Source: Daily_Mail
THE LIST: Sportsmail's top 50 unlikely sporting heroes, Nos 30-21
HAVE YOUR SAY... Who is the unlikeliest sporting hero of all time? Whether it is relatively unknown boxer James 'Buster' Douglas flooring Mike Tyson to become undisputed world heavyweight champion, or goalkeeper Jimmy Glass scoring a last gasp goal against Plymouth Argyle to keep Carlisle from dropping into non-league football - we all love a fairytale. TELL US WHAT YOU THINK We love an unlikely sporting hero. [LNB]There's nothing like a shock sporting story to set the pulses racing and tongues wagging.[LNB]More often than not those who are fancied to grab the back-page headlines come up with the goods. [LNB]But there is the odd occasion when someone comes from nowhere to steal the hearts of the sporting world.[LNB]With the Winter Olympics comes memories of Eddie the Eagle - Britain's very own ski jump star. Despite being pretty poor at his chosen event, he won our hearts. [LNB]So, whether it is relatively unknown boxer James 'Buster' Douglas flooring Mike Tyson to become undisputed world heavyweight champion, or goalkeeper Jimmy Glass scoring a last gasp goal against Plymouth Argyle to keep Carlisle from dropping into non-league football - we all love a fairytale.[LNB]And Sportsmail's panel of experts have put their heads together once again to come up with the top 50 unlikely sporting heroes. [LNB]Read Nos 50-41Read Nos 40-31 Against all odds: Iraq sprinter Alaa Hikmat[LNB]30. Ala'a Hikmat A real triumph over adversity, Ala'a Hikmat trained as a sprinter in her native Iraq by jogging around a rubbish-strewn dirt track during her practice at the al-Kishafa Stadium, where her 'starting blocks' were small holes dug into the ground. [LNB]She lived in a house with a corrugated iron roof with limited water supply and spent much of her youth dodging bullets and bombs. [LNB]Yet she still managed to become Iraq's only female competitor at the Athens Olympics where she finished eighth and last in her 100m heat but to focus on the statistic would be be missing the point. [LNB] The hope she offered a generation of young athletes, not just female can not be quantified in hundredths of a second. [LNB]29. Paolo Di Canio Talk about a turnaround, Di Canio went from public enemy number one after pushing over referee Paul Alcock - to winning an award for fair play just a few years later.[LNB] The hot-headed Italian was banned for 11 matches and received a £10,000 fine after his clash with Alcock but Di Canio found redemption after his move to West Ham.[LNB] In 2001 Di Canio was awarded the FIFA Fair Play Award after a great act of sportsmanship during a game with Everton. Toffees keeper Paul Gerrard was lying injured on the floor when the Italian caught the ball and stopped play, rather than playing on with the goal at his mercy.[LNB] Zero: Di Canio pushes referee Alcock[LNB]Hero: Di Canio's catch at Everton[LNB] 28. Donald Thompson Thompson was Britain's only athletics gold medallist at the 1960 Olympic Games, where he won the 50k walk and broke the world record in the process. Nothing odd in that, you may be thinking - and you'd be right.[LNB] But it was the way he trained for his discipline that makes him stand out. In preparation for the Rome Games, nightly at his home, he'd carry heaters and buckets of boiling water into the bathroom, seal up the door and window, stoke up a temperature approaching 100F and then start his training exercises.[LNB] And it worked - he walked away with the gold medal (see what I did there) in 87F heat in Rome after beating the Swede John Ljunggren by 17 seconds. [LNB] No sweat: Donald Thompson holds up his gold medal on his return to Heathrow[LNB]27. Bob Wilkinson Nope, no relation to drop-goal hero and World Cup winner Johnny, but a hero in his own right. [LNB]Could you imagine playing for the Barbarians while still studying at University? Wilkinson could and he did in 1973 in the game which featured that try, scored by Gareth Edwards. [LNB]He never quite enjoyed an illustrious career with England for whom he won six caps but after leaving Cambridge he went on to run a banana importing firm and is now semi-retired. [LNB] University challenge: Bob Wilkinson played for the Baa-Baas while at Cambridge[LNB]26. Buster Douglas Mike Tyson once declared he was the 'baddest man on the planet' - well, he was called 'Iron Mike.' [LNB]But in Tokyo in 1990, James 'Buster Douglas, a 42-1 outsider, gave the world real drama and excitement after he knocked out Tyson in the 10th round of a fight which has come to be regarded as the biggest upset in the history of boxing. [LNB]Douglas's career failed to ever hit the heights after this fight, he ballooned to 23st after a prolonged period out of the sport and Tyson was never quite the same again, either.[LNB] Busted flush: Mike Tyson lies on the canvas after being floored by Buster Douglas[LNB] [LNB]25. William 'Fatty' Foulkes You only need to look at his picture (right) to see why this not-so-spritely goalkeeper cuts it as an unlikely hero. And it puts an end to the perennial question, who ate all the pies? [LNB]It was this man, William 'Fatty' Foulkes, the Bradford and Sheffield United keeper. A 6ft 4in beast who weighed in at 24 stone, one of the least athletic looking people you are ever likely to lay your eyes on even played for England in 1897.[LNB] We're not convinced Fabio Capello would give him a chance. [LNB]24. Karl Power Serial prankster, hoaxer, call him what you will, but Power is a face you may have seen many times, in places he should never have been.[LNB]Joining the Manchester United team photo before the Champions League quarter-final match against Bayern Munich in 2001 and hopping over the hoardings at Wimbledon to play a quick game of tennis were just two of his exploits.[LNB]He also managed to walk out at Headingley fully-garbed as a batsman; and celebrated on the winner's podium at Silverstone before winner Michael Schumacher got there. [LNB]Maybe not everyone's cup of tea, but you have to admire his nerve. [LNB] Original prankster: Karl Power on court at Wimbledon[LNB]23. Tony David The Australian darts player was diagnosed with haemophilia in early childhood, and due to his condition, even to this day he still cannot straighten his throwing arm. [LNB]But he overcame that through regular medication, practice and determination to become the World Champion in 2002, nine years after taking up the sport. [LNB] Champion: David won the world darts championship despite having haemophilia[LNB]22. Eamonn Darcy If you're looking for a hero in the 1987 Ryder Cup team, you have plenty of names to choose from: Ian Woosnam, Seve Ballesteros, Jose Maria Olazabal, Sandy Lyle and Nick Faldo. [LNB]But we're not going for one of them. It was little-known Irishman Darcy's big moment, 23 years ago at Muirfield Village at the final hole on the last day. [LNB]Playing Ben Crenshaw, Darcy (right) sank an 8-footer down the hill to help win the Cup and seal Tony Jacklin's European side a first cup on US soil. [LNB]21. Dwayne Leverock A monster of man, I'm not quite sure what to admire most - the fact that he played international cricket or that his weight hadn't caused him serious health issues. [LNB]The 20st Bermudan spinner got Kevin Pietersen out at 2007 World Cup and took a brilliant diving catch to dismiss Ronin Uthappa of India before dancing with joy. [LNB]In even more remarkable news, Leverock once claimed a silver medal in the 110m hurdles at the Junior Caribbean Games as well as playing football at Hull City with Bermudian team Zebras. Is there anything this man cannot do? [LNB] All-round sportsman: Dwayne Leverock dives to catch Robin Uthappa[LNB] [LNB][LNB] [LNB][LNB] [LNB]The best of the rest of The ListSportsmail's top 50 golden oldies in British footballSportsmail's top 50 Premier League players of the decadeSportsmail's top 50 last-gasp goals in British footballSportsmail's top 50 footballers never to play at the World CupSportsmail's top 50 sporting feuds of all timeSportsmail's 50 great sports photographsSportsmail's top 50 commentators of all timeSportsmail's top 50 sporting venuesSportsmail's top 50 performers of the season so farSportsmail's top 50 all-time managers in BritainSportsmail's top 50 goal poachersSportsmail's top 50 footballing traitorsSportsmail's top 50 FA Cup heroesSportsmail's greatest Wembley finals in historySportsmail's top 50 biggest hitters in cricketSportsmail's top 50 British & Irish LionsSportsmail's top 50 Ashes heroes
