The near-impossible athletic tricks and techniques that few mortals can pull off .

There are many things to take away from I, Tonya, the new biopic of disgraced figure skater Ms Tonya Harding: a sense of injustice for the American Olympic hopeful; a feeling of unease at the jarring juxtaposition of fourth wall-breaking comedy and domestic violence; a grim foreboding at the creeping onset of 24-hour news cycles. But perhaps the most unlikely is a new-found appreciation of the sport.

Ms Harding is unquestionably a gifted skater, and is best known for her signature flourish, the triple axel, a three-and-a-half-rotation jump, taking off from the outside edge of one foot and landing on the outside edge of the other. To put this in context, Ms Harding is one of only eight women ever to land this jump in competition, and the first American to do so. It is skating’s equivalent of a Mr Cristiano Ronaldo free kick combined with a fatality move from Mortal Kombat. And while actor Ms Margot Robbie does a remarkable job of stepping into Ms Harding’s skates in I, Tonya, she couldn’t pull off the jump – in fact, not even a stunt double could, so CGI was used instead.

Thankfully, this groundbreaking jump was filmed in real life, performed by Ms Harding at the 1991 US Figure Skating Championships (hang around at the end of the film to see the footage).

Here are five other world-changing sporting stunts and freakish feats that were also caught on camera, and the documentary films you can see them in.

01. The Pantani position – cycling

as seen in Pantani: The Accidental Death Of A Cyclist (2014)

One of professional cycling’s all-time best climbers, Italian Mr Marco Pantani, who died of a drug overdose in 2004 aged just 34, is one of only seven men to have won both the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia in the same year. He is also remembered for his radical approach to style – both the clothes he wore and the way he rode his bike. The former earned him the nickname “Il Pirata” (“the pirate”), a nod to his trademark shaved head, bandana and gold jewellery.

Going up isn’t necessarily the scary bit of the tours’ mountain stages – high-speed descents are far more dangerous. Conventional wisdom suggests bringing your body as low as you can on your bike, with your torso either parallel to the top tube or with your head down and your bottom slightly raised. Mr Pantani’s stance instead saw him resting his chest over the saddle, with his rear hovering way back over the back wheel.

Wind-tunnel testing has since shown that the Pantani position creates less drag than a conventional style and is 14 per cent faster than a  standard “back upwards” position. However, given the risks that come with dangling sensitive parts of your anatomy over the back of your bike at up to 130kmph, the technique hasn’t really gained traction.

[_**Witness the Pantini position here

**_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9MvVmjsgLU)

02. The right-hand lead – boxing

as seen in When We Were Kings (1996)

Of the many accolades piled on boxer Mr Muhammad Ali – often by the man himself – arguably his single greatest sporting achievement was beating Mr George Foreman in their 1974 clash in what was then Zaire (“The Rumble in the Jungle”). Mr Foreman was the undefeated world heavyweight champion, an Olympic gold-medalist noted for his raw power and seven years Mr Ali’s junior. He was overwhelmingly the favourite to win (Mr Ali had odds of 40-1 with some bookmakers), and it was assumed Mr Ali would approach the bout with caution. Instead, he came out guns blazing, striking Mr Foreman with a series of right-hand leads.

This close-range punch is one rarely used in professional boxing as there is no follow-through, so it leaves the fighter open to a counter attack, in this case one of Mr Foreman’s deadly haymakers; it is therefore considered a rookie move. That Mr Ali would even attempt such an audacious shot – let alone the nine he deployed in the first round – was seen as a massive slight of his opponent.

Mr Ali went on to knock Mr Foreman out in the eighth round.

_**[Witness the right-hand lead here

](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbAY85eQQ30)**_

03. The heel-and-toe braking technique – Formula 1

as seen in Senna (2010)

Another all-time sporting great who died tragically young – at the same age as Mr Pantani – Mr Ayrton Senna did at least leave a lasting legacy. Despite his career being cut short, he is still the fifth-most successful F1 driver of all time in terms of wins, and his record for number of pole positions stood for more than 10 years after his death.

The way he drove also changed the sport itself, with his heel-and-toe braking technique quickly becoming the norm. Instead of taking his foot off the accelerator to brake, Mr Senna held it across both pedals, pivoting it to apply pressure to each one when needed. It made the car far more responsive going into corners, giving Mr Senna a tiny advantage, which over the course of a race amounted to a massive lead.

You can see Mr Senna demonstrate the knack below, although try not to get too distracted by his white socks and leather loafers.

_**[Witness the heel-and-toe braking technique here

](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8By2AEsGAhU)**_

04. The 900 – skateboarding

As seen in All This Mayhem (2014)

The 900 is a two-and-a-half-turn aerial spin performed off a vert ramp; it is considered one of skateboarding’s most technically ambitious tricks and has garnered a near-mythical status within the sport. The first officially recognised successful landing of the 900 was at the 1999 X-Games by Mr Tony Hawk, who completed it only after 10 failed attempts. (Mr Hawk had already run out of time, but was awarded the event’s Big Trick prize anyway.) However, recent documentary All This Mayhem argues that another competitor, Australian Mr Tas Pappas, also came close to pulling it off that year, but wasn’t permitted to enter the Big Trick category, despite taking part in the vert competition.

Spoiler alert: Mr Pappas did eventually complete the trick, but remains one of only a handful of skaters to ever land it.

The trick has since been supplanted by the 1080 – three full mid-air revolutions. American Mr Tom Schaar was the first to pull this trick off, in 2012. He was 12 at the time.

_**Witness the 900 here

**_

05. The knuckleball – baseball

As seen in Knuckleball! (2012)

Outside baseball, a “curveball” suggests something that deviates from the mean, but a curveball itself is at least a conventional form of pitch, if thrown with spin. Not so the knuckleball, which is pitched in such a way so as to have the least rotational spin possible. What results is, in the words of Mr David Gendelman, research editor at Vanity Fair, “pitching motion [that] looks more like your grandfather’s than that of a professional athlete”, but when properly deployed, can be devastating.

The knuckleball is hard to predict. It can change direction more than once before it reaches the batter and Hall of Fame hitter Mr Willie Stargell likened its erratic movement to “a butterfly with hiccups”. It is also difficult for catchers to catch, umpires to call, and for the few pitchers who can throw it, and it can be near-impossible to control (it can also cause havoc with your nails, but that’s another story).

The pitch has pretty much been coached out of the game, and there haven’t been more than four knuckleballers in the league at the same time since WWII; documentary Knuckleball! follows the only two pitchers using the technique in the 2011 season.

_**[Witness the Knuckleball here

](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoAkwGyRA0c)**_

I, Tonya is out now