Sports are meant to inspire people to achieve greatness; to push people to the limit of their physical and metal capabilities. Unfortunately, some Sports Stars have pushed themselves so far they’ve paid the price with their life.

Most professional sports require competitors to push themselves to the point of physical exhaustion – something that can put a strain on various organs. Other sports are, by there very nature, inherently dangerous. But no sports stars ever go into competition thinking that their love of sports will lead to their untimely death.

Very occasionally, things go wrong on the sporting stage – and competitors pay the ultimate price. Either through stupidity or chance, these seven sports stars paid that price in the most distressing and public ways.

7. Owen Hart – Wrestling

Although professional show wrestling is scripted, there is no doubt that wrestlers put their body through an enormous challenge every single time they enter the ring. The WWE has been beset with high-profile injuries, drug abuse scandals and deaths over the years, but very few of them came close to having the same kind of impact Owen Hart’s death had on sports entertainment.

Owen Hart was known for his death-defying stunts and showmanship – and it was his need to continually push the boundaries of safety and common sense that lost him his life. On live TV, while making a spectacular entrance from the rafters of an arena, Hart’s safety harness failed, and sent him plunging 70 feet to the ground.

Commentators immediately knew that this fall wasn’t part of the story, yet the cameras continued to roll for a while. Hart received emergency treatment by the ring, but various reports suggest that Hart died moments after falling. Mick Foley later revealed he saw Hart try to get up before he slumped back to the floor and died. Cause of death: internal bleeding and blunt force trauma. 

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