To commemorate the quite frankly ridiculous achievement of Leicester City winning the Premier League, here are some of the greatest and most shocking upsets in sporting history…
Buster Douglas defeats Mike Tyson
A lesson in complacency if there ever was one, the seemingly invincible Tyson was KO’d by the 42-1 underdog Buster Douglas in the 10th round of their fight in Tokyo on the 11th of February, 1990.
Tyson’s preparations had been dogged by issues in his private life and he later admitted to ‘not wanting to even be in the ring’ that night.
The journeyman Douglas would later lose the titles he gained from the fight to Evander Holyfield mere months later.
Greece win EURO 2004
Available at odds of 250-1 before the tournament, the relative minnows beat the holders France, the supremely talented Czech Republic, and hosts Portugal on the way to one of the unlikeliest tournament wins in football history.
Even better, they won all three of their knockout games 1-0. Each goal a header. From a corner taken from the right side.
Let’s just say they had a formula.
Japan defeat South Africa in the Rugby World Cup 2015
I know right? Japan play Rugby!
Despite Japan failing to qualify from the group stage, their win in their first game of the tournament was considered such a shock that the South African captain issued an apology to his nation for the defeat.
Japan had not won a World Cup game since 1991 while the traditional powerhouse of South Africa had won the whole shebang twice in the same period.
Yet when Karne Hesketh dove over the line to put The Brave Blossoms (seriously) up 34-32, the ensuing pandemonium rocked the Rugby world to its core.
Upset defeats Man o’War
Man o’War is widely considered one of the greatest racehorses of all time. So it seems fitting thats his only loss, by a nose, would be to a horse named Upset at the Sanford Saratoga Race Course on August 13, 1919.
Many reasons/excuses have been given for Upset’s victory (including Man o’War starting the race facing the wrong way!?) yet at the time it was still a truly shocking result.
USA loses to USSR in 1972 Olympics
The US Men’s basketball team brought a 63-0 undefeated Olympic record into their final against the USSR, and many expected the inventors of the game to duly triumph over their arch-rivals.
Trailing 50-49 with 3 seconds remaining, the Soviet Union scored from an inbounds pass to win 50-51. Or did they?
The play was ran three times amid protest and counter protest with the Americans almost boycotting the entire game.
Gotta miss the Cold War eh?
USA beats England at the 1950 World Cup
Another inventor of the sport getting beaten, this time with the part-time American team triumphing against the heavily favoured English.
Haitian-born Joe Gaetjens scored the only goal of the game for a US team that had lost their previous seven games by a combined score of 2-45.
I’m still embarrassed…
Leon Spinks beats Muhammad Ali on February 15, 1978
Despite being well into the twilight of his career, Ali expected an easy victory against St. Louis-born Spinks. Yet the two men went the distance, with Spinks winning by unanimous decision and thus becoming the only fighter ever to take a title from the boxer formerly known as Cassius Clay.
Boris Becker wins Wimbledon
The relatively unknown West German teenager Boris Becker defeated American Kevin Curren in the 1985 Wimbledon Men’s final to become the youngest (at the age of 17) and the first unseeded player ever to win the prestigious title.
Becker would go on to win six total career grandslams and go down as one of the greatest of all time.
And it all started here…
Robin Soderling defeats Rafa Nadal at the French Open
Since his debut in 2005, Nadal had won 31 straight matches on the clay at Roland Garros, encompassing four consecutive titles and was looking to be the first player in history to win five titles in a row.
Yet at the 2009 French Open, 23rd-seed Robin Soderling of Sweden defeated Nadal 6-2, 6-7 (2-7), 6-4, 7-6 (7-2). Soderling had never before got beyond the third-round in any major tournament.
Rulon Gardner defeats Alexander Karelin at Sydney 2000
Alexander Karelin was the three-time defending Greco-Roman wrestling champion and was undefeated in international competition for 13 years and hadn’t given up a point in six.
Rulon Gardner was an Olympic novice whose biggest achievement had been finishing 4th at the 1993 NCAA Championships.
Gardner stunned Karelin 1-0 in the 286-pound final and the rest is history.
Roberta Vinci defeats Serena Williams at the U.S Open
Serena Williams was attempting to become the first player since Steffi Graf in 1988 to complete the calendar Grand Slam. The No. 1 ranked player in the world lost to unseeded Roberta Vinci in the U.S. Open semifinals 2–6, 6–4, 6–4 in 2015. It was the first Grand Slam in her last five appearances that Williams had lost.
U.S Hockey team defeats USSR at the 1980 Winter Olympics
Known as ‘The Miracle on Ice’, a group of amateur Americans defeated a behemoth Soviet team that had won the previous four ice hockey gold medals dating back to the 1964 games.
Leicester win the Premier League
Hey! This just happened!
Almost relegated last season and with odds of 5000-1, a team containing several former non-league players and with the lowest payroll in the league stormed to their first top tier league title in 132 years.
Well done FOXES!
