Who has dominated their sport to the greatest extent?

Sugar Ray Robinson, many better known and remembered but none better or more dominant imho.

Cavendish might well end up dominating sprinting, but is that enough to be considered dominant in tour cycling?

There is a common theme though – these sports you are talking about are all minority participation, mostly. The bigger the sport, the more competition, the more players, surely?

Tennis perhaps is the biggest sport mentioned here surely? Maybe cycling or distance running too.

Anne-Caroline Chausson

19 (NINETEEN) World Titles in MTB/BMX

She’s also 2008 Olympic Champion in BMX

Wilt Chamberlain. Only a two-time NBA Champion, but as an individual completely dominated. His career achievements are incredible.

Valentino Rossi.

And in terms of a more niche sport, didn’t Rodney Mullen only lose something like one flatland competition in 11 years?

Ian Holmes

Dougie Lampkin
Stefan Everts

(funny how they’re both the offspring of multiple world championship winning fathers)

Ingemar Stenmark.

All Blacks – dominance like theirs in a team sport is quite unusual.

Lester Piggott, won his first race at the age of 12, won the derby at 18, was champion jockey 11 times and hold the all time record for 30 English classic victories a week after coming out of retirement at the age of 56 he won the richest mile race in the world with a ride of sheer genius, no one else in the world would have won on this horse that day. That he was 56 years old makes it all the more amazing.

Its intresting to look at the Us comentry, they hardly mention the great man till he turns up and wins.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymmTcCW31JE&feature=related

Michael Johnson was pretty much unbeatable for a lengthy period. I would imagine Usain Bolt, as long as he avoids false starts, should win every race he enters.

19 (NINETEEN) World Titles in MTB/BMX

She’s also 2008 Olympic Champion in BMX

And she hasn’t won the best of all moutain bike races, what I think is the pinnacle of our sports 😉

Martin Schanche – 6 FIA European rallycross titles. Not too shabby.

I know Nico won the most world champs etc, but surely Mr Steve Peat has dominated (male) DH (British DH in particular) over the last 15-20 years?
When you take in his influence on supporting other riders, local races and being in the top 10 world riders for so long it’s hard to see past him.
To do all that and to be a nice chap without a mad person’s ego is pretty cool too.

Whoever posted the pic of Bernie has to have the answer. No other person has shaped an entire sport in the same way, with the possible exception of William Webb Ellis.
.
For competitors the answer has to be WG Grace.

My first thought was Bjorn Dunkerbeck, and glad to see his name come up already. World champion at just 18 then world champion for the next 12 years. And this year world race champion.

World speed record holder for any water craft.

A machine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iox_-1TAjE&feature=related

Not anymore.

I’d say Robby Naish over Dunkerbeck anyway.

So, injury set her back both times

I agree that if she hadn’t got injured she might have dominated her sport, but she did and she didn’t. Though then again, what about all the other global championships she hasn’t won during her period of “domination”? This thread is about people dominating their sport, not just being the best at the particular sport they do.

Or do you think Kelly Holmes dominated middle distance running over many years? I mean her results when not injured suggest she would have beaten everybody if she’d stayed fit.

Another +1 for Bjorn Dunkerbeck in Windsurfing – proper domination of the sport.

He would be the equivalent of genuinely dominating XC and DH for the best part of two decades.

He is dominant now in sprinting, and very successful, but in historical terms? In the sport overall?

Well in historical terms, at the age of 26 after only 5 years of riding the TdF, he’s only 2 behind the most stage wins ever won by a sprinter in the TdF. He’s only 14 behind the most stage wins by anybody. Given his mentor, Erik Zabel, was winning stages up to the age of 32, and his hit rate, you’d expect him to take the sprinters’ record next year and the overall record before he retires. Only Mercx averaged more stage wins per tour then Cav is.

Given the rare chance of a sprinters’ WC he won that too.

I’d suggest that was pretty dominant – I don’t think there is much disputing that he is the best road race sprinter there’s ever been.

how about nick craig

What has Nick Dominated? certainly not the world .Been a very good rider for years but not dominated.

Mercxx in road cycling. Followed by the badger and coppi. Nico in dh. The aussie cricket team for several decades. Prob tyson in boxing even if he was a total animal. Sampras and graf in tennis. And can’t be bothered to think of anymore

I’m no football fan, but hey.. these guys are pretty good I’ve been told… Semm to have won a few things..donestuff..kicked balls around..got paid billions for doing it.. yadda yadda, but can’t deny their dominance.

Elfinsafety

Ok; name a female marathon runner who has bin as dominant in her sport as comprehensively as Paula has. Y’know, as the TITLE QUESTION ASKED?

You can’t, can you?

Ingrid Kristiansen, you Muppet!

No other runner in history, – male or female has held the World Records on: 5,000m, 10,000m, 15 km, half marathon and marathon concurrently.

Perhaps the greatest female distance runner of all time. IAAF World Champion on all surfaces: On Track, Road and Cross Country

Andy Mapple was rather impressive too. Even if his wakeboard was on the wrong way round.

This man did alright for himself.

Ryoko Tani, -48kg womens Judoka.

Undefeated in major championships from 1996 to 2008 when a dodgy decision in the Beijing Olympics meant she could only win bronze, her fifth Olympic medal.

World Champion from 1993 to 2007, missing only 2005 for the birth of her 1st child.

So fast and dominant for well over a decade. Also had a record 84 fights undefeated.

I wondered if there was a long running tiddly winks champion and had a look. I dunno if he’s really consistent from looking at the squiggly lines. But I like the fact it’s all there charted and graphed for future generations to look upon this most sporting of talents and weep!

http://www.etwa.org/ratings/index.html

If waterskiing was an Olympic sport (it is supported by the IOC, or was, but not in the games) Andy Mapple OBE would certainly now be a British hero of Redgrave status. For whatever reason, it never got in the games, but was often on the shortlist. I think there were 7 Olympic games within his career as IWSF ranked world No1 and he would certainly have been favourite at them all, subject to injury. Bit unfortunate for him, but the yanks love him nevertheless.

Sugar Ray Robinson, many better known and remembered but none better or more dominant imho.

Good shout. Boxing has been a major sport for over 100 years, was the pre-eminent sport in the US 1900-1950, and the one man who always tops the pound for pound lists is SRR. Given the multitude of great fighters at all the different weights, it’s sort of amazing that there is a consensus view. But there is, and it is that Sugar Ray Robinson was the greatest fighter who ever laced them up.

Floyd is a very dominant active fighter. Whatever you think of his pissing around not fighting Pacquiao, it’s fair to say that he has never been taken into deep waters in any fight as a pro. It’s fingers of one hand trying to come up with fights where he has even been under pressure for a round or two (Castillo fight from memory he didn’t dominate). He’ll go down as a true great, but no modern fighter can match the old timers in terms of their records.

Another (really) niche guy not mentioned yet – Marion Tinsley was the greatest checkers players of all time, the game we would call draughts. He was literally playing a different game to everyone else – lost 7 games in 45 years! He got bored playing humans, and battled computers in his latter years – he passed away in the 90s.

martin lampkin.multiple world champion? much respect for a silsdan lad but he won once and that when most of the competition was born in yarkshire
doug has 10 world titles and did dominate for a period
Bou though is significantly better than anyone currently riding and will win as many world championships as he wants

Climber side.

Fred Beckey not only pretty much instituted climbing in the states… he dominated the lifestyle! He is 80 in that photo! and still a semi homeless dirtbag.
Man.

And, of course,

The greatest female marathon runner in history. Has won a countless number of races. Holds the WR which is almost 3 minutes faster than the next best time. Has won several races in a faster time than any other woman has ever run.

Elfin thedoctor is right. I am a fan of Radcliffes but she has never been dominant even in the marathon. Unlike Kristianson Radcliffe competes at a time when there are significantly more marathon runners around. weitz was also more dominant IMO.

I struggle to see how Kurt Albert dominated anything. He wasn’t even the best climber in the Frankenjura. In fact, he wasn’t even the best climber in his house! That was Gullich and he wasn’t as good as Moffet.

I was trying to think of dominant climbers, but it’s difficult to measure. John Dunne dominated my local Yorkshire Grit scene for 10 years, that’s as far as I got.

Another +1 for Bjorn Dunkerbeck in Windsurfing – proper domination of the sport.

He would be the equivalent of genuinely dominating XC and DH for the best part of two decades.
True, but to do a proper comparison with cycling it would also be the equivalent of having picked up a few road and trials championships while truly dominating XC and DH.

Hey was winning: (with a rough (arguable) comparison to cycle sports)
Course racing and long distance (Road)
Slalom (XC)
Wave (DH)
Freestyle (Trials)
Speed (Time trial)

Is there anyone out there who can ride a road bike like Contador, XC bike like Absalon, DH like Danny Hart, Trials like Danny Mac, Time Trial like Cancellara and compete on one of these disciplines today and then the other the next.

Bikebouy sort of beat me to it, but my suggestion was going to be Ryan Giggs.

And related, although not on a performance level – Sir Alex

Agree with lots above, plus a blast from the (recent) past:

Ingemar Stenmark – slalom master skier

2nd vote for Gretzky. For obvious reasons he’s still known as ‘The Great One’ He holds 61 NHL records, scored 1000 points MORE than the 2nd record holder (Mark Messier) & theres still no hockey player even on the horizon who’ll take his place.

Dominant climber now is Adam Ondra. By far the best in the world and likely to be for a good few years yet.

Joss Naylor?
Those who know the name know I’m right!