Never count them out

The Greatest Comebacks in Sport

Some comebacks happen in six minutes. Others take years of rehab and doubt. This timeline collects the comebacks that every sports fan should know, with links to our full stories.

What they share is simple: someone refused to accept the scoreboard, the doctors or the odds.

Steven Gerrard celebrating in a Liverpool shirt

Steven Gerrard: Ruaraidh Gillies, CC BY-SA 2.0

Comebacks through the years

1950
Ben Hogan wins at Merion
Sixteen months after a head-on crash with a bus, Hogan walks 36 holes in a day and wins the U.S. Open in a playoff.
1960
Wilma Rudolph's three golds
The girl who wore a leg brace after polio wins the 100 m, 200 m and relay at the Rome Olympics.
1976
Niki Lauda returns
Six weeks after his fiery crash at the Nurburgring, Lauda finishes fourth at Monza.
1990
Greg LeMond's eight seconds
After a hunting accident nearly killed him in 1987, LeMond wins the 1989 Tour de France by eight seconds and wins again in 1990.
2004
Red Sox erase 3-0
Boston becomes the first MLB team to win a series after losing the first three games, then wins the World Series.
2005
The Miracle of Istanbul
Liverpool trail AC Milan 3-0 at half-time, score three in six minutes and win the Champions League on penalties.
2016
Leicester's 5000-1 title
A year after nearly being relegated, Leicester City win the Premier League by ten points.
2016
Cleveland's 3-1 comeback
The Cavaliers become the first team to overturn a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals, beating the 73-win Warriors.
2017
28-3
The Patriots score 31 straight points to beat Atlanta in the first overtime Super Bowl.
2019
Tiger's Masters
After back surgeries and years out of contention, Tiger Woods wins his fifth green jacket and 15th major.
2024
Simone Biles in Paris
Three years after the twisties in Tokyo, Biles wins team, all-around and vault gold.

What great comebacks have in common

Look closely and the same ingredients keep appearing. A clear first step, like Hogan walking laps around his bedroom. A change of plan, like Rafael Benitez switching tactics at half-time. And people who keep believing, like the Liverpool fans singing at 3-0 down.

Most of all, comebacks are built on the decision to keep playing the next point, the next inning or the next day. That is something any athlete, at any level, can practise.

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