Right IconThis ranking is based on an algorithm that combines various factors, including the votes of our users and search trends on the internet.
One of the greatest athletes ever, Usain Bolt is popular by the nickname ‘Lightning Bolt’. He holds the world record for 100 metres, 200 metres and 4 × 100 metres relay and is the only sprinter to win Olympic 100 m and 200 m titles at three consecutive Olympics (2008, 2012 and 2016).
Maurice Greene is a former track and field athlete and a former world record holder in 100-metre dash. Greene won four Olympic medals, including two gold medals, representing the United States of America in two Olympic Games. Maurice Greene also has five gold medals at the World Athletics Championships under his belt.
Daley Thompson is a British former athlete who specialized in decathlon. He has won gol medals in decathlon at the 1980 and 1984 Olympics. He also broke the world record for decathlon on four occasions. He also won three Commonwealth titles and is regarded as the greatest decathlete ever.
Born into an athletic family, Tyson Gay naturally developed an interest in sports. One of the fastest sprinters in both the 100m and the 200m categories, he was part of the 2016 Olympic relay team that was stripped of its medal for breaking game rules.
Suzy Favor Hamilton is a former middle-distance runner who participated in the 1992, 1996, and 2000 Summer Olympics, representing the USA. Favor broke many hearts when she turned to prostitution which in turn ended her career as an athlete. She claimed mental illness as the reason for her downfall and is currently serving as a speaker at mental health conferences.
Alberto Salazar is an American former long-distance runner who won the silver medal at the 1982 IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Rome, Italy. After his retirement from the sport, Salazar served as the head coach for the Nike Oregon Project and received the 2013 IAAF Coaching Achievement Award in Monaco. He was later banned for doping and sexual offenses.
Nafissatou Thiam is a Belgian athlete who achieved popularity in 2016 when she won the gold medal in Heptathlon at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Nafissatou Thiam went on to win another gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, becoming only the second woman to win consecutive Olympic titles in Heptathlon after America's Jackie Joyner-Kersee.
Dave Wottle is an American former track and field athlete who specialized in middle-distance running events. Wottle is best known for winning the gold medal at the 1972 Munich Olympics, competing in the 800-meter run. Dave Wottle used to wear a golf cap while running; it later became his signature style.
Galina Chistyakova is a former athlete best known for representing the Soviet Union in the Olympic Games, European Championships, World Indoor Championships, and European Indoor Championships, winning a bronze medal, one silver medal, one gold medal, and six medals, respectively. In 1988, Chistyakova reached 7.52 metres in the long jump, creating a new world record which she continues to hold.
While she believes missing out on the gold medal at the 100m hurdles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics was her most painful experience, American hurdler and bobsledder Lolo Jones is still quite a star. She has penned a memoir and has also appeared on shows such as Celebrity Big Brother.
American beach-volleyball player Kerri Walsh Jennings was born to a baseball player father and a volleyball player mother, and was naturally drawn toward sports. She later attended Stanford on a sports scholarship and won three gold medals at the Olympics. She is married to fellow beach-volleyball player Casey Jennings
Winner of 16 Paralympic medals, including 11 golds, Tanni Grey-Thompson is a former wheelchair racer, who won the London Marathon six times and held more than 30 world records. Also a successful television personality and patron of numerous charities, she was created a Life Peer in 2010 and made Baroness Grey-Thompson of Eaglescliffe in Stockton-On-Tees.
Once a dentist, Charles Eugster stunned the world when he took to sprinting at age 95. In fact, he participated in age-group rowing in his 60s, winning countless gold medals, and also took up body building in his 80s. He penned his memoir, Age is Just a Number, at 97.
Yomif Kejelcha is an Ethiopian athlete who specializes in middle and long-distance running. He is best known for winning a gold medal at the 2016 and 2018 World Indoor Championships in Portland and Birmingham respectively. Yomif Kejelcha also won a silver medal at the 2019 World Championships in Doha.
Apart from being a famed British athlete, Christopher William Brasher was also a skilled mountaineer, who was part of Edmund Hillary’s reserve team for his Everest mission and had led two missions to the Arctic. He was an award-winning journalist, too, but was best known for co-founding the London Marathon.
Apart from being a senior Gaelic footballer from Limerick, Gearóid Hegarty later also gained fame as a hurler, winning honors such as the All Stars Hurler of the Year. The son of retired hurler Ger Hegarty, Gearóid was born with sports in his blood. He also has an All-Star Award in his kitty.
New Zealand-born British-origin physician Arthur Porritt initially worked as a military surgeon. He later headed organizations such as the British Medical Association and also served as the governor-general of New Zealand. A talented sprinter, he also bagged an Olympic bronze medal and 3 World Student Games medals.
Two time Olympics gold winner in the 800-metre races, Douglas Lowe was a champion runner since his school years. He won gold medals both at the 1924 and 1928 Summer Olympics.He later took up law and served as the President of the Bar Council from 1961 to 1964. Douglas coauthored the book, Athletics, with fellow runner Arthur Porritt.
World Champion Ethiopian long-distance runner Tamirat Tola specializes in cross-country and road running. He is also an Olympic bronze medalist and an IAAF World Cross Country Championship gold medalist. He clocked his personal best in the 10,000m at a little above 26:57 minutes and has also scored several half-marathon wins.
Genevieve Gregson is an Australian athlete who specializes in the 3000-meter steeplechase. She started running when she was nine years old and earned an athletics scholarship at the University of Florida. She represented Australia at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. She also competed in the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
