Meeting their match

Fierce competition creates great sport for spectators and competitors alike. Andrea Oakes talks to those who have found themselves in intense rivalries

- Andrea Oakes

WHEN two sporting stars collide, lasting memories are made — take the ongoing one-upmanship between football’s finest, Messi and Ronaldo, for example, or the spectacular shoot-outs between tennis giants Federer and Nadal.

From duels in the dressage arena to racing’s greatest rivalries, the equestrian world can boast its equivalents as the best in their game have gone head to head for glory. We asked some of the champions involved to give an insight into what it’s like to meet your match.

MCCOY VS JOHNSON

“I NEVER did beat him to the jockeys’ title, but he pushed me to try,” says National Hunt jockey Richard Johnson, runner-up to the legendary Sir AP McCoy in the jockeys’ championship a soul-destroying 16 times. “AP broke every record, raising the bar well above where it was. It still gives me something to aim at.”

AP hung up his boots in 2015, departing with 20 consecutive titles and more than 4,000 winners. He concedes that his phenomenal success was due in part to his rivalry with Richard.

“I could never get complacent or comfortable,” he explains. “Riding against someone as brilliant as him keeps your eye on the ball. It drove me to break those records.

“There’s no room for arrogance in racing,” adds AP, pointing out that there are few other sports where the better you get, the more chance you have of ending up in an ambulance. “As much as Richard was my rival, we always had a good relationship.”

“Winning is obviously what we all want to do, but AP and I always got on well,” agrees Richard, who has since claimed four championships. “It was slightly ironic one of the times I managed to beat the man I’d been battling for so long was in his last race.”

WHITAKER VS WHITAKER