Best of 12 Amazing Recent Sports Stories You Should Know About

Four Paralympians beat the Olympic gold medallist in the 1,500-meter final. In Ohio, a teen with two prosthetic legs plays high school football and dreams of playing in the NFL.

Not every inspirational sports tale receives a tonne of attention, which is fortunate because many are.

You've probably heard about Travis Rudolph, the Florida State wide receiver who ate lunch with a youngster with autism during a middle school visit. Or how about Pitt running back James Conner, who scored two touchdowns against Villanova only a few months after becoming cancer-free? (If you haven't already, read those two stories.)

Coming up next are 12 extra stunning or potentially huge games stories you might not have caught wind of—maybe because they are established in neighborhood secondary school sports, the Paralympic Games, or basically because they are somewhat darker—however, they are definitely worth your consideration. 

It's refreshing to be reminded that positive things occur in sports occasionally.

 Olympian Sells Medal to Help Pay for Cancer Treatment for Child

Piotr Małachowski, a discus thrower from Poland, earned a silver medal in Rio. However, he put that medal up for auction almost immediately to support a three-year-old boy's cancer treatment.

Malachowski's goal, according to ESPN's Darren Rovell, was to gather enough money for Olek Szymanski to "have surgery for his retinoblastoma in New York to try to save the child's eyesight."

According to Rovell, the Polish nonprofit Siepomaga had contributed about a third of the $126,000 required for the surgery, and Malachowski wanted to raise the remaining funds through the action.

According to Rovell, Malachowski stated on Facebook that a wealthy Polish couple had agreed to fund the remaining sum shortly after the auction began.

After a devastating injury, Shaun Barker returns.

Shaun Barker's story is one for the ages. In 2012, while playing for Derby County FC, the English footballer clashed with an opposing goalie, rupturing every ligament and tendon in his knee.

Mail Online's Gregor Robertson wrote: "Outsiders thought it was impossible that he would ever play professional football again. And as time went on, that feeling only grew stronger."

Barker returned to competitive football in August after a four-plus-year layoff and five surgeries. Barker came on as a substitute in the 93rd minute of a match against Derby for a new club, Burton Albion FC.

According to Robertson, Barker stated of his appearance: "It's time for me to prove myself once more. This has satisfied me, but it hasn't made me happy."

4 Paralympians Beat Olympic Champion in Time Trials

The Paralympic Games aren't usually as well-publicized as the Olympics, but they certainly didn't disappoint in terms of spectacular stories in 2016.

In a 1,500-meter race, for example, one may predict that a Paralympian will finish slower than his Olympic counterpart. One would be mistaken.

In the 1,500-meter T13 final, four visually impaired athletes—Abdellatif Algeria's and Fouad Baka, Ethiopia's Tamiru Demisse, and Kenya's Henry Kirwa—all ran faster than the Olympic winner, American Matthew Centrowitz Jr.

Abdellatif Baka's gold-medal-winning time of 3:48.29 marks a new world record in his category. Centrowitz's time at the Olympics was 3:50.00.

During the National Anthem, the entire high school team kneels.

Colin Kaepernick's national anthem protest has sparked debate in the sports world, with some supporting him and others criticizing him. And, regardless of their feelings on the subject, people should be aware of the consequences of Kaepernick's conduct outside of professional sports.

The Seattle Seahawks linked arms during the national anthem while a local high school football team elected to sit.

Garfield High School football players and coaches in Seattle knelt together while the song played before a game against West Seattle High School.

According to Heather Graf of KING 5, head coach Joey Thomas said: "They were the source of this. The children suggested this. Don't get me wrong: I wholeheartedly support it, and that's where my head and heart were at the time, but this is what they wanted. That, I believe, is what makes this so unique. This is a student-led initiative."

A touchdown is scored by a high school football manager who has Down syndrome.

In Novi, Michigan, Robby Heil, a high school senior with Down syndrome, manages his school's football team. That club honored Heil in September by providing him with an opportunity to shine on the field.

According to WXYZ Detroit's Justin Rose, the play was halted versus South Lyon East. Rose joined the game and raced the ball into the end zone after receihandoffhandoff.

Debbie, Robby's terminally sick mother, was present for the occasion. According to Rose, she stated: "When I saw him score the touchdown, I collapsed to the ground because I was overcome with emotion. I've always admired him for being the water guy, or hydration manager, as he's known, but this was great; he's Rudy tonight, Rudy."

In table tennis, a Paralympian with no arms dazzles.

With his YouTube video "Nothing Is Impossible" in 2014, Egypt's Ibrahim Hamadtou became an internet celebrity. According to Daniel Politi of Slate.com, he made history in 2016 when he became the first athlete without arms to compete in Paralympic table tennis.

Hampton, who lost his arms in a childhood accident, uses his feet to serve the ball and holds the paddle in his mouth during the competition.

Even though Hamadtou lost both of his matches in Rio, his performance earned him recognition.

"In table tennis, it's skill vs. skill," said David Wetherill of the United Kingdom, who defeated Hampton. "I know I won today, but I think he has displayed far more skill than I have just now."

A football team presents a bouquet of roses to a leukemia-stricken cheerleader.

In August, Ashley Adamietz, a cheerleader from Palo Cedro's Foothill High School, was diagnosed with leukemia.

Before a football game in September, all 57 members of the Foothill team presented Adamietz with an orange rose, which symbolized leukemia awareness.

Player Ryan Caetano coordinated the tribute, according to KRCR (via CNN's Doug Criss): "Because she's a member of the cougar clan, why not let her know that we're all rooting for her? Yes, we are. So I wanted to let everyone know, especially her, because of what she's going through."

From 1957, a man won a bubble gum contest.

According to Loyd Brumfield of the Dallas Morning News, Darwin Day of Texas found some old Topps baseball cards while cleaning up his home earlier in 2016.

Information about a Bazooka bubble gum contest from 1957 was printed on the cards. Day decided to enter the competition after noticing there was no year listed on it. Day scribbled the scores from July 19, 1957, on the submission form and mailed it to Tony Jacobs, global general manager of Topps Confectionery Brands.

"When I got those cards and saw those contests, I said, 'I simply have to do this and see what happens," Day remarked, according to Brumfield.

Day received a Louisville Slugger glove as a reward from Jacobs and Tops for winning the sweepstakes. Jacobs and Day are now "first-name friends," according to Brumfield.

A pregnant woman who is paralyzed runs a half-marathon.

Claire Lomas was thrown from a horse in 2007 and became paralyzed from the chest down.

According to Catherine Thorbecke of ABC News, she completed a half-marathon in England over five days in September with the assistance of a "robotic exoskeleton," raising money for the Nicholls Spinal Injury Foundation in the process.

Lomas, who is also expecting a child, said to Thorbecke: "It's exhausting both physically and mentally, especially given my injury, which has left me with no core strength and no sensation below the waist. I can't even feel the ground beneath my feet. Each incline, bump, and hill is a significant stumbling block."

"When I embark on something, I am determined to give it my best and complete it," Lomas said, according to Thorbecke.

15 Years After a Life-Threatening Crash, Alex Zanardi Wins Gold 

Alex Zanardi, a previous Formula One racer, was engaged with a fender bender in 2001 that brought about the removal of both of his legs. The Italian is currently a four-time Paralympic champion in the game of hand cycling. 

Zanardi won his third Paralympic gold (he won two in London in 2012) when he won the H5 time preliminary in Rio on the fifteenth commemoration of his mishap. He additionally won gold in the H2-Hhandoffd group hand-off.

Zanardi told Mirror's Alex Wellman: "Normally, I don't thank God for such things because I believe He is preoccupied with more important matters. Today, though, is just too much. I had to thank him by raising my eyes. I consider myself to be extremely fortunate, and I consider my life to be a never-ending privilege."

On the coaching staff, his father now has a son.

Kendall Brest played football for his father, Bill Brest, at Hickory High School in western Pennsylvania.

Kendall was diagnosed with a cardiac condition during his junior year and informed he couldn't play football anymore. Instead, he became a student assistant for the Hickory coaching staff.

According to Chad Krispinsky of WKBN 27, Bill Brest said: "He's incredibly talented and is putting in the time and effort. He's had a health setback, but he's fighting it and seeing the broader picture."

Kendall was also honored at a game versus Sharon High School in September, where both schools cooperated in collecting money for children with heart-related illnesses.

On Prosthetic Legs, Damon Hodges Plays Football

According to the Vindicator's Greg Gulas, Damon Hodges' legs were amputated below the knees when he was two years old, and he has worn prosthetics ever since.

Hodges also plays varsity football for Liberty High School in Ohio, where he plays defensive end. After Liberty supplied thorough information on its intentions for safety procedures, the Ohio High School Athletic Association granted Liberty's request to allow Hodges to participate.

"Many said I'd never walk or have a normal life," Hodges said to Gulas, "but things have worked out extremely well for me."

Gulas also mentioned Hodges' ambition to one day play in the NFL.