The Stuff which Legends are made of

Great athletes possess a burning desire to be the best. Their inner drive keeps them going when the going seems impossible. They continuously keep pushing themselves outside their comfort zone. A very important part of their mental buildup is their dissatisfaction with mistakes and mediocre performances. Wanting to be nothing short of perfect, these athletes keep dwelling on their mistakes and try to keep correcting them on a continual basis. The desire to achieve perfectionism enhances their will to rise to the pinnacle of their respective sport. World and Olympic records are a result of the hunger of such perfectionists who raise the bar on their overall performance time and time again. This post has the sole purpose of introducing or reintroducing some of the legends who had conquered mountains and milestones during their time of dominance in their respective sports. Here is my list of the 20 greatest sportsmen and women :






1. Paavo Nurmi : The "Flying Finn" was arguably the greatest long distance runner ever in the history of sport. He was the greatest middle and long distance runner during the 1920s who set world records in the 1500 m,5000 m and the 10000 m races. He has 9 gold medals and 3 silver medals from 3 Olympics. He has the most number of Olympic medals in Track and Field, and is often considered to be the greatest Track and Field athlete of all time.







2. Sir Donald Bradman : Often referred to as "The Don", Sir Donald Bradman is considered to be the greatest batsman of all time. He has a career Test batting average of 99.94, which is widely considered to be the greatest achievement in any sport.







3. "Muhammad Ali" Cassius Clay : One of the greatest living legends of the past era, Cassius Clay is considered to be the greatest boxer ever to step foot in a boxing ring. The 3-time World Heavyweight Champion also has an Olympic Gold medal won during the 1960 Rome Olympics, at the age of 18.







4. George Best : Undoubtedly the greatest Northern Irish football player ever, he is renowned for his days with Manchester United. He held the record for the most number of goals in a season for a winger, which was recently broken by Cristiano Ronaldo. He is also a European cup winner with Manchester United, in 1968. The admiration for Best is often summed up by the saying : "Maradona good, Pele better, George Best."







5. Rod Laver : The only male tennis player to have won the Calendar year Grand Slam(winning all of the 4 grand slams in a single year) twice. This has never been achieved since. With 11 Grand Slams to his name, he is undoubtedly one of the greatest tennis players of all time.







6. Sergey Bubka : The undisputed king of Pole Vaulting, Bubka holds the current outdoor and indoor Pole Vault world records. He has broken his own Pole Vault record 35 times, which is a record in itself. He holds an Olympic gold medal from the 1988 Seoul Olympics and was the first person to clear 6.0 metres.







7. Jack Nicklaus : Widely regarded as the greatest professional golfer of all time, Nicklaus has the record number of professional major wins in the PGA Tour, with 18 majors. He also has the record for the most number of majors in the Champions' Tour, the senior version of the PGA Tour, with 8 majors.







8. Pele : Edison Arantes do Nascimento, best known by his nickname Pele, is rated worldwide as the greatest professional footballer ever. He is the all-time top scorer(77 goals) in the history of the Brazil national football team and is the only footballer to be a part of three World Cup-winning teams, in 1958,1962 and 1970.







9. Margaret Court : The first female tennis player to win the Calendar year Grand Slam during the Open Era(after 1968), Court has a staggering singles win-loss record of 1177-106, for a winning percentage of 91.74 %. She is the only player to have won the Calendar year Grand Slam in both the singles and the mixed doubles events. Court has a total of 62 Grand Slam titles, with 24 singles, 19 doubles, and 19 mixed doubles triumphs.







10. James "Jesse" Owens : The first ever Black-American to win an Olympic Gold medal, Owens won 4 Olympic Gold Medals in Track and Field events in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, held in Nazi Germany.







11. Mark Spitz : Once an Olympic record-holding swimmer, Spitz won seven gold medals in swimming at the 1972 Munich Olympics. He set 33 world records between 1968 and 1972. Spitz was also named the World Swimmer of the Year in 1969,1971 and 1972.








12. Bjorn Borg : Winner of 11 grand slam titles, Borg is the only man to have won the French Open and Wimbledon grand slams thrice in the same calendar year. His 11 grand slam titles included 5 Wimbledon titles and 6 French Open titles. He retired in 1983 at the age of 26, stating that he couldn't stomach being the second best player in the world.








13. Michael Jordan : Arguably the greatest basketball player of all time, Michael Jordan was a 6-time NBA Champion, 5-time NBA MVP(Most Valuable Player), 14-time NBA All-Star player, and 6-time NBA Finals MVP. He was instrumental in popularizing the NBA around the world during the 1980s and the 1990s.








14. Pete Sampras : The winner of a record 14 grand slam singles titles, Sampras also has a record 7 Wimbledon titles, along with a record 5 U.S. Open singles titles. Sampras' record haul of most singles grand slam titles is considered to be the prime form of achievement in professional tennis.







15. Carl Lewis : One of the greatest Track and Field athletes of all time, Carl Lewis has 10 Olympic medals, including 9 golds, from 4 Olympics. He has also received various accolades such as being voted the "Sportsman of the Century" by the International Olympic Committee.







16. Diego Maradona : Widely considered to be the greatest football player of the twentieth century, along with Brazilian legend Pele, Maradona has won one World Cup winners' medal and one runner-up medal in the 1986 and the 1990 FIFA World Cups respectively. He is famous for the two goals he scored in a 2-1 win over England in the 1986 World Cup; the first is the infamous "Hand of God" goal, and the second is a 60-metre run beating 5 players, often referred to as "The Goal of the Century".







17. Ivan Lendl : Winner of 8 grand slam singles titles from a record 19 singles finals for any male singles tennis player, Lendl also has the most number of singles titles for any male player in the Open Era(after 1968), with 144. He is said to have been the inventor of the baseline power game which is dominant in modern tennis these days.







18. Michael Schumacher : Statistically the greatest driver the Formula One has ever seen, the German driver is a seven-time World Champion. Schumacher holds many records in Formula One, including most drivers' championships, race victories, fastest laps, pole positions, points scored and most races won in a single season. Schumacher is the only Formula One driver to have an entire season of podium finishes.







19. Florence Griffith-Joyner : Known by the world as "Flo-Jo", Griffith-Joyner holds the women's world records in the 100 m and the 200 m races. She has won 3 Olympic gold medals at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and two silver medals.







20. Lance Armstrong : The founder of the Lance Armstrong Foundation which aims to unite people to fight cancer, Armstrong had earlier been diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1996, from which he had a successful recovery. Armstrong is a champion cyclist who won the Tour De France a record 7 consecutive times from 1999 to 2005.