Friday the 13th: Five athletes who turned unlucky moments into Olympic gold

Friday the 13th has often been associated with bad luck. The superstition dates back to the 19th century but has more recently made its way into popular culture via movies such as the popular American horror franchise of the same name. 

With sport being as unpredictable as it is, there are inevitably times when moments of misfortune can - and do - occur. But some of the most unforgettable golds in Olympic history were won when athletes turned adversity on its head and walked away as Olympic champions. 

Here are five times when athletes transformed bad luck into sensational victories at the Games.

1 - Steve Bradbury creates an all-time great Olympic thriller

There’s a reason short track speed skating is considered one of the most thrilling disciplines at the Olympic Winter Games. Hustles and bustles on the ice make it hard to stay on your feet as tightly-grouped competitors jostle for position while they circle the rink. 

When Australia’s Steve Bradbury lined up in the final of the 1000m at the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City, he had already taken advantage of the misfortune of other athletes to get to the starting line, with their slips and penalties all playing a part in his charge to the gold medal race. 

But the best was well and truly left to come. 

When the final began, Bradbury held back in last position, keeping a safe distance from the other four skaters who looked to have the medals wrapped up. But on the very last corner of the race two of the leading skaters bumped into each other causing all four of the front runners to fall. 

It left Bradbury as the last man standing as he crossed the line for an unforgettable gold.

2 - Greg Louganis’ bad luck on the board ends with glorious gold

Greg Louganis’ start to the 3m springboard diving competition at Seoul 1988 couldn’t have gone any worse. 

In the preliminary rounds, the diving dynamo’s head hit the board leaving him needing a total of 25 stitches. 

However, not willing to let that moment of misfortune stop him from chasing his dreams, the American bravely continued to compete, ultimately winning the competition by a record 25 points. 

And if that wasn’t enough, he also won the 10m platform gold to become the first man in history to sweep the individual diving events.

3 - Lindsey Jacobellis’ gold medal redemption after 16 years

At the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin, a young Lindsey Jacobellis was speeding to victory in the final of the snowboard cross competition, seconds ahead of her nearest rivals. 

However, in a moment that almost defined her career for all the wrong reasons, she attempted a celebratory grab with the finish line within sight and fell to the floor after missing the landing. The 19-year-old could only watch on helplessly as Switzerland's Tanja Frieden stormed past her to take a gold medal that could so easily have been hers. 

But 16 years later and at age 36, Jacobellis’ moment of redemption arrived. 

In a thrilling finale to the snowboard cross competition at Beijing 2022, the American passed the line first to become the oldest snowboard gold medallist in the history of the Games in her fifth Olympic outing. 

“I guess fives times is the charm,” she said of her historic comeback from that heartbreaking moment of misfortune so many years earlier.

4 - Kerri Strug shrugs off injury to claim an unforgettable gold

When Kerri Strug took her place on her country's artistic gymnastics team at Atlanta 1996, the USA had never won an Olympic gold medal in the team competition.

All that looked set to change as they roared into the lead by 0.897 points with only one competition left for them to participate in: the vault.

However, when 14-year-old Dominique Moceanu stepped up for Team USA she fell on both of her vaults, leaving all of the USA’s gold medal prospects on the shoulders of Strug.

With her first vault, disaster struck. As she attempted to land her ankle gave way and she winced in crippling pain.

“Do we need this?” she asked as she contemplated the terrifying thought of having to vault again to secure her nation the gold medal. Unfortunately - or fortunately - for her, she did.

In a moment that has become one of the most memorable in the history of the Games, Strug stepped up to the mat for one last vault, flying through the air before sticking the landing and securing team gold for her country.

5 - Shaunae Miller-Uibo falls over the finish line to become Olympic champion

The vast majority of the time a fall in an Olympic final would spell the end of an athlete's medal dreams. Not so for Bahamian Shaunae Miller-Uibo whose last-gasp trip at the finish line of the women’s 400m race ended with Olympic gold. 

With 40 metres of the race left to run, Miller-Uibo began to feel intense pain in her legs, and as she stormed towards the line she felt herself losing her balance and feared the very worst. 

“I just thought to myself, 'please don’t fall'”, the athlete told World Athletics looking back on the race. 

“Moments later, I fell. I didn’t know whether I had won the race. Everything was like a blur. I suffered some cuts and bruises on the knee, hips and thigh but because of the adrenaline I was unconcerned.”

After what seemed like an eternity for the athlete, the results showed up on the big screen with her name in first place, and a triumphant Miller-Uibo could finally celebrate her Olympic triumph. 

“Even today I feel very emotional about it,” the now double Olympic champion explained. “From the age of nine or ten I fell in love with track and field and wanted to be an Olympic champion. To achieve that goal I had worked so hard for was like a dream come true.“