Tony McCoy - a sporting legend?
The word legend is used too often to "big up" certain sportspeople in newspapers, on TV and on radio - this usage is common journalistic hyperbole.
The dictionary definition of "legend" is: a traditional story that some people think of as being historical, but which is not authenticated.
I'm a sports journalist so I'm going to stick to journalistic hyperbole, although looking online I can find one definition of "legend" as: a person whose fame makes him or her seem exceptional.
That'll do.
Every so often in professional sport we are blessed with watching someone dominate. Pete Sampras did it in men's tennis, then Federer. In golf, Tiger Woods had to have a knee operation in order to open up the playing field - in fact he still won the US Open last year whilst using his clubs as a walking stick to get around the course. Michael Schumacher also ruled Formula 1 for what seemed like 149 years. They all make their particular sport look easy and can make fellow professionals look like novices.
Jump Jockey Tony McCoy falls into that category. He is within touching distance of riding his 3000th national hunt winner and was hoping to achieve it at Leicester today where he was booked in for 4 races.
We spoke to Tony on Breakfast this morning and, as you'll hear midway through the interview, we had to break it to him that his record breaking would have to wait for another day.
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I wonder if Wikipedia will update his profile as a kebab-lover?
He has won the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Champion Hurdle, Queen Mother Champion Chase, King George VI Chase and been crowned Champion Jockey 13 consecutive times from the 1995/1996 season, and he once rode 289 winners in one year - a British record.
However he's never won, or come close to winning BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
Will his feats be remembered with greater reverence when he is no longer a jockey? Do you class McCoy as a true sporting legend?
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