Athletes

All Athletes

1

Adam Peaty

British swimmer who won three Olympic gold medals and set world records in the 50m and 100m breaststroke.

2

Allyson Felix

American sprinter who won 11 Olympic medals, the most by any track and field athlete in Olympic history.

3

Andre Agassi

American tennis player who won eight Grand Slam singles titles and a career Grand Slam, plus Olympic gold in 1996.

4

Andrea Pirlo

Italian deep-lying midfielder who won the 2006 FIFA World Cup and two UEFA Champions League titles with AC Milan.

5

Andres Iniesta

Spanish midfielder who scored the winning goal in the 2010 FIFA World Cup final and won four Champions League titles with Barcelona.

6

Bill Russell

American basketball center who won 11 NBA championships with the Boston Celtics, the most of any player in league history.

7

Billie Jean King

American tennis player who won 12 Grand Slam singles titles and led advocacy for equal prize money in women's tennis.

8

Bjorn Borg

Swedish tennis player who won 11 Grand Slam singles titles before retiring at age 26 in 1983.

9

Bobby Charlton

English midfielder and 1966 World Cup winner regarded as one of England's greatest footballers and a Manchester United icon.

10

Caeleb Dressel

American swimmer who won seven Olympic gold medals and holds world records in the 100m butterfly and 100m individual medley.

11

Carl Lewis

American track and field athlete who won nine Olympic gold medals across four Games in sprints and the long jump.

12

Chris Evert

American tennis player who won 18 Grand Slam singles titles and reached at least the semifinals of 52 consecutive majors.

13

Conor McGregor

Irish mixed martial artist who became the first UFC fighter to hold championship belts in two weight divisions simultaneously.

14

Cristiano Ronaldo

Portuguese football forward and five-time Ballon d'Or winner known for prolific goalscoring across top European leagues and international football.

15

Dick Fosbury

American high jumper who won the 1968 Olympic gold and pioneered the back-first jumping technique now used by virtually all elite jumpers.

16

Diego Maradona

Argentine attacking midfielder who captained his country to the 1986 FIFA World Cup and is considered one of the greatest footballers ever.

17

Eliud Kipchoge

Kenyan long-distance runner who won two Olympic marathon gold medals and was the first to run the marathon distance under two hours.

18

Erling Haaland

Norwegian striker known for prolific goalscoring in the Bundesliga and Premier League, including a record-breaking Premier League debut season.

19

Eusebio

Mozambican-born Portuguese forward who won the 1965 Ballon d'Or and finished as top scorer at the 1966 FIFA World Cup.

20

Florence Griffith Joyner

American sprinter who set world records in the 100m and 200m that have stood since the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

21

Floyd Mayweather Jr.

American boxer who finished his career undefeated at 50–0 across five weight classes.

22

Franz Beckenbauer

German defender who won the 1974 FIFA World Cup as captain and the 1990 edition as manager, pioneering the modern attacking sweeper role.

23

Garrincha

Brazilian winger who won two FIFA World Cups and was known for dribbling skill despite a leg deformity from birth.

24

George Best

Northern Irish forward and 1968 Ballon d'Or winner regarded as one of the greatest dribblers in football history.

25

Haile Gebrselassie

Ethiopian long-distance runner who won two Olympic gold medals in the 10,000m and set 27 world records.

26

Ian Thorpe

Australian swimmer who won five Olympic gold medals and set world records in freestyle events from 200m to 800m.

27

Jesse Owens

American track and field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics in sprints and the long jump.

28

Joe Louis

American boxer who held the world heavyweight championship from 1937 to 1949, the longest unbroken reign in the division's history.

29

Johan Cruyff

Dutch forward and manager who won three Ballon d'Or awards and shaped the philosophy known as Total Football at Ajax and Barcelona.

30

Kaka

Brazilian attacking midfielder who won the 2002 FIFA World Cup and the 2007 Ballon d'Or during his AC Milan years.

31

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

American basketball center who won six NBA championships and held the league's all-time scoring record for nearly four decades.

32

Katie Ledecky

American swimmer who has won nine Olympic gold medals and holds world records in the 800m, 1500m, and other distance freestyle events.

33

Khabib Nurmagomedov

Russian mixed martial artist who retired undefeated at 29–0 as UFC lightweight champion.

34

Kobe Bryant

American basketball guard who won five NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers across two decades.

35

Kylian Mbappe

French forward who won the 2018 FIFA World Cup at age 19 and has been among the world's top scorers across Ligue 1 and La Liga.

36

Larry Bird

American basketball forward who won three NBA championships with the Boston Celtics during the 1980s.

37

LeBron James

American basketball forward, four-time NBA champion, and the league's all-time leading scorer.

38

Lennox Lewis

British boxer who became undisputed heavyweight world champion in 1999, the last undisputed champion before the four-belt era.

39

Lionel Messi

Argentine football forward widely considered one of the greatest players in the sport's history, with eight Ballon d'Or awards.

40

Magic Johnson

American basketball point guard who won five NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers and led the Showtime era of the 1980s.

41

Manny Pacquiao

Filipino boxer who won world titles across eight weight classes, more than any other fighter in boxing history.

42

Mark Spitz

American swimmer who won seven gold medals at the 1972 Munich Olympics, a record that stood until 2008.

43

Marta

Brazilian forward and six-time FIFA World Player of the Year, widely regarded as one of the greatest women's footballers in history.

44

Martina Navratilova

Czech-American tennis player who won 18 Grand Slam singles titles and a record 31 Grand Slam doubles titles.

45

Megan Rapinoe

American forward and two-time FIFA World Cup winner who captained the United States women's team in the 2010s.

46

Mia Hamm

American forward and two-time FIFA World Cup winner who helped popularize women's football in the United States.

47

Michael Johnson

American sprinter who won four Olympic gold medals and set world records in the 200m and 400m.

48

Michael Jordan

American basketball guard who won six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls and is widely regarded as the greatest basketball player ever.

49

Michael Phelps

American swimmer who won 23 Olympic gold medals, the most by any Olympic athlete in history.

50

Michel Platini

French attacking midfielder and three-time Ballon d'Or winner who led France to the 1984 European Championship.

51

Mike Tyson

American boxer who became the youngest undisputed heavyweight champion in history at age 20 in 1986.

52

Muhammad Ali

American boxer and three-time heavyweight world champion widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters in history.

53

Neymar

Brazilian forward and Olympic gold medallist known for dribbling skill and goalscoring across Santos, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, and Al-Hilal.

54

Novak Djokovic

Serbian tennis player who holds the men's record for Grand Slam singles titles with 24 and most weeks at world No. 1.

55

Paolo Maldini

Italian defender who spent his entire 25-year senior career at AC Milan and is regarded as one of the greatest defenders in football history.

56

Pele

Brazilian football forward who won three FIFA World Cups and is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the sport's history.

57

Pete Sampras

American tennis player who won 14 Grand Slam singles titles, including seven Wimbledon championships.

58

Rafael Nadal

Spanish tennis player who won 22 Grand Slam singles titles, including a record 14 French Open championships.

59

Roger Federer

Swiss tennis player who won 20 Grand Slam singles titles, including eight Wimbledon championships.

60

Ronaldinho

Brazilian attacking midfielder and forward who won the 2002 FIFA World Cup and the Ballon d'Or in 2005 during his Barcelona peak.

61

Ronaldo Nazario

Brazilian striker, two-time World Cup winner, and three-time FIFA World Player of the Year, often called "O Fenomeno."

62

Roy Jones Jr.

American boxer who won world titles in four weight classes from middleweight to heavyweight.

63

Sebastian Coe

British middle-distance runner who won two Olympic 1500m gold medals and set world records across 800m to the mile.

64

Serena Williams

American tennis player who won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, the most in the Open Era.

65

Sergey Bubka

Ukrainian pole vaulter who won six consecutive World Championships and set 35 world records.

66

Shaquille O'Neal

American basketball center who won four NBA championships and was one of the most dominant low-post players in league history.

67

Steffi Graf

German tennis player who won 22 Grand Slam singles titles and the only Golden Slam (all four majors plus Olympic gold) in a single calendar year.

68

Stephen Curry

American basketball point guard who has won four NBA championships with the Golden State Warriors and is the league's all-time three-point leader.

69

Sugar Ray Robinson

American boxer who held the welterweight world title and five middleweight world titles, often called the greatest boxer pound-for-pound.

70

Tim Duncan

American basketball power forward who won five NBA championships with the San Antonio Spurs across nearly two decades.

71

Usain Bolt

Jamaican sprinter who set world records in the 100 metres and 200 metres and won eight Olympic gold medals.

72

Venus Williams

American tennis player who won seven Grand Slam singles titles and 14 Grand Slam doubles titles with her sister Serena.

73

Wilma Rudolph

American sprinter who became the first American woman to win three gold medals in a single Olympics at the 1960 Rome Games.

74

Wilt Chamberlain

American basketball center who scored 100 points in a single NBA game and held many of the league's scoring and rebounding records.

75

Xavi

Spanish midfielder who won the 2010 FIFA World Cup and was central to Barcelona's tiki-taka era under coach Pep Guardiola.

76

Yao Ming

Chinese basketball center who played eight NBA seasons with the Houston Rockets and helped expand the league's global audience.

77

Zinedine Zidane

French attacking midfielder who won the 1998 FIFA World Cup, the Ballon d'Or in 1998, and later coached Real Madrid to three Champions League titles.