Greatest sportsman/woman of all time

[Roberto Betta]

I would begin to say anyone that has never used some form of science or at least very little of it i.e. wind tunnel testing, nutrition etc so it would have to be someone from far back.

[Robbief]

Soccer/ football: Pele
Rugby: Jonah
F1: Michael
Swimming: Phelps
Boxing: Ali
Cricket: Warne(to me at least especially against the Proteas). Bradman to long before me.
Track: Owens/Lewis/Bolt
Moto GP: Rossi( but the best era was the Lawson, Rainey, Shwantz era,... by far).
Tennis( with regards to the ladies, will always be a Graf fan), cant comment on the men. Only interested in the ladies.
Beast ofroad racer: Peterhansel.
Basketball: MJ( no, Im not talking about the guy who used to sing).


This is what I watch, I think the greatest would be on that list.

Very good list I must say.

[C Africa]

Well Lance Armstrong did win 7 tour de France's and he did it while on drugs. Most druggies can't find the toilet.


On a serious note, yes Don Bradman, he was simply so far ahead of no 2 that he actually had an average twice that of his nearest rival, and even today it is regarded as an extreme level of skill to get an average of half Don's average. Interesting trivia, he only scored two in his last innings which dropped his average to 99.8. If it wasn't for that he would have averaged more than 100.


C

[Nabs]

Very big subject. I think the more main stream sports (the sports with bigger money) will have the prominent names.
Take for instance Kelly Slater with 11 world titles to his name. Not many people will know about that but he's now 48 years old and still extremely competitive, giving the 20 year olds a solid run for their money time and time again.

[dirtshark]

Very big subject. I think the more main stream sports (the sports with bigger money) will have the prominent names.
Take for instance Kelly Slater with 11 world titles to his name. Not many people will know about that but he's now 48 years old and still extremely competitive, giving the 20 year olds a solid run for their money time and time again.

Agree, Kelly Slater is a phenomenon!

[Rockgobblin]

Take away the steroids and then not so much

OK, I’ll bite. Let us assume everyone was on some kind of state sponsored program, he was still head and shoulders above anyone else, doing lifts his peers worldwide, at double his bodyweight, could not match. His feats are still unmatched today where doping is much more sophisticated. Have a look at some of his youtube lifts, then look at his physique, he was in no way freakish, just immensely, immensely strong.

Also, to my knowledge never tested positive...not that the KGB would have allowed it!

[JanB]

Waar pas Divan Serfontein in?

Nommer 9

[Francois Theron]

Waar pas Divan Serfontein in?

Onder Bakkies se armholte!

[Groenman]

Running the fastest is a very pure sport form - no rules (or at least nothing complicated). Just run from A to B. And Usain Bolt DOMINATED. My vote would go to him. He was faster than anything before him by a country mile.

Then when you watch reruns of Tiger Woods in the early 2000s - there is once again no contender. IMO, there is no conversation between him and Nicklaus. Nicklaus was the best of the bunch, until Tiger came and propelled the sport into the stratosphere.

In Tennis - I'm a die hard Federer fan. But to have him, Nadal and Djokovic in one era is unheard of. Those are the three best players of all time by a country mile, and not much to separate them.

Rugby - Lomu - once again he propelled rugby forward. 1.96m, 120kg, 100m in 10.8 seconds!!! McCaw & Carter - best contenders due to their period of dominance.



To answer the OP's question - my vote goes to Bolt.

[jooste777]

Well Lance Armstrong did win 7 tour de France's and he did it while on drugs. Most druggies can't find the toilet.

Best post of the week. Coffee went straight through my nose.

[KurtG]

What about American sportspersons like Michael Jordan etc.?

[KurtG]

Sir Steve Redgrave

Nadia Comaneci

[EttiennedK]

I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned Gary Player yet.

[Boomstomp]

Aleksandr Karelin, Greco-Roman wrestler

[Tedx2]

Interesting trivia, he only scored two in his last innings which dropped his average to 99.8. If it wasn't for that he would have averaged more than 100.


C

Actually this is incorrect. In Sir Don's final test innings he needed to score 4 runs to have a career average of 100.00. In the event he was clean bowled by Eric Hollies for a "duck". His test average was then 99.94. His average against South Africa was 201.50, with a highest score against South Africa of 299*.

He was certainly one of the greatest sportsmen of all time.

[RoelfleRoux]

Actually this is incorrect. In Sir Don's final test innings he needed to score 4 runs to have a career average of 100.00. In the event he was clean bowled by Eric Hollies for a "duck". His test average was then 99.94. His average against South Africa was 201.50, with a highest score against South Africa of 299*.

He was certainly one of the greatest sportsmen of all time.

The story goes that a young fast bowler, in a County game, put the ball past Sir Don's bat for a vew ball in a row. He goes up to Don and says: "the ball is that red shiny object in leather that weighs xx ounces". Next ball the Don hits it into the pavilion and tells the bowler: "Son, since you know what it looks like, why don't you go and fetch it"

[C Africa]

In Tennis - I'm a die hard Federer fan. But to have him, Nadal and Djokovic in one era is unheard of. Those are the three best players of all time by a country mile, and not much to separate them.

Come now Groenman, Borg won 7 Wimbledon's, and he had to fight top players like Connors and McEnroe for it. We had good players in our day too! (EDIT: and Lendl and Vilas....)


Thank you to Tedx for the correction.

C

[ghouwens]

Well, if you're asking about the greatest sportsman/woman, there is only one - Caster Semenya!

In the words of the great Malema: That Caster, he, is a woman..!!

[duncang]

Well, if you're asking about the greatest sportsman/woman, there is only one - Caster Semenya!

Love it !!

[Markus and Zelda]

Jesse Owens