The Kings of the Comeback - We take a look at the greatest comebacks in sporting history.

This week in San Francisco saw the final race in the America’s Cup sailing event. The comeback by Oracle Team USA, featuring Brit Ben Ainslie, is rightly now considered one of the most remarkable comebacks in sporting history. Having been docked two points before the cup had even started, before falling 8-1 behind, an unbelievable run saw them draw into contention before clinching the cup in a dramatic winner takes all final race.

Is this the greatest comeback of all time? Here are some other contenders from over the years to reminisce over:

Dennis Taylor 


The bespeckled and quirky Taylor staged one of the greatest comebacks in snooker history. In the 1985 Crucible final, legend Steve Davis was at the top of his game and by the second session Taylor trailed 8-0. The comeback that ensued was truly epic, forcing it back to 17-17 frames each, Taylor took the nerve-tingly final frame. The famous finger-wag will go down as one of the most iconic celebrations in sport.

2012 Ryder Cup 

Known as the ‘Miracle of Medinah’ the European teams comeback against the Americans in Chicago, as they trailed 10-4 going into Sunday’s singles, was truly a miraculous performance. Jose Maria Olazabal’s men hushed the partisan team USA crowd and orchestrated an amazing recovery, Martin Kaymer sank the putt that saw the Cup gloriously returning to Europe.

Allez les Bleus 

The 1999 Rugby World Cup Semi-Final between France and New Zealand is often cited as the greatest game in its history. A rampant Jonah Lomu put the All Blacks into a dominant 24-10 lead and they looked set to play the game out to reach the final. However, France came back to defy all the odds and the favourites went spiralling out. In particular an exceptional performance from Christophe Lamaison, recording a 28-point haul, led Les Bleus to a 43-31 victory.


Botham's Ashes - Headingley 

England may have had an unprecedented run of Ashes success in recent years, but back in the 80’s it was another period of Australian dominance. In the 1981 Headingly test Australia were on the verge of going 2-0 up within four days. Then Ian Botham stepped up to bat, not leaving the crease until he had recorded a defiant innings of 149. England followed-on, forcing the the Aussies to bat again. Bob Willis then recorded sensational figures of 8-43 and England became the second ever test team to win after following-on. The confidence and glory gained from this victory led England to a 3-1 series victory.


Faldo the Masters Master

This could easily be labelled an amazing choke, but regardless the 1996 Masters saw a scintillating Faldo come back from six shots down to beat Greg Norman. As Norman crumbled in the final round, Faldo’s 67 saw the Englishman win by five shots and claim his third Masters title.







So, what is your favourite sporting comeback of all time?