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Who would you consider to be the GREATEST ATHLETE ever?

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anxju
Posts: 9371 - Karma: 61
is it MJ? lebron?

tough question like the other thread i made last night, but again its very open to discussion

in my opinion, it has to be someone that's recent, because the competition these days is soooo much more fierce than the competition from say 20 years ago

how do you measure how good of an athlete one is? does he have to be a multisport star, or just dominate his own? michael phelps can dominate swimming, but can he play basketball better than say, cliff lee? do you measure success by championships? does that make bill russell, who has 11 nba championship rings, the greatest athlete ever?

IMO, its probably lebron. just look at his size, skillset, and overall athletic competence

randy moss is also up there, just because of pure speed and ridiculous hand eye coordination
Nov 4 2009 1:27PM
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yellav
Posts: 10056 - Karma: 1,217
me
Nov 4 2009 1:27PM
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Arabian.
Posts: 9632 - Karma: 55
Those guys that win the Iron Man competitions. Fucking insane.
Nov 4 2009 1:27PM
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butteredpretzel
Posts: 1485 - Karma: 866
shane
Nov 4 2009 1:30PM
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anxju
Posts: 9371 - Karma: 61
is that all just endurance though? do they have any coordination at all? or speed, quickness, jumping ability?


i have to add adrian peterson to the list, cause when you can make NFL players look like fools, then you have some talent

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Nov 4 2009 1:30PM
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Fish_Sandwich.
Posts: 9108 - Karma: 16
What's the best pair of skis?
There's going to be a lot of justified answers but no conclusion.
I'd say freeclimbers are pretty bad ass, and pro MX riders and people that do tour races on jetskis in heavy surf are crazy athletic.
Nov 4 2009 1:30PM
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hokkanee
Posts: 1800 - Karma: 435
Shaun White
Nov 4 2009 1:31PM
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Balto
Posts: 25985 - Karma: 4,404
na man he's got nothin on my man ryan sheckler
Nov 4 2009 1:35PM
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Dobies.
Posts: 1835 - Karma: 205
Michael Jordan
Brett Favre

Nov 4 2009 1:41PM
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californiagrown
Posts: 9794 - Karma: 2,014
bo knows
Nov 4 2009 1:42PM
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Mr.Panda
Posts: 17711 - Karma: 564
Royce Gracie. The guy made a career of beating people two to three weight classes bigger than him, and beating them convincingly too.
Nov 4 2009 1:53PM
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derbski
Posts: 3173 - Karma: 62
this and michael phelps.
Nov 4 2009 1:58PM
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anxju
Posts: 9371 - Karma: 61
lol brett favre lol
Nov 4 2009 2:00PM
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Mr.Panda
Posts: 17711 - Karma: 564
Don't turn this into a Tom Brady dicksucking thread please.
Nov 4 2009 2:01PM
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anxju
Posts: 9371 - Karma: 61
tom brady is nowhere close to the greatest athlete ever

he is the best at his position, not overall athletic prowess
Nov 4 2009 2:02PM
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Dr.Rick_Marshall
Posts: 407 - Karma: 44
bo jackson
Nov 4 2009 2:04PM
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honeydip
Posts: 984 - Karma: 20
usain bolt sonnnnnnn
Nov 4 2009 2:04PM
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Delphi
Posts: 3748 - Karma: 36
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Nov 4 2009 2:06PM
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Mr.Panda
Posts: 17711 - Karma: 564
You could throw in BJ Penn for pure raw talent to then. BJJ WORLD CHAMP like 5 years after starting. People getting a BJJ Black Belt in 5 years is unheard of, but winning the World Championship in 5 years (first American too) and getting his Black Belt in like 3 years is nuts.
Nov 4 2009 2:13PM
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DDrem.
Posts: 3552 - Karma: 24
Alex Ovechkin and Adrian Peterson
Nov 4 2009 2:15PM
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dergblerp
Posts: 1303 - Karma: 77
spartacus FTW  
Nov 4 2009 2:15PM
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ace_
Posts: 3189 - Karma: 39
WORD
Nov 4 2009 2:15PM
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Delphi
Posts: 3748 - Karma: 36
yeah, most badass slave ever.
Nov 4 2009 2:16PM
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hokkanee
Posts: 1800 - Karma: 435
Probably lance armstrong
Nov 4 2009 2:18PM
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Delphi
Posts: 3748 - Karma: 36
absolutely not. the guy can run and ride a bike, big whoop. Football players are tremendous athletes. Raw strength, speed, agility, and explosive power. doesn't get any better than that.
Nov 4 2009 2:19PM
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Abc567def
Posts: 8756 - Karma: 801
Long distance insurance athletes for sure
Nov 4 2009 2:27PM
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GANDALF
Posts: 6303 - Karma: 6,573


make sure you watch the whole thing
Nov 4 2009 2:28PM
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ski_ENDUB
Posts: 2535 - Karma: 86
Kelly Slater, preiod. There is no other athlete alive who has been as dominant as he is in the world of surfing. He has both the youngest and oldest world champion records. He came, won world titles, retired for a while, cam back, and won several more titles and is now on the verge of creating a whole new world tour that is going to have way more prize money and media coverage. No other athlete comes close
Nov 4 2009 2:28PM
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Delphi
Posts: 3748 - Karma: 36
Shaun White lol.
Nov 4 2009 2:31PM
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ski@jaypeak2
Posts: 2802 - Karma: 429

Jim Thorpe was an American athlete. Considered one of the most versatile athletes in modern sports, he won Olympic gold medals in the 1912 pentathlon and decathlon, played American football at the collegiate and professional levels, and also played professional baseball and basketball.

Nov 4 2009 2:31PM
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Mr.Panda
Posts: 17711 - Karma: 564
Tony Hawk and Mat Hoffman also have done a fair amount for their respective sports.
Nov 4 2009 2:32PM
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GoonThug
Posts: 324 - Karma: 16
phelps
Nov 4 2009 2:34PM
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Loco-Deer-Slayer
Posts: 1401 - Karma: 701
Leryn Franco.... MMmm for sure the best athlete.
Nov 4 2009 2:34PM
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q_sketch
Posts: 291 - Karma: 15
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Nov 4 2009 2:34PM
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prontocuts.com
Posts: 5244 - Karma: 42
lololollolololololololol
Nov 4 2009 2:36PM
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OhMyBosh
Posts: 5056 - Karma: 171
Lets assume there are certain qualities a great athlete should have.

1. Strength
2. Endurance
3. Speed
4. Agility
5. Skill


So, first off, any NFL player's endurance sucks balls compared to most other sports. However, they probably win at all the other categories.
NBA players probably have pretty good agility, skill, and endurance. etc. etc. etc.

Its impossible to actually define the 'best' athlete, its all just going to boil down to opinion.
Nov 4 2009 2:37PM
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Joshua.
Posts: 2957 - Karma: 6,230
da buuuurrrrrrrssssssssssssssssssssss
Nov 4 2009 2:37PM
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.AR6rider.
Posts: 15976 - Karma: 8,799
I was going to say this but you beat me to it.
Nov 4 2009 2:38PM
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Ben.
Posts: 21463 - Karma: 683
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end thread.
Nov 4 2009 2:38PM
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user098123
Posts: 6072 - Karma: 18
Haha you are retarded...you go try and ride a bike up a mountain like the Pyrenees like they do and say it doesn't take Raw Strength. And then do it again and again and again day after day.

Have you seen the highlight of him going up a mountain and turning to look at Jan Ulrich and then turn and take off up the mountain, that is huge explosive power and agility.  Or watch him do a time trial, it is ridiculous.  I would say very few things are more grueling than the Tour De France...probably an Ironman or an Ultra Marathon.  Either way, Lance gets my vote for winning that thing so many times.
Nov 4 2009 2:40PM
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Mr.Gaga
Posts: 2021 - Karma: 542

GSP. Watch him training, he's good at evrything, cardio, str, agility... he's a fucking monster and the best in his sport, he fight a guy for 20 minutes in the octogone then win and do backflips... wtf can you do vs gsp com on he's the new chuck norris you all know.

Nov 4 2009 2:46PM
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rYb
Posts: 944 - Karma: -12
Thierry Henry.
Nov 4 2009 2:46PM
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Ben.
Posts: 21463 - Karma: 683
he won the most challenging sporting event in the world (there is no question about this) 7 TIMES!!!!

easily the best athlete on the planet.
Nov 4 2009 2:47PM
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fujarome
Posts: 8630 - Karma: 1,561
i'd agree with that.

well maybe not.

he's still a remarkable athlete, what  major trophy hasn't he won? World Cup, Euro, Champions League, several league titles, and several individual awards

I'd say the greatest athlete should probably be a soccer player. You may hate the sport, but soccer takes ridiculous speed, agility, strength, and skill.
Nov 4 2009 2:49PM
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anxju
Posts: 9371 - Karma: 61
it does not take exceptional strength to climb a mountain on a bike. it takes muscular and cardiovascular endurance. adrian peterson is 500000x stronger than lance armstrong
Nov 4 2009 2:51PM
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Ben.
Posts: 21463 - Karma: 683
i would argue that an athlete is simply someone who is extremely physically fit, and dexterous/agile (whatever you want to call it)
Nov 4 2009 2:51PM
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rYb
Posts: 944 - Karma: -12

Yeah, Henry is amazing. The best athletes are GOING to be soccer players. Sorry guys but they have it ALL.

Not to mention he HAS won every major title for soccer like fuja has said. Even on a world scale. Football doesn't have that.

Nov 4 2009 2:51PM
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Fish_Sandwich.
Posts: 9108 - Karma: 16
That's pretty much the definition I'd use.
Nov 4 2009 3:00PM
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fujarome
Posts: 8630 - Karma: 1,561
quite a bit actually. Running for periods like that requires good upper body strength, and simply moving the ball usually requires your entire body. So you don't need to be massively jacked but you do need some
Nov 4 2009 3:14PM
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creighton
Posts: 3837 - Karma: 3,400
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Nov 4 2009 3:25PM
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