White, Cruyff, Evans and sport's other great runners-up

For each champion and every winner there are those who narrowly missed out.

The athletes who were on the verge of achieving greatness only to have the rug pulled from beneath their feet at the final stage.

Some never get the chance at greatness again but for a few, those unfortunate, unlucky few, it appears that finishing second is to be their lot.

Elfyn Evans is the latest to join those ranks.

The quiet, softly spoken Welshman was leading the World Rally Championship after 13 rounds, each one four days of intensive racing across a range of testing terrain.

But come the decisive final round in Saudi Arabia last week, normal service resumed.

His narrow lead was whittled away and then left in the dust of Sebastien Ogier's tyres as the Frenchman took a record equalling ninth title and the Welshman was left to rue finishing second for an agonising fifth time.

There is a long list of those who never quite got it over the line - BBC Sport looks at some of sports other great runners-up.

Nicknamed 'The Whirlwind' for his swift and thrilling attacking style of play, Jimmy White was a favourite with fans but became synonymous with the runner-up tag.

He reached six World Snooker Championships finals without success, including five in a row between 1990 and 1994 only to lose to Stephen Hendry in four of them.

In 1992, White stormed into a 14-8 lead before Hendry fought back with one of the great final displays, winning ten frames in a row to lift the trophy.

White later reflected: "I was 14–8 up. Then it went 14-10 and I was completely gone, I was done. Pockets were moving all over the place. Your brain just gets fuzzled."

Arguably the greatest national team never to win a World Cup, Netherlands were spearheaded by the football visionary Johan Cruyff and coach Rinus Michels who dreamt up the modern 'Total Football' concept.

Having failed to even qualify for a major tournament in 36 years, they reached successive World Cup Finals in 1974 and 1978 but lost both, to West Germany and Argentina respectively.

They reached a third final in 2010 with the likes of Robin Van Persie and Arjen Robben - only to lose again, this time to Spain.

French cyclist Raymond Poulidor was nicknamed 'The Eternal Second' for finishing on the Tour de France podium eight times between 1962 and 1976 but never winning the yellow jersey.

It was his great misfortune to have a career that coincided with legends Jacques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx, who each won five Tours.

Representing France, he would suffer a similar fate, winning one silver and three bronze medals in World Championship road races.

He was, however, a hugely popular figure in France, affectionately known as 'Pou-Pou', and won the 1964 Vuelta a Espana and the 'monument' classic Milan-San Remo in 1961.

He rode for Mercier for the entirety of his 17-year professional career, during which he won 11 Grand Tour stages, and died in 2019, aged 83.

During a record run, Buffalo Bills went to four straight Super Bowls in the 1990s - but never won and are still waiting to lift the Vince Lombari Trophy.

From 1991 and 1994, they were among the best teams in the entire NFL but were also consistent in losing the big final, to New York Giants, the team formerly known as Washington Redskins and twice to Dallas Cowboys.

They were not helped at Super Bowl XXVI at the Metrodome in Minneapolis by a kit blunder that just about summed up their fortunes in finals.

Running back Thurman Thomas, widely regarded as one of the best offensive players of the era, had a pre-game ritual where he placed his helmet on the 34-yard line.

Unfortunately, Harry Connick Jr was performing the national anthem before kick-off and the helmet was moved for the stage without Thomas knowing and he missed the start of the game.

A year earlier they lost the Super Bowl after missing the final kick of the game.

Bayer Leverkusen became serial runners-up in the same season to earn the nickname Bayer Never-kusen.

In 2002, having been on the cusp of an historic treble, they missed out on the Bundesliga title to Borussia Dortmund, then lost the German Cup Final to Schalke 04 and finally the Champions League Final against Real Madrid, all in the space of a few weeks.

It took more than two decades to get over the disappointment until, after 30 years without silverware, they finally ended their long wait for the Bundesliga title in 2024, ending the season unbeaten.

Chaz Davies was a notorious bridesmaid to Jonathan Rea in the World Superbike Championship.

The Welshman would surely have been a world champion if not for Rea, finishing second in the title race on three occasions - 2015, 2017 and 2018 - and third on two other occasions.

When Rea retired in 2025, Davies posted a tribute on social media, calling the Northern Irishman "a prolific pain in the ass" in an affectionate nod to their fierce and enthralling rivalry.

Alexander Zverev has won almost everything in tennis yet the Grand Slams have proved elusive.

After a stellar junior career, the German has won 24 ATP Tour titles in singles and two in doubles, two ATP Finals and an Olympic gold, but trails 40-love when it comes to the big four tournaments.

Defeat in this year's Australian Open to Jannik Sinner was the third time he had reached the final and lost, having also been runner-up at the French Open in 2024 and US Open in 2020.