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CNN’s Human to Hero series screens every week on World Sport. Click here for show times, videos and features.

(CNN) — “A must-have quality for figure skaters is, I think, gorgeousness.”

Japan’s Daisuke Takahashi throws his head back and laughs, but he is serious.

His is a sport where performance is everything — from the flamboyant routines to the glitzy outfits to the interaction with the crowd.

“The best part about figure skating is how I can have the entire audience’s attention to myself,” the former world champion told CNN’s Human to Hero series.

“I believe performing and showing off is very important, but I constantly prevent myself from becoming too self-absorbed. The audience won’t be moved if I’m performing only for my satisfaction.

“It’s sort of like playing ‘catch.’ For me, when I’m watching musicals or performances, I feel a bit uncomfortable when the actor is too self-absorbed. I like the people who can perform while being sensitive of the atmosphere.”

Takahashi was raised to national hero status in 2010 when he became the first Japanese man to win a world singles title in figure skating, having the previous month become the first to win an Olympic medal in the discipline when he took bronze in Vancouver.

Despite his success — he also won silver at last year’s worlds — the 27-year-old admits he still looks up to his rivals.

“I never thought I have anything special. I’ve always thought about what I don’t have compared to other skaters,” he says.

Read: 102 and still running – the world’s oldest marathon man

“I tend to think like other skaters get more applause than I do. I constantly think about ways I can level up, and I’m often jealous of other skaters,” he adds, laughing. “When I see someone’s cool performance, it makes me want to be like them, and that’s what motivates me.”

World’s oldest runner’s ‘secret’ routine

From Afghanistan to the rugby pitch

Olympic champion: Sailing is not elitist

A big part of figure skating is the outfits — often elaborate lycra creations that might otherwise seem more at home in a musical stage show.

“I don’t have long legs and arms, and I am … short,” quips Takahashi. “So I want something that makes me look taller and with longer legs and arms.

“I want something will make me a bit bigger, and so something with flaps that give my arms a little flow.”

The shoes, with their thin blades, are even more important.

“If I didn’t have them, I wouldn’t be able to skate, so it’s like the heart,” Takahashi says.

“I think it’s something everyone struggles with, especially for me because my shoes don’t last long. I sometimes change them every month or after every competition, and it’s very difficult finding the right shoes. Depending on if the shoes are good, it affects the performance, so it’s very important.”

Read: From the front line to the try line

Born in the city of Kurashiki in Okayama Prefecture, Takahashi wanted to be a gymnast when he was growing up.

But, as fate would have it, an ice rink was built near his home and his future was settled by the practical reality of it being closer than the gymnasium where he infrequently trained.

“My mother’s co-worker who really liked ice skating took me and it made me realize that I really want to do this,” he recalls.

“Figure skating wasn’t famous where I grew up, and the ice rink was just built with a small club team without a professional coach, so the number of skaters was really small. But we all worked together to manage the money, learn tricks, and organize.”

South African cyclist: Never give up

Gilmore: Surfing can be feminine

From refugee to Afghan cricket captain

At junior high school he met Utako Nagamitsu, who has remained his coach ever since — she is currently working alongside the Russian Nikolai Morozov, who is now back on Takahashi’s team after their initial split back in 2008.

Read: Sailing hero’s America’s Cup challenge

“We’ve traveled the world together, which other coaches rarely do,” Takahashi says of Nagamitsu. “Now it’s officially a team, with a nutritionist, trainer, management company, costume maker, music mixer and level check managers, and choreographers.”

Takahashi’s success in 2010 was all the more satisfying because he had only just returned to full fitness after a serious knee injury that sidelined him for a year.

The anterior cruciate ligament problem halted his progress after he won silver at the 2007 world championships — another first for Japan.

“I’m afraid of injuries. The surgery was good for my mental health, but it was about three years later when I was able to get back my flow,” he says.

“As for balancing off-ice and on-ice life, right now I try not to because all of it is part of my private lifestyle. I’ll take breaks to rest my body, but I generally don’t feel like I must take days off.”

Read: From townships to Tour de France

Takahashi took more time out in 2011 when he had to have the bolt from that knee surgery removed, but he recovered the following year to win his first Grand Prix Final — which was held in Sochi, the Russian resort city that will host next year’s Winter Olympics.

“The most significant competition for me is the Olympics. I’ve entered the Olympics twice, but the one at Vancouver is the one I can’t forget about,” Takahashi says.

“It was the season after recovering from my injury. It was a competition that I got so excited I started tearing up before it began, which never happened before.

Hong Kong’s Paralympic fencing champion

The girl with the dancing horse

Lorenzo: Motorcycling is like dancing

“I got hurt, and I struggled, took out my feelings on the people who supported me, and even then I was able to make the Olympics, and through the season it was the only time when I felt like I was actually competing well.

“It wasn’t the perfect performance, but it was my first medal, and I think that was when my life took a different turn.”

Read: ‘Happy’ Gilmore defies sporting cliches

Takahashi is now hoping to earn one of the three men’s places in Japan’s figure skating team for Sochi.

He finished sixth at March’s world championships in Canada, behind fourth-placed compatriot Yuzuru Hanyu but ahead of Takahito Mura in eighth.

Both are much younger — Hanyu is 18 and Mura 22 — and Takahashi is keenly aware that he has a lot of work to do if he is to succeed at Sochi.

“They definitely are rivals, but it’s more like I try hard so that they see me as their rival. Now the level of technicality of skating is very high and they grew up with the new rules, but my generation just adjusted to the new rules … It’s hard keeping up.”

But Takahashi showed last month in Tokyo that he still has what it takes, winning the individual title for the second year in a row at the World Team Trophy event, with Mura fifth.

“Since three years ago when I decided to continue my career until Sochi, I think emotionally I’m doing everything I can to prepare for it, more than any other Olympics ever,” he says.

“I don’t have the Olympics gold medal, so I definitely want it.”

CNN’s Human to Hero series screens every week on World Sport. Click here for show times, videos and features.

(CNN) — “A must-have quality for figure skaters is, I think, gorgeousness.”

Japan’s Daisuke Takahashi throws his head back and laughs, but he is serious.

His is a sport where performance is everything — from the flamboyant routines to the glitzy outfits to the interaction with the crowd.

“The best part about figure skating is how I can have the entire audience’s attention to myself,” the former world champion told CNN’s Human to Hero series.

“I believe performing and showing off is very important, but I constantly prevent myself from becoming too self-absorbed. The audience won’t be moved if I’m performing only for my satisfaction.

“It’s sort of like playing ‘catch.’ For me, when I’m watching musicals or performances, I feel a bit uncomfortable when the actor is too self-absorbed. I like the people who can perform while being sensitive of the atmosphere.”

Takahashi was raised to national hero status in 2010 when he became the first Japanese man to win a world singles title in figure skating, having the previous month become the first to win an Olympic medal in the discipline when he took bronze in Vancouver.

Despite his success — he also won silver at last year’s worlds — the 27-year-old admits he still looks up to his rivals.

“I never thought I have anything special. I’ve always thought about what I don’t have compared to other skaters,” he says.

Read: 102 and still running – the world’s oldest marathon man

“I tend to think like other skaters get more applause than I do. I constantly think about ways I can level up, and I’m often jealous of other skaters,” he adds, laughing. “When I see someone’s cool performance, it makes me want to be like them, and that’s what motivates me.”

World’s oldest runner’s ‘secret’ routine

From Afghanistan to the rugby pitch

Olympic champion: Sailing is not elitist

A big part of figure skating is the outfits — often elaborate lycra creations that might otherwise seem more at home in a musical stage show.

“I don’t have long legs and arms, and I am … short,” quips Takahashi. “So I want something that makes me look taller and with longer legs and arms.

“I want something will make me a bit bigger, and so something with flaps that give my arms a little flow.”

The shoes, with their thin blades, are even more important.

“If I didn’t have them, I wouldn’t be able to skate, so it’s like the heart,” Takahashi says.

“I think it’s something everyone struggles with, especially for me because my shoes don’t last long. I sometimes change them every month or after every competition, and it’s very difficult finding the right shoes. Depending on if the shoes are good, it affects the performance, so it’s very important.”

Read: From the front line to the try line

Born in the city of Kurashiki in Okayama Prefecture, Takahashi wanted to be a gymnast when he was growing up.

But, as fate would have it, an ice rink was built near his home and his future was settled by the practical reality of it being closer than the gymnasium where he infrequently trained.

“My mother’s co-worker who really liked ice skating took me and it made me realize that I really want to do this,” he recalls.

“Figure skating wasn’t famous where I grew up, and the ice rink was just built with a small club team without a professional coach, so the number of skaters was really small. But we all worked together to manage the money, learn tricks, and organize.”

South African cyclist: Never give up

Gilmore: Surfing can be feminine

From refugee to Afghan cricket captain

At junior high school he met Utako Nagamitsu, who has remained his coach ever since — she is currently working alongside the Russian Nikolai Morozov, who is now back on Takahashi’s team after their initial split back in 2008.

Read: Sailing hero’s America’s Cup challenge

“We’ve traveled the world together, which other coaches rarely do,” Takahashi says of Nagamitsu. “Now it’s officially a team, with a nutritionist, trainer, management company, costume maker, music mixer and level check managers, and choreographers.”

Takahashi’s success in 2010 was all the more satisfying because he had only just returned to full fitness after a serious knee injury that sidelined him for a year.

The anterior cruciate ligament problem halted his progress after he won silver at the 2007 world championships — another first for Japan.

“I’m afraid of injuries. The surgery was good for my mental health, but it was about three years later when I was able to get back my flow,” he says.

“As for balancing off-ice and on-ice life, right now I try not to because all of it is part of my private lifestyle. I’ll take breaks to rest my body, but I generally don’t feel like I must take days off.”

Read: From townships to Tour de France

Takahashi took more time out in 2011 when he had to have the bolt from that knee surgery removed, but he recovered the following year to win his first Grand Prix Final — which was held in Sochi, the Russian resort city that will host next year’s Winter Olympics.

“The most significant competition for me is the Olympics. I’ve entered the Olympics twice, but the one at Vancouver is the one I can’t forget about,” Takahashi says.

“It was the season after recovering from my injury. It was a competition that I got so excited I started tearing up before it began, which never happened before.

Hong Kong’s Paralympic fencing champion

The girl with the dancing horse

Lorenzo: Motorcycling is like dancing

“I got hurt, and I struggled, took out my feelings on the people who supported me, and even then I was able to make the Olympics, and through the season it was the only time when I felt like I was actually competing well.

“It wasn’t the perfect performance, but it was my first medal, and I think that was when my life took a different turn.”

Read: ‘Happy’ Gilmore defies sporting cliches

Takahashi is now hoping to earn one of the three men’s places in Japan’s figure skating team for Sochi.

He finished sixth at March’s world championships in Canada, behind fourth-placed compatriot Yuzuru Hanyu but ahead of Takahito Mura in eighth.

Both are much younger — Hanyu is 18 and Mura 22 — and Takahashi is keenly aware that he has a lot of work to do if he is to succeed at Sochi.

“They definitely are rivals, but it’s more like I try hard so that they see me as their rival. Now the level of technicality of skating is very high and they grew up with the new rules, but my generation just adjusted to the new rules … It’s hard keeping up.”

But Takahashi showed last month in Tokyo that he still has what it takes, winning the individual title for the second year in a row at the World Team Trophy event, with Mura fifth.

“Since three years ago when I decided to continue my career until Sochi, I think emotionally I’m doing everything I can to prepare for it, more than any other Olympics ever,” he says.

“I don’t have the Olympics gold medal, so I definitely want it.”

CNN’s Human to Hero series screens every week on World Sport. Click here for show times, videos and features.

(CNN) — At an age when most pensioners are winding down their lives, Fauja Singh began a new one.

In his late 80s, and feeling “more dead than alive” following the loss of his wife and one of his sons, he took up marathon running.

Now 102, he has become an unlikely celebrity despite a birth defect that prevented him being able to walk until the age of five.

“Running showed me kindness and brought me back to life by making me forget all my traumas and sorrows,” he told CNN’s Human to Hero series.

“When I took up running, it was like meeting God himself. I have been running ever since.”

With his distinctive flowing grey beard and the traditional Sikh headgear that has earned him the nickname “the Turbaned Tornado,” Singh has been a star entrant at marathons all over the world.

It is a far cry from his humble upbringing in India, which despite its village tranquillity was also a test for the young Singh — who was unable to walk until he was five due to weakness in his legs.

“It took me another five years to gain strength and become strong. By age 10 I was living a normal life,” he recalls.

Read: From the front line to the try line

Blind runner with need for speed

Gold medalist: Losing is not an option

Kenya javelin thrower learns via YouTube

While many older people suffer bodily deterioration, Singh said tests done when he was 94 showed his left leg had the bone density of a 35-year-old and his right leg that of a 25-year-old.

“My response was, I knew my left leg was weak,” he smiles. As he says later: “Life is a waste without humor — living is all about happiness and laughter.”

More medical tests done when he was 99 “showed that I was a man of 40 years of age.”

Singh grew up in a village in the Jalandhar district of the north-western Punjab state along with his four brothers and sisters and their parents.

“One doesn’t know about life’s complexities at that age. Whatever means one has always seems to be enough,” he said. “Life was good because we had land and animals … there was no stress.”

Singh now lives in London, the UK’s bustling capital city, having finally made it his home in the 1990s after several trips to Britain.

Read: Sailing hero’s new America’s Cup challenge

“After my wife died and when I suffered another tragedy — the loss of my son — I came here for two years but I didn’t like it as my mind was still in India. Eventually I had to come to terms with it,” he said.

“Then I took up running — eventually I was able to overcome my sadness.”

Singh started out competing over shorter distances — from 100 meters up — but was convinced to try for the 26 miles and 385 yards that makes up a marathon.

German ‘ice men’ master bobsleigh

Human to Hero: Epke Zonderland

Human to Hero: Ted Ligety

“I had run a 20K but I couldn’t tell the difference between a kilometer and a mile — I thought I had done 20 miles so I thought I could do the other six quite easily,” he said.

“Then I met Harmander (Singh, his longtime coach and mentor), he trained me in a couple of months to run the full distance — and then I was 89 years old.”

Singh’s fastest time is the five hours and 40 minutes he took to run the 2003 Toronto Waterfront Marathon at the age of 92. Eight years later he returned to the Canadian event to become the first marathon centenarian, this time clocking more than eight hours.

Read: From townships to Tour de France?

It was not accepted by Guinness World Records’ rule-keepers due to his lack of a birth certificate, although he did produce a letter from Britain’s Queen Elizabeth congratulating him on his 100th birthday.

Just days earlier he had set five world records for his age group in the space of a few hours in events from 100m to 5,000m at a Masters meeting in Toronto.

As well as soothing his soul, running has also brought Singh unexpected fame — he appeared in an Adidas advertising campaign along with soccer superstar David Beckham and boxing legend Muhammad Ali in 2004.

“I was really, really happy as I didn’t even know who these people were before that,” he said.

Most of Singh’s marathons were charity fundraisers, in line with his Sikh beliefs.

“There are two noble things in life: one to do charity and other to look after your body,” he said.

“This includes the high principles outlined by my religion, to earn an honest living and to share your means with those less fortunate.

Judo champion towers over opponents

The girl with the dancing horse

Hong Kong’s Paralympic fencing champion

“I am inspired by honest people who don’t cheat others. To me the famous are those who are kind to fellow human beings and dedicate their life to charity.”

Read: ‘Happy’ Gilmore defies surfing cliches

And it is religion that helps him keep going when he hits the dreaded “wall” during a race — he experiences the transcendental effect of such exercise that was so eloquently documented by Japanese author Haruki Murakami in his book “What I Talk About When I Talk About Running.”

“The first part of the run is when I am quite cheerful; my heart is singing a song and dancing seeing the different colors of life,” Singh said.

“When I get really tired, I start chanting God’s name: ‘Waheguru, Waheguru.’

“Running also makes people more spiritually aware and in-tune with their inner self. A retired marathon runner will still retain all these qualities.”

And having become the world’s oldest marathon runner, Singh is indeed now retired.

His final race was the 10-kilometer event ahead of February’s Hong Kong marathon, after which he took the advice of his family and Harmander Singh.

“I have retired because given my age, my body has deteriorated a bit, but retirement hasn’t slowed me down,” he said.

“I lead a very active and healthy life. I walk for three to four hours a day, play with kids and do all my day-to-day chores myself. I might have continued to run for another year but I realized I had to eventually retire one day.”

From refugee to Afghan cricket captain

Gilmore: Surfing can be feminine

Read: The Taliban’s favorite sport

A strict vegetarian (he appeared in a campaign by animal rights group PETA) Singh describes himself as “an illiterate person” — this interview was translated from Punjabi with the help of his coach.

While he lives a simple life — in bed by 10 p.m. after relaxing listening to Punjabi radio, and up again by 6 a.m. — he does admit to one guilty pleasure: shopping.

“Though I am an old man now, I am still very particular about my personal style. I love shopping for suits and shoes — I keep looking for the latest and best available,” Singh said.

“I don’t have many expenses but I do spend often on new suits and shoes even though I have a lot of them.”

Running shoes, in particular, remind him of the happiness he has discovered.

“I am very fond of my running shoes, I absolutely love them. I wear them for pleasure. I can’t imagine my life without them.”

CNN’s Human to Hero series screens every week on World Sport. Click here for show times, videos and features.

(CNN) — At an age when most pensioners are winding down their lives, Fauja Singh began a new one.

In his late 80s, and feeling “more dead than alive” following the loss of his wife and one of his sons, he took up marathon running.

Now 102, he has become an unlikely celebrity despite a birth defect that prevented him being able to walk until the age of five.

“Running showed me kindness and brought me back to life by making me forget all my traumas and sorrows,” he told CNN’s Human to Hero series.

“When I took up running, it was like meeting God himself. I have been running ever since.”

With his distinctive flowing grey beard and the traditional Sikh headgear that has earned him the nickname “the Turbaned Tornado,” Singh has been a star entrant at marathons all over the world.

It is a far cry from his humble upbringing in India, which despite its village tranquillity was also a test for the young Singh — who was unable to walk until he was five due to weakness in his legs.

“It took me another five years to gain strength and become strong. By age 10 I was living a normal life,” he recalls.

Read: From the front line to the try line

Blind runner with need for speed

Gold medalist: Losing is not an option

Kenya javelin thrower learns via YouTube

While many older people suffer bodily deterioration, Singh said tests done when he was 94 showed his left leg had the bone density of a 35-year-old and his right leg that of a 25-year-old.

“My response was, I knew my left leg was weak,” he smiles. As he says later: “Life is a waste without humor — living is all about happiness and laughter.”

More medical tests done when he was 99 “showed that I was a man of 40 years of age.”

Singh grew up in a village in the Jalandhar district of the north-western Punjab state along with his four brothers and sisters and their parents.

“One doesn’t know about life’s complexities at that age. Whatever means one has always seems to be enough,” he said. “Life was good because we had land and animals … there was no stress.”

Singh now lives in London, the UK’s bustling capital city, having finally made it his home in the 1990s after several trips to Britain.

Read: Sailing hero’s new America’s Cup challenge

“After my wife died and when I suffered another tragedy — the loss of my son — I came here for two years but I didn’t like it as my mind was still in India. Eventually I had to come to terms with it,” he said.

“Then I took up running — eventually I was able to overcome my sadness.”

Singh started out competing over shorter distances — from 100 meters up — but was convinced to try for the 26 miles and 385 yards that makes up a marathon.

German ‘ice men’ master bobsleigh

Human to Hero: Epke Zonderland

Human to Hero: Ted Ligety

“I had run a 20K but I couldn’t tell the difference between a kilometer and a mile — I thought I had done 20 miles so I thought I could do the other six quite easily,” he said.

“Then I met Harmander (Singh, his longtime coach and mentor), he trained me in a couple of months to run the full distance — and then I was 89 years old.”

Singh’s fastest time is the five hours and 40 minutes he took to run the 2003 Toronto Waterfront Marathon at the age of 92. Eight years later he returned to the Canadian event to become the first marathon centenarian, this time clocking more than eight hours.

Read: From townships to Tour de France?

It was not accepted by Guinness World Records’ rule-keepers due to his lack of a birth certificate, although he did produce a letter from Britain’s Queen Elizabeth congratulating him on his 100th birthday.

Just days earlier he had set five world records for his age group in the space of a few hours in events from 100m to 5,000m at a Masters meeting in Toronto.

As well as soothing his soul, running has also brought Singh unexpected fame — he appeared in an Adidas advertising campaign along with soccer superstar David Beckham and boxing legend Muhammad Ali in 2004.

“I was really, really happy as I didn’t even know who these people were before that,” he said.

Most of Singh’s marathons were charity fundraisers, in line with his Sikh beliefs.

“There are two noble things in life: one to do charity and other to look after your body,” he said.

“This includes the high principles outlined by my religion, to earn an honest living and to share your means with those less fortunate.

Judo champion towers over opponents

The girl with the dancing horse

Hong Kong’s Paralympic fencing champion

“I am inspired by honest people who don’t cheat others. To me the famous are those who are kind to fellow human beings and dedicate their life to charity.”

Read: ‘Happy’ Gilmore defies surfing cliches

And it is religion that helps him keep going when he hits the dreaded “wall” during a race — he experiences the transcendental effect of such exercise that was so eloquently documented by Japanese author Haruki Murakami in his book “What I Talk About When I Talk About Running.”

“The first part of the run is when I am quite cheerful; my heart is singing a song and dancing seeing the different colors of life,” Singh said.

“When I get really tired, I start chanting God’s name: ‘Waheguru, Waheguru.’

“Running also makes people more spiritually aware and in-tune with their inner self. A retired marathon runner will still retain all these qualities.”

And having become the world’s oldest marathon runner, Singh is indeed now retired.

His final race was the 10-kilometer event ahead of February’s Hong Kong marathon, after which he took the advice of his family and Harmander Singh.

“I have retired because given my age, my body has deteriorated a bit, but retirement hasn’t slowed me down,” he said.

“I lead a very active and healthy life. I walk for three to four hours a day, play with kids and do all my day-to-day chores myself. I might have continued to run for another year but I realized I had to eventually retire one day.”

From refugee to Afghan cricket captain

Gilmore: Surfing can be feminine

Read: The Taliban’s favorite sport

A strict vegetarian (he appeared in a campaign by animal rights group PETA) Singh describes himself as “an illiterate person” — this interview was translated from Punjabi with the help of his coach.

While he lives a simple life — in bed by 10 p.m. after relaxing listening to Punjabi radio, and up again by 6 a.m. — he does admit to one guilty pleasure: shopping.

“Though I am an old man now, I am still very particular about my personal style. I love shopping for suits and shoes — I keep looking for the latest and best available,” Singh said.

“I don’t have many expenses but I do spend often on new suits and shoes even though I have a lot of them.”

Running shoes, in particular, remind him of the happiness he has discovered.

“I am very fond of my running shoes, I absolutely love them. I wear them for pleasure. I can’t imagine my life without them.”

Manchester United Manager Sir Alex Ferguson announced he will retire at the end of the English Premier League season. Ferguson has managed the team for 26 years, making him the longest-serving manager in Premier League history.

Mike Krzyzewski, also known as Coach K, has coached Duke University’s men’s basketball team since 1980, putting him in his 33rd season as head coach.

Eddie Robinson served as Grambling State University’s head football coach for 57 seasons from 1941 to 1997. Robinson — here listening to the national anthem before his final game — coached more than 4,000 players.

Al Arbour coached the New York Islanders for 20 years, with a year-long stint as vice president of player development for the team in 1987.

Andy Landers has coached the University of Georgia Lady Bulldogs basketball team since 1979 and continues to this day.

Head coach emeritus Pat Summitt of the Tennessee Lady Volunteers is the all-time winningest coach in NCAA history of either men’s or women’s teams. She coached for 38 years before stepping down in 2012 to fight early onset dementia.

Gregg Popovich is in his 17th year as coach of the San Antonio Spurs.

Tom Landry coached the Dallas Cowboys from 1960 to 1988 and turned the team into one of the most dominant in the National Football League until the early ’80s.

Connie Mack managed the Philadelphia Athletics, now based in Oakland, California, from 1901 until his retirement at age 88 in 1950.

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Photos: Longest-serving coaches in sports

Will Mourinho replace Ferguson?

As a player, Alex Ferguson enjoyed a moderately successful career. A prolific striker, he scored 170 goals in 317 appearances including 25 goals in 41 appearances for Glasgow Rangers.

Ferguson was appointed manager of Aberdeen in 1978. In addition to three Scottish First Division titles, Ferguson guided the club to an impressive triumph over Real Madrid in the 1983 European Cup Winners’ Cup.

Ferguson was assistant to Scotland coach Jock Stein during the qualifying campaign for the 1986 World Cup. Scotland secured a 1-1 draw against Wales in their final game to reach the tournament, but Stein collapsed and died following the final whistle in Cardiff.

A late winner from substitute Mark Robbins in an FA Cup replay against Nottingham Forest in January 1990 allegedly spared Ferguson the sack. United went on to beat Crystal Palace at the second attempt in the final, giving Ferguson his first trophy at Old Trafford.

The Scot originally planned to retire from management at the end of the 2001-02 season. But, after helping the team recover from a slip in form which saw them drop as low as ninth in the Premier League table, Ferguson reversed his decision in February 2002 and signed a new three-year contract.

A boot flew into the face of Manchester United’s star midfielder David Beckham after Ferguson lost his temper following a 2-0 FA Cup defeat to Arsenal in February 2003. Beckham had to be held back following the incident and he joined Real Madrid ahead of the following season.

Ferguson’s finest hour arrived in Barcelona in May 1999, when his United team came from 1-0 down in the 90th minute to beat Bayern Munich 2-1 in the European Champions League final. The win completed an historic treble of titles won during the 1998-99 season, which included the Premier League title and the FA Cup.

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The seven moments which define Alex Ferguson

“David’s contract is up in six weeks’ time and he has a right to make his own decisions,” Everton chairman Bill Kenwright told Sky Sports on Wednesday.

“He’s served this club wonderfully well and he has a right to make his own decisions.”

During his 26 years in charge, Ferguson — a supporter of Britain’s Labour Party who’s renowned for dressing down players with the “hairdryer treatment” — has won more than 30 trophies, including 13 league championships.

Many fans took to Twitter to voice their appreciation, using the handle #thankyousiralex. He became Sir Alex when knighted by the queen more than a decade ago for his services to the game.

“Teddy is very sad,” wrote Instagram user @ejgemmag In Manchester, England, of her toy after hearing news of United manager Alex Ferguson’s retirement.

Instagrammer @johnwalker021, who is half English and half Swedish, displayed his shirt with pride and posted a football chant in honor of Ferguson: “So here’s to Alex Ferguson. He’ll take us all the way! We’re on the road to glory now! Winning at home and away.”

“I felt like I had been punched in the stomach and contemplated calling in sick to work,” said Instagram user @jplubrani, in active service in the U.S. military from Los Angeles. “I got a tear in my eye … All those emotions at once!”

“Lifelong fan” @alexbalding shows his red devil tattoo — Red Devils is the club’s nickname — done the very morning of the announcement Ferguson was to retire. He said he was “devastated” by the news.

“The man will definitely be missed,” said @sosogeed813, who shared this picture from his first Manchester United game. “It was an experience of a lifetime … It is the beautiful game after all. Thanks Sir Alex Ferguson!”

In Oatley, Australia, @frankiegram1 showed off a sad look while wearing a Manchester United top (with help from his owner, Matt).

“It’s going to be interesting without him,” said Instagrammer @kurto12.

“Seeing my favorite team with another manager next season, that’s going to be tough to get used to,” said Instagrammer @shar316 from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Thai-Brit Instagrammer @KrisRedford posted a picture of himself proudly wearing his United team shirt.

Instagrammer @mrsagatha_sari’s young son Waltteri wears his United jersey to play football in the southern Finland where they live, in this photo from last summer. She said she was “very sad” about Ferguson’s retirement, but “I guess that change might even be good.”

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Fans wear shirts with pride for ‘Fergie’

Jose Mourinho, right, had been widely expected to return to Chelsea if he leaves Real Madrid at the end of this season — but Alex Ferguson’s decision to retire has prompted a flood of bets from punters that the Portuguese coach will instead go to Manchester United.

Ferguson’s fellow Scot, Everton manager David Moyes, had previously been the bookmakers’ favorite to take over at Old Trafford. The 50-year-old Scot has impressed on a tight budget at the English Premier League club since his arrival in 2002.

Moyes is out of contract in the summer — as is Bayern Munich coach Jupp Heynckes. This season the 68-year-old coach has guided Bayern to the Bundesliga title as well as the Champions League final – the Munich club will play German rivals Borussia Dortmund at Wembley on May 25. However, Heynckes will step down at the end of this season after Bayern opted to appoint Pep Guardiola on a three-year contract from July 1.

Jurgen Klopp is also among the bookies’ frontrunners, having guided Borussia Dortmund to this month’s European Champions League final. The 45-year-old coach helped Dortmund win the German Bundesliga title the previous two seasons.

Ferguson’s former “supersub” Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is another linked with the job. The 40-year-old Norwegian, a Champions League winner with United in 1999, began his managerial career with Molde after injury ended his playing days, and has already won two domestic titles in his homeland. Before that he successfully coached United’s reserves.

Michael Laudrup is also seen as a contender after a successful first season in the English Premier League with Swansea, guiding the Welsh club to the League Cup trophy. The former Barcelona star has previous managerial experience in Spain with Getafe and Mallorca, and in Russia with Spartak Moscow.

Paris Saint-Germain coach Carlo Ancelotti is another being backed to replace Ferguson. The 53-year-old Italian has won virtually every honor in the game as a player and manager with clubs including AC Milan, Roma and Chelsea. There has been intense speculation Ancelotti will leave French league leaders at the end of the season.

Former United captain Roy Keane was once seen as Ferguson’s future successor, but the Irishman has focused on media work since being sacked by English second division team Ipswich in January 2011. He took Sunderland into the Premier League at the first attempt but quit in December 2008 after a run of poor results.

Rene Meulensteen, right, has been Ferguson’s assistant since 2008, but the 49-year-old Dutchman is not expected to make the step up to the top job despite an association with United that started more than a decade ago as youth coach.

One of the outsiders is veteran United player Ryan Giggs, who has won 13 English league titles under Ferguson since his debut in 1991. The Welshman, who is 40 in November, has signed another one-year playing contract.

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Who will replace Alex Ferguson?

Bobby Charlton: Ferguson’s best moment

Ferguson will bow out after the club’s last game of the season, an away match against West Bromwich Albion, on May 19, according to a statement from Manchester United.

2012: Ferguson talks to CNN

Ferguson’s retirement ‘a sad day’

As recently as last week, Ferguson suggested that he was fully involved in those future plans, promising the club would be “competitive” in the summer transfer market.

Speaking to Inside United, the club’s official magazine, Ferguson said: “Hopefully the players we bring into the club in the next year or so will be of the quality we need.”

Manchester United coasted to this year’s English Premier League title with a 3-0 victory over Aston Villa in April, with four games in hand.

Ferguson is due to undergo hip surgery this summer, according to UK media reports, but it’s not clear how much of a role health concerns have played in his decision to stand down.

“I think retirement’s for young people because you can do something else. When you get to my age, if your health is good, you like to work,” he told CNN in a 2010 interview.

Sports writer Mihir Bose said he was surprised by the timing of Ferguson’s decision, despite his upcoming surgery, saying he had expected him to carry on as manager for another couple of years.

Ferguson — who is seen as a kind of father figure by some of the young players he developed — has “that ability to reach out to people,” said Bose, but he is also a skilled political operator.

“He could be delightful but he was a man who made sure that he controlled the agenda,” he told CNN. “If you crossed his path he made it very clear that he controlled everything at Manchester United.”

Those who got the famous “hairdryer treatment” — loud shouting directly in someone’s face — included many sports journalists over the years. Ferguson would also refuse to speak to reporters if he didn’t like what they said.

Despite that thorny relationship, Ferguson will be remembered as an iconic figure in English football history, said Bose. The big challenge now is how Manchester United will manage the transition to ensure continued success, he added.

‘A sad day’

Former Manchester United and Denmark goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel told CNN he was still trying to make sense of the news.

Alex Ferguson’s football legacy

2012: Ferguson: ‘Racism still exists’

“It is a sad day. I’m shocked, I’m sad, I’m disappointed. It’s a day I think everyone who loves Manchester United, everyone who’s worked with Sir Alex — it’s a day that we’ve been expecting, but I have to be honest I didn’t think it would be now — I thought it would be a couple of years down the line.”

Schmeichel said he was certain that Ferguson had not been forced out but had made the decision himself, given his record of success and changes already happening on the club’s board this summer.

He paid tribute to Ferguson’s knowledge, skills and philosophy as a manager, particularly his ability to bring on young players.

Internationally known footballers like David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Nicky Butt were all created by Ferguson, Schmeichel said.

“He is the best manager in the world and he’s the best guy as well. He’s a really good friend as well.”

Ferguson’s talent has been in managing players individually rather than as a group, Schmeichel said.

“The end result is that everyone plays really well for the team,” Schmeichel said. “Yes, he can be hard, he can be tough. … In a way he becomes your second dad. He has to educate you in life, he has to prepare you for what comes next in life after football.”

‘Vision, energy, ability’

David Gill, who will step down as chief executive of Manchester United in June, said it had been a “tremendous pleasure” to work alongside Ferguson over the past 16 years.

“We knew that his retirement would come one day and we both have been planning for it by ensuring the quality of the squad and club structures are in first class condition,” he said.

“Alex’s vision, energy and ability have built teams — both on and off the pitch — that his successor can count on as among the best and most loyal in world sport.”

Ferguson began his career on the soccer pitch, playing for Scottish clubs Queen’s Park, St. Johnstone, Dunfermline, Glasgow Rangers, Falkirk and Ayr United.

But it was when he returned to the game as a manager, working at East Stirlingshire, St. Mirren and then Aberdeen that people really began to take notice.

He led Aberdeen to three Scottish titles, four Scottish cups, one League Cup and one European Cup Winners’ Cup before moving to Manchester United in November 1986 following the dismissal of former manager Ron Atkinson.

It didn’t take long for the Scotsman to start turning things round at a club that was then near the bottom of the league.

Since then, Ferguson has dominated the English game — his string of victories making him, according to the Manchester United website, “the most successful manager in British football history.”

CNN’s Alex Thomas and Patrick Sung contributed to this report.

Manchester United Manager Sir Alex Ferguson announced he will retire at the end of the English Premier League season. Ferguson has managed the team for 26 years, making him the longest-serving manager in Premier League history. Ferguson looks on during a match between Manchester United and Crystal Palace in 2011 in Manchester, England.

Mike Krzyzewski, also known as Coach K, has coached Duke University’s men’s basketball team since 1980, putting him in his 33rd season as head coach. Krzyzewski calls a play to his team during a game against Presbyterian Blue Hose in 2011 in Durham, North Carolina.

Eddie Robinson served as Grambling State University’s head football coach for 57 seasons from 1941 to 1997. Robinson coached more than 4,000 players. Robinson is emotional during the National Anthem before his final game as head coach on November 15, 1997.

Al Arbour coached the New York Islanders for 20 years with a year-long stint as vice president of player development for the team in 1987. Arbour looks on during a game against the Philadelphia Flyers in 1980.

Andy Landers has coached the University of Georgia Lady Bulldogs basketball team since 1979 and continues to this day. Landers shouts directions to his team during a game against the University of California Golden Bears on April 1.

Gregg Popovich is in his 17th year as coach of the San Antonio Spurs. Popovich directs his team against the Los Angeles Lakers on April 14.

Tom Landry coached the Dallas Cowboys from 1960 to 1988 and turned the team into one of the most dominant in the National Football League until the early ’80s. Landry watches the Cowboys play against the San Francisco 49ers in 1982.

Connie Mack managed the Philadelphia Athletics, now located in Oakland, from 1901 until his retirement at age 88 in 1950. Mack, left, speaks with a pitcher for the Athletics in 1920.

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Photos: Longest-serving coaches in sports

Will Mourinho replace Ferguson?

Bobby Charlton: Ferguson’s best moment

2012: Ferguson talks to CNN

Ferguson’s retirement ‘a sad day’

Alex Ferguson’s football legacy

2012: Ferguson: ‘Racism still exists’

Bookmakers are already taking bets on who will fill Ferguson’s shoes.

Names at the top of the list include Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho, formerly of Chelsea and currently at Real Madrid, and Everton manager David Moyes.

Other names in the mix include Borussia Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp, Michael Laudrup of Swansea City and former Manchester United striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, currently managing Norwegian team Molde.

Health concerns?

Fans’ thoughts are bound to turn quickly to the 2013-2014 season, starting in September, as Manchester United prepares to defend its domestic title and attempts another win in Europe.

As recently as last week, Ferguson suggested that he was fully involved in those future plans, promising the club would be “competitive” in the summer transfer market.

Speaking to Inside United, the club’s official magazine, Ferguson said: “Hopefully the players we bring into the club in the next year or so will be of the quality we need.”

Manchester United coasted to this year’s English Premier League title with a 3-0 victory over Aston Villa in April, with four games in hand.

Ferguson is due to undergo hip surgery this summer, according to UK media reports, but it’s not clear how much of a role health concerns have played in his decision to stand down.

“I think retirement’s for young people because you can do something else. When you get to my age, if your health is good, you like to work,” he told CNN in a 2010 interview.

Sports writer Mihir Bose said he was surprised by the timing of Ferguson’s decision, despite his upcoming surgery, saying he had expected him to carry on as manager for another couple of years.

Ferguson — who is seen as a kind of father figure by some of the young players he developed — has “that ability to reach out to people,” said Bose, but he is also a skilled political operator.

“He could be delightful but he was a man who made sure that he controlled the agenda,” he told CNN. “If you crossed his path he made it very clear that he controlled everything at Manchester United.”

Those who got the famous “hairdryer treatment” — loud shouting directly in someone’s face — included many sports journalists over the years. Ferguson would also refuse to speak to reporters if he didn’t like what they said.

Despite that thorny relationship, Ferguson will be remembered as an iconic figure in English football history, said Bose. The big challenge now is how Manchester United will manage the transition to ensure continued success, he added.

‘A sad day’

Former Manchester United and Denmark goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel told CNN he was still trying to make sense of the news.

“It is a sad day. I’m shocked, I’m sad, I’m disappointed. It’s a day I think everyone who loves Manchester United, everyone who’s worked with Sir Alex — it’s a day that we’ve been expecting, but I have to be honest I didn’t think it would be now — I thought it would be a couple of years down the line.”

Schmeichel said he was certain that Ferguson had not been forced out but had made the decision himself, given his record of success and changes already happening on the club’s board this summer.

He paid tribute to Ferguson’s knowledge, skills and philosophy as a manager, particularly his ability to bring on young players.

Internationally known footballers like David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Nicky Butt were all created by Ferguson, Schmeichel said.

“He is the best manager in the world and he’s the best guy as well. He’s a really good friend as well.”

Ferguson’s talent has been in managing players individually rather than as a group, Schmeichel said.

“The end result is that everyone plays really well for the team,” Schmeichel said. “Yes, he can be hard, he can be tough. … In a way he becomes your second dad. He has to educate you in life, he has to prepare you for what comes next in life after football.”

‘Vision, energy, ability’

David Gill, who will step down as chief executive of Manchester United in June, said it had been a “tremendous pleasure” to work alongside Ferguson over the past 16 years.

“We knew that his retirement would come one day and we both have been planning for it by ensuring the quality of the squad and club structures are in first class condition,” he said.

“Alex’s vision, energy and ability have built teams — both on and off the pitch — that his successor can count on as among the best and most loyal in world sport.”

Ferguson began his career on the soccer pitch, playing for Scottish clubs Queen’s Park, St. Johnstone, Dunfermline, Glasgow Rangers, Falkirk and Ayr United.

But it was when he returned to the game as a manager, working at East Stirlingshire, St. Mirren and then Aberdeen that people really began to take notice.

He led Aberdeen to three Scottish titles, four Scottish cups, one League Cup and one European Cup Winners’ Cup before moving to Manchester United in November 1986 following the dismissal of former manager Ron Atkinson.

It didn’t take long for the Scotsman to start turning things round at a club that was then near the bottom of the league.

Since then, Ferguson has dominated the English game — his string of victories making him, according to the Manchester United website, “the most successful manager in British football history.”

CNN’s Alex Thomas and Patrick Sung contributed to this report.

(CNN) — Hated by the English Premier League champions, chastised by the UK’s Prime Minister and even lampooned by a pizza company — is Luis Suarez the number one enemy to English football?

If the Uruguayan had not already secured his place as the “Enfant Terrible” of the English game then he now has that role all wrapped up.

As Suarez sank his teeth into the flesh of Branislav Ivanovic, he put paid to the old adage of “once bitten, twice shy.”

Read: Suarez hit with 10-game ban

No sooner had the Liverpool striker been handed a 10-game ban for his meal on Merseyside than the entire footballing world began a furious debate over the severity of the punishment.

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“The FA should explain how they’ve come to 10 games,” Rory Smith, football writer at The Times newspaper told CNN.

“If they’ve taken his past transgressions into account then that’s understandable, but by not explaining they’re allowing for lots of speculation and conspiracy.

“They could have given seven matches, which is the same as the Dutch FA so it would be interesting to see their reasoning.

“It’s unusual for past offenses to be taken into account and perhaps there is a thought that they have something against Suarez.

“The problem they have now is that next time there is a reckless challenge which goes over the top of the ball and hurts a player, what are they going to do?

“Are they saying biting is worse?”

Read: Suarez bites opponent

Suarez is no saint. That much has been clear ever since that infamous handball at the 2010 World Cup which deprived Ghana of a place in the semifinal and earned him a red card and his country a place in the last four.

Then there was the episode where he was labeled as the “Cannibal of Amsterdam” after he was hit with a seven match ban for biting PSV Eindhoven midfielder Otman Bakkal’s shoulder during a match in November 2010.

His reputation was tarnished further when he was given an eight-match suspension and a $63,000 fine after being found guilty by the Football Association of racially abusing Patrice Evra.

After Sunday’s game, Suarez, 26, was quick to apologize for his antics and would have hoped for a lesser sentence.

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But he appears to have found himself in the unenviable role of English football’s hate figure.

One company in the UK has even brought out a Suarez pizza where customers are invited to bite into his face, which is shaped with various toppings.

Read: Soccer stars behaving badly

The Uruguayan has won few friends outside of Anfield, despite riding high in the English Premier League goalscoring charts with 23 so far this season.

His constant niggling away at defenders, his penchant for diving around the penalty area and his often childish behavior has riled opponents and opposing fans.

But this latest incident, which occurred during last Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Chelsea at Anfield has caused outrage both within and outside the realms of sport.

Such was the outcry at Suarez’s actions that even British Prime Minister David Cameron felt compelled to offer his opinion on the matter.

“It is rightly a matter for the football authorities to consider,” a Downing Street spokesman said.

“As part of their consideration, I think it would be very understandable if they took into account the fact that high-profile players are often role models.”

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Liverpool managing director Ian Ayre told the club’s official site: “Both the club and player are shocked and disappointed at the severity of today’s Independent Regulatory Commission decision.

“We await the written reasons tomorrow before making any further comment.”

What rankles with many critics of the ban is that it appears out of proportion when compared to punishments handed out for similar offenses.

CNN’s Human to Hero series screens every week on World Sport. Click here for show times, videos and features.

(CNN) — Ben Ainslie lives for sailing. He grew up near the sea, and he wants to retire on the ocean wave.

But before then, the most successful yachtsman in Olympic history is taking on one of the biggest challenges his sport has to offer — the America’s Cup.

From dominating the world of dinghy racing as a fiercely competitive individual — who once famously warned his rivals, “You don’t want to make me angry” — the 36-year-old is now learning to helm towering 72-foot multihull catamarans.

The masts are 130-foot high — more than 20 times the average height of the 11 crew.

“I really love these boats because they are very physical, they’re very dynamic, they’re fast, exciting and the racing is very close, and I think it’s great to watch on TV now,” the Briton told CNN’s Human to Hero series.

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“The top speed of these boats is around about 30 knots, or 35 miles an hour, which is pretty quick when you’re that close to the water.”

Read: Ainslie captures fourth straight gold for GB

While Britain has a strong naval history and has had a lot of sailing success in the Olympics — Ainslie won four golds and a silver medal — it has never won the America’s Cup, the elite competition in yachting that is funded by billionaires and traditionally dominated by the U.S. since it started in 1851.

“All my career the America’s Cup has been a goal, I’ve always wanted to be with a winning team — preferably a winning British team — and I really felt that I’d done all I could at the Olympic level,” he said.

“We’ve never won it so I think there’s something there in our maritime history … we really need to put that record straight.”

Ainslie has set up his own team with a view to taking part in a future America’s Cup, but for now he has taken on a role as helmsman for the second boat run by defending champion Oracle ahead of the 34th edition of the race in San Francisco in September, making him effectively a reserve to its No. 1 Jimmy Spithill of Australia.

His JP Morgan-sponsored BAR team — which is supported by Oracle — finished third in the final event of the America’s Cup World Series in Naples this month, competing in smaller 45-foot catamarans.

Read: Outstanding sailing moments of 2012

“It will take time. We’re building the team up through this series,” he said. “That’s great for us to get out there racing against these other teams and learn how to get the most speed out of these multihulls.

“From there on it’s going to be important to really start building the commercial relationships so we have the funding in place for 2014 onwards so we can really start building up the team.”

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From being his own boss in the dinghy classes, Ainslie is now learning to enjoy being part of a collective effort.

“That element of team work is something that’s really critical,” he said. “It’s also a lot of fun sailing with other guys rather than just on your own all the time.”

The America’s Cup is big business. Oracle owner Larry Ellison — last year named the third-richest man in the U.S. — spent a reported $300 million before winning the coveted title in 2010.

That victory came after a series of lawsuits against the defending team Alinghi which delayed the historic competition and raised big doubts about its future.

Read: ‘Beauty is a woman riding a wave’

It will be hosted by an American syndicate, the Golden Gate Yacht Club, for the first time since 1995 and Oracle — as it has the right as defender — has revamped the rules to bring the racing closer to shore and more accessible to spectators.

But while the sport has an elitist image, Ainslie says that anyone can enjoy sailing.

“People think it’s either a very expensive sport or it’s just far too complicated — and really it’s neither,” said the Englishman, whose family moved to Cornwall on the south-west coast of the UK when he was young.

“At the grassroots level you can go down to a sailing club and you can just get into a dinghy and borrow a boat or start sailing and crewing for someone else and get into it for very little money.”

Ainslie’s Olympic days came to a glorious golden end at London 2012, as he overcame what he thought were dubious race tactics to beat his rivals and claim the Finn Class title in the final race.

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He accused Dane Jonas Hogh-Christensen and Dutchman Pieter-Jan Postma of teaming up on him, forcing him to do a penalty turn in race two, which left him trailing.

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Ainslie went public with his displeasure. “They’ve made a big mistake,” he told reporters, and promptly fought back to match the record for successive sailing golds held by the legendary Dane Paul Elvstrom.

“It was the highlight of my career and so special being in front of a home crowd and being my fourth gold medal,” he said.

It capped a Games career which began as a teenager in Atlanta in 1996 where his “disappointment” at having to settle for a silver medal in the Laser Class gave an early glimpse of his burning desire for victory.

The 19-year-old Ainslie was edged out of the top spot on the podium by the hugely experienced Brazilian Robert Scheidt, but he was never beaten again in Olympic competition.

“It was a great achievement for my age but in a way something inside of me still wanted more and I guess that what’s drove me on,” Ainslie admitted.

By the time the Sydney Games came along four years later Ainslie was ready to take his revenge on Scheidt, relegating him to the silver medal position after a bitter and often controversial personal battle.

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“I had an immense rivalry with Scheidt and I just managed to come out on top of that, and from then on really that gave me the confidence to come back each time and take the gold, and fortunately I was able to do that,” he said.

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After the Sydney Olympics he stepped up to the more demanding Finn Class, meaning he had to add nearly 20 kilograms of extra body weight to be competitive in his new discipline in a bigger boat.

“That was a big switch physically, I had to try and do most of that in muscle so I got into a lot of weight training and fitness training,” he said.

“I guess it put quite a lot of load on the body as well and hence the back injuries which I started picking up later on in my career.”

Those injury niggles were the result of hours of training in the gym and on the water, pushing himself to the limit in search of that fourth gold — in front of fanatical home support at the southern coastal resort of Weymouth, where the sailing events for London 2012 were held.

“The pressure for London was like nothing else I’ve ever experienced, ” Ainslie said.

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A hint of the almost crushing weight of expectation came as he competed for a sixth world championship title in the Finn Class in Perth in late 2011, one of his last major competitions before London.

After finishing second in race nine of the event, Ainslie made the headlines for the wrong reasons after swimming over to a media boat and angrily remonstrating with the crew.

He felt they had impeded his progress during a downwind leg and his frustration boiled over.

Ainslie’s subsequent disqualification was a bitter pill, but he later apologized for “overreacting.”

Although injuries have taken their toll on Ainslie — whose success at London 2012 earned him a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth — he says that he has never lost his love for being on the water.

“If I get a holiday or some down time I love still sailing, but not racing — just going out on maybe a beautiful classic yacht, relaxing with friends and being on the water,” he said.

“My idea of retirement would be having a nice boat, sailing around the world and exploring and being able to relax and enjoy being on the water — to just enjoy life without running around quite so hectically!”

CNN’s Human to Hero series screens every week on World Sport. Click here for show times, videos and features.

(CNN) — Forget Point Break’s party animals, modern surfing is more about professionalism.

That’s the mantra of reigning women’s world champion Stephanie Gilmore, who raises an eyebrow at the mention of the famous film that became a seismic signpost for surfing in the early 1990s.

The 25-year-old Australian says the seaside sphere she inhabits is a world away from the society showcased by Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze, stuffed with wavy-haired folk who all referred to each other as “dudes.”

“The biggest misconception about surfers is they all talk the surf lingo,” she told CNN’s Human to Hero series.

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“Not everybody does and I think Hollywood portrays a pretty scary image of how surfers go about their language. Not all of us talk like that.

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“Female surfing in a professional sense, all the girls on tour — they’re fresh faced, they speak well, it’s a beautiful product — and I feel like these next few years are going to be about harnessing that product and then showing it to the world in the right way.”

Though they are fiercely competitive on the ocean waves, Gilmore says the current crop of females on the ASP tour have formed a close bond away from the beach.

“On the women’s tour there are only 17 of us, so in a sense we’re a family traveling the world,” she said.

“We’re all young girls that love to be girls and we’re really good friends but at the same time we have to paddle out and try and be assertive and really focus to beat each other.

“Whatever happens in the water happens in the water and then we bring it back to land and we can celebrate together and enjoy it.”

CNN’s Human to Hero series screens every week on World Sport. Click here for show times, videos and features.

(CNN) — Forget Point Break’s party animals, modern surfing is more about professionalism.

That’s the mantra of reigning women’s world champion Stephanie Gilmore, who raises an eyebrow at the mention of the famous film that became a seismic signpost for surfing in the early 1990s.

The 25-year-old Australian says the seaside sphere she inhabits is a world away from the society showcased by Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze, stuffed with wavy-haired folk who all referred to each other as “dudes.”

“The biggest misconception about surfers is they all talk the surf lingo,” she told CNN’s Human to Hero series.

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“Not everybody does and I think Hollywood portrays a pretty scary image of how surfers go about their language. Not all of us talk like that.

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The girl with the dancing horse

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Blind runner with need for speed

“Female surfing in a professional sense, all the girls on tour — they’re fresh faced, they speak well, it’s a beautiful product — and I feel like these next few years are going to be about harnessing that product and then showing it to the world in the right way.”

Though they are fiercely competitive on the ocean waves, Gilmore says the current crop of females on the ASP tour have formed a close bond away from the beach.

“On the women’s tour there are only 17 of us, so in a sense we’re a family traveling the world,” she said.

“We’re all young girls that love to be girls and we’re really good friends but at the same time we have to paddle out and try and be assertive and really focus to beat each other.

“Whatever happens in the water happens in the water and then we bring it back to land and we can celebrate together and enjoy it.”