Different sports in different countries are source of entertainment and fitness. People around the world play different sports, some of them are popular in so many countries like Football, Cricket, Basketball and some are just limited to 2-3 countries maximum like Kabbadi. There have been polls and rankings in many different countries about the world’s greatest athletes of all time in different sports and our this article is for them.
1. Kelly Slater, Surfing
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The American surfing superstar Kelly Slater is the greatest surfer ever lived. He has won the ASP World Championships for eleven times and he is also the youngest one to win (at the age of twenty) and the oldest one to win (at the age of thirty nine). Net worth of Kelly Slater is around $20 million making him the richest surfer too.
2. Tony Hawk, Skating
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Known as “The Birdman” among his fans, Tony Hawk is the most famous skater in the world. He won nine gold medals in the X Games and become the highest paid athlete in extreme games. Many video games, shoes, apparels, skates named after him.
3. Nikolai Andrianov, Gymnastics
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Nikolai Andrianov is undoubtedly the greatest male gymnastic in the world and the overall second most popular after the great Nadia Comăneci. He held the men’s record for the most Olympics medals in any sports with total fifteen medals out of which seven were gold medals (From 1980 to 2008).
4. Karch Kiraly, Volleyball
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In 1999 the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB), volleyball’s highest governing body, named Karch Kiraly the greatest volleyball player of the 20th century. He won 3 gold medals in Olympics (1984, 1988 and 1996) and also a gold medal in the world championship.
5. Gareth Edwards, Rugby
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Gareth Edwards laid the foundation of modernized version of Rugby. He was truly an “all-around player. In 2003, the Rugby World magazine declared him the greatest Rugby player ever lived and later in 2007, The Telegraph also named him the greatest Rugby player of all time.
6. Jack Nicklaus, Golf
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Many Golf fans will name Tiger Woods or Ben Hogan the great player in Golf. But if we look based on the records, Jack Nicklaus won in eighteen major championships. So, until someone won 19 major championships in Golf he is the greatest golfer ever.
7. Usain Bolt, Track & Field (Track)
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Well you all already know his name, he is the fastest man to ever live Usain Bolt. He is the current record holder of both 100 and 200 meter.
8. Donald Bradman, Cricket
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Donald Bradman is the undisputed greatest cricketer in the world. With a average of 99.94 in test cricket he is often cited as the greatest achievement by any sportsman in any major sport.
9. Michael Jordan, Basketball
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This name don’t need any introduction, he is the most famous athlete in past 20 years. During his career he won six NBA titles and six NBA finals MVP trophies and won two gold medals in Olympics. He is also one of the richest athlete in the world with an estimated net worth of $1.1 billion by Forbes.
10. Diego Maradona, Football
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Football is the most famous sport in the world. The recent world cup final was watched by more than a billion people globally. When it comes to the greatest athlete in Football Diego Armando Maradona gets the top spot on the list. In the biggest poll conducted in the history of sport for the best footballer, Maradona collected 55.6% of total votes, At second was Pele with 18.53%.