Texan Posted June 5, 2016 Posted June 5, 2016 Ahhh...well, the 21st century is only about 15 years old, but yeah, we've already had some amazing sports performers across the globe. So, here's my list of the top 10 sportsmen (only men) of this century so far. 1. Usain Bolt Usain Bolt is a Jamaican sprinter. Regarded as the fastest person ever timed, he is the first man to hold both the 100 metres and 200 metres world records since fully automatic time measurements became mandatory in 1977. Along with his teammates, he also set the world record in the 4×100 metres relay. He is the reigning Olympic champion in these three events, and the first man at the modern Olympic Games to win six gold medals in sprinting, and an eleven-time World champion. He was the first to achieve the "double double" of winning 100 m and 200 m titles at consecutive Olympics (2008 and 2012), and topped this through the first "double triple" (including 4×100 m relays). Brainfade 1
Texan Posted June 5, 2016 Author Posted June 5, 2016 2. Michael Phelps Michael Phelps is an American competition swimmer and the most decorated Olympian of all time, with a total of 22 medals in three Olympiads. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold medals (18, double the second highest record holders), Olympic gold medals in individual events (11), and Olympic medals in individual events for a male (13). In winning eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Games, Phelps took the record away from fellow swimmer Mark Spitz (7) for the most first-place finishes at any single Olympic Games. Five of those victories were in individual events, tying the single Games record. In the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Phelps won four golds and two silver medals, making him the most successful athlete of the Games for the third Olympics in a row.
Texan Posted June 5, 2016 Author Posted June 5, 2016 3. Novak Djokovic Djokovic has won 12 Grand Slam singles titles, the fourth most in history (tied with Roy Emerson), and has held the No. 1 spot in the ATP rankings for a total of 200 weeks. By winning three Grand Slam titles in 2011, Djokovic became the sixth male player to win three majors in a calendar year. He repeated this achievement in 2015. In majors, Djokovic has won an all-time record six Australian Open titles (tied with Emerson), including an Open Era record of three consecutive titles from 2011–2013 (the first and only player to achieve this). He has also won three Wimbledon titles, two US Open titles and one French Open title. In 2016 he became the eighth player in history to achieve the Career Grand Slam, and the third man to hold all four major titles at once, the first since Rod Laver in 1969. randomGuy 1
Texan Posted June 5, 2016 Author Posted June 5, 2016 4. Tiger Woods 5. Roger Federer 6. Lionel Messi 7. Floyd Mayweather, Jr. 8. LeBron James 9. Rafael Nadal 10. Sebastian Vettel Let me know if you think I have missed anyone. I don't follow all sports, but tried to keep the most competitive popular sports here.
Texan Posted June 6, 2016 Author Posted June 6, 2016 1 hour ago, randomGuy said: Add Kohli, ABD and Warner. Not in top 10 for sure.
randomGuy Posted June 6, 2016 Posted June 6, 2016 1 hour ago, Texan said: Not in top 10 for sure. why not? Maybe some Indian can knock out Mayweather? We don't know because professional boxing isnt popular in India or china or most other parts of the world. Cricket is a popular sport played by many.
Texan Posted June 7, 2016 Author Posted June 7, 2016 21 hours ago, randomGuy said: why not? Maybe some Indian can knock out Mayweather? We don't know because professional boxing isnt popular in India or china or most other parts of the world. Cricket is a popular sport played by many. But its still very popular in the rest of the World. If Vijender Singh beats him, he will sure make it to this list. And on cricket, among the current cricketers, I don't think there is a standout performer like say a Bradman or Sobers that could be listed in here. Kohli's Test record still needs some catching up to do and the same can be said about Warner's ODI record. ABD is IMO the greatest batsman of the current generation and could be the closest pick in this list, but I still think the others listed here are more deserving. For all of ABD's brilliance, he is yet to win any significant ICC tournament for South Africa. He has not even won any IPL for the teams he has played in. Make no mistake, I am a big fan of ABD, but to be counted as one of the greatest sportsmen (not just cricketers), you would need at least some accomplishments for your team in major tournaments. If you notice, most of the people I picked here are performers in individual sports (except for Messi and LeBron).
rkt.india Posted June 7, 2016 Posted June 7, 2016 On 6/6/2016 at 7:29 AM, randomGuy said: Add Kohli, ABD and Warner. Kohli and Warner still have a long way to go.
randomGuy Posted June 7, 2016 Posted June 7, 2016 (edited) 2 hours ago, Texan said: But its still very popular in the rest of the World. If Vijender Singh beats him, he will sure make it to this list. And on cricket, among the current cricketers, I don't think there is a standout performer like say a Bradman or Sobers that could be listed in here. Kohli's Test record still needs some catching up to do and the same can be said about Warner's ODI record. ABD is IMO the greatest batsman of the current generation and could be the closest pick in this list, but I still think the others listed here are more deserving. For all of ABD's brilliance, he is yet to win any significant ICC tournament for South Africa. He has not even won any IPL for the teams he has played in. Make no mistake, I am a big fan of ABD, but to be counted as one of the greatest sportsmen (not just cricketers), you would need at least some accomplishments for your team in major tournaments. If you notice, most of the people I picked here are performers in individual sports (except for Messi and LeBron). No professional boxing is not popular. I mentioned just India and China as these countries alone make up 35% of world population. If you remove the prize money of those fights, then no one in the world would even know the name mayweather or pacquiao. And you said 21st century(not 20th century), the 3 I mentioned are the greatest cricketers of 21st century. South Asia is 25% of world population. Cricket is very popular here. Edited June 7, 2016 by randomGuy
Texan Posted June 7, 2016 Author Posted June 7, 2016 7 hours ago, randomGuy said: No professional boxing is not popular. I mentioned just India and China as these countries alone make up 35% of world population. If you remove the prize money of those fights, then no one in the world would even know the name mayweather or pacquiao. And you said 21st century(not 20th century), the 3 I mentioned are the greatest cricketers of 21st century. South Asia is 25% of world population. Cricket is very popular here. The 3 mentioned could be in the top 3 of this century but they are unlikely to figure at the moment in the top 30 of all time, perhaps ABD might just sneak in. The ones I have put on the list are some of the greatest of their sport ever, definitely in the top 5 or at least 10. And the reason many Indians don't take up professional boxing despite being involved in amateur boxing is that professional boxing requires much more skill and stamina and a commitment to giving up amateur career. Otherwise, "boxing" as such is popular in India.
Texan Posted June 7, 2016 Author Posted June 7, 2016 3 minutes ago, Texan said: The 3 mentioned could be in the top 3 of this century but they are unlikely to figure at the moment in the top 30 of all time, perhaps ABD might just sneak in. The ones I have put on the list are some of the greatest of their sport ever, definitely in the top 5 or at least 10. And the reason many Indians don't take up professional boxing despite being involved in amateur boxing is that professional boxing requires much more skill and stamina and a commitment to giving up amateur career. Otherwise, "boxing" as such is popular in India. I meant top 30 in cricket.
randomGuy Posted June 7, 2016 Posted June 7, 2016 1 hour ago, Texan said: The 3 mentioned could be in the top 3 of this century but they are unlikely to figure at the moment in the top 30 of all time, perhaps ABD might just sneak in. The ones I have put on the list are some of the greatest of their sport ever, definitely in the top 5 or at least 10. And the reason many Indians don't take up professional boxing despite being involved in amateur boxing is that professional boxing requires much more skill and stamina and a commitment to giving up amateur career. Otherwise, "boxing" as such is popular in India. Start a boxing league in India that people watch. India will produce world beating professional boxers. Viewership and money has to be there. Boxing doesn't have it - Neither in India nor in most parts of the world. You can measure in whichever metric - skill, ability, fitness, popularity, viewership etc. Kohli is right up there to deserve a spot in top 10 along with ABD and Warner. Also, popular cricket formats changed over the years from test cricket to ODI to T20. Kohli is a better ODI player than Sachin by a mile.
maniac Posted June 7, 2016 Posted June 7, 2016 Sachin Tendulkar has to be there.....He is right up there with Tiger Woods,Michael Jordan,Michael Schumacer and Roger Federer
Texan Posted June 8, 2016 Author Posted June 8, 2016 10 hours ago, maniac said: Sachin Tendulkar has to be there.....He is right up there with Tiger Woods,Michael Jordan,Michael Schumacer and Roger Federer Sachin's best years were in the 90s.
Texan Posted June 8, 2016 Author Posted June 8, 2016 11 hours ago, randomGuy said: Start a boxing league in India that people watch. India will produce world beating professional boxers. Viewership and money has to be there. Boxing doesn't have it - Neither in India nor in most parts of the world. You can measure in whichever metric - skill, ability, fitness, popularity, viewership etc. Kohli is right up there to deserve a spot in top 10 along with ABD and Warner. Also, popular cricket formats changed over the years from test cricket to ODI to T20. Kohli is a better ODI player than Sachin by a mile. So, you think Kohli, Warner, ABD are in the top 10 greatest cricketers ever?
randomGuy Posted June 8, 2016 Posted June 8, 2016 (edited) 48 minutes ago, Texan said: So, you think Kohli, Warner, ABD are in the top 10 greatest cricketers ever? Popular formats have changed. In the past, it was test matches. Today, it is more LoIs. So, Kohli, ABD and Warner are considered better than Cook. And Cook will easily surpass Sachin's test run tally. I will put Koli, AB and Warner in top 10 greatest LoI (includes both ODIs and T20s) players. 50 minutes ago, Texan said: Sachin's best years were in the 90s. yes but nearly half of the best years were in 2000s. But for the last 2.5 years, he was a bojh . Dravid knew when to retire and was not a bojh. Edited June 8, 2016 by randomGuy
Sujithmb13 Posted June 8, 2016 Posted June 8, 2016 (edited) Bolt imo.I won't consider Messi,Sachin,Bradman,Jordan etc(They played team sports which is not their fault but it still reduces d significance).If u take lonegevity,consistency,dominance,popularity,PR image Bolt is the best imo. Edited June 8, 2016 by Sujithmb13
Texan Posted June 10, 2016 Author Posted June 10, 2016 On June 7, 2016 at 10:04 PM, randomGuy said: Popular formats have changed. In the past, it was test matches. Today, it is more LoIs. So, Kohli, ABD and Warner are considered better than Cook. And Cook will easily surpass Sachin's test run tally. I will put Koli, AB and Warner in top 10 greatest LoI (includes both ODIs and T20s) players. yes but nearly half of the best years were in 2000s. But for the last 2.5 years, he was a bojh . Dravid knew when to retire and was not a bojh. Arre bhai, you can't even put them in top 30 all time list and you want me to put all 3 of them in a top 10 sportspersons list.
randomGuy Posted June 10, 2016 Posted June 10, 2016 14 hours ago, Texan said: Arre bhai, you can't even put them in top 30 all time list and you want me to put all 3 of them in a top 10 sportspersons list. I can put them right at the top for limited overs matches. Tendulkar isn't worthy of tying shoelaces of either of the three in T20s for ex.
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