When betting on sports most smart enthusiasts look at recent history as a guide. History is a good approach, given that when it comes to sports the past is a fairly accurate reflection of what is to come. At least, it is fairly accurate most of the time. Sometimes such crazy things happen as to truly defy expectations. Events so bizarre, so unexpected and so strange that no one is sure how to react.
These are the craziest moments in sporting history that would have caught any Australian Open betting professional completely off guard.
Jens Voigt – 2011
Jens Voigt is a sort of sporting world anomaly. The man has done some strikingly peculiar things in his life, including some that we’ll discuss right now. In 2011 the cyclist, mid-race, threw his water bottle to a boy as a souvenir, probably intending on making the child’s day. But, lo and behold, the water bottle was instead snatched up by a nearby adult. Voigt slammed on his breaks, turned around, and verbally attacked the adult. The confrontation cost him minutes of time during a professional race, a decision that is nothing if not absurd.
It’s not the craziest thing Voigt has done. In another incident his pro grade bike broke down during a race. Instead of taking the loss and heading home the plucky man decided to loan a child’s bike, but pedal to the metal, and head for the finish line at a snail’s pace. Spoiler; he didn’t do particularly well, though did give the bike back to the child.
Kurt Angle – 1996
After freestyle wrestler Kurt Angle literally broke his neck in 1996, most sensible bettors would have written him out of the Olympics. But writing him off would have been a very big mistake.
Yes, this is the well-known Kurt Angle that eventually landed up in the WWE. He once won an Olympic gold medal with a broken neck. No, not a broken neck he wasn’t aware of, a broken neck he knew about. Doctors warned him that wrestling with fractured vertebrae could have easily resulted in him being paralysed. He did it anyway.
Dwayne Leverock – 2007
Anyone betting against Bermuda in the Cricket World Cup in 2007 was in for a surprise. In 2007 Bermuda were not favoured to win, or even to do particularly well. But the world sat up and took notice when Dwayne Leverock shut the mouth of every naysayer in the world. The large, portly man pulled off a Superman catch that truly defied expectations. Why was it so shocking? Because Leverock does not have the body of a professional athlete. In fact, the cricketer’s day job is driving a prison transportation van.
South Africa – 1995
When South Africa won the Rugby World Cup in 1995 it was at an important time the country’s history. Many say the victory managed to bring a fractured nation together, exactly at a time when it was most needed. Interestingly, not only did South Africa play in the tournament for the first time in 1995, it also hosted the event.