3. Jonah Lomu
Lomu was diagnosed with nephrotic syndrome, a serious kidney disorder in 1995, and the disease had a significant impact on his playing career and wider life. By 2003 he was on dialysis and in 2004 underwent a kidney transplant. He then attempted a comeback but did not play international rugby again, and retired from professional rugby in 2007. He died unexpectedly on 18 November 2015 after suffering a heart attack associated with his kidney condition.
4. Nathan Charles
The former Bath and Wallabies hooker has a genetic disease, cystic fibrosis, that limits life expectancy to 38 years. He is the only athlete with the condition in the world who is playing a professional contact sport. He has defied the odds every day of his 30 years.
Charles has been talking a lot about cystic fibrosis these past few weeks and the world has heard his story.
He is comfortable talking about the disease. He takes upwards of 20 pills each day, is mindful of hygiene – “a simple cold can turn into quite a complicated chest infection” – but believes exercise is the best thing to control the sticky mucus build-up in his lungs and airways, which is the hallmark of cystic fibrosis.