A League of Their Own - The Book of Sporting Trivia: 100% Official. Литагент HarperCollins USD

      TED WALSH, HORSE-RACING COMMENTATOR

SUPERPOWER

      Many fans believe their sports stars have superpowers, such are the mesmeric skills they produce under huge pressure. But if they could, what superpower would they possess?

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      GARETH BALE

      The Welsh flyer has claimed his superpower would be flying. Cue no end of aerodynamic jokes thanks to a 2012 operation to have his ears pinned back when he was playing at Spurs.

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      WAYNE ROONEY

      England rock Rooney, meanwhile, has revealed that he would like to see into the future. It’s not a massive leap to predict that there will probably be more goals and less hair, Wayne.

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      CHRISTINE OHURUOGU

      The former Olympic and world 400m champion wants to have the power of invisibility. She claimed, ‘Being invisible would be fun.’ She is rarely seen between major championships already.

ALTERNATIVE CAREER

      Not many sports stars look back and wish they could have done something different. But, if they could, what kind of profession would they have chosen?

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      KEVIN PIETERSEN

      The former England batsman revealed in a Twitter Q&A that he would have been a pilot.

      WAYNE ROONEY

      The United striker told the Sun, ‘I always enjoyed RE, so I might have been a priest.’

      JERMAIN DEFOE

      The former Spurs, Portsmouth and England striker revealed, ‘I think I’d have done something constructive because my mum, Sandra, was strict with me. I used to dance when I was young, street dancing. I’ve been on a float at Notting Hill Carnival!’

      ‘They’re the second-best team in the world, and there’s no higher praise than that.’

      Kevin Keegan

NICOLA ADAMS

      BORN: 26 October 1982, Leeds, England

      CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Olympic gold, Commonwealth gold and three World silvers

      1) Adams has blazed a trail for women’s boxing in England since the age of 13. It took four years for her to find her second opponent, but when she did get regular quality opposition she wasted no time in lighting up the ring, including the English amateur title in 2003.

      2) Silver at the 2007 European Amateurs represented the first time an English woman had medalled in a major tournament. She went one better at the London 2012 Olympics by becoming the first woman in history to claim a boxing gold medal with flyweight success.

      3) Nicola tripped on the stairs in 2009 and was left in a brace for most of the following three months. Her 2012 Olympic dream was left in the balance, but she recovered full mobility and won funding to launch herself on the road to her famous gold in London.

      4) Adams travelled to Brazil with David Cameron on a trade mission and visited the favelas where the British-run project Fight for Peace provides a haven for street kids. Sadly the prime minister didn’t go 12 rounds in the ring as journalists queued in hope around the block.

      DID YOU KNOW: Adams joined fellow Olympic medallists Dani King, Laura Trott, Beth Tweddle and Gemma Gibbons for a photoshoot where they dressed up as the Spice Girls. They should have given the singing a crack as it wouldn’t be much worse than the original group.

      Here is Nicola Adams on a visit to Upton Park …

      ... that’s the only medal West Ham fans are likely to see

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BEST EVER CRICKETERS’ NICKNAMES

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HOW TO BE A BRITISH TENNIS FAN

      Not long ago, you could trundle into Wimbledon midway through the day and watch top tennis for the price of a cheap night out. These days, you need to queue for days and mortgage your house for an outside court. What makes a British tennis fan now? Find out below:

      Only ever watch Wimbledon – and that’s just for the 15 minutes it takes for every Brit except Murray to get knocked out.

      Refer to all the top players by their first names even though they’d give you a powerful backhand into the face if you got near them.

      Be one of the only people in Britain who sees a man wearing a tracksuit in a court and isn’t reminded of their dad.

      Realise that despite the fact you’ve only watched it on telly you’re now Britain’s number six.

      Laugh so hard a bit of wee comes out because a pigeon lands on the court.

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      ‘We must have had 99 per cent of the game. It was the other 3 per cent that cost us the match.’

      Ruud Gullit explaining a defeat

HOW TO BE A PROFESSIONAL GOLFER

      Check out our hit list of fairway essentials to look the part in plus fours:

      Consider yourself an athlete although you play an estate agent’s hobby for a living.

      Dress like a cross between the Dorothy Perkins window display and a rodeo clown’s nightmare looked at through a kaleidoscope.

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      During a 20-year career play like the world’s greatest for the three days the Ryder Cup’s on, then go back to being total dog crap the rest of the time.

      Realise your main handicap is talking to members of the opposite sex.