Agree or disagree? Jessica Ennis-Hill's coach thinks she's "the greatest British athlete of all time"

Nope. Sorry, that would have to go to Jonathan Edwards. Oly Gold, WC Gold, and world record holder in the triple jump.

Not even close.

No wrote:

Mo Farah. Bobby Charlton. Seb Coe. Paula. Lennox Lewis. Daley Thompson. Rory McIlroy. Andy Murray. BANNISTER!!

Sir Roger Bannister, Steve Ovett, Eric Liddell, Harold Abrahams and George Best were better than Rory McIlroy.

No it's not.

Greatest British athlete is either Wayne Rooney or Martyn Rooney. Only fair way to decide is see which can kick a soccer ball around a track faster.

Saying "greatest British (track and field) athlete of all time" is about the same thing as saying "greatest US soccer player of all time".

Jackie Joyner Kersee would have wiped the track with Ennis-Hill every single time.

coach d wrote:

Saying "greatest British (track and field) athlete of all time" is about the same thing as saying "greatest US soccer player of all time".

Jackie Joyner Kersee would have wiped the track with Ennis-Hill every single time.

Commie coach d,

if you ask victor conte he will tell that jjk's 1988 wr was fueled by steriods and she failed the subsequent drugs test but it was covered up by corrupt American officials.

Michael Palin - "Twit of the Year " 1975 .

Ohhh , what a Twit !!!!!

Depends on the criteria used to measure "great". By medals won she is certainly up there with any UK athlete. No WRs certainly - but we live in an era when many of the women's WRs are considered out of reach, especially in the sprints/explosive events which the heptathlon basically is.

Less tangible measure of "great" is the respect an athlete is held in both by contemporaries and generations that came after them. On this basis I would class Ron Hill and Gordon Pirie in my top half dozen or so UK greats. Ennis wouldn't make that list because I'm not really interested in her event. This is, of course, a purely subjective (prejudiced?) judgement!!!

She was a favourite for Beijing but damaged her ankle, she was so badly injured she had to learn to jump off her other foot. She won in 2012, had a baby and won Worlds a year later, would have won more titles if her competitors were clean. As for heptathletes performing 'mediocre' Johnson Thompsons high jump in Rio would have won Gold in the individual event. I'd argue very few of the other Brits were clean. If any.

Felon wrote:

Rory McElroy is Irish

No wrote:

Mo Farah. Bobby Charlton. Seb Coe. Paula. Lennox Lewis. Daley Thompson. Rory McIlroy. Andy Murray. BANNISTER!!

And Mo Farah is a Somali.

Brits wrote:

She was a favourite for Beijing but damaged her ankle, she was so badly injured she had to learn to jump off her other foot. She won in 2012, had a baby and won Worlds a year later, would have won more titles if her competitors were clean. As for heptathletes performing 'mediocre' Johnson Thompsons high jump in Rio would have won Gold in the individual event. I'd argue very few of the other Brits were clean. If any.

Do you really think that Ennis-Hill or Johnson-Thompson might have been clean? If so, based on what facts?

No wrote:

Mo Farah. Bobby Charlton. Seb Coe. Paula. Lennox Lewis. Daley Thompson. Rory McIlroy. Andy Murray. BANNISTER!!

Farah isn't British. And he is a doper.

Red Rum is probably the greatest British athlete of all time.

jjjjjj wrote:

Coe has a lot of world records but he won only two golds and two silvers in Olympics and did not make either of the World Championship teams in 1983 and 1987. Nor did he make the 1988 Olympic team (though he should have been chosen ahead of Steve Crabb!). Farah's nine golds and a silver in three worlds and two Olympics is a considerable advantage. Without any real wr's for Farah, though, I can't put him absolutely ahead.

"Only 2 golds and 2 silvers in the Olympics "! Really?

That was the most medals won by any British athlete (T&F) at the Olympics until Farah won his 3rd and 4th golds in Rio.

Off the top of my head I don't think any athlete has won 2 medals in the 2 middle distance events in consecutive games!?

Factually you are wrong. Coe did make the team for the 83 World Champs but pulled out about. Week before the games on medical advice because he was ill.

As for 87, he was out all season with an injury after running first race in May. It is not a failure to make a team if you're out all year and not expected to run!

mcilroy is northern irish, which makes him eligible for this.

rojo wrote:

NAnd when he says that does athlete simply mean track and field athlete? Or can it be any sport? What do you think?

Seriously? You don't know what the definition of 'athlete' in the UK is?

Felon wrote:

Rory McElroy is Irish

No wrote:

Mo Farah. Bobby Charlton. Seb Coe. Paula. Lennox Lewis. Daley Thompson. Rory McIlroy. Andy Murray. BANNISTER!!

Rory was born in Co. Down which is in the United Kingdom. For the topic of who he represents see

The answer is Daley Thompson, double Olympic champion, world champion, double European champion when main world competition was Hingson and Wentz, triple Commonwealth champion and world record holder. Unbeaten for 8 years. Coe, Farah, Edwards, Ennis et al don't even come close.

Bad Wigins wrote:

Greatest British athlete is either Wayne Rooney or Martyn Rooney. Only fair way to decide is see which can kick a soccer ball around a track faster.

The greatest of all time Brit athlete, Brit Sportswoman, Brit Sportsperson and Greatest of All Time (in any sport, male, female, male/female, other, including all religions, atheists, agonostics and any race) Human is:

Ms. Paula Radcliffe...of Monte Carlo, Monaco

(Paula also has a history of asthma and anemia…which she was able to easily overpower with her Brit Superpowers™.)

OK?