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This year, many of the athletes we place on pedestals showed themselves to be
profoundly human. Cancer -- the second-leading cause of death in the U.S. -- was
a frequent and most unwelcome intruder upon the sports world, taking the lives
of Joe DiMaggio in March, Kim Perrot in August and Walter Payton in November.
Equally conspicuous, however, were the many triumphs over the disease. Lance
Armstrong beat testicular cancer and 179 other riders to win the Tour de France.
Ludmila Engquist won bronze in the 100-meter hurdles at Worlds four months after
being diagnosed with breast cancer. Another breast cancer survivor, Peggy
Fleming, has come all the way back and Andres Galarraga is well on his way. The
hug shared by cancer survivors Joe Torre and Darryl Strawberry during the
Yankees' World Series victory parade served as another wordless reminder that
life and death matter far more than
games.
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