Find out more about the greatest 20th Century Athletes, including Ross Rebagliati, Usain Bolt, Oscar Pistorius, Debi Thomas and Jesse Owens.
Usain Bolt21 August 1986, Jamaican
Olympic athlete
Oscar Pistorius22 November 1986, South African
Runner
Jesse Owens12 September 1913, American
Mo Farah23 March 1983, British
Athlete
Jim Thorpe28 May 1888, American
Athlete
Milkha Singh20 November 1929, Indian
Indian track and field athlete
Dennis Weaver04 June 1924, American
Actor
Steve Prefontaine25 January 1951, American
Long-distance Runner
Carl Lewis01 July 1961, American
Roger Bannister23 March 1929, British
Former British Athlete Who Ran The First
Justin Gatlin10 February 1982, American
Sprinter
Eric Liddell16 January 1902, Scottish
Allyson Felix18 November 1985, American
Track and field athlete
Wilma Rudolph23 June 1940, American
Jackie Joyner-Kersee03 March 1962, American
Athlete
Hicham El Guerrouj14 September 1974, Moroccan
Athlete
Cathy Freeman16 February 1973, Australian
Sprinter
Sebastian Coe29 September 1956, British
Middle Distance Runner, Politician
Linford Christie02 April 1960, British
Retired Sprinter
Matti Nykänen17 July 1963, Finnish
Olympic athlete
Abebe Bikila07 August 1932, Ethiopian
Olympic marathon champion
Ashton Eaton21 January 1988, American
Decathlete
Valerie Adams06 October 1984, New Zealander
Shot Putter
Sergey Bubka04 December 1963, Ukrainian
Pole Vaulter
Daley Thompson30 July 1958, British
Decathlete
Fatima Whitbread03 March 1961, British
Javelin Thrower
Steve Cram14 October 1960, British
Athlete
Ben Johnson30 December 1961, Canadian
Sprinter
Gail Devers19 November 1966, American
Athlete
Liz McColgan24 May 1964, British, Scottish
Athlete
Nadia Comaneci12 November 1961, Romanian
Olympic Champion Gymnast
Stefka Kostadinova25 March 1965, Bulgarian
Olympic athlete
Allan Wells03 May 1952, British
Sprinter
Betty Cuthbert20 April 1938, Australian
Athlete
Michael Johnson13 September 1967, American
American olympic athlete
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Satcha Pretto05 April 1980, Honduran
Journalist
Keshorn Walcott02 April 1993, Trinidadian
Olympic athlete
Anna Chicherova22 July 1982, Armenian
Olympic athlete
Hadi Saei10 June 1976, Iranian
Former Taekwondo Athlete & Olympic Gold Medalist
Irving Saladino23 January 1983, Panamanian
Long Jumper
Maurice Greene23 July 1974, American
Track & Field Sprinter
Emil Zatopek19 September 1922, Czech
Long Distance Runner
Caster Semenya07 January 1991, South African
Middle-distance runner
Tuukka Rask10 March 1987, Finnish
Ice hockey player
Earl Woods05 March 1932, American
Baseball player, Writer, Military personnel
James Cracknell05 May 1972, British
Rower, Ocean rower
Christine Sinclair12 June 1983, Canadian
Association football player
Paul DePodesta16 December 1972, American
Chief strategy officer
Vladimir Tarasenko13 December 1991, Russian
Ice hockey player
Florence Griffith Joyner21 December 1959, American
Sprinter
Alex Pietrangelo18 January 1990, Canadian
Ice hockey player
Mark Phillips22 September 1948, British
Event rider
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore29 January 1970, Indian
Politician
Patrick Sharp27 December 1981, Canadian
Ice hockey player
Mary Lou Retton24 January 1968, American
Artistic gymnast
Alexander Rossi25 September 1991, American
Racecar driver
Jimmy White02 May 1962, British
Snooker player, Pool player, Screenwriter
Mike Tindall18 October 1978, British
Rugby union player
Efren Reyes26 August 1954, Filipino
Pool player
Sergei Bobrovsky20 September 1988, Russian
Ice hockey player
Jessica Mendoza11 November 1980, American
Softball player
John Tavares20 September 1990, Canadian
ice hockey player
Matt Duchene16 January 1991, Canadian
Ice hockey player
Aleksandr Karelin19 September 1967, Russian
Politician, Amateur wrestler
Jim Kelly05 May 1946, Australian, American
actor, sportsperson, film actor, television actor,
Victoria Pendleton24 September 1980, British
Track cyclist, Sport cyclist, Autobiographer,
Nieky Holzken16 December 1983
Kickboxer, Boxer, Thai boxer
Marion Jones12 October 1975, Belizean, American
Basketball player, Sprinter
Paula Radcliffe17 December 1973, British
Marathon runner, Long-distance runner, Athletics
Lester Piggott05 November 1935, British
Jockey, Horse trainer
Cameron Winklevoss21 August 1981, American
Entrepreneur, Rower
Nicola Adams26 October 1982, British
Boxer
P. T. Usha27 June 1964, Indian
Athletics competitor
Greg Louganis29 January 1960, American
Platform diver, Autobiographer, Diver, Coach
Matt Miazga19 July 1995, American
Association football player
Johnny Gaudreau13 August 1993, American
Ice hockey player
Daniil Kvyat26 April 1994, Russian
Racecar driver
Alina Kabaeva12 May 1983, Uzbekistan, Russian
Politician, Model, Artistic gymnast, Rhythmic
Lennart Johansson05 November 1929, Swedish
Association football manager, Association football
Ellen Whitaker05 March 1986, British
Show jumper
Lolo Jones05 August 1982, American
Sprinter, Bobsledder, Athletics competitor
Evgeni Malkin31 July 1986, Russian
Ice hockey player
Ding Junhui01 April 1987
Snooker player
Alexander Steen01 March 1984, Canadian, Swedish
Ice hockey player
Carl Frampton21 February 1987, British
Boxer
Steven Stamkos07 February 1990, Canadian
Ice hockey player
Nicolas Hamilton28 March 1992, British
Racecar driver
Paul Rabil14 December 1985, American
Lacrosse player
Rick Nash16 June 1984, Canadian
Ice hockey player
Stephen Maguire13 March 1981, Scottish
Snooker player
Owen Farrell24 September 1991, British
Rugby union player
Jamie Benn18 July 1989, Canadian
Ice hockey player
Kriss Akabusi28 November 1958, British
Athletics competitor
Jahangir Khan10 December 1963, Pakistani
Squash player
Haile Gebrselassie18 April 1973, Ethiopian
Marathon runner, Long-distance runner, Athletics
Teemu Selänne03 July 1970, Finnish
Ice hockey player