Worlds greatest athlete...

[ilitig8]

There are a TON of possibilities and admit my knowledge of sports history outside the US is limited so all my thoughts are US based. So who is the greatest athlete ever?

My vote goes to Bo Jackson, but if longevity is a criteria he probably loses.


My vote in a bar and trying to be a little controversial BUT still have the ability to argue it would be Deion Sanders.

What say you?

[Dienekes]

Jim Thorpe and it's not even close

[CamB]

Carl Lewis, Edwin Moses,Michael Johnson and who could forget Usain Bolt. Its hard to compare the feats of people over multiple eras.

[CamB]

There are a TON of possibilities and admit my knowledge of sports history outside the US is limited so all my thoughts are US based. So who is the greatest athlete ever?

My vote goes to Bo Jackson, but if longevity is a criteria he probably loses.

My vote in a bar and trying to be a little controversial BUT still have the ability to argue it would be Deion Sanders.

What say you?

I don't even know who these two are- enlighten me

[ilitig8]

I don't even know who these two are- enlighten me

Both two professional sports (American football and baseball) players.

If you are curious I'll leave their wiki links (but note Sanders is more of a Devil's advocate argument)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bo_Jackson

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deion_Sanders


As for the Jackson vs Thorpe argument, for me I don't think Thorpe is a winner and certainly not a easy one. Bo competed in track and field in college and his running, jumping and throwing personal bests were everyone better than the PB's of Thorpe, this is simple set of metrics most capable of comparing athletic prowess over different eras. Had Bo been in the 1912 Olympics Thorpe would most likely have been holding two silver medals. Bo's hundred yard dash number is 1/2 second under Thorpe's and Bo was 6.1 230.


Edit I don't know if you have Netflix (or if this content is on Oz Netflix) but ESPN (our big multi-channel 24hr sports network) does a series of films called 30 for 30 and their is an excellent one on Bo Jackson "You Don't Know Bo" a rife on his wildly successful Nike ad campaign "Bo Knows".

[ilitig8]

Carl Lewis, Edwin Moses,Michael Johnson and who could forget Usain Bolt. Its hard to compare the feats of people over multiple eras.

I was always a big Carl Lewis fan and was heartbroken when Mike Powell broke Lewis' much coveted long jump record in Tokyo in 1991. I was in law school at the time and remember staying up late to watch the competition live. I always thought Lewis was destined to beat Beamon but it was not to be. But it was great watching the battle.

While I think track and field events are an excellent metric by which to help rank athletes of different eras it still leaves out the hand eye coordination and "X factor" it takes to excel at most sports.

In the end the odds are high that the greatest human athlete is someone nobody has ever heard of who lived out their lives never competing on any stage.

[crownpuller]

... my knowledge of sports history outside the US is limited ...

Well, I'm from outside the US and my vote goes to an American; what's more, a lady: Jenny Thompson. She's quite the scholar to boot..... and, maximum respect for 'seeing off' two attackers who tried to steal her scooter

[Bwana]

Jim Thorpe, Dan Gable, Bruce Lee, Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Bo Jackson would be my top 5 athletes. These were gifted athletes that participated in multiple sports & skills.

Disciplines differ too much to pick one, but in overall athletic skill these would be the leaders. To pick Cassius Clay or Michael Jordan, only means they were the best in their individual sport.

[jsw41]

For me it is Eddie Merckx. 5 time winner of the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France (arguably, the most difficult professional sport), the World Championship of cycling 3 times, and broke the hour speed record.

John

[tribe125]

Emil Zatopek.