Greatest Athlete Of All-Time Is...

Emil Zatopek:

Major Achievements

First man to break 29:00 for 10k

1948 Summer Olympics: 10,000m Gold

1949 - June 11 to September 1 - Holds 10,000m World Record

1949 - October 22 - Holds 10,000m World Record

1950 European Athletics Championships: 5,000m Gold - 10,000m Gold

1952 Summer Olympics 5,000m Gold - 10,000m Gold - Marathon Gold and Olympic Record

1954 European Athletics Championships: 10,000m Gold - 5,000m Bronze

1954 - May 30 to August 29th - Holds 5,000m world record

1956 Summer Olympics: 5,000m Silver

1956 - July 15 - After seven years (during a period when distance running was improving at a fast pace) finally relinquishes the 10,000m world record.

2000 Honoured with the Pierre de Coubertin Medal (awarded to athletes who exemplify the "true spirit of sportsmanship" at the Olympics)

IAAF Hall of Fame

Other Achievements

1 hour Run WR - September 15 1951 to August 24 1963

20,000m WR - September 15 1951 to August 24 1963

25,000m WR - October 26 1952 to September 27 1955

WR - October 29 1955 to July 21 1965

30,000m WR - October 26 1952 to October 21 1956

Add that to the many humbling stories of his grace and kindness, and in my opinion, you get the greatest Athlete of all time.

And this just further proves my point:

http://rw.runnersworld.com/pdf/groat.pdf

Dr Doctor wrote:

Let's make this easier for you to understand. Break it off into 10 categories

1. Dominance

2. Achievement

3. Consistency

4. Longevity

5. Durability

6. Skill range

7. Degree of difficulty

8. Depth/quality of competition

9. Gap over competitors head to head and all-time

10 Legacy

The above is a pretty good list of determinants.

All of you homer sexuals debating over basketball players are fools. The greatest singular athlete of all time cannot be measured by participation in a TEAM sport. Where would Wilt, Jordan, Bird, Lebron be without the other six or eight guys on the team? Same for football players.

Neither is it a runner. Obviously this won't matter here because this is a running website. Runners fail numbers six and seven above. The act of running takes no skill, and is not difficult. Any kid age six can run.

The greatest and most dominant athlete of all time is the surfer Kelly Slater. No team to prop him up. A difficult sport which requires dexterity, flexibility, strength, balance, coordination, as well as intimate knowledge of unpredictable and ever-changing environmental conditions which at times can provide the danger of death (no basketball player or runner is ever in danger of dying). Dominance in his field is unquestioned. Every surfer alive today would say he is the best there has ever been. Eleven-time world champion (person with 2nd most world titles has five). Five of those consecutive (1994-1998). He is both youngest (20) and oldest (39) world champion. 66 world tour victories. 7-time pipe masters champion. He has demonstrated dominance in every possible surf condition, winning events from small wind-chop in Florida to Pipe and Teahupoo to big-wave competitions such as the Eddie Aikau at Waimea Bay. He has proven nearly unbeatable to four different generations of the world's best surfers, from 1990 to today (24 years).

Legacy? He has been dominant and in the limelight since age 12. He is still competing, age 42, and still winning. Two months ago he won his 7th Pipe Masters title, and just last week (7 February 2014) won his 66th ASP victory, also at Pipeline.

Dated Pam Anderson, Cameron Diaz, Gisele Bundchen, and each one when she was at her prime. I know this has nothing to do with athletic ability but name a single runner, no, a single track athlete of any discipline, whose accomplishments gave them access to such world-famous top-shelf poon.

The bottom line is simple. No one of any discipline has dominated a sport as completely nor for as long as Kelly Slater has dominated surfing. Not Tiger Woods (golf is not a sport anyway), not Jordan (whose accomplishments are nothing without a team backing him up), and sure as hell not any of the distance runners being named here who nobody but track fans has ever heard of.

Secretariat

TAA wrote:

No mention of Usain Bolt?

This.

Certainly he's the sprint GOAT, but with a bit more longevity and if he gets more records and a sub 19s 200M he will be THE GOAT.

And yes I think he's clean. Just go read the recent TG story in propublica that reads like a bad B movie.

Dr Doctor wrote:

The Bayman wrote:

Jim Thorpe, Carl Lewis, Jackie Robinson, Wilt Chamberlain, Deion Sanders, Jim Brown. Just to name a few multi-sport studs.

Haile was good, but he only ran. If he played soccer or something too, that would have been a different story.

The problem with this is you keep listing people who weren't even seriously considered the best in their own sport (with the exception of Jim Brown, who I agree belongs in this discussion)

Thorpe was an average football player and below average baseball player. Lewis' PR's are not even near the top 20 times of all time and he was on steroids! I could go on, but I think you get the point.

I'm not following. With the exception of Deion Sanders an argument can be made for each of those guys being the best at their primary sport in their respective era and they were competent enough at other sports to play at the highest level.

Also Lewis' name appear in the all-time top 20 list for long jump. 9 times.

Charlie Ward

Mr. Obvious wrote:

If that is your criteria than Babe Ruth or Wayne Gretzky are going to be heavy contenders.

if...then...

more...than...

Dr Doctor wrote:

The Bayman wrote:

Jim Thorpe, Carl Lewis, Jackie Robinson, Wilt Chamberlain, Deion Sanders, Jim Brown. Just to name a few multi-sport studs.

Haile was good, but he only ran. If he played soccer or something too, that would have been a different story.

The problem with this is you keep listing people who weren't even seriously considered the best in their own sport (with the exception of Jim Brown, who I agree belongs in this discussion)

Thorpe was an average football player and below average baseball player. Lewis' PR's are not even near the top 20 times of all time and he was on steroids! I could go on, but I think you get the point.

Seriously?

Thorpe was a two time Olympic champion - clearly the best in his sport

Lewis was by far the best long jumper of his era

Chamberlain set records that will never be touched in the NBA

Deion Sanders redefined the CB position - best of all time

Brown was obviously the best football player of his time, perhaps of all time

OK, so you were just trolling but still...

I've said it before and I'll say it again.

Hands down it's The Undertaker.

The guy has been killed (3) times in the ring.

Twice he was buried.

And through all of the that, he's still wrestling.

Who could possibly top that!!!

Jim Thorpe

mellon wrote:

I've said it before and I'll say it again.

Hands down it's The Undertaker.

The guy has been killed (3) times in the ring.

Twice he was buried.

And through all of the that, he's still wrestling.

Who could possibly top that!!!

Good point!

mellon wrote:

I've said it before and I'll say it again.

Hands down it's The Undertaker.

The guy has been killed (3) times in the ring.

Twice he was buried.

And through all of the that, he's still wrestling.

Who could possibly top that!!!

Good point!

mienbau wrote:

There used to be a show on tv that was a great way to settle debates over which stars are the most athletic. It was called The Superstars (not Battle of the Network Stars). Top athletes from all sports competed head to head in running, lifting and some skill events. It was easy to see who the really great athletes were: OJ was tough to beat, Deon Sanders was a true superstar, some basketball players were great. Overall I remember that the tennis players were some of the worst athletes. It's too bad we can't have similar competition today - I am sure contracts wouldn't allow it.

Here is a peek at what it was like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZkK7umu3JIhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dj_sciOA74ohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mN758d2qUjk

Loved that show to the point that the kids in my neighborhood made our own Superstars competition.

Also, Bob Seagren, a pole vaulter, won it several times.

mienbau wrote:

There used to be a show on tv that was a great way to settle debates over which stars are the most athletic. It was called The Superstars (not Battle of the Network Stars). Top athletes from all sports competed head to head in running, lifting and some skill events. It was easy to see who the really great athletes were:

Well, based on the "Superstars" criteria, here is a list of some contenders:

Kyle Rote, Jr.

Renaldo Nehemiah

Jason Seahorn

Brian Hooper

Brian Budd (3x world superstars champion has to be the favorite)

Kjell Isaakson

Brian Jacks

chumptown loser wrote:

You have no actual evidence for this. He was a good HS football player. Do you have any data on Lebron's lifting numbers? Do you have any data on his speed? Oh did you see him 'sprint' 50 feet and outrun Shaq? There was an article on this awhile back that found Lebron SELDOM exceeded 10mph in a game.

If you say he is 'big and strong' - randos like Margus Hunt are much bigger, much stronger, and much faster.

Lebron is a dominant basketball player, probably the best ever. But he is not magic. It is a game of height.

Read this, brother and become educated:

Tons of stories too about him and how many football people believe he is NFL Hall of Fame caliber.

Gonna Have to Kinda Agree wrote:

Reggin Reggi wrote:

Jim Brown. He's in the Hall of Fame in two different sports.

Sorry, I overlooked your post.

I agree.

Jim Brown was great in his era, and so you could make the case that he's the most accomplished, but no way is he even close to the most athletic. College running backs today who don't even make it in the NFL are more athletic than he was. The current crop of athletes are just bigger, strong, faster.

Zatopek was a good choice. That's a debate that makes sense.

Flagpole wrote:

Read this, brother and become educated:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5360552

Tons of stories too about him and how many football people believe he is NFL Hall of Fame caliber.

that article is pure speculation. While he may have excelled in HS, that does not make him a NFL hall of famer. Allen Iverson was also a stud HS football player. None of Lebrons supposed athletic stats are verified either.

Lebron is one of the best basketball players ever but there are NFL players who are superior in terms of pure athleticism when it comes to strength/speed/size. Look up the verified combine numbers for Margus Hunt and Calvin Johnson, then get back to me.

Realism wrote:

that article is pure speculation. While he may have excelled in HS, that does not make him a NFL hall of famer. Allen Iverson was also a stud HS football player. None of Lebrons supposed athletic stats are verified either.

Lebron is one of the best basketball players ever but there are NFL players who are superior in terms of pure athleticism when it comes to strength/speed/size. Look up the verified combine numbers for Margus Hunt and Calvin Johnson, then get back to me.

1) That article is one of many articles, sports people, football people, etc., who said the same thing. Allen Iverson was not the physical specimen that LeBron James is.

2) That article isn't even just pure speculation either...talks about his height, about his vertical leap, etc. That's not speculation.

3) The problem with comparing LeBron James to Margus Hunt is that LJ has already proven himself to be one of the best of all time in his sport. I'm saying he could have done almost as well in another sport too. Margus Hunt hasn't done that in one sport yet.

4) If Deion Sanders could make it on the professional level in two sports, then LeBron James sure could. Deion was GREAT in football, but LeBron is greater in basketball, and he has a football body...even freakish for football.

I'll go with what most experts have said about LeBron James and say that yep, he could have done it on the football field too.