No one mentioned John Surtees yet?

Only person to be World Champion on 2 and 4 wheels – at the highest level as well:

Grand Prix motorcycle racing career:
Active years 1952 – 1960
Teams Norton, MV Agusta
Grands Prix 49
Championships 350cc – 1958, 1959, 1960
500cc- 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960
Wins 38
Podium finishes 45
Fastest laps 34
First Grand Prix 1952 500cc Ulster Grand Prix
First win 1955 250cc Ulster Grand Prix
Last win 1960 500cc Nations Grand Prix
Last Grand Prix 1960 500cc Nations Grand Prix

Formula One World Championship career
Active years 1960 – 1972
Teams Lotus, Cooper, Lola, Ferrari,Honda, BRM, McLaren, Surtees
Races 113 (111 starts)
Championships 1 (1964)
Wins 6
Podiums 24
Career points 180
Pole positions 8
Fastest laps 10
First race 1960 Monaco Grand Prix
First win 1963 German Grand Prix
Last win 1967 Italian Grand Prix
Last race 1972 Italian Grand Prix

I know most of you won’t care about the NHL and ice hockey, but Ken Dryden, the goalie for the Montreal Canadiens in the 1970s, as well as the Canadian national team during the 1972 USSR/Canada summit series, deserves to be better known outside hockey circles. I would encourage you all to take a look at Wayne Gretzky as well.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmLetcxwj6g[/video]

Ooh, I know! Who was that bloke who won 5 Tour De Frances in a row? He must be a candidate, surely? 5 TOUR DE FRANCE wins! Lance something…

Jack Johnson one of the greatest boxers of all time and overcame far more hurdles than Ali. First black heavy weight of the world.

As for the mention of Calzaghe, Jesus wept, Carl Froch is way more entertaining!

Paavo Nurmi
Apparently Zatopek used to train using the mantra “I am Nurmi”.
Nurmi was possibly the most influential distance runner of all time.

He’s no sportsman but Frankel was a pretty decent horse.

Shaun Palmer?

Medal record
Snowboarding
Winter X Games Medal Record
Gold 1997 Snow Mountain Bike Racing
Gold 1997 Snowboard Cross
Gold 1998 Snowboard Cross
Gold 1999 Snowboard Cross
Gold 2000 Ski Cross
Gold 2001 Ultracross
Gravity Games Medal Record
Gold 2002 Ski Cross
Snowboard World Cup Medal Record
Silver 2006 Snowboard Cross
Silver 2008 Snowboard Cross
Swatch World Halfpipe Championship
Gold 1990 Halfpipe
Mountain Biking
World Championships
Silver 1996 Downhill
Gold 1999 Dual Slalom Biking

Laird Hamilton

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0Pw7vKtqpo[/video]

A modern candidate: Travis Pastrana

Gretzky still gets it for me,

1487 games played in the NHL
894 goals
1973 assists, thats 2867 points. He holds the NHL points record by miles & there’s still no-one on the horizon to get anywhere near him
6 Stanley Cup Finals
4 Stanley cup wins. His list of other awards is just too long for me to show. He’s won the ‘Lady Bing’ trophy 5 times (thats for the most sportsman like player)
The ‘Art Ross’ trophy 10 times (leading points scorer at the end of regular season.
The Hart Memorial trophy 9 times (MVP)
The Ted Lindsay award 5 times (most outstanding player)

Apparently he’s pretty handy with the golf clubs too.

Ooh, I know! Who was that bloke who won 5 Tour De Frances in a row? He must be a candidate, surely? 5 TOUR DE FRANCE wins! Lance something…

I think you’ll find that was Miguel Indurain. Nobody called Lance has ever won the TdF.

George Best – whilst at Manchester United
Mike Tyson

and as others have suggested:
Jean Michel Bayle (on a motocrosser)
Valentino Rossi (on anything except a Ducati)
John Surtees (in/on anything with an engine)

Bit futile trying to choose across disciplines and eras…

I’d probably see athletes as better sportspeople than others and would therefore offer Sergey “Keitel” Bubka as an alternative suggestion.
6 consecutive Worlds Championships spanning 17 years.
35 world records.
holds indoor and outdoor records that have stood for 20 years.

I’d probably see athletes as better sportspeople than others

Why?

What is the “unimaginable opposition” you speak of?

Racism.

Vietnam War.

The vast number of quality heavy weights that he battered.

That enough?

Alf Engers.

why?

Athletics is simple, pure and all about human strength and endurance. The orignal and the epitome of sport in my eyes.

Athletics is simple, pure and all about human strength and endurance. The orignal and the epitome of sport in my eyes

so skill, style and teamwork have nothing to do with sport ?

of course they do, I’m just offering an opinion as to why I think athletes are the greatest sportspeople. Their events are accessible, their achievements can easily be appreciated and therefore they readily inspire others.
what proportion of Sports Personalities over the years have been athletes? I bet it’s quite high.

Fishing a sport? sitting on your ass not getting out of breath(or moving all day )and avoiding diy or mowing the lawn whilst trying to kill animals ? Does not seem much like a sport to me.It`s a pastime not a sport .

It’s Beryl Burton. Check out her achievements.

You can be going on about Ice Hockey all you want, but most of the world couldn’t give a shit about it.

Have people been mentioning surfers again? 😆

I propose Arrhichion of Phigalia, won a pankration match despite being dead; that’s as hardcore as it gets.

Just revisiting this thread and seen the question Ali v Phil Taylor.

I had already answered this when I said the contenders had to come from a world sport, a natural sport, like running, boxing, football that any person on the planet had access to.

Only then, can you really say you’re the best in the world. I still think Usain Bolt has a big claim as whilst distance running is important, the sprint it the blue riband event and he’s the fastest EVER, regardless of medals.