Who is the greatest athlete alive?

[CavaliersFTW]

Is it Bill Russell? Michael Jordan? Wayne Gretzky? Muhammad Ali? Tiger Woods?

[GIF REACTION]

Alexander Karellin is the greatest athlete of all time and it's not even close

He makes Jordan look like a scrub

[24-Inch_Chrome]

Bo Jackson.

[CavaliersFTW]

Karelin I feel is a good suggestion

Bo Jackson, I dunno I feel like he got hyped up by hipster documentary makers from Grantland / 30 for 30. As marvelous a physical specimen as he was he didn't actually accomplish a whole lot and there have been greater physical specimens in recent sports history who accomplished more.

[waseem780]

No soccer players...:facepalm :facepalm

[CavaliersFTW]

No soccer players...:facepalm :facepalm
Name some then this is an open discussion

[senelcoolidge]

This guy.

http://sensemachine.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/most-muscular-pose.jpg

[KevinNYC]

Karelin I feel is a good suggestion

Bo Jackson, I dunno I feel like he got hyped up by hipster documentary makers from Grantland / 30 for 30. As marvelous a physical specimen as he was he didn't actually accomplish a whole lot and there have been greater physical specimens in recent sports history who accomplished more.

Hyped? For versatility he succeeded where Jordan Failed.

He is the only athlete to be named an All-Star in two major American sports.

Serena Williams and Steffi Graf are up there. As is Jim Brown.

Barry Sanders had four straight 1,500 yard rushing seasons. The year that broke the streak was 1,491

Damn, haven't thought of Barry Sanders in a while. Watching some highlights. Unreal.
https://youtu.be/vKjfoQVssBo?t=97

[KevinNYC]

Gretzky and Karelin probably have the most distance between them and number 2 in their sports.

[Bless Mathews]

Karelin I feel is a good suggestion

Bo Jackson, I dunno I feel like he got hyped up by hipster documentary makers from Grantland / 30 for 30. As marvelous a physical specimen as he was he didn't actually accomplish a whole lot and there have been greater physical specimens in recent sports history who accomplished more.


:facepalm just :facepalm

Do you even read what you write?

Change it to most accomplished athlete then dumb niggah.

Bo is not hyped.

He was an all stOar in two different MAJOR professional sports. Where competition is fierce. Where millions and millions and millions try to make it.

He was all pro in TWO.

It's gotta be Bo. Peak Bo running back is goat. M

If you even try and stOart poasting his football stats, I will fly to Cleveland and open hand slap you.

Bo is that goat.

Gretzky????

GTFO.

Athlete. Not accomplishments. Bo the goat.

[CavaliersFTW]

:facepalm just :facepalm

Do you even read what you write?

Change it to most accomplished athlete then dumb niggah.

Bo is not hyped.

He was an all stOar in two different MAJOR professional sports. Where competition is fierce. Where millions and millions and millions try to make it.

He was all pro in TWO.

It's gotta be Bo. Peak Bo running back is goat. M

If you even try and stOart poasting his football stats, I will fly to Cleveland and open hand slap you.

Bo is that goat.

Gretzky????

GTFO.

Athlete. Not accomplishments. Bo the goat.
Not everyone has the option to be an athlete in two sports, let alone become a star in two. Very true.

Then again, not every athlete who is capable of being a star in two sports attempts to do two sports.

[GIF REACTION]

Karelin because he went pretty much 900-2, and even went 6 years without losing a single point. Thats like if Jordan won the MVP every year by unanimous decision.

[Bless Mathews]

Not everyone has the option to be an athlete in two sports, let alone become a star in two. Very true.

Then again, not every athlete who is capable of being a star in two sports attempts to do two sports.

Yea. Cus most are good enough to make it in one and borderline to make it another.

Let alone be an all star in two????

:facepalm

Bo ran a 4.1 40.

6'2" 235.

Strong as FUCC

one of the strongest best arms in baseball history.



Are you kidding me ???!

Goat ATHLETE.

[GIF REACTION]

Pretty sure that 40 was hand timed

[bigkingsfan]

Bruce Jenner

[GIF REACTION]

Bruce Jenner
Dude you ready for a 50 win season?

[Rojogaqu11]

John Brzenk.

No contest. It has to be him. Over 30 years of extreme dominance. Jordan, Ali, Phelps, etc. are not even close to being this level of unstoppable.

Even if they could have had careers spanning 30 years at their top level, they would not be above John Brzenk.

[Bless Mathews]

Pretty sure that 40 was hand timed

Eye test shows you it was on point, stat whore.

That combination of size strength and speed unmatched in the history of sports.

You kids these days.

Just don't get it.

[BurningHammer]

Kobayashi Takeru

[RedBlackAttack]

Karelin I feel is a good suggestion

Bo Jackson, I dunno I feel like he got hyped up by hipster documentary makers from Grantland / 30 for 30. As marvelous a physical specimen as he was he didn't actually accomplish a whole lot and there have been greater physical specimens in recent sports history who accomplished more.
To me, when discussing greatest "athlete" of all-time, accomplishments shouldn't even enter into the equation. Yes, if you happen to be an all-time athlete and have all the other characteristics that ultimately lead to success (desire, leadership, health, etc), then that is great ... but it shouldn't be a prerequisite.

There is no denying Bo Jackson's athletic prowess. It was on a mythical level. This is a guy who was an All-Star in baseball and, for that short span of time, arguably the best running back in the NFL.


The guy who is never mentioned enough in debates like this one is Dave Winfield, who was a great enough athlete that he had his choice of professional sports. The biggest difference between Winfield and Bo Jackson is that he actually made a choice instead of playing multiple sports in multiple leagues. He now resides in the MLB Hall of Fame.

But, he was such a gifted athlete that coming out of college, he was drafted 4th overall to the Padres in the MLB draft, 17th overall to the Vikings in the NFL draft, and by the Atlanta Hawks (NBA) and the Utah Jazz (ABA).

Think about how difficult it is to be good enough to get drafted into just one of those leagues. Then multiply that 4x. And then add in the most difficult Hall of Fame induction to receive as the cherry on top.

[GIF REACTION]

There's no denying that Karelin would have dominated MMA had it been a viable option back then

Fedor agrees

[KevinNYC]

To me, when discussing greatest "athlete" of all-time, accomplishments shouldn't even enter into the equation. Yes, if you happen to be an all-time athlete and have all the other characteristics that ultimately lead to success (desire, leadership, health, etc), then that is great ... but it shouldn't be a prerequisite.

There is no denying Bo Jackson's athletic prowess. It was on a mythical level. This is a guy who was an All-Star in baseball and, for that short span of time, arguably the best running back in the NFL.


The guy who is never mentioned enough in debates like this one is Dave Winfield, who was a great enough athlete that he had his choice of professional sports. The biggest difference between Winfield and Bo Jackson is that he actually made a choice instead of playing multiple sports in multiple leagues. He now resides in the MLB Hall of Fame.

But, he was such a gifted athlete that coming out of college, he was drafted 4th overall to the Padres in the MLB draft, 17th overall to the Vikings in the NFL draft, and by the Atlanta Hawks (NBA) and the Utah Jazz (ABA).

Think about how difficult it is to be good enough to get drafted into just one of those leagues. Then multiply that 4x. And then add in the most difficult Hall of Fame induction to receive as the cherry on top.

Winfield should be multiplied by 3. Dr. J. was drafted by two leagues, it doesn't make him a 2 star athlete.

Bo Jackson was also a decathlete in high school and in college. He won state championships while skipping the mile run (http://articles.latimes.com/1988-03-30/sports/sp-136_1_bo-jackson/3). His school didn't even a pole he could pole vault with. They apparently didn't make poles for folks who weighed 218 pounds. Had he just focused on track folks say not only would be be an Olympic decathlete, he had a shot at being a world record holder.

[chips93]

I cant believe nobody has mentioned pele yet

he is the greatest player, in the sport that has by far the largest talent pool

[PullupJay]

Brock Lesnar

[hateraid]

Christian Okoye

Excelled in soccer
World class track athlete
Beast running back
Ran a 4.35 40
6'5 265

[sundizz]

How is this even a question.

The greatest athlete alive in Usain Bolt. And it's not even very close.

There are a few fundamental things we do as humans.

Running is a fundamental athletic trait. There is nothing superior to running in terms of athleticism. The only close one would be "strength" but we don't have as easy a way to measure that.

It is the reason when we talk about animals we mainly know the speed they can run at as a discussion point.

He is the fastest human being to ever walked the face of the earth. There have been 107 billion people that have ever lived. To say you are the fastest ever is pretty wild (though i think there have been faster in the prehistoric era). But, that gets into evolution and whether they can be considered the exact same as current human.

[warriorfan]

How is this even a question.

The greatest athlete alive in Usain Bolt. And it's not even very close.

There are a few fundamental things we do as humans.

Running is a fundamental athletic trait. There is nothing superior to running in terms of athleticism. The only close one would be "strength" but we don't have as easy a way to measure that.

It is the reason when we talk about animals we mainly know the speed they can run at as a discussion point.

He is the fastest human being to ever walked the face of the earth. There have been 107 billion people that have ever lived. To say you are the fastest ever is pretty wild (though i think there have been faster in the prehistoric era). But, that gets into evolution and whether they can be considered the exact same as current human.

Bolt is an amazing talent but let's not act like state of the art doping doesn't help his times.

[Bless Mathews]

To me, when discussing greatest "athlete" of all-time, accomplishments shouldn't even enter into the equation. Yes, if you happen to be an all-time athlete and have all the other characteristics that ultimately lead to success (desire, leadership, health, etc), then that is great ... but it shouldn't be a prerequisite.

There is no denying Bo Jackson's athletic prowess. It was on a mythical level. This is a guy who was an All-Star in baseball and, for that short span of time, arguably the best running back in the NFL.


The guy who is never mentioned enough in debates like this one is Dave Winfield, who was a great enough athlete that he had his choice of professional sports. The biggest difference between Winfield and Bo Jackson is that he actually made a choice instead of playing multiple sports in multiple leagues. He now resides in the MLB Hall of Fame.

But, he was such a gifted athlete that coming out of college, he was drafted 4th overall to the Padres in the MLB draft, 17th overall to the Vikings in the NFL draft, and by the Atlanta Hawks (NBA) and the Utah Jazz (ABA).

Think about how difficult it is to be good enough to get drafted into just one of those leagues. Then multiply that 4x. And then add in the most difficult Hall of Fame induction to receive as the cherry on top.

Damn. Good knowledge cuz.

I'd still type bo doe.

[oarabbus]

Probably Ashton Eaton, greatest decathlete of all time

[Lakers Legend#32]

Ashton Easton, Olympic Decathlon Champion and fellow Oregon Duck.

[senelcoolidge]

https://mytrainerchris.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/vegas-and-meat-eaters.jpg

[KevinNYC]

Ashton Easton, Olympic Decathlon Champion
interesting speculation on Bo Jackson and Ashton Eaton.

https://www.reddit.com/r/trackandfield/comments/2qh9jx/would_bo_jackson_break_the_wr_in_the_decathlon/

Jackson never really trained properly in the decathlon. Supposedly he was state discuss champion without every being taught how to spin when throwing.

[StephHamann]

Phil Taylor and it's not even close

[ArbitraryWater]

Again, depends on the definition...

Greatness at own Sport or Athleticism (then define that) or combine the 2...

It would be unfair if we's discredit lesser athletes with more ability in other areas, often just called 'skill'..

Cristiano Ronaldo as GOAT Athlete, all categories.. Jan Ove Waldner deserves a shout for greatness at own sport.

Made a thread about him, google it.

[ArbitraryWater]

Hey senelcoolidge, can you delete these pics?

[T_L_P]

Probably Bo.

But I love Sanders so much and I feel he gets undermentioned here (purely as a psychical specimen).

[West-Side]

Gretzky and Karelin probably have the most distance between them and number 2 in their sports.

What?
Ever heard of Mario?
The man who actually had a HIGHER points per game average before his illness.

Gretzky - 1.92 PPG
Mario - 1.88 PPG

However, Mario's PPG was 2.01 before he found out he had cancer.
He still came back and averaged an incredible 1.56 PPG AFTER receiving treatment, and played until like 2002.