Show me a hero & I'll write you a tragedy

October 27, 2012

TIGER WOODS Another poster boy who fell from grace, Woods was professional golf's hottest property having broken a clutch of records and piled up an enviable assortment of Grand Slam wins. He remained the world's top-earning athlete for most of the 2000s until his serial infidelity exploded onto the world stage in 2009. The scandal came to light when he was hospitalised after an altercation with his wife. He later confessed to extramarital affairs with a host of young women. Woods returned to the circuit in April 2010 but has failed to win any majors so far. His 'brand' also hasn't been the same since, mostly because his character somehow seemed to be an important part of the deal for most companies that signed him up for endorsements.

Show me a hero & I'll write you a tragedy

October 27, 2012

Show me a hero & I'll write you a tragedy

October 27, 2012

MOHAMMED AZHARUDDIN The quiet Hyderabadi, better known as Azhar, broke into international cricket in 1985 with three consecutive test debut hundreds and never really looked back until his axing and shaming in 2000 for match-fixing. Widely adored for his wristy strokeplay, Azhar remained an Indian batting mainstay for 15 years and even captained the country with distinction through much of the 90s. His romance with a Bollywood starlet, Sangeeta Bijlani, provided much fodder for the tabloids. But his alleged involvement in the matchfixing scandal in the late 90s provided them with much more. Though he appears to have found some manner of public redemption in the political arena - as a Congress MP - he still remains ostracised by the cricketing fraternity.

Show me a hero & I'll write you a tragedy

October 27, 2012

MARION JONES Athletics' golden girl, the sprightly Californian was the world's most high-profile female sprinter in the late 1990s and for much of the 2000s. She was one of the biggest stars of the 2000 Sydney Olympics and won a record five medals. A star off the field too, she was track and field's glamour girl in the US and elsewhere, and had huge endorsement deals going for her. All of that vanished when she finally admitted to years of performance enhancing drugs abuse in 2007. Jones' medals and records going back to 2000 were taken away, while both her husband and former partner, each a former world champion, were also implicated along with over 20 others in the now infamous 'BALCO' scandal.

Show me a hero & I'll write you a tragedy

October 27, 2012

DOMINIQUE STRAUSS-KAHN One of France's most prominent political stars, 'DSK' was forced to step down from his high-profile stewardship of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) when accused by a New York hotel employee of sexual assault in 2011. Soon, more such skeletons came tumbling out of the closet and DSK, a former French finance minister and opposition leader, was hastily forced to abandon plans for a run at the French presidency that year, which many said he had a good chance of winning. He was jailed in New York but later acquitted;all charges against him were also subsequently dropped when holes were found in his accuser's story. He still remains a major, even if muted, presence in French public life, but is unlikely to ever occupy its political centrestage.

Show me a hero & I'll write you a tragedy

October 27, 2012

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER

American lives don't quite come as fairytale-like as Schwarzenegger's. His bubble finally burst last year when his wife and children separated from him on account of his long-standing infidelity with a former nanny. Schwarzengger came to the US from Austria in 1968 as a penniless 21-year-old aspiring body builder and soon rose to the top in what was then hardly a sport. He became its first global superstar and managed to work his way into Hollywood. He went on to become its biggest superstar in the late 1980s and remained at top for almost a decade. He married a Kennedy (Maria Shriver), dabbled in public life and finally made a startling jump to California's gubernatorial office in 2003. Schwarzenegger retired from the post in 2011 - with a mixed record of political success - and is now struggling to regain some measure of public goodwill. At age 65, he's also stumbling his way to a big screen comeback.

Show me a hero & I'll write you a tragedy

October 27, 2012

HANSIE CRONJE South African cricket's golden child, Cronje's fall, after he tearfully admitted to match-fixing in 2000, was probably the steepest in the history of the sport. Cronje, a fine middle order bat, was earmarked for national captaincy long before he made his international debut and went on to fulfill almost all predictions about his leadership abilities by proving to be a remarkably astute and successful skipper. Such was his standing in South Africa that most believed his denials when first accused by the Delhi Police of fixing matches in 2000. When confronted with undeniable evidence he soon apologised and admitted to acting in concert with betting syndicates, and was instantly banned from the sport later that year. Cronje's sudden death in a 2002 air crash fuelled conspiracy theories worldwide.

Show me a hero & I'll write you a tragedy

October 27, 2012

MIKE TYSON Perhaps the saddest rags-to-riches-to-rags story on the list, Tyson was professional boxing's 'meanest', 'baddest' and youngest ever champion who achieved remarkable success before he turned 21. His brute strength and lightning fast reflexes helped him power through the boxing world in the late 1980s and led to him picking up every major belt up for grabs in the ring. Tapped for greater glory, he lost his titles in a surprise turn of events in 1990 and appeared all set to regain them in 1992 when a beauty pageant winner dramatically accused him of rape and assault. Tyson, who rose from a life of poverty to superstardom, was convicted and jailed for three years. A few failed comebacks later, Tyson appears to have settled down to a life of being a minor celebrity in the US, and until Lance Armstrong's shaming, probably the country's most tragic sporting figure.

Show me a hero & I'll write you a tragedy

October 27, 2012

BEN JOHNSON Johnson was a track and field legend in the mid 1980s, who blazed his way through every major sprint event like a bat out of hell, smashing records and grabbing medals, much like Usain Bolt today. The Jamaican-born Canadian went into the 1988 Olympics as the event's biggest star and won the 100 metres in style, but was soon dragged to sports hell when found guilty of steroid abuse and stripped of all his medals. It was sport's biggest drugs scam. He returned to running in 1991 and was again found guilty of doping in 1993. Banned for life and dubbed a "national disgrace" by Canadian politicians he lives on in ignominy in his adopted country.