Defied the critics
But still being an All Blacks bench warmer isn’t such a bad thing. However, in the All Blacks’ test against the Wallabies in Hong Kong in 2010, Donald had a shocker. With the All Blacks up by five points late in the game Donald missed a penalty which would have secured the win. Then in the final moments he failed to kick the ball out and James O’Connor ended up scoring a try, then kicking the winning conversion. The All Blacks coaches weren’t happy and for 2011 Donald fell behind Colin Slade and Aaron Cruden in the pecking order. But after injuries to Carter, Slade and Cruden came ‘that’ kick in the World Cup final and Donald will forever more be known as a national hero.
Jennifer Capriati – Tennis. Age retired: 29. Making it into the top 10 at the age of 14, Jennifer Capriati was the epitome of a teen tennis star. She reached the semifinals of Wimbledon and the US Open the following year and a gold medal at the Olympics in 1992 as a 16-year-old. But the hype and pressure all became too much for her and she took a break from the sport in 1994 and 1995. She struggled when she decided to return and spent a large part of her time ranked outside the top 100. But she kept plugging away and as she matured as a person, her tennis improved. In 2001 she won the Australian and French Opens and made it to No 1 in the world. The following year she retained her title in Melbourne and showed that she was able to live up to the potential she showed all those years ago.
George Foreman – Boxing. Age retired: 48. George Foreman won a gold medal at the 1968 Mexico Olympics and eventually hung up the gloves for the final time in 1997. He was undefeated when he lost to Muhammad Ali in the Rumble in the Jungle and, unable to get a rematch, he retired in
1977. Foreman went off to become a baptist preacher and launch a grilling machine, but then in 1987 decided to make a comeback, for which he was roundly mocked. However, Foreman had the last laugh by defeating Michael Moorer to become the WBA and IBF heavyweight champion.