Greatest sportsman ever



roadhouse said:
all the what? performance enhancing drugs? he can have 'em. now with that said and i'll say it again, now with that said, there is not a doubt in my mind why precisley it is that oh so many attribute him as the greatest of the greatest, near and far but one thing stops me from truely accepting his accademic paperwork for being nothing more than that... drugs.
Big Lance, not one positive test and until the day proves any indifferent and he is suspended from cycling and i guess this is all merely relative to cycling so in the world of cycling and that alone, by far he is the only specialist we have yet to encounter.

overall greatest athlete of our time? Chrissie Wellington.

and then there's me, of course. ;)

Chrissie Wellington is good, but she hasn't won the most Kona titles, she has a little way yet, she will probably become the greatest though ( Kona female that is ), will be interesting to see what happens When Emma Snowsil steps up in distance.

Another name to add to the list will be Layne Beachley.

Still am yet to see anyone as dominant as Bradman
 
Scotttri said:
Chrissie Wellington is good, but she hasn't won the most Kona titles, she has a little way yet, she will probably become the greatest though ( Kona female that is ), will be interesting to see what happens When Emma Snowsil steps up in distance.

Another name to add to the list will be Layne Beachley.

Still am yet to see anyone as dominant as Bradman

Jeannie Longo would take my vote over Chrissie, anyday.

Jeannie Longo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
All these athletes are amazing, but with Bradman where talking about a record that has stood for about 60 years and know one has even come close to
 
In my country we have such an Athlete, Wayne Gretzky. Some of his records in hockey may fall over time but no one will pass his points total for a long time. In his prime he scored of 90 goals in a single season, todays top player are considered great if they hit 60. One season he had more assits then anyone else had points. There is a reason he is called the Great One!
 
BigUgly said:
In my country we have such an Athlete, Wayne Gretzky. Some of his records in hockey may fall over time but no one will pass his points total for a long time. In his prime he scored of 90 goals in a single season, todays top player are considered great if they hit 60. One season he had more assits then anyone else had points. There is a reason he is called the Great One!

caveat: they counted his points when the team he played on was in the world hockey association and the style of play in the campbell conference was wide open & high scoring. his points totals never approached those levels when he played in los angeles and later in new york.
 
I second the nomination of Edwin Moses. I have run the 400 meter intermediate hurdles. Absolutely the most gut busting event I have ever taken part. And that includes the Park County Cross Country Invitational. (2 mile run on the Leadville, Colorado golf course.)
 
Sounds like a great Cyclist, but there are others who have achieved as much even in cycling
 
In his sport, Lester Piggott's 30 English classics including 9 Epsom Derby winners, is a record that may never be beaten.
 
roadhouse said:
all the what? performance enhancing drugs? he can have 'em. now with that said and i'll say it again, now with that said, there is not a doubt in my mind why precisley it is that oh so many attribute him as the greatest of the greatest, near and far but one thing stops me from truely accepting his accademic paperwork for being nothing more than that... drugs.
Big Lance, not one positive test and until the day proves any indifferent and he is suspended from cycling and i guess this is all merely relative to cycling so in the world of cycling and that alone, by far he is the only specialist we have yet to encounter.

overall greatest athlete of our time? Chrissie Wellington.

and then there's me, of course. ;)

Armstrong better than Merckx?!?! Smacks of delusional americanism, at least Merckx had the decency to test positive occasionally. I agree with jamie72 although Fred Archer might have come close had he lasted a bit longer!
 
I have read the earlier posts and talked about this with my worked colleagues.
These were the athletes names raised:-
Muhammed Ali.(boxer)
Franz Klammer.(skier)
Lance Armstrong.(cyclist)
Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao.(boxer)
Mark Spitz.(swimmer)
Steve Redgrave.(rower)
Roger Federer.(tennis)
Carl Lewis.(athletics)
Pele.(football)
 
whuppingboy said:
I have read the earlier posts and talked about this with my worked colleagues.
These were the athletes names raised:-
Muhammed Ali.(boxer)
Franz Klammer.(skier)
Lance Armstrong.(cyclist)
Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao.(boxer)
Mark Spitz.(swimmer)
Steve Redgrave.(rower)
Roger Federer.(tennis)
Carl Lewis.(athletics)
Pele.(football)

Eddy Merckx?!
 
There is only me who cycles in the office, so the list was short on cyclists.
Some for thought though.
EDDY MERCYX.
Miguel Indurain.
Chris Boardman.
Chris Hoy.

PHIL the POWER TAYLOR...15 World Championships what a guy and a sportsman physique to die for...!!!!
 
whuppingboy said:
There is only me who cycles in the office, so the list was short on cyclists.
Some for thought though.
EDDY MERCYX.
Miguel Indurain.
Chris Boardman.
Chris Hoy.

PHIL the POWER TAYLOR...15 World Championships what a guy and a sportsman physique to die for...!!!!

Chris Boardman?! Chris Hoy?! Jeez what next David Millar!
 
As you put it so quaintly, 'twiddling round a track for 2 minutes' is not cycling was quite humerous and i did chuckle.
BUT....He is still part of the cycling family, wheels, seat, handlebars....etc
Whether on road, track, indoor, outdoor, mountain, and even recumbent(just). we are all from the same vein. CYCLING.
When i cycle on well known routes and meet cyclists going the other way or even overtaking (very rare) or being overtaken (even rarer) i always acknoledge them by a wave, nod or shout morning..!
The road cyclists always reply if i'm on my road bike, but ignore me when im on my hybrid and god forbid if i rode my mountain bike and waved... (scum of the earth in their eyes)..
I have no bias and would gladly talk to or exchange anecdotes with any rider.
This is only my limited opinion for my routes and not a true reflection about all cyclists but at the moment it happens....sad but true....
Any comments or experiences about this subject...?
 
whuppingboy said:
As you put it so quaintly, 'twiddling round a track for 2 minutes' is not cycling was quite humerous and i did chuckle.
BUT....He is still part of the cycling family, wheels, seat, handlebars....etc
Whether on road, track, indoor, outdoor, mountain, and even recumbent(just). we are all from the same vein. CYCLING.
When i cycle on well known routes and meet cyclists going the other way or even overtaking (very rare) or being overtaken (even rarer) i always acknoledge them by a wave, nod or shout morning..!
The road cyclists always reply if i'm on my road bike, but ignore me when im on my hybrid and god forbid if i rode my mountain bike and waved... (scum of the earth in their eyes)..
I have no bias and would gladly talk to or exchange anecdotes with any rider.
This is only my limited opinion for my routes and not a true reflection about all cyclists but at the moment it happens....sad but true....
Any comments or experiences about this subject...?

I agree cyclists can be a funny bunch, when I am out on my road bike even getting a nod out of a roadie coming the other way can be like getting blood out of a stone! Waving at some riff raff on a mountain bike uurgh!! No chance! lol