Vardy, Ronaldo, cheerleaders and gymnasts: The best mannequin challenges

England's footballers became the latest sports stars to take on the mannequin challenge after Jamie Vardy scored against Spain at Wembley on Tuesday night.

Immediately after his diving header, he and several of his team-mates including Raheem Sterling and Theo Walcott, froze to the spot for several seconds.

Although the social media craze has been doing the rounds for a few weeks, Vardy is one of the first to perform it during a match. Most other sports teams have broken out the challenge during training or after matches.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The Baltimore Ravens NFL team attempted a mass mannequin challenge last week, led by quarterback Joe Flacco. But the results were less than convincing on the field.

American football teams have had more success with the challenge during training or on their travels. The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills have shown the way.

And of course the cheerleaders have also got in on the act, with the New Orleans Saints setting the standard.

The first Premier League club to take on the challenge was Sunderland, who showed off their ability to stand still during a weights session, earlier in the month. Unfortunately, given the Black Cats' position at the bottom of the table, many fans have been left wondering if they had been trying out the challenge during matches as well.

Other football clubs around the world have joined in, with Borussia Dortmund one of the stand-out candidates:

YouTube

Watch On

Paris Saint Germain also deserve credit for involving 400 fans in the club shop in their effort:

YouTube

Watch On

But of course, Cristiano Ronaldo had to muscle in on the fad and have the last say, and he - and his white underpants - are the stars of the Portugal national team's effort.

Beyond the world of football, other sports have been getting involved, with Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic orchestrating a tennis-themed effort at the ATP World Tour Finals.

YouTube

Watch On

But if the aim of the challenge is to hold an improbable pose then the gold medal must go to the Texas A&M gymnastics team, whose mannequin challenge film features some extraordinary poses on gym equipment.