Greatest Athletes of All Time
This is not a list of the greatest players of all time, although many of the athletes on the list may have been great players. This is a list of the greatest athletes which begs the question, what makes someone a great athlete. For the purpose of this list, athletic greatness is defined as possessing a variety of attributes that contribute to athletic prowess. These include speed, quickness, endurance, power and hand-eye coordination. That is why this list does not include specialized athletes such as marathon runners or bicyclists. While it is clear that Lance Armstrong is a master in his field, he has not proven that he could compete in other sports where more is required than pumping his thighs for hours on end.Don't agree with the list? Vote for an existing item you think should be ranked higher or if you are a logged in, add a new item for others to vote on or create your own version of this list.
The Top Ten
egillaxelsson
More comments about Pele (Edson Arantes do Nascimento)I like Lance for the reasons stated here, but I'm not convinced he is as good as Eddy Merckx. The Cannibal, as he was called, was every bit of good as Lance, Migeul Indurain, and the others, but Eddy did it without the organized teaming that today's cyclists benefit from. Eddy really defined the sport, and defined manhood.
Bo hit 141 hr in 2300 games, which is close to on pace with the likes of Mike Schmidt. That was before the pre 1996 hr derby style baseball too. Imagine a healthy Bo Jackson slugging 50 homers a season and hitting 500 home runs in his career. Would there be any doubt then who was the greatest ever to step on the field? That's not even counting his ridiculous range in the OF.
Oh, and that's just baseball. Hey MJ fans, you want to see athletic dominance? Watch a Bo Jackson football highlight reel. Then tell me he wasn't the best athlete ever. Had he focused on football, and stayed healthy, he'd own Emmit Smith, and Barry Sanders. Every scout agreed that he was THE BEST ever. Speed, power, balance, vision, he was THE BEST. His yards per carry are a testament to that. How about that 6.8 yards per carry average in his rookie year? Again, ridiculous.
One day the sports world will look beyond the numbers in the record books and back on to the field of play to judge performance. That was Bo's playground, and no matter what the game, you know Bo not only could do it, but he'd do it better than anyone else.
Bo is #1 all time.
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The Contenders
Nurmi is also considered the best Olympian of all time.
Lewis was the best in the world at both of these basic skills for over 10 years. No one is a better athlete.
he beat the nazis in Munich 8 yrs befor D-Day
Jesse owens was hard working, talented and won medals at the time when there was racism. He is a role model to all
In 1936 Jesse Owens won 4 gold medals in Germany a country ruled by the face of EVIL (Hitler) who thought the Aryan race was superior. Jesse owens overcame all the obstacles facing him and brought home the gold
More comments about Jesse Owensrmoore26
THERE ARE ONLY TWO NFL QUARTERBACKS WHO HAVE WON 4 SUPER BOWLS JOE MONTANA IS ONE OF THEM
Joe Montana is the best nfl qb of all time and would have won 2 more superbowls if he had not been sent to Kansas City
Best Athlete by far. Golf is the hardest sport to play because there is no room for error and Tiger dominated the game like no other Athlete has dominated their sport. Anyone who says golf isn't a sport is just arrogant because it takes strength, flexibility, balance, endurance, and TREMENDOUS mental strength. What Tiger Woods has done is just simply amazing.
Has been the greatest golfer at all points in his life, junior golf, amateur/college, and professional
Michael vick number 10!? You are a complete IDIOT for that one. No rings. No awards. 2 years behind bars. COOL! Ato boldon? Get out of here. Wayne Gretzky? Good, bump him behind woods. Golf is the toughest game... Ever. Tiger has damn near perfected it. Enough SAID.
More comments about Tiger WoodsThe most dominating athlete ever... did things his competition could only dream of. Greco-Roman wrestler who went 10 years undefeated and for the last six of those years, he never had a point scored on him!
armust
This guy should definitely be top 10, most likely top 3. He was basically undefeated till he quit, in a sport that is immensely demanding and tough. In the last 6 years he didn't even lose a single point (except the last game of his career) and no one else has ever been able to throw super heavy weight wrestlers. No one ever!
A beast and really dominant beast. I wouldn't be surprised if he would win a point or 2 against a grizzly bear as well.
More comments about Alexander Karelinthe mile king and holder of solid three world records. very difficult to replace this king
Fell in 1996, worked hard for a second place in 2000 and in 2004 had his Olympic dream. This just in Olympics.
Exceptional athlete
He is the best athlete of all time no one can remplace him he must be number one on this list hicham est grand
More comments about Hicham El GuerroujHe changed sports culture forever. Absolute monster at Football, Baseball and Track. He was said to be even better at Basketball than anything else. He should be top 10
He was AMAZING at football and baseball. He should definitely be at least fifteenth!
Yeah right. Babe Ruth was a better athlete than Deion Sanders. Ha! Deion not in the top 10 shows there is something seriously wrong with this list.
More comments about Deion Sandersreally he is all time greats
The man who changed basketball
Had the only unstoppable shot... The old sky hook
More comments about Kareem Abdul-JabbarThis guy opened the doors to the world of athleticism for millions of kids in the Arab world and Africa a real source of inspiration and a fantastic runner
The man would wear ankle weights and used hand squeezers to college class for god sakes. He dominated the olymics, not a single point was scored on him. he worked 6-8 hours a day. 4 time undefeated HS state champion and a 2 time NCAA champion with only one loss in his college career, to a man he beat at the Olympic trials 8-1. Before his Junior high years he won a state championship in swimming for YMCA, before starting wrestling in JH. He played football and baseball in HS both of which he was very impressive at. Dan Gable is easily in the top 2 or 3 best athletes ever. He was probably the most determined and dedicated athlete as well.
wrestling hardest sport in the world bar none this guy wrestled the his whole olympic wrestling team from light to heavy and beat every1 besides the heavy who was 300 lbs and won the gold hahahahahaha wrestlings a man sport
He should be ranked much higher. Most people don't know about Dan Gable because wrestling is one of the most under-appreciated sports. The man's winning percentage is ridiculous! He lost 4 times and won 300 (or something similar to that). He was consistent. He showed up to win everyday. This guy should be top 3. Period.
More comments about Dan Gabledanajs24
wideup
Nobody can repeat his performance! I think he is the best that will ever be, he knew how to do things no one else could! It's gonna take some real talent to exceed his ability's!
I haven't seen any F1 drivers in this list, not to make NASCAR less, but I think that F1 races are way more complex, where is Ayrton Senna, Schumi or Alain Prost? , come on this list is total crap
Doesn't anyone watch NASCAR? Come on- it's more than just a redneck sport. It takes guts to be in a high horsepowered vehicle for 3-4 ' hours. By the way- it's 100% REAL!
Not my very favorite but he's definitely the ballsiest mofo out there. #tougherthana2dollarsteak the dude is INSANE he has redefined "YOLO" more times than I can count. And why isn't Brett Favre on this list?!? He's the BEST OF ALL TIME!
He should be in the top 10 for sure. The kid won the AMA motocross outdoor national championship, AMA super cross championship and the ESPN X games all in one year. He won a outdoor event then hopped on a plane and won the gold in X-games freestyle.
the greatest running back of all time
He played in more games consecutively than any of us can count. now tell me thats not athletic
This is guy is my hero in almsot every way. Way to go, you had an awesome career even without the highest-paying teams. You rock!
Baltimore1993
Most Influential and progressive skate boarded of all time. He elevated the sport into the main stream all the while Becoming a household name and media icon.
Best snowboarder ever and top 10 skateboarder
Simply the best, and he still have more ten years to show his quality as soccer player! Keep counting his goals (already broke all Real Madrid's records).
The best player ever! He can do it all, whether for manchester, madrid or portugal. He is also on another level when it comes to athleticism, he is way faster and fitter than any other footballer.
The most complete Football player in world for the moment. He scores with both feet, head and also he know how to strike from free kicks and penalty spot. One of the best.
More comments about Cristiano RonaldoHe has shown his superhuman capabilities time and time again.
Never failing to perform
I cannot believe Zidane is not higher than Ronaldo and Ronaldinho.
Having said that, I still haven't seen Cruyff here, which says a lot.
And more generally, how come there are so few football (soccer) players when it is the most practiced (and popular) sport on the planet?
Zidane is the best soccer player of all time. Why is Christiano Ronaldo higher than him. Zidane should be above pele. He has the most skill
Zidane is the legend of football and he would be remained as a unique iconic player of all the time and no one could replace him.
Zidane is better than any other player in the world he was the most effective player of football ground.
AlphaX
More comments about Serguei BubkaYou guys always focus on US athletes, and recognizing yours. In reality The planet only recognizes those athletes who move the masses world wide and of course the sport that is king of all, cause everything else is just none existing. And by the way football is play with the feet, the whole planet knows it, why don't you?
simply the best footballer of all the time. pele who?
blind_bikerz
No words can't match this skills and talent. He is best footballer of the Century.
More comments about MaradonaRC is truly a great athlete and would excel in many disciplines that are fitness and finesse oriented but I feel the sport itself, despite it's documented difficulty, hinders his ranking. I just put in for Jeff Ward, RC's original mentor, who's a FOUR sport success and two sport Hall of Famer.
MJRydsFast
The goat. The best of all time.
No other athlete has ever accomplished in their sport what RC did in motocross. His win/loss ratio in unamtched, and his ten years of sheer dominance are unprecedented. The most competitive athlete of all-time.
Statistically the best athlete of all time. Who else has won every single championship they've ever competed in? NOBODY in my knowledge! I know he didn't win every supercross championship, but he did win every single outdoor championship that he entered.
More comments about Ricky Carmichaelpauler94
footballanytime
yougnr1116
More comments about Peyton ManningGreatest athlete ever period no athlete has even come close to matching his intensity.
If people can't realize what an amazing athlete Cael Sanderson is then they are truly blind. Cael is the best.
Cael should be way higher on the list. He's the only man to ever go undefeated in the most demanding and hardest sport out there. Most great ufc fighters have an amazing wrestling background for this reason.
More comments about Cael SandersonBest most ruthless fighter and athlete ever
To live. Most talented fighter eats you children
Loved by few hated by many respected by all
QUITE POSSIBLY THE MOST DYNAMIC ATHLETE AND CERTAINLY THE MOST DYNAMIC BOXER OF ALL TIME. HE MADE BOXING INTERESTING WHEN IT REALLY WASN'T. IT'S A TRAGEDY THAT HIS LIFE AND CAREER SPIRALED SO BADLY OUT OF CONTROL.
he is in the top most famous athletes in the world, how you guys rate koby better than ronaldinho!
People who don't agree. Try doing some of the stuff he makes look easy
HonestKeil17
waterboy51
More comments about Walter PaytonThe best bicycle racer of all-time. He won just about every big bike race in the world multiple times, some as many as five and seven times. He has over 400 professional career victories, before any of these fancy performance enhancing drugs.
rmeadeee
The nickname "The Cannibal" is all you need to know. Any true cyclist would say he was the best ever. Yes, even over Armstrong.
5 x tour de france, 2 x tour of flanders, 3 x paris-roubaix, 7 x milan san remo
More comments about Eddy The Cannibal MerckxCould look in the opposite direction, shoot the ball and be nothing but net. Now that's amazing.
Powerful,fast,acceleration Greatest of all time he's a legend
At his best he would dominate any contact sport. 6'5", 276 lbs, 100 metres in 10.8 seconds, the ability to break through 4 men at the same time and great skills and hand eye co-ordination. What more could you want from an athlete.
Tiger Woods, a golfer, is in the top ten and Lomu, who got offered a spot on the Dallas Cowboys- for playing an entirely different sport, is at 41? Undeniably the greatest rugger of all time, the most physically impressive athlete ever to grace this planet, and the talent to back it up.
More comments about Jonah LomuHe had blazing speed, was very strong, and had great eye-hand coordination. He naturally is degraded in the ranking by his injuries and drinking, but he would have been excellent in track, football or just about anything else he wanted to do.
Nobody but nobody possessed the tremendous strength and blazing speed that Mantle had. If it hadn't had been for bad legs, injuries, and booze, he would have hit 800 home runs. He could have played pro football or basketball, exchanged punches with Marciano in the 50's as a professional boxer, been a powerlifter, or an Olympic decathlete. He was that talented. Mantle is, in my opinion, the greatest athlete ever. And he did it without steroids. Probably more fans paid to see Mantle play than any other athlete. Many fans also showed up early at the ballpark just see Mantle take batting practice. He is without a doubt the greatest clutch hitter in late innings MLB history. Mantle may be the fastest player ever and his perfect game-saving catch in the 1956 World Series is one of the best catches ever(very few center fielders ever could've made that play). Also, two players on the same team chasing Babe Ruth's homerun record (Mantle and Maris) is the second greatest athletic feat in history, only to be topped by Cal Ripken's unbelievable streak.
I cant believe they gave The Mick this rank. I believe that any knowledgeable person who saw Mickey at his best would tell you that Mickey Mantle is one of the ten greatest athletes who ever lived.
More comments about Mickey MantleThe best wide receiver to ever live. They took all of jerry rices records one time, and compared them to every person who has ever played in the nfl. And there was only 7 men in all of history, who even had half.
First of all JERRY RICE IS THE GREATEST ATHLETE OF ALL TIME! Case closed. His records, someday may be eclipsed. No man showed more determination than Jerry, todays wide receivers catch the ball and fall down or try to get out of bounds(smart sometimes)Jerry would break free and score more touchdowns than any other player in the history of the game. 3 super bowl rings (super bowl MVP)more all purpose yards than any other man. A true SPORTS LEGEND JERRY RICE.
He didn't break any speed records.
He had one race; one challenge, and he couldn't even finish that.
He did manage to run more consecutive marathons in consecutive days than anyone else-5, 373 km in 143 days.
That is an average of 23. 3 miles per day.
On one leg.
There is in any course of human endeavor--be it art, invention or sport where some times, on a very rare occassion, one person elevates something simple, beyond its simplicity and shows us not only what one person can achieve if motivated, but rather what all of us might if we harnassed the barest echo of that resolve.
I have noticed that frequently, your country loves the winner to the exclusion of all else.
Terry Fox could not complete his race. He was completing not just agaisnt the miles, but against his own body turned traitor. In the end that cancer stopped him from finishing his race.
It weakened him to the point that he couldn't breathe.
It eventually killed him.
But it did not beat him.
And so I am always mystified why when the call goes out for the greatest athlete his name never seems to make the list.
Nobody in the history of sport even comes close.
Climbing on the list of the best tennis players ever!
If he keeps winning in the next 5 years good chance of becoming best ever!
AMAZING TENNIS PLAYER! almost number 1 tennis player in the WORLD. YOU HAVE TO VOTE FOR HIM!
Beywiki
THE BEST TENNIS PLAYER OF ALL TIME, HE WILL BECOME A LEGEND ONE DAY!
Federer nad Nadal will have to try much much better ;)
He came into the league among Lebron James Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh and he pulled himself away from the shadows and was the first among them to win a NBA ring, also winning finals MVP. He has the closest high flyer style to Michael Jordan and now even Lebron realized that Wade can do it better and joined him in Miami, so he can finally win a ring, but he will never do it on his own like Wade did. Above all this, at this point he is the best clutch player in the league, that's why when the game is on the line the ball goes to Wade not James.
He has incredible speed, agility, strength, balance, hand eye coordination, touch and was never intimidated by pressure, opponents or odds, he played through injury and carried an otherwise terrible team to the playoffs for so many years, and the heat wouldn't even come close to a championship in 06 had it no been for him.
best team player, very unselfish. Best looking too!
Coming out of college, Elway was the most sure thing first round draft pick in the NFL draft to date. Not bad for the best baseball pitcher to come out of college that year.
john elway is the best quarter back ever the only reason farve broke his record is because he played for way longer
big-al
the best swimmer of all times, all over the world
he's the champ
Even in a team game surrounded by world class athletes, Taylor was such a presence on the defensive side of the ball that offensive coordinators were forced to scheme their game plans to account for him.
Best LB ever the only player that comes close to him is Don Hutson who is not even on this list which is hard to believe because he is one the best football players to ever play the game. Lawrence Taylor is one of the best to play to. When he injured Joe Thisman the redskins franchise was over from that point on. The people that make this list Don Hutson in the top 10 Lawrence Taylor in the top 25.
Willie should be in the top ten. He could control a baseball game all by himself. Hit, field, throw, run, hit for power. A 5 tool player with no comparison.
Wow there is no question Willie should be top 5. Greatest I would say.
Fahcue
Read the latest biography of Willie Mays and see what the world thought of him. Better than Babe Ruth. There were no black players in Ruths era. Perfect physical specimen who also was a great person to all races. Played in poor hitters parks and still hit prolific home runs. Willie and Michael tied for first.
Ya, he may be a guy you don't to have in your locker room, but what he does on the baseball field is amazing.
Just can't explain how good this guy is. A natural five tool player with the combination of speed, arm strength, hitting for average, power and great defense at very tough positions probably will end up as the games greatest player
Should be a lot higher on the list. Higher than Ortiz. The Peyton Manning of baseball. Killer and record breaking regular season stats but postseason failure. On average he racks up stats and accolades faster than any player in history. If he only had a ring he would be considered one of the top 10 baseball players ever. Manning got his ring, who knows A-Rod might get his soon. It's baseball, these guys could play into their late 30s maybe 40s. Plus what makes him amazing is the fact that he is clean, no roids or HGH or anyone of that. The guy lets his talent do all the work, bringing him success and failure. Hey at least if he messes up he'll mess up honestly not cheat and still mess up (so sad, LoDuca seriously-worst roid user ever).
yougnr1116
More comments about Alex Rodriguezif he hadnt of had cancer which caused him to miss so many games, the majority of the NHL's scoring records would be held by 66 not 99
Gretzky was all offense; Lemieux was as good as Gretzky in that department, but he was a complete player who could hit, defend, even fight. His cancer and back problems slowed him down tremendously; otherwise had a great shot at beating Gretzky's records for goals and points.
Mario was flat out amazing, nobody not even Gretzky could match his skill level, 160 points in 60 games... With cancer treatment in pro hockey is astonishing.
She was not only a stud in track and field, she was dominant in the LPGA. In high school she was the star of her AAU team. Babe is a hall of fame track star and a hall of fame golfer. She also was an All American Basketball player. If that isn't an athelete then i don't know what is.
He has changed baseball all the way. Yankees suck
I can't imagine anyone else with so much fluidity in his body and the High points he reached in his career. I am a Big fan.
In his prime sat along side tiger and fed with ease. What he did for swimming was amazing. The greatest freestyler ever
Impeccable freestyle technique. No swimmer has been able to achieve so much in both middle distance and sprint events in one stroke.
Gave the lakers numerous amounts of championships... Couldn't shoot a free throw to save his life hack-a-shaq laugh out loud. No but seriously top 10 all time basketball players and top 25 all time athletes.
Don't know the kid, but he sounds like a good athlete. I'm a girl, so I dunno much about sports but I know him. He is a good athlete(according to 72 people I surveyed). So yeah. 'enough said. He deserves to be in top 10. There is something seriously WRONG with this list..
He truly is an amazing player. after all that he went through, he was still number one and played tennis till 35.
One of the greats at tennis
as they say nuff said.
THIS:
The tactics for the 400m hurdles must be run as fast as you can to ensure you win. 122 consecutive wins, nine years, nine months and nine days in the most difficult track event.
Edwin Moses is the greatest athlete of all time!
"Moses won 107 consecutive finals (122 consecutive races). He set the world record in his event four times. In addition to his running, Moses was also an innovative reformer in the areas of Olympic eligibility and drug testing."
if you know anything about sports at all, you can't neglect edwin
He is easily the greatest baseball player the cardinals has ever had and the best baseball player in the world and my mom thinks he is hot!!!
cards5fan
Easily the greatest baseball player ever my mom thinks he is hot!!!
She is the best in every sport there is!
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What sport DIDN'T Jim Thorpe dominate?candymann
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Updated Saturday, May 18, 2013