Champion
House
Robert "Bob" Champion MBE is an English former jump jockey who won the 1981 Grand National on Aldaniti. His triumph was made into a film Champions, with John Hurt portraying Champion. The film is based on Champion's book Champions Story, which he wrote with close friend and racing journalist and broadcaster Jonathan Powell. Other major races that Champion won during his career include the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup and the Whitbread Trial Chase. In 1983 he formed the Bob Champion Cancer Trust, which has raised millions of pounds for cancer research. He retired from training horses in 1999.
Adversity:
Champion was diagnosed with testicular cancer in July 1979. His victory on Aldaniti was viewed by many as a great triumph, following his previous adversity. Their victory earned them that year's BBC Sports Personality of the Year Team Award and was chosen as one of the 100 Greatest Sporting Moments by Channel 4 viewers in 2002.