Athletes are a unique breed. They're driven by a desire to succeed and be the best. That's even more true of solo athletes, who compete in individual sports. Every athlete who turns up at the track on a race day wants to win. It's what they've trained for, and it's what they dream of every night. That makes this picture all the more remarkable.
The runner providing a shoulder to lean on here is Meghan Vogel, who was in last place in this 3,200m event when she came across Arden McMath, who had been running farther up the field before injury stopped her in her tracks. Instead of running past her, as others had done, Vogel helped her up, put an arm around her and carried her along for the remainder of the race. If that wasn't enough as a sporting gesture, she pushed McMath over the line ahead of herself, ensuring that she would finish in last place.
To insure one’s house, one’s car or to underwrite a life insurance policy, that is common practice. But who would pay an insurance premium for his/her thumb, legs or smile? Stars, of course.
At the top of the ranking are the legs of Mariah Carey, worth 810 million USD: The diva became, in 2006, the Gillette brand muse for the advertising campaign «Legs of a Goddess». She then took out an insurance policy with London Lloyds to protect her legs, a decision that is far from being insignificant. Among its customers, the London insurer then included several icons of music, such as Bob Dylan or Rod Stewart.
David Beckham’s body insured for 195 million USD: European champion with Manchester United in 1999, David Beckham was in 2006 the most renowned footballer of the planet. In relation to his sporting activities, he took out an insurance cover for his legs. The huge amount paid for his insurance would reportedly exceed the 103 million USD disbursed by Real Madrid for the cover of Christiano Ronaldo in 2009. The fashion model would later extend his insurance cover to his entire body.
15 million USD in insurance for Kim Kardashian’s curves: The curves of Kim Kardashian are her number one beauty asset. The reality TV star, who is crazy about plastic surgery, has underwritten an insurance policy worth 15 million USD to protect her famous butt.
The culinary critic Egon Ronay assured his taste buds: The famous Hungarian culinary critic has insured his taste buds since 1957, for the amount of 400 000 USD. An original insurance policy which allows him to cover his sense of taste without which he will no longer be able to practice his job.