Incredible sacrifices made by religious athletes who refuse to compromise on their faith
Amir Khan:
The British boxer missed out on a big-money fight against Floyd Mayweather in 2014 because he is a Muslim and was observing Ramadan. Khan fasts for 17 hours for 30 consecutive days every year during the holy month and promoters claimed he would not have been able to do a proper training camp during July and then be ready to take on Mayweather in September.
Michael Jones:
The New Zealand rugby union player, a Christian, refused to play on Sundays due to his religious beliefs. It meant he missed three games during the 1991 World Cup and was then left out of the 1995 tournament when it became clear he would not be available for both the quarter-final and semi-final.
Johnathan Edwards:
The British triple jumper refused to compete on Sundays as a Christian and subsequently did not go for medals at the 1991 World Athletics Championships. Edwards changed his mind about strictly observing the Sabbath in 1993 and admitted he had lost his faith completely in 2007.
Eric Liddell:
The Scottish athlete famously refused to run in the 100m at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris as the heats took place on a Sunday, with his Christian convictions immorttalised in the movie Chariots Of Fire. Liddell did win 400m gold at the 1924 Games, but later became a missionary teacher in China.
Hakeem Olajuwon:
The NBA basketball star helped the Houston Rockets to back-to-back championships in 1994 and 1995, despite the fact he strictly observed Ramadan and fasted for a whole month. In 2008 the Rockets proposed a monument of him outside their stadium but were forced to make a sculpture of his jersey instead as Olajuwon's Muslim faith forbade any statue bearing a likeness to be put up.
