Happy Birthday: Javier Sotomayor, Jerry Rice, Antonio Di Natale

Sport360 staff 12:23 13/10/2015
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • [L-R] Antonio Di Natale, Javier Sotomayor, Jerry Rice.

    Along with Sergei Bubka, the Cuban – who turns 48 today – was the most high-profile and dominant field athlete of the 1990s.

    With his trademark knee length white socks, Sotomayor lept to the three highest jumps in history of 2.43m, 2.44m and 2.45m, the latter achieved in 1993 and still a world record more than 20 years on.

    However, for all his brilliance throughout his 15-year career he never managed to truly deliver at Olympic Games, his haul reading a modest one gold from Barcelona 1992, having missed out in 1988 due to Cuba’s boycott and 1996 because of injury.

    He did win a silver at Sydney in 2000 at the age of 32 but his best days were behind him and he retired a year later. His final few years in the sport, however, were plagued by drugs scandals, a positive test for nandrolone in 2001 hastening his departure from competition.

    1961: Doc Rivers, LA Clippers head coach who led Boston Celtics to the NBA Championship in 2008 (54).

    1963: Jerry Rice, ex-San Francisco 49ers wide receiver who won three Super Bowls and is NFL’s all-time TD leader (52).

    1977: Antonio Di Natale, Udinese and Italy striker who is the sixth-highest goalscorer in Serie A history (38).

    1982: Ian Thorpe, Australian swimmer who won five Olympic golds in 2000 and 2004, a national record (33).

    Recommended