, he eventually found Dinelli with the aid of an Australian Air Force plane. • France awarded Goss the Legion d’Honneur and the two men have become close friends.

24. “ When the one great scorer, comes to count against your name, he counts not whether you won or lost, but how you played the game.” • Grantland Rice – American sports writer

25. As the great Olympian Jesse Owens who won four gold medals in the 1936 Olympics said …

26. “Sportsmanship takes a great deal of love, fairness and respect for your fellow human being. Put all these together and even if you don’t win, how can you lose?” Jesse Owens