The Greatest Comeback: Stuart Pearce’s penalty or Lasse Viren at the Olympics?

But the fairy tale wasn’t to be as they ultimately lost the shootout. It was Gareth Southgate who missed the deciding kick this time, but the defender more than made up for it by guiding England to their first semi-final since 1996 as manager at the 2018 World Cup.

Lasse Viren at the 1972 Olympics

Just under a quarter of a century earlier, Lasse Viren was making headlines at the Munich Olympics.

The Fin’s name may not be as recognisable as his opponent to British fans, but his achievement speaks for itself.

Viren enjoyed a successful summer in Munich, becoming just the fourth person in history to win gold in both the 5,000m and 10,000m.

But it was the longer race that came first and was the one that caused him the most trouble.

Viren started the race strongly, staying within the leading pack, but a tumble during the 12th lap put his medal chances in jeopardy.

Following a tangle of legs with fellow athlete Emiel Puttemans, Viren fell to the ground and also caused Mohamed Gammoudi to trip.

But his winning mentality was evident as he picked himself up and made it his mission to get back in contention.

Viren lost around 20 metres on the leaders following his fall but less than 150 metres later, he was back in among the front pack. Then, with just one-and-a-half laps remaining, he embarked on an extraordinary bolt to the end, with Puttemans the only competitor with enough left in the tank to keep up.

Despite the chase, Viren held on to win in 27:38:40, a time which is still the record at the Olympiastadion.

And to prove it wasn’t a fluke, the gold medallist raced home to win the 5,000m a week later.

Cast your vote

So there you have it. Our next two contenders for the Greatest Comeback. But who’s was more impressive? Let us know in our poll on Twitter.

Today's #TheGreatestComeback in Sport head-to-head clash is:

⚽️ Stuart Pearce's penalty redemption versus Spain at Euro96

v

🏃Lasse Viren's Olympics victory after falling in the 10,000m

— Coral (@Coral) June 4, 2020

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