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Oil Greats who gave it another go
December 24, 2009 Edition 1
Pirate Irwin
PARIS: Seven-times Formula One champion Michael Schumacher is set to make a comeback at the age of 41 for Mercedes GP for the 2010 Formula One season.
His is just the latest in a series of comebacks of former champions who found the temptation for further glory too strong to resist. These are some of the former greats who have had another crack at more success with varied results.
Lance Armstrong (cycling)
The combative seven-times Tour de France champion couldn't resist another tilt at the greatest cycling race in the world and duly announced his return to the sport last year at the age of 37. He defied the sceptics to produce a typically aggressive and competitive ride in this year's edition and finished a highly commendable third place behind Astana teammate Alberto Contador.
The American and the Spaniard then exchanged less-than-complimentary words, with Armstrong acidly remarking that "there is No 1 in the team". Next year's race promises to be an even greater spectacle as Armstrong has decamped to the Radioshack team run by mentor and close friend Johan Bruyneel.
Alain Prost (Formula One)
After Prost was left without a drive following Ferrari's decision to release the Frenchman for the 1992 season, he returned to the circuit one year later at the wheel of a Williams-Renault. He promptly went on to claim a fourth world drivers championship before leaving the race track for good.
Michael Jordan (basketball)
After a brief and modest spell in baseball's minor leagues, "Air Jordan" came back to the basketball court following a 17-month spell away from the game between 1993 and 1995. The man many regard as the greatest ever to play the game led his former club, the Chicago Bulls, to three more NBA titles.
Muhammad Ali (boxing)
The man simply known as "The Greatest" retired from the ring after regaining his world title from Leon Spinks on September 15, 1978. After two years on the sidelines, he re-laced his gloves at the age of 39, but was badly beaten by world champion Larry Holmes, who stopped him in the 11th round in October 1981.
George Foreman (boxing)
The Olympic champion in 1968 at the age of 19 in Mexico City, Foreman went on to become world champion five years later when he defeated Joe Frazier. The future preacher lost his belt to arch-rival Muhammed Ali one year later in the legendary "Rumble in the Jungle" in the then Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo, but after some 12 years out of the fight game, he stunned the world of boxing when he floored Michael Moorer in 1994 at the age of 45. One of the hardest punchers in boxing, he remains the sport's oldest-ever world champion.
Pele (football)
The brilliant Brazilian quit football in 1974 after a glorious career at Santos and the rare achievement of lifting three World Cups with the South American giants. Six months later, he was coaxed out of retirement by the New York Cosmos and won the now-defunct North American title alongside such fellow greats as Franz Beckenbauer.
Bjorn Borg (tennis)
He stunned the sporting world when he retired at just 25 after hitting the peaks of tennis. He won six French Open titles and five Wimbledown crowns before hanging up his Donnay racquet for the first time. He made a doomed comeback in the early 1990s when he tried the absurd idea of continuing with a wooden racquet. He never won another match in 10 miserable tournaments.
Martina Navratilova (tennis)
The Czech-born American quit the courts in 1994 at the age of 38 after winning 18 individual Grand Slam titles.
She remained out of the game for six years before making a successful return in doubles. Navratilova won three more Grand Slam titles, including the mixed doubles with Leander Paes at the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2003 and with Bob Bryan at the US Open in 2006, just weeks ahead of her 50th birthday.
Martina Hingis (tennis)
Cursed by injuries, the temperamental Swiss Miss was forced into early retirement at just 23 in 2003. Three years later, the former World No 1 came back and played two seasons, winning three singles titless and the Australian Open mixed crown with Indian Mahesh Bhupathi. Her comeback was brought to a premature end when she tested positive for cocaine in 2007 during Wimbledon. - Sapa-AFP
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