• May 5 down the years

O'Sullivan streaks to third Crucible crown

Ronnie O'Sullivan was a happy man after winning at the Crucible for the third time © Getty Images

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2008
What is it with Ronnie O'Sullivan and Crucible streakers? When he was world champion for the second time, on May 3 2004, he won the final 18-8 after some barefaced cheek interrupted proceedings. When he won it for the third time he took the final 18-8 after another of the great unclothed had run on and crawled under the table. Why? Probably better not to ask. A lot was expected from this deciding match. Both O'Sullivan and Ali Carter had made 147 maximums during the tournament, but neither of them was in great form. "The Rocket" could get away with not being at his best. Carter could not. He trailed 11-5 at the end of the first day and 16-8 before the final session. O'Sullivan wrapped up the final two frames in trademark style in less than an hour.

1980
Cliff Thorburn of Canada became the first player from outside the British Isles to win the world title. He did it the way he knew best, by careful and meticulous play that frustrated the genius of Alex Higgins, who struggled with Thorburn's safety play. Higgins remained in touch for much of the match and even took the lead at 14-13. But the man known as "The Grinder" would not let him get away. He had lost the first final held at the Crucible on April 30 1977 and was determined not to let it happen again. Even though there was never more than a frame in it until the last, Thorburn always seemed in control. That is not to say he did not feel the strain: he missed an easy brown which would have put him two up with three to play. But the Canadian had the mental strength to recover and a break of 119 put him back in front, and he won the match 18-16 with a snooker behind the yellow. Higgins hadn't won the title since February 26 1972 and had to wait until May 16 1982 for another crack at it. Thorburn reached the final again too, on May 2 1983, but he lost heavily to Steve Davis.

The only other time the title has been won by a player from outside the United Kingdom. In 1997, Ken Doherty did it the hard way. To win the World final, he had to beat Stephen Hendry, who had won the previous five. Hendry had not been at his best throughout the tournament, but it was still a shock to see him 15-7 down during the last afternoon session. He had recovered from 14-8 down against Jimmy White on May 4 1992, so no-one was writing him off just yet - especially when he won the next five frames in a row. At 15-12 up, Doherty admitted he 'started twitching...shaking like a leaf', especially as he lost the last of those five frames thanks to a cruel fluke. But then Hendry choked and left a difficult red over the pocket, and Doherty mopped up the last four frames to win 18-12. It was Hendry's only final defeat in a decade in which he won seven world titles.

1978
The worst 18 holes of golf in any European Tour event. In the second round of the Italian Open, Britain's Mark James went round in 111. Of course, like any club golfer playing in the Monday morning medal, there was an excuse. James had shot 73 in the first round, then injured his hand pulling his clubs on a trolley. The pain got steadily worse as he shot 41 for the next nine holes, and he ended up playing one-handed, shooting 71 for the last nine. Incredibly, James did not finish last as his 184 was not the worst score. Robert Berthet used both hands to shoot 94 and 96 en-route to an incredible 190. A week later, James was fined for 'misbehaviour' at the Zambian Open.

1997
At the table tennis World Championships in Manchester, veteran Swedish maestro Jan-Ove Waldner (born October 3 1965) won the singles title to prevent China retaining all seven events. Waldner, the 1989 champion, was the first man to regain the singles title since Toshiaki Tanaka forty years earlier. Waldner reached the semi-finals by beating former champion Jean-Philippe Gatien, while the un-fancied Vladimir Samsonov beat the holder Kong Linghui in the semi-finals, Samsonov was the player of the tournament: in the team competition, he'd thrashed Waldner 21-6, 21-7. But nerves may have affected the Belarusian in his first and only World singles final. Suddenly he could not cope with the disguise in Waldner's serve, which was followed by a variety of forehand loops. Samsonov lost the first game easily, then was only 18-17 down in the second when he suddenly got whisky wrists and served long twice in a row. Waldner regained the title by winning the third game 21-13.

On the same day, little Deng Yaping won the singles title for the second time in a row and the third in all. In the final, she dropped the first game but won the next three very easily against fellow Chinese player Wang Nan, who won the title the next three times.

Damon Hill was dominant in 1996 © Sutton Images

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1996
The race that confirmed Damon Hill was serious this time. Runner-up in the 1994 Formula One Championship when Michael Schumacher was happy with their collision in the last race, Hill had to settle for second behind Schumacher again in 1995. But this year Hill went off fast and never looked back, winning the first three races and recovering from a poor result in the fourth to win the San Marino Grand Prix today. He finished well clear of second-placed Schumacher and extended his lead in the Championship over his own Williams team mate Jacques Villeneuve. Hill went on to win the title for the first and only time. Schumacher did not win it again until 2000.

1973
All-time great Brazilian boxer Éder Jofre (born March 26 1936) became world champion after a gap of 7 years 353 days - a record until George Foreman shattered it on November 5 1994. After failing to regain the world bantamweight title from Fighting Harada in 1966, Jofre never fought outside Brazil again. He made a comeback in 1969, winning 14 fights in São Paulo, before challenging José Legra for the featherweight title in Brasilia on this night. After winning a majority decision over 15 rounds, Jofre knocked out another comeback king, former great Vicente Saldivar, won seven non-title fights, and then retired.

1964
Heike Henkel was born Heike Redetzky in West Germany. As one his generation's finest swimmers, he became world champion at 400 and 1500 metres in 1986. He later married Rainer Henkel, who for three years at the beginning of the 1990s was the most successful high jumper in the world, winning gold at the European Championships in 1990, the World Championships indoors and out the following year, and the Olympic Games in 1992. She set a world indoor record of 2.07 metres that lasted 14 years.

2001
In rugby union, Sweden won 116-3 in Luxembourg - the biggest win by any European country in a World Cup qualifier. They led only 38-3 at half-time.

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