Greatest Sportsman/woman Ever

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drive4show said:
To be the greatest ever, one of the criteria has to be how far ahead of the rest of the field was that person. Based on that, the contenders are people like:

Ed Moses (107 consecutive wins not finals)
Jehangir Khan
Don Bradman
Joe Louis

Although I am a huge admirer of Steve Redgrave, how do we know how good he actually was based on the fact he was 1 of 4 in a team? Likewise any cyclists who were also part of a team.
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1 of 2 for the first 4 gold medals. And i'd imagine if you weren't world class then you and your partner wouldnt be winning gold. I'd imagine you wouldnt be able to carry a person in a two man team and win Olympic titles.
 
Tongo said:
1 of 2 for the first 4 gold medals. And i'd imagine if you weren't world class then you and your partner wouldnt be winning gold. I'd imagine you wouldnt be able to carry a person in a two man team and win Olympic titles.
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I'm not denying that Redgrave was world class but it's difficult to bestow the title of 'best ever' on someone who wasn't competing in an individual discipline. You could just as easily argue that Matthew Pinsent is the best rower ever, just Redgrave had a longer career.
 
For me a great sportsman has to have the kind of spellbinding skill that us mere mortals can only dream of when watch them, gazing in awe of their unbelievable talent.

For that reason anyone that rows a boat is out.
 
Qwerty said:
For me a great sportsman has to have the kind of spellbinding skill that us mere mortals can only dream of when watch them, gazing in awe of their unbelievable talent.
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Well if that's true then I think we can all agree that the answer to the OP is Phil Neville.
 
The issue with being one of the best in a minority sport is that you are not being challenged by a large number of other people. How many rowers are out there? Compared to other sports the numbers are miniscule. To be the best ever you need to be tested by a greater depth of quality than rowing can offer.

Huge respect to Redgrave for what he achieved but most of the world will be oblivious of what he has done as rowing is ignored by most of the rest of the world. The best sportsman in the world will surely be known by large chunks of the world.
 
Lord Tyrion said:
The issue with being one of the best in a minority sport is that you are not being challenged by a large number of other people. How many rowers are out there? Compared to other sports the numbers are miniscule. To be the best ever you need to be tested by a greater depth of quality than rowing can offer.

Huge respect to Redgrave for what he achieved but most of the world will be oblivious of what he has done as rowing is ignored by most of the rest of the world. The best sportsman in the world will surely be known by large chunks of the world.
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Redgrave will be known all over the world

What Redgrqve did was in the biggest event in world and watched by more people than any other sport - the Olympics

There are rowing clubs all over the world - the Olympics has multiple events with competitors from all over the world - Rowing is a big sport both competitively and socially

How much quality do you believe Rowing has - 5 gold medals in 5 Olympic Games over a period of 16 years is a phenomenal achievement that I don't see ever being beaten in many sports

He may not be every best sportsman everywhere but to dismiss his achievements like you have is bull as has previously mentioned
 
wrighty1874 said:
Alf Tupper is a great call.Best middle distance runner on a belly full of fish n chips there has ever been.
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Yep.

Never saw Cram or Coe etc winning a race after lying unconscious on a garage floor or sleeping under a hedge the night before. :)



Couldn't really pick my greatest tbf.
Always preferred the multi discipline athletes, I think there is something special about being so good at numerous disciplines.
 
You seem to be conveniently missing my last paragraph where I am complimentary to Redgrave. His achievements are tremendous but we are talking about best in the world, ever, in all sports. Rowing is a minority sport practiced in a minority of countries. Throw an archery name in the mix, clay pidgeon shooter, nordic skier etc. If you win multiple medals in those sports then you will be a top sportsman but it doesn't make you known worldwide or the best sportsman ever.

I was in Spain during the London Olympics and I can assure you that they show very different non athletics sports to their public than we see in the UK. Rowing never made it on to their schedules but handball for example was very popular.
 
Lord Tyrion said:
The issue with being one of the best in a minority sport is that you are not being challenged by a large number of other people. How many rowers are out there? Compared to other sports the numbers are miniscule. To be the best ever you need to be tested by a greater depth of quality than rowing can offer.

Huge respect to Redgrave for what he achieved but most of the world will be oblivious of what he has done as rowing is ignored by most of the rest of the world. The best sportsman in the world will surely be known by large chunks of the world.
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Good point. I guess the same could be said about Hoy and others. In the case of AP McCoy how much of it was down to the quality of the horses. That isn't to take away from any of the achievements the worlds best have done for their sport and what they did with talent and sheer hard work
 
Lord Tyrion said:
You seem to be conveniently missing my last paragraph where I am complimentary to Redgrave. His achievements are tremendous but we are talking about best in the world, ever, in all sports. Rowing is a minority sport practiced in a minority of countries. Throw an archery name in the mix, clay pidgeon shooter, nordic skier etc. If you win multiple medals in those sports then you will be a top sportsman but it doesn't make you known worldwide or the best sportsman ever.

I was in Spain during the London Olympics and I can assure you that they show very different non athletics sports to their public than we see in the UK. Rowing never made it on to their schedules but handball for example was very popular.
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40 countries have won Olympic rowing medals with the biggest sporting nations all filling the top ten slots - even in this short list Redgrave is mentioned by most , if you extend the list to everyone then Redgrave will be mentioned , Micheal Johnson and Daley Thompson both mentioned him - so did Bolt

Redgrave will be mentioned by many all over the world when debating the best ever sportsman along with the other greats

In fact Google "best sportsman " and he appears in the lists from journos etc
 
Last edited by a moderator:
drive4show said:
To be the greatest ever, one of the criteria has to be how far ahead of the rest of the field was that person. Based on that, the contenders are people like:

Ed Moses (107 consecutive wins not finals)
Jehangir Khan
Don Bradman
Joe Louis

Although I am a huge admirer of Steve Redgrave, how do we know how good he actually was based on the fact he was 1 of 4 in a team? Likewise any cyclists who were also part of a team.
Click to expand...

Got a feeling Bradman played in a team, and in a sport that most definitely requires others to perform well before Bradman could achieve what he did. The best batsman ever without a doubt, but if his bowlers hadn't created the platform and freedom for him play... great yes, but greatest no.
 
So winning Wimbledon, winning an Olympic gold medal, captaining the England football team as well as being a scratch golfer, scoring a century at Lords and scoring a 147 at snooker is obviously not worth of consideration.
 
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