The Greatest Athlete Ever.

Rooney24

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Right, now that the olympics are out of the way and everyone has had a chance to re-evaluate everything. Who do you now consider to be the greatest athlete/sportsperson ever?

While there were some great performances at these games from Bolt and Phelps, Im going to still have to go with Lance Armstrong.

7 tour de France victories in a row still blows me away. And I dont think anyone in any other sport comes close to matching that achievement.

lets have your entries......
 
Its too hard to narrow it down to one person.

It would make more sense to do greatest athlete by sport. Also do an overall winner for speed, strength and endurance.
 
No, its not. Who`s achievements in their respective field stand above everyone elses in their respective field, if you had to pick one.....its not that hard.
 
Rooney24 said:
Right, now that the olympics are out of the way and everyone has had a chance to re-evaluate everything. Who do you now consider to be the greatest athlete/sportsperson ever?

While there were some great performances at these games from Bolt and Phelps, Im going to still have to go with Lance Armstrong.

7 tour de France victories in a row still blows me away. And I dont think anyone in any other sport comes close to matching that achievement.

lets have your entries......
Click to expand...

He's not even the top American--most experts would name Jim Thorpe (who died in 1953), who won the Olympic decathlon and (track and field) pentathlon in 1912 (the first year for both events) and also played gridiron football (college and pro) and baseball. He was fast, strong, and could take the pain.
 
Rooney24 said:
31. Whats that got to do with it?
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See we have four nominations already, covering several eras. I am a little older than you so maybe I can remember a few athletes you can't.

Armstrong's achievements were amazing but he is predominantly known for the Tour De France. He wasn't quite as dominant in other events because he planned his year around that event. Armstrong is definitely right up there with the best of all time for endurance but what about speed, strength and skill?

How about longevity? Steve Redgrave managed golds in 5 Olympics, winning his last medal at the age of 38. His event requires strength, endurance and speed.

The great decathletes all deserve a mention. Years ago many football players also played full time cricket as well.

Naming one above all others is futile because even in this thread you will get dozens of nominations and no consensus.
 
mjs020294 said:
See we have four nominations already, covering several eras. I am a little older than you so maybe I can remember a few athletes you can't.

Armstrong's achievements were amazing but he is predominantly known for the Tour De France. He wasn't quite as dominant in other events because he planned his year around that event. Armstrong is definitely right up there with the best of all time for endurance but what about speed, strength and skill?

How about longevity? Steve Redgrave managed golds in 5 Olympics, winning his last medal at the age of 38. His event requires strength, endurance and speed.

The great decathletes all deserve a mention. Years ago many football players also played full time cricket as well.

Naming one above all others is futile because even in this thread you will get dozens of nominations and no consensus.
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Fair points. but Im not really looking for consensus. Its a difficult thing to quantify, but Im looking for individual opinions. From my knowledge I would go for Armstrong, but other peole know different things. For instance I had never even heard of jim Thorpe, whos achievements seem pretty amazing. But its all about opinions........
 
Sir Donaldo Bradman. A recent research shows that his average is actually 100:eek:
 
your not exactly an 'athlete' if your good at cricket, look at Shane Warne, David boon, darren lehmann etc.

Lance Armstrong would be close, I was at the alp Duez for this years race and anyone who can ride 195km before starting to ride up the hill, and then ride up at the speed they do is phenominal. But then theres the fact he was hopped up on the perfect amount of steroids to create the perfect athlete.
 
Christofaux said:
your not exactly an 'athlete' if your good at cricket, look at Shane Warne, David boon, darren lehmann etc.

Lance Armstrong would be close, I was at the alp Duez for this years race and anyone who can ride 195km before starting to ride up the hill, and then ride up at the speed they do is phenominal. But then theres the fact he was hopped up on the perfect amount of steroids to create the perfect athlete.
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Rooney24 said:
Right, now that the olympics are out of the way and everyone has had a chance to re-evaluate everything. Who do you now consider to be the greatest athlete/sportsperson ever?

While there were some great performances at these games from Bolt and Phelps, Im going to still have to go with Lance Armstrong.

7 tour de France victories in a row still blows me away. And I dont think anyone in any other sport comes close to matching that achievement.

lets have your entries......
Click to expand...

...
 
Phil Taylor!

But seriously I have a lot of respect for distance runners, like Gebrselassie. People like him deserve a mention.
 
Rooney24 said:
Right, now that the olympics are out of the way and everyone has had a chance to re-evaluate everything. Who do you now consider to be the greatest athlete/sportsperson ever?

While there were some great performances at these games from Bolt and Phelps, Im going to still have to go with Lance Armstrong.

7 tour de France victories in a row still blows me away. And I dont think anyone in any other sport comes close to matching that achievement.

lets have your entries......
Click to expand...


If your taking the cycling path, Eddy Merckx was a greater athlete than Armstrong.
 
Rooney24 said:
Right, now that the olympics are out of the way and everyone has had a chance to re-evaluate everything. Who do you now consider to be the greatest athlete/sportsperson ever?

While there were some great performances at these games from Bolt and Phelps, Im going to still have to go with Lance Armstrong.

7 tour de France victories in a row still blows me away. And I dont think anyone in any other sport comes close to matching that achievement.

lets have your entries......
Click to expand...

How is Phelps winning different races less of an accomplishment than someone who has won the same race for seven years. As Rams states below Eddy Merckx is widely held as the best cyclist ever as he won a wider variety of races than Lance Armstrong. Does that make him a better athlete than Lance, I am not sure. Do not get me wrong I think what Lance Armstrong achieved is phenomenal, I am just curious on why you think that.

mjs020294 said:
Its too hard to narrow it down to one person.

It would make more sense to do greatest athlete by sport. Also do an overall winner for speed, strength and endurance.
Click to expand...

Didn't we have this discussion in the newbies.

FresnoBob said:
He's not even the top American--most experts would name Jim Thorpe (who died in 1953), who won the Olympic decathlon and (track and field) pentathlon in 1912 (the first year for both events) and also played gridiron football (college and pro) and baseball. He was fast, strong, and could take the pain.
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Jim Thorpe was a great athlete in his time. Some other great athletes to consider are Dave Winfield, Jackie Robinson, Ali, and Jim Brown.

Rams said:
If your taking the cycling path, Eddy Merckx was a greater athlete than Armstrong.
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Right now it seems that kids are concentrating on a single sport rather than trying to excel in 2 or 3 sports so it is harder to compare todays athletes to people in the past. Just look at Terell Pryor(2 sport high school athlete) who gave up basketball to be a quarterback for Ohio State. He did this because he has a better chance of becoming a pro football player now that he will be concentrating on just one sport. I am sure more and more younger athletes will keep trying to concentrate on one sport in order to (1)increase their chance of becoming a professional athlete and (2) Increase their chances of making money/getting college paid for

Also, it is pretty much impossible to compare an athletes achievements across sports. How does someone know which athletic achievement means more?? Does winning the 100M in the Olympics mean more than Lance Armstrong winning the Tour de France?? I don't think you can compare that. I think you can pick out the most dominating athlete in a single sport during a certain time(ex: Tiger Woods), but beyond that it is near impossible to pick the best athlete of all time.
 
Greatest Athletes Ever

Mark Spitz: Munich 72...Seven Gold Medals and Seven World Records

Carl Lewis: He stamped his dominance in long jump, 100 and 4 * 100 relays for more than a decade

Jesse Owens: Self explanatory...

Usain Bolt: If he sustains his dominance for long. But I smell something fishy about him and IAAF as a whole, Powell, Gatlin, Green and Montgomery ( I was right about him though). No wonder if all 100M sprinters collapsing on the track at a stretch some where down in the future. Here we can also add Undertaker and Mick Foley to the list along with Lampard

Sergei Bubka..According to his coach his personal best during practice was 6.25 M (he never cleared in competitions) but a big tourney bottler.

Not that all these were the greatest in their respective discipline like Biondi was better than Sptiz but it their domination over a period of time mark them as all time greats.

Lance Amstrong...Had Greg Lemond remained injury free, he would've been better
 
vijay said:
Greatest Athletes Ever

Mark Spitz: Munich 72...Seven Gold Medals and Seven World Records

Carl Lewis: He stamped his dominance in long jump, 100 and 4 * 100 relays for more than a decade

Jesse Owens: Self explanatory...

Usain Bolt: If he sustains his dominance for long. But I smell something fishy about him and IAAF as a whole, Powell, Gatlin, Green and Montgomery ( I was right about him though). No wonder if all 100M sprinters collapsing on the track at a stretch some where down in the future. Here we can also add Undertaker and Mick Foley to the list along with Lampard

Sergei Bubka..According to his coach his personal best during practice was 6.25 M (he never cleared in competitions) but a big tourney bottler.

Not that all these were the greatest in their respective discipline like Biondi was better than Sptiz but it their domination over a period of time mark them as all time greats.

Lance Amstrong...Had Greg Lemond remained injury free, he would've been better
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Carl Lewis tested positive, while Powell, Green and Bolt have never.
 
Jim Thorpe

I simply will not consider a one sport person as the greatest athlete. Thorpe did many sports. Ali just boxing. Jordan just basketball (he was terrible at baseball). Phelps is a swimmer. Lewis did a handful of events so I would consider him. And don't even mention a golfer, a cricket player, a baseball player, etc.
 
It depends on the definition of athlete.

Being good at different sports like Jim Thorpe is fantastic but can you really say a jack of all trades master of none is greater than the likes of Ali?
 
Psmith said:
It depends on the definition of athlete.

Being good at different sports like Jim Thorpe is fantastic but can you really say a jack of all trades master of none is greater than the likes of Ali?
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Except that Thorpe wasn't a "jack of all trades"--he was the Olympic champion in two multi-discipline track/field events while also competing in the individual high jump (4th) and long jump (7th). When college football was king in the US, he lead Carlisle Indian School to victory over mighty Harvard and Army and to the (mythical) national championship. In football he was a running back, defensive back and also the place kicker and punter. He even won the collegiate ballroom dancing championship. He was also a pro quality baseball and lacrosse player.

Ali was a great boxer, but there is no evidence he was particularly skilled at any other athletic endeavor.
 
Psmith said:
It depends on the definition of athlete.

Being good at different sports like Jim Thorpe is fantastic but can you really say a jack of all trades master of none is greater than the likes of Ali?
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But how do you consider the best in one sport better than someone that dominated many sports? Thorpe was great at track and football and played professionally in baseball and basketball as well. The first multi-sport star. Jim Brown dominated football and lacrosse. Dave Winfield was incredible in football, basketball and baseball albeit at the collegiate level. He's the only player ever drafted in four major sports leagues. Ali was the greatest boxer... but how does that equate him to the greatest athlete? Ali's bigger than life stature is how he become the first American global icon and stood up against racism, politics, war, etc. (Pele was probably the first global icon). But that doesn't make him the greatest athlete just the most well-known, respected, and debated icon. Furthermore, how is getting pounded consistently in the head considered a true athletic endeavor? It's quite stupid.
 
mjs020294 said:
Armstrong's achievements were amazing but he is predominantly known for the Tour De France. He wasn't quite as dominant in other events because he planned his year around that event.
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Exactly. And put his achievments next to Eddy Merckx and it`s obvious who was the more dominant in his era.
 
MrMarcello said:
But how do you consider the best in one sport better than someone that dominated many sports? Thorpe was great at track and football and played professionally in baseball and basketball as well.
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Correct me if i`m wrong, but Football and Basketball had nowhere near the same profile then that they have now. Therefore they probably didn`t attract the same calibre of athlete then as they do now. Therefore it was probably easier to do both well. I know Bob Gibson was an incredibly talented Basketball player but he close pitching because Baseball was the sport in those days.
 
Nearco said:
Correct me if i`m wrong, but Football and Basketball had nowhere near the same profile then that they have now. Therefore they probably didn`t attract the same calibre of athlete then as they do now. Therefore it was probably easier to do both well. I know Bob Gibson was an incredibly talented Basketball player but he close pitching because Baseball was the sport in those days.
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In that case then we can't call Pele the best ever because he didn't do it in today's football climate.
 
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