Jack Youngblood and the 5 Most Couragous Finishes in Sport

Sometimes, athletes can make finishing a race or a game look all too easy. Think of Usain Bolt cantering across the finish line or Roger Federer without a bead of sweat on his forehead after blowing someone out in no time at all.

However sometimes guts and grit are needed. Sometimes just making it to the finish line can be all the achievement needed. Sometimes after what should be a crippling injury, an athlete will pull out a performance of the highest courage.

Here are my top five most courageous finishes in sport.

5. Stone Cold Steve Austin Finishes Match with Owen Hart with a Broken Neck

Before you start, yes i know wrestling technically isn't a sport, but that doesn't make the efforts of Stone Cold Steve Austin any less impressive.

In 1997 Austin faced off against Owen Hart in a match for the Intercontinental Championship. As the match came to a close, Austin's neck was broken after a piledriver from Hart went wrong.

Instead of waiting to be helped out of the ring by paramedics, Austin decided that the show must go on and gave the fans what they paid for.

Austin went on to win the match with a roll up, winning the title and leaving the ring of his own free will.

4. Johnny Hoogerland Finishes Stage 9 After Being Knocked into Barbed Wire

Stage 9 of this year's Tour de France saw rider Johnny Hoogerland's tour ruining by an act of stupidity by a TV car. The car swerved to avoid an upcoming tree straight into the breakaway of five riders.

Three of the riders managed to avoid being hit by the car, but Johnny Hoogerland and Juan Antonio Flecha were not so lucky.

Flecha took a nasty fall on the French asphalt, but it was Hoogerland who ended up the worst. The Dutch rider got 33 stitches after crashing into a barbed wire fence at the side of the road.

Nonetheless, Hoogerland refused to be beaten and dusted himself off before riding the rest of the stage through great pain. Finishing over 15 minutes after the winner, Hoogerland crossed the line nearly in tears.

3. Derek Redmond Finishes 400m with Dad After Tearing Hamstring

Derek Redmond came into the 1992 Olympics with the hope that his injury hell was behind him. In the previous four years, Redmond had endured eight operations on his Achilles tendons.

After getting a promising jump out of the blocks, Redmond attacked the first bend. However, it would be short lived as Redmond would pull up only seconds into the race.

Redmond was devastated, “Everything I had worked for was finished. I hated everybody. I hated the world. I hated hamstrings. I hated it all. I felt so bitter that I was injured again. I told myself I had to finish. I kept hopping round. Then, with 100 metres to go, I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was my old man.”

Redmond refused to be stretchered off of the track and hobbled his way around the rest of the track. With the crowd on their feet cheering him on, Redmond received some unexpected help.

Jim Redmond, Derek's dad, had fought his way through security and helped his son complete the rest of the course.

This remains one of the truly heart-warming moments in sport.

2. Jack Youngblood Plays in Playoffs with a Fractured Fibula

In the first half, Jack Youngblood was tackled hard by two Cowboys, resulting in a fractured left fibula just above the ankle.

Down but not disheartened, Youngblood simply told the trainer to tape up the injured leg at halftime.

Coming out in the second half, Youngblood's performance didn't appear to be hindered by the leg.

With an injury that would see most of us stuck on the sofa for weeks, he managed to sack Dallas quarterback Roger Staubach on the way to a victory.

Youngblood played again in the following week's NFC title game against Tampa Bay, his leg strapped up in a brace. The Rams would go on to win the game before losing in Super Bowl XIV to Pittsburgh.

If this wasn't enough, Youngblood refused to rest, playing in the Pro Bowl as well.

1. Shun Fujimoto Dismounts onto a Broken Kneecap to Win Olympic Gold

When Shun Fujimoto broke his kneecap during his floor routine of the 1976 Olympics, he knew that his withdrawal would mean Japan had no chance for a team gold medal, so he told no one of his injury.

Fujimoto completed the pommel horse (where there wouldn't be too much stress on the knee), performing an outstanding routine and being rewarded with a score of 9.5 out of 10.

Going into the final event, the rings, Fujimoto looked terrible, sweating profusely and clearly in a great deal of pain. Competing in a leg brace, he decided to fight through the pain.

He had to be assisted by his coach to grab the rings.

Fujimoto proceeded to perform an almost perfect routine with hardly any errors. Everything now rested on his dismount. From eight feet in the air, his hands left the rings. He somersaulted through the air and somehow managed to stick his landing, fighting through what must have been excruciating pain but not moving.

The landing caused the broken kneecap to become dislocated and he tore the ligaments in his leg.

His grit was rewarded with a score of 9.7, Fujimoto's personal best on the rings. The score meant that Japan beat Russia in the closest team win in Olympic gymnastic history, winning with 576.85 points to Russia's 576.45.

Asked years later whether he would do it again, Fujimoto replied with an emphatic: "No, I would not"