Top 10 Sportspeople

[944fan]

So who are your top sports people and why? Not necessarily who are the best but who inspires you, personal choice.

Here's mine, not necessarily in order.

1. Muhammad Ali - massively talented but also huge charisma and wasn't afraid to stand up for what he believes in.
2. Mo Farah - Possibly the best long distance runner Britain has seen, huge talent, and from what I see on the telly quite possibly one of the nicest chaps going. All round good egg.
3. Jessica Ennis - Could she have had any more pressure on her at the Olympics? New British Record, multiple PBs and destroyed the field.
4. Bradley Wiggins - 1st British person to win the TdF, then a few weeks later I think I will go an do a TT and win a gold medal at the home Olympics, easy. All the while with an air of confidence and humor that made it seem like it was really easy and no big deal.
5. Michael Phelps - most decorated Olympian ever. 18 golds, 2 silver, 2 bronze. Then retires at 26. Amazing
6. Miguel Indurain - Probably unfairly forgotten in most peoples minds because of some Texan who favored cheating to achieve what he did. Possibly one of the fittest athletes ever.
7. Usain Bolt - fastest man in the world. Back to back triple gold medal. Quite possibly the biggest personality in sport. A living legend.
8. Jenson Button - probably a bit contentious this one but I have always admired his determination. Not the fastest driver but capable of some impressive racing when the stars align. Plus always seems like a decent down to earth chap. Always happy to give interviews and have a laugh. Some F1 drivers are so up their own arse.
9. Brownlee Brother's - A couple of cheeky chappies with enormous talent.
10. Ben Ainslie - most decorated sailor in Olympic history, brought off the bench in the America's Cup and leads one of the biggest sporting come backs in history. Any for the best quote of the Olympics "They made me angry, and you don't want to make me angry"

[OneDs]

Most of those are quite recent, if there's one person I think who is always overlooked in these lists it's Ed Moses 400m hurdler. Longest unbeaten run, Olympic & World titles, seemed to do it with little or none of the fuss (and drugs) of some of the other well known athletes of his time.

Edited by OneDs on Friday 18th October 14:50

[Melchett]

This is a tricky thing to do, but I agree with who is on your list. For me, I would promote Bolt well up the field, Big Mig is a legend, Button; why not. Haile Gebrselassie would make my list, he did as much off the track as he did on it.

[944fan]

I did strongly consider Gebreselassie. 27 world records, 2 10,000m golds. Switch to the Marathon and break the WR twice. All the time suffering with asthma.

[toasty]

Jahangir Khan - 555 match, 5 year unbeaten run at squash. Very few get that level of dominance.
Valentino Rossi - Multiple world championships at different levels with different manufacturers.
Sebastian Loeb - Similar to JK in dominance of his field.
Floyd Mayweather - Five weight unbeaten world champion.
Emile Heskey - Erm....

Edited by toasty on Friday 18th October 15:44

[deadmau5]

Phil 'The Power' Taylor

[Melchett]

944fan said:

I did strongly consider Gebreselassie. 27 world records, 2 10,000m golds. Switch to the Marathon and break the WR twice. All the time suffering with asthma.

And still kicking ass at 40!

[Joffery666]

Michael Jordan?

Don't agree at all with button being in when the top 50, he'll be forgotten by most a year after he retires.

[nascarrules]

Sir Don Bradman if a cricketer is included on the list.

[evo4a]

Michael Johnson
Pele
Jocky Wilson

[London424]

Wayne Gretzky could be added.

Button needs removing immediately.

[BraveSirRobin]

Steve Redgrave?

[anonymous-user]

As the OP said, it's not necessarily the best sportsmen, but the people who inspire you, the thread title is somewhat misleading. Button is far from the best but I can see how some people take to his perseverance and commitment when he knows his car is not the fastest on the grid.

For me it's Tom Brady, quarterback for the New England Patriots, three times Super Bowl winner, capable of turning games in a single play and Fabian Cancellara, a hugely successful Swiss cyclist who was awesome in the Spring Classics this year and dominated the Paris-Roubaix race with a series of relentless attacks on the cobbled sections.

So not who is the best, but who inspires you.....

[mcelliott]

Did have a little chuckle at the OP - slating Armstrong and including Miguel Indurain in his list. If you're talking about inspiration, Graeme Obree would be at the top of my list.

[Amirhussain]

Muhammad Ali- Not just as a boxer, but as himself, if you know what I mean, he had unbelievable arrogance around him, but he backed up his talk, and said some of the most legendary quotes not just in boxing history, but in sports as a whole. 'I'm so mean I make medicine sick'

Floyd Mayweather- I know he is recent at the moment, but has the lifestyle I WISH I had, every opponent he faces is seen as a threat (Guerrero, Canelo) but he just blows them away. His in a different league, the guy is just too good.

[Amirhussain]

BraveSirRobin said:

Steve Redgrave?

Don't get why people rave about him that much, he wasn't the only man in the boat.

[unrepentant]

Pele
Don Bradman
Babe Ruth
Peyton Manning
Steve Redgrave
Floyd Mayweather
Jim Clark
W G Grace
Michael Jordan
Carl Lewis

[Rouleur]

944fan said:

1. Miguel Indurain - Probably unfairly forgotten in most peoples minds because of some Texan who favored cheating to achieve what he did. Possibly one of the fittest athletes ever.

Nice bloke but as much a cheater as Armstrong.

IMO Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault should be on a list of top sports people, they simply dominated their eras and effectively controlled the peloton of any race they took part in. EM (and probably BH too) doped to some extent but then who didn't back then?

I was always a big fan of Sean Yates, he was as strong as a horse but just got on with his job of being a domestique rather than a race winner and didn't seek the limelight. He was a dude. I'm aware that he has a slightly iffy history too...

[Hoofy]

I quite like Novak Djokovic. Pretty good at tennis and doesn't take himself too seriously.

http://youtu.be/x1O0BfOfuHY

[Vocal Minority]

Rouleur said:

Nice bloke but as much a cheater as Armstrong.

IMO Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault should be on a list of top sports people, they simply dominated their eras and effectively controlled the peloton of any race they took part in. EM (and probably BH too) doped to some extent but then who didn't back then?

I was always a big fan of Sean Yates, he was as strong as a horse but just got on with his job of being a domestique rather than a race winner and didn't seek the limelight. He was a dude. I'm aware that he has a slightly iffy history too...

I think you could apply 'who didn't back then' to Indurain and Armstrong too!

Arguably the difference is that Hinault and Merckx were pre EPO era athletes, and whilst there was a lot of doping, the theory is that the right guys still won.

However, EPO turned donkeys into racehorses and as such the 90s is a much more muddied and confused era.