Below are some of the lists and winners of such lists, from various sources, plus information about our own quest to find the world's greatest athlete of all time. See also our discussion and lists of the world's fittest athletes. We are into the first stage in creating the Topend Sports list of the greatest athletes of all time by voting for the greatest athlete from all the major sports, then from this list deciding on the greatest of the greatest.
Who else is worthy of the title of greatest athlete? Below are some suggestions. Everything about golf as we know it today—the power, the popularity, the money—is because of one man. At least that's the inarguable truth from where we sit in this, the year 21 A. Why him: He is the fastest human who has ever lived. His athletic peak: The meter dash at the Beijing Olympics—he easily won gold, running it in 9. Why him: No one in any sport has won more gold medals in a single Olympics 8 or in a lifetime He is god of the seas.
Read our profile of him here. His finishing move: Coming back from a very public DUI to earn another batch of golds in Rio and emerging as an unlikely elder statesman. Why him: He basically invented the thrilling, soaring, above-the-rim era of modern basketball. His athletic peak: The ABA dunk contest, when he did the exact same foul-line dunk that Jordan made iconic 12 years later.
Why her: She's the greatest soccer player, man or woman, the U. Her superpower: Surreal knack for finding the back of the net. Also: Winning. Four NCAA titles. Two gold medals. Two World Cups.
His athletic peak: , when he led the Lakers to the NBA title as a rookie. He was so thin! Unreasonable stat: Grabbed 53 interceptions in his NFL career, and at least two every year. He played 14 years. Unbeatable record: Scored a touchdown and hit a home run in the same goddamn week. His greatest near miss: , when Sanders nearly played in a Falcons football game in Miami and a Braves playoff game in Pittsburgh on the same day.
He played in the Falcons game and was in uniform for the Braves that night, but he never got into the game, because Braves manager Bobby Cox clearly did not have his priorities straight. At 47, the Kid is hardly old, though nowadays he's a young retiree in Florida. But in our mind's eye, he'll always be Junior—in motion, at full speed, running up walls, launching moonshots with that sweet looping swing.
He was a human video game, which is why Nintendo turned him into an actual video game. The notion that one of baseball's deadliest hitters home runs was also one of its smoothest outfielders ten Gold Gloves is a miracle that people delight in pointing out—even to Ken Griffey Jr. Fans will stop him in order to describe what it felt like for them to watch him do the improbable. And it takes me a moment when it happens.
Whether it's scoring from first against the Yankees, or a catch over the wall in Detroit—you're connected to people by the details of this memory, and that can feel pretty special. To make people smile. Why him: He joined Barcelona's youth academy at age He was nominated for the Ballon d'Or, soccer's highest honor, when he was He won it at 22, then again at 23, 24, 25, and He is now His superpower: Running circles around the best defenders in the world—which is crazy because he has a ball and they do not.
Why her: Until Serena came along, many people considered her the greatest female athlete ever. Her superpower: Hang on, let's back up—do you even know what the heptathlon is? It's a ridiculous seven-event competition involving hurdles, sprinting, high and long jumps, shot put, and fucking javelin throwing. Throughout the s, JJK crushed people in this event, to the tune of two Olympic gold medals, one silver, and two world championships.
Her world-record-setting heptathlon points total at the Olympics in Seoul still stands to this day. Her athletic peak: Those Olympics, where she also won the long jump—no one else has won both, and no American woman had won either before. Think about that! Get up off your butt and walk down the hall.
She jumped that. Rakishly handsome. Married Gisele. The best quarterback ever, and he's still infuriatingly good at age Why him: You can argue all day long about who is the greatest running back in history, but you sure as hell can't argue which one was the most fun to watch. It's Barry. It will always be Barry. His athletic peak: Breaking the 2,yard mark in , then playing one more year and disappearing from view entirely.
No one ever really caught him. Why her: Dominant, machine-like consistency—six straight Wimbledon titles 18 Grand Slam singles titles overall , straight weeks at No. Why him: A soccer prodigy in his teens, he could've been the first seven-footer to play goalkeeper in the World Cup His trademark: The Dream Shake—pivot one way, get the defender to bite, then reverse the other way for an easy hoop—humiliated more grown men than Donald Trump.
His athletic peak: His back-to-back NBA titles with the Rockets always get an asterisk because Jordan was briefly retired; Jordan should get the asterisk, though—he got to dodge peak Dream.
Amazing true fact: Named the NBA's Player of the Month for February , though Olajuwon, a strict Muslim, was observing Ramadan and didn't eat or drink during daylight hours for the entire month. Why him: Simply put, he's the most powerful player ever to step on the court—and the most mentally tough, too. His superpower: Never, ever, ever, ever, ever quitting on a single point, until his opponents quit just to end their misery. His athletic peak: Easy.
His epic Wimbledon win over Roger Federer in Afterward, John McEnroe wept real tears. His superpower: Theft. Trout treats warning tracks like trampolines and walls like suggestions, robbing more homers in a season than most guys steal in a career. Why him: You're not allowed to have a celebration unless you score a lot. And that celebration definitely cannot be stripping off your shirt unless you're one of the 50 greatest athletes alive.
Scouting report: Blazing speed, body-by-Equinox power, a rocket launcher where his right leg should be. His craziest muscles: Those bulging ones under his armpits. What are those, lats? They look like gills. They are essential for you to browse the website and use its features. Functional Cookies. Performance Cookies. Marketing Cookies. Book your spot now at any upcoming open day or virtual event.
Home Advice for students Choosing what to study Top ten greatest sportspeople Choosing what to study Top ten greatest sportspeople The study of sports science is integral to the success of individual sportspeople. Resalat Rasheed 04 Aug Bookmark article. Sir Steve Redgrave Widely regarded as Britain's greatest ever Olympian, the length of time that rower Sir Steve Redgrave spent at the top of his game is almost unprecedented. Nadia Comaneci Few are well-known by their first names, but Nadia Comaneci is, as she was such a household name in her time.
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Yes No. Sorry about that Thanks for your feedback! But despite being the first UFC fighter ever to hold both belts at the same time in the featherweight division. With just 29 fights in a short period of time, McGregor has amassed more than 13 million Instagram followers, while also making waves in the UFC and showing a taste for other ways to make money.
According to fans of the game, journalists, and media outlets, Roger Federer is the greatest male tennis player of all time. He is perhaps the greatest sportsman and arguably the greatest sportsman ever in general, including breaking the most wide-ranging sports records along the way.
Neymar took his Brazilian national team goal tally to 64 with his hat-trick against Peru in the World Cup qualifier. He surpassed another famous Brazilian striker Ronaldo 62 , and now only is 13 goals behind legendary Pele.
The Brazilian combines European technicality in his play with the Latin American flair. Ever since he stepped on the court for the first time for his prep team as a freshman at St.
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