Athelete of the decade

[Oldman]

Laird Hamilton - total bad-azz

He is definitely. And still has the energy to land that gorgeous wife. Michael Schumacher rides the big ones, too, though.

 

[Deagol]

......
Golf is a game, not a sport.

+1.
That's not to say that games don't take skill, though. Heck Video games are obviously games and they may take a lot of skill, not athletic ability, but skill.

Edit: and surfing is one heck of a tough sport... Heluva lot harder than it looks.

 

[Galic Ho]

Not sure what you mean by saying swimming has no athletic discipline

Do they call swimming at the Olympics athletics? The meaning of the word is very specific. Swimming has water. Athletics, excluding the steeplechase and rain has none. Athletics takes place on solid ground.

 

[CentralCaliBike]

Do they call swimming at the Olympics athletics? The meaning of the word is very specific. Swimming has water. Athletics, excluding the steeplechase and rain has none. Athletics takes place on solid ground.

I think you might be talking about "Track and Field".

Athletes is defined as "a person trained or gifted in exercises or contests involving physical agility, stamina, or strength; a participant in a sport, exercise, or game requiring physical skill."

"Middle English, from Latin thlta, from Greek thlts, contestant, from thlein, to contend, possibly from thlos, contest."

I believe that swimming involves training and natural ability, is certain an exercise, involved physical agility, stamina AND strength (it would qualify with any one of those three).

 

[md2020]

14 Olympic golds, 23 World Championship golds, 37 World Records..... Meh?

Golf is a game, not a sport.

Phelps definitely would be high up on my list but the numbers you list are a little misleading. Swimming has way too many events that don't deserve distinction from each other.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Kobe in the top 5. NBA players are some of the fittest athletes around and Kobe has had a pretty good decade.

 

[Laszlo]

And golf requires precision, technique and probably a bunch of other things I'd know about if I actually followed golf (say training and planing). Really comparing athletes in different sports is always pointless, but the fact that you dislike golf has no bearing on that.

As for LA not bowing out when he won the triple crown what are you talking about? The Triple Crown usually refers to the Giro, the Tour and the WC in the same year. Sometimes any 2 GTs and the WC and sometimes all three GTs, but Lance has never won 3 of those let alone in the same year.

Sorry, I've been too busy to participate in the thread I started.

the Triple Crown I refer to was the 3 races he won in the states way back in 92 or thereabouts; he got a million$ bonus prize money for that. A person could just about retire on that if they are careful to watch their spending afterwards.

I am not certain that I would agree that Rossi and Schumacher are valid contenders for athlete of the decade; although I appreciate the accomplishment of both, both being able to win from starting dead last or after major setback during a race. In motor racing the drivers are commanding a vehicle to their biding- by extension, we could have robot racing with the programer being named athlete of the decade, and clearly, there is nothing athletic about entering commands from a keyboard.

With respect to the suggestions from other posts here, I still think Lance is the proper athlete of the decade.

 

[Oldman]

Sorry, I've been too busy to participate in the thread I started.

the Triple Crown I refer to was the 3 races he won in the states way back in 92 or thereabouts; he got a million$ bonus prize money for that. A person could just about retire on that if they are careful to watch their spending afterwards.

I am not certain that I would agree that Rossi and Schumacher are valid contenders for athlete of the decade; although I appreciate the accomplishment of both, both being able to win from starting dead last or after major setback during a race. In motor racing the drivers are commanding a vehicle to their biding- by extension, we could have robot racing with the programer being named athlete of the decade, and clearly, there is nothing athletic about entering commands from a keyboard.
With respect to the suggestions from other posts here, I still think Lance is the proper athlete of the decade.

Many decry LA's progression to Tour contender somewhat "robotic" and clearly required the assistance of a series of "teams". You know, the guys that chased everything down and pulled him around until he finally applied specifically strategized efforts. Michael Schumacher endures side to side g-forces that would cause most people to black out, makes cool millisecond decisions while other cars are crashing around him and has the fitness to do that. He also won under 100 times the pressure and media focus that cyclists endure and did it with grace and respect for fellow competitors. He is not a Twit...terer. Class is class.

 

[richwagmn]

Golf is a game. You play against yourself. Sure you have a caddy hold your balls and clubs, but what other sport allows this kind of mentoring as you play? Competitors are not all competing in the same conditions at the same time, unless in a playoff. Golf is about mastering yourself and a course. Hence a game, as there is no real sports contest. A contest in skill, endurance and conditions between combatants in the same environment at the same time is needed for a game to progress to a sport. Golf will never meet this. Video game contests have more sports characteristics than golf.

Hmm, so time trialing doesn't count in your book? (They don't compete at the same time or same environment). You do know that golfers after the first two days start based on their score? So, yes they are competing in largely the same conditions.

Your definition of sport is silly.

 

[richwagmn]

Do they call swimming at the Olympics athletics? The meaning of the word is very specific. Swimming has water. Athletics, excluding the steeplechase and rain has none. Athletics takes place on solid ground.

LOL dude, are you stoned or just pulling these definitions out of your ***?

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

I think Zidane was the most feared player period.

Yes, incredible athlete. I tend to think had it not been for the World Cup debacle where he lost his cool (though blatantly provoked) he may have won that WC as well, and gotten the pick.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Kobe in the top 5. NBA players are some of the fittest athletes around and Kobe has had a pretty good decade.

I'm not an NBA guy, but he did win four championships. Problem is playing with Shaq on the best funded team in the NBA, and playing in Jordan's shadow probably hurt his chances.

Golf is not a sport. No defense at all, no direct head to head competition, little physical exertion required, no timed anything, even the crowd has to be quiet. It's just you hitting a little white ball against a course. It does take skill, yes, but so does darts, or lawn bowling.

 

[workingclasshero]

Henry is rated one spot ahead of Messi. I don't see it with Messi. He's overrated. Beating up lower teams in La Liga doesn't say too much about a club. Barca are no.2 in my book. Chelsea are the best team in the world right now. But I am a Gunners fan so that explains part of my liking Thierry Henry. You can tell how good the man is by what Canavarro did in the first two minutes of the 2006 world cup final. He almost knocked Henry out, because every time Henry received the ball he made the Italian backline loose their bowels. The only things Anelka has in common with Henry is that they are both French, shave their heads and use to play for Arsenal. Anelka has resurrected his career in the absence of a solid forward goal scorer in the EPL (he won the golden boot last season in Chelsea's final game). An absence I might add that occurred when Henry joined Barcelona FC. Anelka struggled to get 20 goals in all competitions. Henry went over 30 for 5 consecutive seasons. Then he joined Barca and got even better. If Henry and Ribery fire in the world cup France will challenge Spain for the crown as they are the two most dynamic players in the world right now. However that is a big IF.

are you winding us up?

so much wrong here

you need to add a few "imo's" all over the place there. i have never heard of anyone claiming henry has improved since he went to barca, he's declined, that's a fact and he even says so himself.

messi only turning up against small la liga clubs? wtf? exibit a, he scored in the champions league final, has numerous goals vs real madrid etc. henry and ribery the two most dynamic players?

 

[Kingsley A]

It's probably yet another case of what George Bernard Shaw described as "great nations divided by a common language" but over here it is quite rare (although becoming more common in recent years) to describe any sports-person as an athlete unless they specifically compete in IAAF (track & field) events. However the way the meaning of individual words change with time and region is one of the things that makes the study of linguistics so interesting. Hence I won't quibble over my personal definition of the word but just accept the meaning used by those that presented the award.

It is hard to think of anyone who has been quite as dominate in their sport as Tiger Woods has over the last decade. There have been some interesting suggestions made though.

With Rossi and Schumacher, I have my reservations. The chief engineer and support staff are probably more important in F1 than in any other sport. Could Shui really have had that many win if he had been in a Petronas or even a Jordan? The playing field isn't level. Unless all cars are built to the same spec (clearly not the case) or the drivers rotate through the manufacturers, it is very hard to make a fair comparison between them. Many people state that Button was no where near the best driver this year but the Brawn design had such an advantage in the early part of the season he was bound to win anyway. At this point I must point out I do not know nearly enough to know whether it is fair to also raise this objection to Rossi's achievements which are certainly impressive, as I simply don't know if the differentials between different manufacturers are as great in Moto as in F1.

It is hard to make LA a contender as although he did dominate the TDF for half of the decade it is only one race out of many. Did any one dominate cycling in the decade? I don't think so. Probably no one will again, at least not in the way Eddy Merckx used to. There is too much specialisation now.

Federer I'd say was a good call as a challenger to Woods. Probably the strongest but here are a couple of ideas out of left-field:

Bob Taylor. I know many will decry darts as not being a sport and the players not being athletes but given the broad interpretation that the givers of this award have chosen he must surely qualify. 7 World Championships (assuming, erroneously, that the decade stated in 2000) and multiple wins in every other major tournament going. I'm no great fan of darts although I do enjoy an occasional game if I find myself in a pub that still has a board (very rare these days) but it is hard to think of anyone who has dominated the game they play more completely or for as long as "The Power" has.

Paula Radcliffe. Ok, she hasn't always dominated and has often had massive public failures, not least the last two Olympics but she has won world championships in four distinct disciplines of distance running this decade. From cross-country to 5k to 10K to marathon, at which her victories have included majorly prestigious events such as London and New York. As I say, probably not truly dominant but very impressive none the less and I may be mistaken but I don't believe this thread has named a sportswoman up until now.

I'd put a cricketer or two in the top 10 list. Ricky Ponting, Glenn McGrath or Shane Warne.

Glad to see someone acknowledging cricket.
McGarth I'd agree with and most definitely Warne (probably the best bowler of his generation) but I find Ponting a strange inclusion. Very good though Ricky has been, surely the best batsman of the decade has been Sachin Tendulkar. Wisden rate him as the second greatest test batsman ever, only behind Bradman and only put Richards ahead of him in the ODI stats. I don't want to do Punter down as he has been very, very good but the Little Master trumps him hands down.

Another Aussie who should be considered though is Adam Gilchrist. Probably the greatest wicket-keeper/batsman in the history of the game!

 

[Ferminal]

Sachin has been remarkably poor by his standards since around 2003 (averaging around 45), himself and Lara were the top two of the 90s (batsmen). This decade has been more about Ponting/Kallis. My player of the decade would probably be Gilly or Warne.

 

[Kingsley A]

Sachin has been remarkably poor by his standards since around 2003 (averaging around 45), himself and Lara were the top two of the 90s (batsmen). This decade has been more about Ponting/Kallis. My player of the decade would probably be Gilly or Warne.

Yeah, Tendulkar has clearly been declining towards the end of the decade, especially in limited overs (has he ever played top level T20?) but his test performances have remained good and his early part of the decade was fantastic. Personal preference does bias me towards tests.

I almost mentioned Kallis in my previous post. Superb batsman and IMHO a better fielder than Ponting. Murali probably deserves a shout as well. I'm happy to agree (despite national bias) that Warne and Gilchrist have been the most impressive cricketers of the decade (how to compare cricketers to sports-person of other disciplines is beyond me though).

 

[Laszlo]

Many decry LA's progression to Tour contender somewhat "robotic" and clearly required the assistance of a series of "teams". You know, the guys that chased everything down and pulled him around until he finally applied specifically strategized efforts. Michael Schumacher endures side to side g-forces that would cause most people to black out, makes cool millisecond decisions while other cars are crashing around him and has the fitness to do that. He also won under 100 times the pressure and media focus that cyclists endure and did it with grace and respect for fellow competitors. He is not a Twit...terer. Class is class.

A lot of F1 fans decry Schumacher for cheating; smashing into Villneuvue, blocking Alonso in qualifying at Monaco; that thing in (Austria 2002 maybe )where his loyal teammate Rubens was forced to move aside to give michael another win that he MS could seal the championship halfway through the season is simply no class in my book. As far as the g-forces etc. he just sits there; like some of the big guys in nascar, or even bigger guys in drag racing; heck you don't even need a whole body to compete in motor-racing; and it is possible for different sexes to compete at the same level ( which is a plus for motor racing ) - but it is not an indication of physical ability. There was one interview I saw at a race which the interviewer came up behind MS who was out back during a practice seesion or something and asked MS something, and I swear I saw him blow smoke out before he turned around to answer the guy. A better arguement could be made for a rider like Rossi; because he has to move around his bike all the time to weave it through the course in a race.

The same robot critisim was leveled at Indurain during his era of unprecidented dominance. It is meaningless. Does your champion need to act like a buffoon; a prima donna; or a will e coyote; to gain your vote ?

Twitering is just marketing management; I don't believe it is something someone with a full plate of activities and duties would deign to unless strongly advised by his management, perhaps just another revenue stream.

As far as Lance basically preparing and winning just the one race of a year; well that is the overall, and that is THE big race everyone is gunning for; hardly anyone knows Jure Robic who happened to win a fairly obscure but nevertheless very demanding race 4 times this past decade surely his level of fitness would be likely greater than MS or Tiger Woods. When I think of Athlete of the decade I think athletic story of the decade- I certainly believe Lances story is significantly greater than MS, Tiger, or perhaps any other athletic competitor this generation.

 

[BYOP88]

With respect to the suggestions from other posts here, I still think Lance is the proper athlete of the decade.

What for riding 1 race a year from 00-05 and he's athlete of the decade? What next George Lucas as director of the decade.

 

[Tugboat]

...As far as the g-forces etc. he just sits there; like some of the big guys in nascar, or even bigger guys in drag racing; heck you don't even need a whole body to compete in motor-racing; and it is possible for different sexes to compete at the same level ( which is a plus for motor racing ) - but it is not an indication of physical ability.

WTF? It shows a real arrogance or lack of understanding to assert that formula one drivers "just sit there". No normal person could hop in an F1 car and drive it at race pace for an hour and a half plus... there's a very good reason why F1 drivers are amongst the fittest athletes on the planet and it's not vanity.

 

[workingclasshero]

WTF? It shows a real arrogance or lack of understanding to assert that formula one drivers "just sit there". No normal person could hop in an F1 car and drive it at race pace for an hour and a half plus... there's a very good reason why F1 drivers are amongst the fittest athletes on the planet and it's not vanity.

no they're not

ffs. yes they are fit compared to your average person, but to even begin to compare them with proper sportsmen ...

 

[Ferminal]

no they're not

ffs. yes they are fit compared to your average person, but to even begin to compare them with proper sportsmen ...

I'd say unique athletes.

In that any other athlete, no matter how fit couldn't be healthy in an F1 car. Their general fitness would be no worse than any non high-end endurance sport.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Shane Warne would have to be in the top 10 of the list and ahead of any other cricketer. They way he could turn a test match and be so dominating was special. I miss him not playing cricket.

 

[ak-zaaf]

Almost forgot Sven Nys.

 

[Laszlo]

WTF? It shows a real arrogance or lack of understanding to assert that formula one drivers "just sit there". No normal person could hop in an F1 car and drive it at race pace for an hour and a half plus... there's a very good reason why F1 drivers are amongst the fittest athletes on the planet and it's not vanity.

I don't think my post indicated an ignorance of F1 to warrant that suggestion.

By your logic, the space shuttle crew members or regular testers of nasas revolving centrifugal force machine ( whatever it's called, I think it's clear to what I refer), would qualify for athelete of the decade for the sake of being fit-enough to endure g-forces ? Where is the nomination for acrobatic pilots then, Patty Wagstaff and such ? And if the g-forces were so great, then why are they not researching long-term health effects, specifically on the brain, as they are with hockey, football, boxing and wrestling ?

 

[Laszlo]

What for riding 1 race a year from 00-05 and he's athlete of the decade? What next George Lucas as director of the decade.

You know he rode more than 1 race a year; it is not like he just rode and won the world road race championship those years, further, he retired in 05, ran some marathons and came back to the profession this year, broke his collarbone, healed, raced the giro and then came in 3rd in the tour this year; an accomplishment not worth noting ?

Regarding director of the decade, I believe the mark is established based on the quality of one's work; and that one work would be sufficient to qualify a candidate for such an honor.

 

[BYOP88]

You know he rode more than 1 race a year; it is not like he just rode and won the world road race championship those years, further, he retired in 05, ran some marathons and came back to the profession this year, broke his collarbone, healed, raced the giro and then came in 3rd in the tour this year; an accomplishment not worth noting ?

You're correct it's not worth noting. Armstrong isn't even the best cyclist of the decade. As for athlete of the decade maybe Roger Federer 15 Grand Slams since 03(plus countless other tournaments too) or Serena Williams 10 Grand Slams this decade are more worthy of the award than you know who.

 

[kurtinsc]

While it may not quite work... how about Natascha Badmann.

She won 5 Ironman world championships early this decade (and one in 1998 as well). She had some crashes/illnesses in later races where she might have done well too.