Greatest Sportsperson Match-up (Cricket Fans)
The Cricket Fans Forum ran a competition in 2008 to select the Greatest Sportsperson. Nominees were from users selecting their top five greatest sportsperson of all-time.
There were 98 nominations, who were up against each other in a knock-out match-up style competition, until only the greatest ever was left.
In the first round, there were four way matchups with two athletes advancing. Round of 48 was a 3-way match-up with two advancing from each match-up.
From round of 32 onwards it was 2-way match-ups up to the final. The determined the winner to be Muhammad "I'm the greatest" Ali.
Finals
| Muhammad Ali | |||
| Muhammad Ali v Michael Jordan | |||
| Muhammad Ali Tiger Woods |
Michael Jordan Wayne Gretzky |
||
| Muhammad Ali Jahangir Khan |
Tiger Woods Mark Spitz |
Michael Jordan Sugar Ray Robinson |
Wayne Gretzky Steve Redgrave |
Muhammad AliRound of 16
| Tiger Woods Paavo Nurmi |
Heather McKay Sugar Ray Robinson |
Jahangir Khan Ty Cobb |
Michael Jordan Babe Ruth |
| Muhammad Ali Pele |
Steve Redgrave Hicham El Guerrouj |
Wayne Gretzky Carl Lewis |
Mark Spitz Jack Nicklaus |
Round of 32
From this list of 32, one from each matchup went through to the round of 16. The winner is marked in bold.
| Steve Redgrave Vladimir Salnikov |
Lance Armstrong Hicham El Guerrouj |
Jan Zelezny Heather McKay |
Bjorn Borg Sugar Ray Robinson |
| Paavo Nurmi Diego Maradona |
Mark Spitz Patrick Roy |
Tiger Woods Dhyan Chand |
Ty Cobb Zinedine Zidane |
| Babe Ruth Pete Sampras |
Rocky Marciano Muhammad Ali |
Al Oerter Carl Lewis |
Wayne Gretzky Sergei Bubka |
| Michael Johnson Jack Nicklaus |
Roger Federer Pele |
Joe Louis Jahangir Khan |
Michael Jordan Rod Laver |
2nd Round Matchups
Here are the 50 athletes who made it past the first round, in their respective matchups for the 2nd round. In this list there are 7 boxers (Johnson, S.R. Leonard, S.R Robinson, Marciano, Dempsey, Joe Louis, Ali), 5 soccer players (Best, Maradona, Zidane, Cantona, Pele), 4 tennis players (Federer, Laver, Borg, Sampras), 3 sprinters (Owens, Carl Lewis, Michael Johnson), 3 long distance runners (Kuoros, Nurmi, Gebrselassie), 3 swimmers (Spitz, Fraser, Salnikov), plus other sports with two or one representatives. The top two highest vote winners in each matchup went through to the next round. The winners are in bold.
| Lewis Sampras Davis Kuorus |
Mark Spitz Ty Cobb Hendry |
Redgrave Nicklaus Fraser Yaping |
Maradona Ali Meads |
| Nurmi Zidane Leonard |
Tiger Woods M Johnson Edwards |
Sugar Ray Robinson Pele George Best |
Oerter Khan Beamon |
| McKay Roy Dempsey |
Jan Zelezny |
Lance Armstrong Michael Jordan Gebrselassie |
Bubka Laver Bannister |
| El Guerroj Chand Chamberlain |
Gretzky Federer Jack Johnson |
Marciano Babe Ruth P Taylor |
Salnikov Louis Cantona |
Nominees List
Here are the 98 nominees, sorted by sport. Initially there were 96 (used for the first round), but two that were accidentally missed out were added to the next round. The females on the list include Martina Navratilova, Billy Jean King, Heather Mckay, Paula Radcliffe, Dawn Fraser, Kristin Otto, Fanny Blankers-Koen.
| athlete | sport | country |
|---|---|---|
| Ben Cousins | AFL | Australia |
| Leigh Matthews | AFL | Australia |
| Babe Ruth | Baseball | USA |
| Ty Cobb | Baseball | USA |
| Roger Clemens | Baseball | USA |
| Michael Jordan | Basketball | USA |
| Larry Bird | Basketball | USA |
| Wilt Chamberlain | Basketball | USA |
| Walter Lindrum | Billiards | Australia |
| Mike Tyson | Boxing | USA |
| Roy Jones Jr | Boxing | USA |
| Jack Dempsey | Boxing | USA |
| Sugar Ray Leonard | Boxing | USA |
| Jack Johnson | Boxing | USA |
| Joe Louis | Boxing | USA |
| Sugar Ray Robinson | Boxing | USA |
| Rocky Marciano | Boxing | USA |
| Muhammad Ali | Boxing | USA |
| Felix Savon | Boxing | Cuba |
| Floyd Mayweather | Boxing | USA |
| Joe Calzaghe | Boxing | Wales |
| Teofilo Stevenson | Boxing | Cuba |
| Jacques Anquetil | Cycling (Road) | France |
| Miguel Indurain | Cycling (Road) | Spain |
| Lance Armstrong | Cycling (Road) | USA |
| Eddy Merckx | Cycling (Road) | Belgium |
| Phil Taylor | Darts | England |
| Dhyan Chand | Field Hockey | India |
| Paolo Maldini | Football (Soccer) | Italy |
| Pele | Football (Soccer) | Brazil |
| Arthur Friedenreich | Football (Soccer) | Brazil |
| Zinedine Zidane | Football (Soccer) | France |
| Diego Maradona | Football (Soccer) | Argentina |
| Eric Cantona | Football (Soccer) | France |
| Gareth Barry | Football (Soccer) | England |
| Ryan Giggs | Football (Soccer) | Wales |
| George Best | Football (Soccer) | England |
| Gerd Muller | Football (Soccer) | Germany |
| Tiger Woods | Golf | USA |
| Jack Nicklaus | Golf | USA |
| Bobby Orr | Ice Hockey | Canada |
| Wayne Gretzky | Ice Hockey | Canada |
| Patrick Roy | Ice Hockey | Canada |
| Ayrton Senna | Motorsports (F1) | Brazil |
| Michael Schumacher | Motorsports (F1) | Germany |
| Ivan Mauger | Motorsports (Motorcycle Speedway) | New Zealand |
| Valentino Rossi | Motorsports (Motorcycling) | Italy |
| Steve Redgrave | Rowing | England |
| Billy Boston | Rugby League | Wales |
| Gareth Edwards | Rugby Union | Wales |
| Colin Meads | Rugby Union | New Zealand |
| Jonny Wilkinson | Rugby Union | England |
| Stephen Hendry | Snooker | Scotland |
| Steve Davis | Snooker | England |
| Heather Mckay | Squash | Australia |
| Jahangir Khan | Squash | Pakistan |
| Mark Spitz | Swimming | USA |
| Kristin Otto | Swimming | Germany |
| Michael Phelps | Swimming | USA |
| Dawn Fraser | Swimming | Australia |
| Kieren Perkins | Swimming | Australia |
| Vladimir Salnikov | Swimming | Russia |
| Ian Thorpe | Swimming | Australia |
| Murray Rose | Swimming | Australia |
| Deng Yaping | Table Tennis | China |
| Jan-Ove Waldner | Table Tennis | Sweden |
| Pete Sampras | Tennis | USA |
| Billy Jean King | Tennis | USA |
| Martina Navratilova | Tennis | Czechia |
| Roger Federer | Tennis | Switzerland |
| Rod Laver | Tennis | Australia |
| Bjorn Borg | Tennis | Sweden |
| Edwin Moses | Track & Field (400m Hurdles) | USA |
| Daley Thompson | Track & Field (Decathlon) | England |
| Al Oerter | Track & Field (Discus) | USA |
| Abebe Bikila | Track & Field (Distance Running) | Ethiopia |
| Paavo Nurmi | Track & Field (Distance Running) | Finland |
| Herb Eliot | Track & Field (Distance Running) | Australia |
| Paula Radcliffe | Track & Field (Distance Running) | England |
| Haile Gebrselassie | Track & Field (Distance Running) | Ethiopia |
| Emil Zatopek | Track & Field (Distance Running) | Czechoslovakia |
| Jan Zelezny | Track & Field (Javelin) | Czechia |
| Bob Beamon | Track & Field (Long Jump) | USA |
| Roger Bannister | Track & Field (Middle Distance Running) | England |
| Hicham el Guerroj | Track & Field (Middle Distance Running) | Morocco |
| Sergei Bubka | Track & Field (Pole Vault) | Ukraine |
| Yelena Isinbayeva | Track & Field (Pole Vault) | Russia |
| Robert Korzeniowski | Track & Field (Race Walking) | Poland |
| Michael Johnson | Track & Field (Sprints) | USA |
| Fanny Blankers-Koen | Track & Field (Sprints) | The Netherlands |
| Carl Lewis | Track & Field (Sprints/Long Jump) | USA |
| Jesse Owens | Track & Field (Sprints/Long Jump) | USA |
| Jonathon Edwards | Track & Field (Triple Jump) | England |
| Yiannis Kouros | Ultramarathon Running | Greece |
| Naim Süleymanoğlu | Weightlifting | Türkiye |
| Vasily Alekseyev | Weightlifting | Russia |
| Alexander Karelin | Wrestling (Greco-Roman) | Russia |
| Gama Pahelvan | Wrestling (Pehlwani) | India |
Source
- Http://www.cricketfansforum.net/showthread.php?t=4103 (link no longer working)
Related Pages
- Other lists of the greatest athletes in the world
- Who really is the greatest athlete of all time?
- have your say of the greatest athlete
Any comments, suggestions, or corrections? Please let us know.
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