If there is one sportsperson who has defined commitment to their sport throughout their career, few could argue for looking far beyond Anthony Peter McCoy. While an 18-year career (so far) is a feat in any sport, in few sports is this less realistic a goal than in horse racing.

Having broken several vertebrae in his back, suffered punctured lungs and a list of fractures stretching the entirety of his body, Tony McCoy has fought through perhaps more serious injuries than any other sportsman in their fields.

Yet, at 39 years old, AP McCoy sealed his 4,000th career win at Towcester last week, and it is not just the milestone that made this run so impressive.

Racing pundits the country marvelled at McCoy’s victory, on a horse which was not favoured for the race.

Furthermore, in a sport where the number of races competed for in a season reaches the hundreds, McCoy has not allowed injury to prevent him from being crowned Champion Jockey – the award for the most wins in a season – for the past 18 years.

In a career consisting of so many injuries, it is hard to see how this has been possible, and it’s not like he’s had no competition.

It is perhaps tribute to the development of physiotherapy and sports science that the second highest number of wins goes to a jockey from the same generation.

Richard Johnston, in relative obscurity outside the sport’s experts, has himself won 2,500 races, finishing runner-up to McCoy in 10 seasons since 1998-1999.

Having finally sealed the Grand National which had eluded him for so long in 2010, McCoy’s horse name that day appears very much not to fit with the riders attitude to his sport.

‘Don’t Push It’ was the horse he rode at Aintree to complete his collection of UK horse racing wins, securing him Sports Personality of the Year in 2010, but don’t expect McCoy to stop pushing it for some time yet.

Jamie Kirby

Image courtesy of The Guardian