Muster

In 1989 Thomas Muster, a young tennis pro, had just finished a five-set win over Yannick Noah in the semi-finals of the Lipton Championships and was fiddling with his gear near his car. By which we merely mean he was checking his junk. By which me mean his balls and stuff. TENNIS EQUIPMENT, alright !?! 

Not like this

It was then that a drunk driver decided to park his car where Muster had parked his. Without respecting tradition and, you know, waiting till Muster had vacated the space. When you're drunk, you really think out of the box. The crash rammed the bumper of Muster's car right into his left knee, tearing out more stuff than you'd learn about in a week of med school.

People deal with crippling accidents in various ways. When told they may never walk again, many lose all heart and become shadows of their old selves. Some stoically plough on, reconciling themselves to to their fate. A few bravely meet the challenge head on, heroically battling till they triumph against all odds. And then there's Muster, who treated the whole affair as some sort of minor nuisance.

Muster, seconds after the accident

Almost immediately after getting discharged, he and his coach built a chair that allowed Muster to sit in it and practice hitting balls around on court. Unable to get him to treat it with the respect it deserved, the injury suffered a crisis of confidence and sulked off pronto. Less than 6 months after his knee was twisted off, Muster was back PLAYING PROFESSIONAL TENNIS. In less than an year, he was in the Top 10. And that wasn't the end of it. By the time he retired from the sport, he had won a Grand Slam, earned a reputation for being well nigh unbeatable on clay courts and been A WORLD NUMBER 1. The turnaround was so amazing that he had to deal with (unfounded) accusations of drug abuse from various players. Our take on it is that he's Austrian, and if he's from the same cradle as another famous Austrian .....

That's right, he's probably a frickin' machine.