Tiger Woods
Sports Stars Embarrassing Secrets
Sports Stars Embarrassing Secrets
Glossary
Acknowledgements
About the Book
About the Publisher
‘This is really a lovely horse. I once rode her mother.’
—
TED WALSH, HORSE-RACING COMMENTATOR
Many fans believe their sports stars have superpowers, such are the mesmeric skills they produce under huge pressure. But if they could, what superpower would they possess?
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GARETH BALE
The Welsh flyer has claimed his superpower would be flying. Cue no end of aerodynamic jokes thanks to a 2012 operation to have his ears pinned back when he was playing at Spurs.
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WAYNE ROONEY
England rock Rooney, meanwhile, has revealed that he would like to see into the future. It’s not a massive leap to predict that there will probably be more goals and less hair, Wayne.
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CHRISTINE OHURUOGU
The former Olympic and world 400m champion wants to have the power of invisibility. She claimed, ‘Being invisible would be fun.’ She is rarely seen between major championships already.
Not many sports stars look back and wish they could have done something different. But, if they could, what kind of profession would they have chosen?
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KEVIN PIETERSEN
The former England batsman revealed in a Twitter Q&A that he would have been a pilot.
WAYNE ROONEY
The United striker told the Sun, ‘I always enjoyed RE, so I might have been a priest.’
JERMAIN DEFOE
The former Spurs, Portsmouth and England striker revealed, ‘I think I’d have done something constructive because my mum, Sandra, was strict with me. I used to dance when I was young, street dancing. I’ve been on a float at Notting Hill Carnival!’
‘They’re the second-best team in the world, and there’s no higher praise than that.’
Kevin Keegan
BORN: 26 October 1982, Leeds, England
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Olympic gold, Commonwealth gold and three World silvers
1) Adams has blazed a trail for women’s boxing in England since the age of 13. It took four years for her to find her second opponent, but when she did get regular quality opposition she wasted no time in lighting up the ring, including the English amateur title in 2003.
2) Silver at the 2007 European Amateurs represented the first time an English woman had medalled in a major tournament. She went one better at the London 2012 Olympics by becoming the first woman in history to claim a boxing gold medal with flyweight success.
3) Nicola tripped on the stairs in 2009 and was left in a brace for most of the following three months. Her 2012 Olympic dream was left in the balance, but she recovered full mobility and won funding to launch herself on the road to her famous gold in London.
4) Adams travelled to Brazil with David Cameron on a trade mission and visited the favelas where the British-run project Fight for Peace provides a haven for street kids. Sadly the prime minister didn’t go 12 rounds in the ring as journalists queued in hope around the block.
DID YOU KNOW: Adams joined fellow Olympic medallists Dani King, Laura Trott, Beth Tweddle and Gemma Gibbons for a photoshoot where they dressed up as the Spice Girls. They should have given the singing a crack as it wouldn’t be much worse than the original group.
Here is Nicola Adams on a visit to Upton Park …
... that’s the only medal West Ham fans are likely to see
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