Motor racing history is full of stories like this. Nigel Mansell did his F1 test for Lotus whilst suffering from a broken neck. And was it Mansell who did his first GP sitting in a bath of petrol due to a fuel leak? Lauda came back to race only a few weeks after being given the Last Rites after his accident at the 'Ring despite massive burns and internal injuries. After his 1969 crash at Watkins Glen, Graham Hill raced in F1 despite being barely able to walk and having to be helped into and out of the car - and he finished 6th at Monaco like that.
These are all tough cookies. Even nowadays!
Time for a Hockey story (Sorry, I'm Canadian )
In 1964 Bobby Baun broke his leg early in a playoff game. He returned later that same game, and scored the winning goal in Overtime.
Across all sports there are amazing stories like this, and IMO it's called "For the Love of the Game", and it's the reason all of these guys are so successful at what they do. And so many of these stories are from back when athletes were making peanuts compared to today. Heck, hockey players had to work a summer job to make ends meet. I have total respect and admiration for all these guys.
Edited by Winter98, 24 September 2013 - 01:02.