Greatest Athlete of All Time...

[Ararar]

8 minutes ago, RedZone said:

Bruce Jenner when he won the Olympics.

100 Meter Dash 10.94

Long Jump 23.69

Pole Vault 😭

 

Mondo Duplantis Outdoor Best in High School

He didn't train for anything except the pole vault. Just amazing!

Long Jump 23-5.5 

Pole Vault 19-5.5

100 Meter Dash 10.57

200 Meter Dash 23.03

Impressive but you’re missing more than half the events that make you the decathlon champion 

[golfaddict1]

Yea, Mondo’s father never trained his sons in sprinting.   He trained them only from the pit and above. 😆 

#crosstraininginvention 

 

[golfaddict1]

9 minutes ago, Ararar said:

Impressive but you’re missing more than half the events that make you the decathlon champion 

Boling should give it a go in the decathlon.  

[golfaddict1]

Track and field royalty:  @Wooderson

 

[Ararar]

6 minutes ago, golfaddict1 said:

Boling should give it a go in the decathlon.  

Fastest decathlon 100 is 10.12 I believe the same guy LJ over 25 feet 

[RedZone]

17 minutes ago, Ararar said:

Impressive but you’re missing more than half the events that make you the decathlon champion 

I'm just comparing what they may have had in common. I don't think Bruce Jenner ever ran a 200 Meters though, he may have.

Doesn't really matter though. 

 

 

 

[golfaddict1]

23 minutes ago, golfaddict1 said:

Track and field royalty:  @Wooderson

 

Already mentioned in the vid above, Michael Johnson - track and field royalty rep also 

*Quincy Watts split time, 🤩 #USCtrack @HurricaneNick

 

https://youtu.be/N8X5rMAQDZ8?si=QkLwRJ_tTgzecLFN

 

 

 

[golfaddict1]

The trifecta of track and field royalty obviously being Carl Lewis.  Choose your vid.   

Add Jesse Owens and there’s 4 track and field royalty members.  Bolt/Johnson/Lewis/Owens

But we all know this.  


 

[golfaddict1]

I met Marty Glickman when I was a kid with Dad after listening to a speech.  

It definitely didn’t hurt for athletic motivation.  My Dad looked at Glickman like he was meeting a US President.  

You can add Glickman to the list.  He was a rb at Syracuse and well, I hope some of you know the name from the Jesse Owens Berlin Olympic Games.  
Marty and a teammate got screwed by the host and the US Olympic heads.  
BS scheme by the Germans worked.  

[dan in daytona]

6 hours ago, golfaddict1 said:

I met Marty Glickman when I was a kid with Dad after listening to a speech.  

It definitely didn’t hurt for athletic motivation.  My Dad looked at Glickman like he was meeting a US President.  

You can add Glickman to the list.  He was a rb at Syracuse and well, I hope some of you know the name from the Jesse Owens Berlin Olympic Games.  
Marty and a teammate got screwed by the host and the US Olympic heads.  
BS scheme by the Germans worked.  

I'm old enough to remember Marty Glickman, and reheard decades later his 1936 slight for being left off the U.S. Gold Medal 4x100m Relay Team because of being Jewish. We (America) didn't want to embarrass our Olympic host Mr Hitler about their "Jewish Situation." As a young sports fan, with only three TV channels to choose from (NBC, CBS, ABC, chs-2,6,9) and only two days of sports viewing (Saturday & Sunday) the pickings were slim to none. But with the AFL (NBC) coming in with the NFL (CBS) and ABC's Wild World of Sports, and college sports (Also CBS Sports Spectacular) we did have some limited sports coverage. Marty was an announcer later in life with a good broadcast voice with keen observation (color commentator), and if I'm not mistaken played defensive back, and ran sprints in high school, like myself. It's a shame he's more or less been forgotten.       

[dan in daytona]

22 hours ago, golfaddict1 said:

No no… Dan competed in hurdles in HS.  Not distance related mention, a flashback memory request to track golden days of yards.  💪 

Dan knows these names well, that we’ve been tossing around.  

Did someone mention hurdles without the name Edwin Moses ?  Between 1977 and 1987  Mr Moses won 107 consecutive finals (122 consecutive races) and set the world record in the 400m hurdles four times.

[Norcalnut]

8 hours ago, Ararar said:

Impressive but you’re missing more than half the events that make you the decathlon champion 

And 50 years

[On2whls]

On 4/10/2024 at 11:37 AM, pied said:

Baseball - skill level as high as any sport, but overall athleticism needed is typically well below other sports

I recall John Kruk during an interview with a reporter as he was coming back from an injury and obviously overweight, was asked about being a professional athlete in questionable shape.  Kruks reply was something like: let's get one thing straight.  I'm a baseball player not a professional athlete.

[Sweetlarry]

I had the (dis)pleasure of fighting Roy Jones Jr. as an amateur and he was one we bad mother fucker! Also played (if memory serves me) in the USBL and ran a sub 4.35 40. His HSFB coach said he’s have been an all American RB if he’d have played as well. 
 

 

Ridiculous athlete. So/so rapper…….

[Wosinc]

On 4/10/2024 at 6:11 PM, Ararar said:

I think we have short changed the decathlon athlete 

I think this is a fun discussion, but basically an unanswerable question.  I don’t believe there’s any way to identify, much less agree on, the greatest athlete of all time, but certainly we can propose who we think is the all time best in a particular sport or event.

If we’re talking about decathletes, then Rafer .Johnson has to be in the conversation.

In the hurdles, I haven’t seen anyone mention Reynaldo Nehemiah.  Maybe before most most of your time?

And no discussion of the 400 would be legitimate without including Michael Johnson.

 

[Cossacks]

11 minutes ago, Wosinc said:

I think this is a fun discussion, but basically an unanswerable question.  I don’t believe there’s any way to identify, much less agree on, the greatest athlete of all time, but certainly we can propose who we think is the all time best in a particular sport or event.

If we’re talking about decathletes, then Rafer .Johnson has to be in the conversation.

In the hurdles, I haven’t seen anyone mention Reynaldo Nehemiah.  Maybe before most most of your time?

And no discussion of the 400 would be legitimate without including Michael Johnson.

 

I was going to say Rafer as a decathlete. 
 

Renaldo Nehemiah could definitely run, but he was not a very good football player (Ron Brown, Darrell Green, Michael Carter and Willie Gault were better track/football combo’s in that era). I remember when he almost got killed by Kenny Johnson while crossing the middle. I’d say he was never the same after that hit. But he wasn’t good before it 😂.

[Wosinc]

4 minutes ago, Cossacks said:

I was going to say Rafer as a decathlete. 
 

Renaldo Nehemiah could definitely run, but he was not a very good football player (Ron Brown, Darrell Green, Michael Carter and Willie Gault were better track/football combo’s in that era). I remember when he almost got killed by Kenny Johnson while crossing the middle. I’d say he was never the same after that hit. But he wasn’t good before it 😂.

You got that right, but Skeets was a hell of a hurdler, which was all I was proposing.

[Fred]

On 4/11/2024 at 9:42 PM, dan in daytona said:

ABC's Wild World of Sports

This triggered the memory of watching live as the ski jumper fell.  That clip became famous as "the agony of defeat".

[Fred]

Dick Hoyt deserves consideration.  Don't know who he was?  He was the guy that pushed his wheelchair bound son with cerebral palsy in 74 marathons, 32 of which were Boston Marathons, and 257 triathlons 22 of which were Ironman distance.  Look him up.  You should be impressed especially considering his age when he started.

[Cossacks]

29 minutes ago, Fred said:

This triggered the memory of watching live as the ski jumper fell.  That clip became famous as "the agony of defeat".

 

[golfaddict1]

On 4/11/2024 at 9:52 PM, dan in daytona said:

Did someone mention hurdles without the name Edwin Moses ?  Between 1977 and 1987  Mr Moses won 107 consecutive finals (122 consecutive races) and set the world record in the 400m hurdles four times.

💪  

 

[golfaddict1]

11 hours ago, Cossacks said:

 

Jim Mckay’s voice… legend.  @Fred

[golfaddict1]

14 hours ago, Wosinc said:

I think this is a fun discussion, but basically an unanswerable question.  I don’t believe there’s any way to identify, much less agree on, the greatest athlete of all time, but certainly we can propose who we think is the all time best in a particular sport or event.

If we’re talking about decathletes, then Rafer .Johnson has to be in the conversation.

In the hurdles, I haven’t seen anyone mention Reynaldo Nehemiah.  Maybe before most most of your time?

And no discussion of the 400 would be legitimate without including Michael Johnson.

 

Skeets I brought up, but didn’t highlight hurdles.   Like Lam Jones, Skeets had trouble holding on to the ball, from what I recall. 

Michael Johnson I brought up with Bolt, Owens and Lewis as track royalty.  I’m sure there are others.  

Ashton Eaton won 2 Decathlon Golds back to back (recent) and American great Bob Mathias also won back to back Decathlons.  

From previous post…

[AztecPadre]

On 4/10/2024 at 11:37 AM, pied said:

This is always a great question and discussion.

 

Gave my $0.02 about Jackie Robinson.

 

I first look at typical athletic standards, speed, strength, quickness, stamina and explosion (jumping), and versatility.   I then take into account skills, throwing, catching, accuracy, as well as strategy.  

 

For me single sport/event athletes would have a harder time being as high on my list.  I also think you can be an all time great in the sport, but not necessarily qualify as a world class athlete.  For the people at the top of my list, I'd consider how they would translate across sports.  

 

Sport wise:

Football - very specialized, and really lacks on the endurance compared to other sports while having a big emphasis on explosion, quickness, and strength for some positions.  For the best athlete, I'd be looking at DB/WR/RB/LB with a couple of outstanding ones.  On the downside, players only play ~1/2 the game (which totals ~13 minutes of actual game play) in bursts of ~7ish seconds/play with a break in between.  

Soccer - high on endurance, skill, but almost totally lacking on throwing/catching.  Explosion, quickness and speed are high.  I'm a huge soccer guy, but there would only be a few guys that I'd include, like Ronaldo.  

Baseball - skill level as high as any sport, but overall athleticism needed is typically well below other sports.  There have been some great athletes for sure, but the sport does not require it to be great.

Basketball - it is the team sport that sticks out for me.  It is much less specialized than many other team sports and incorporates more of the athletic attributes I look for.  There is less skill than baseball and soccer, but probably a little more than football.

Hockey - Speed and skill is very high, shifts are pretty short, on average ~45 seconds.  Positions are not nearly as specialized as football/baseball and toughness is off the charts, but that wouldn't be one of my top criteria.

Track and Field - meets many of the requirements, but lacking versatility and skills outside a few events.

Swimming - see T&F, up the skill and lower the versatility.

Wrestling  - I'd be talking out of my @$$ even more, but highs on strength explosion, and endurance, but not nearly enough for me.

Volleyball - explosion and quickness out the wazzoo, but overall too specialized.

 

 

Bo Jackson and Deion have great resumes for me.  At the top of one sport (and position requiring great athletes) and good at another that requires tremendous skill.

Jackie Robinson was tops in four sports collegiately and may have been able to duplicate what those guys did in a different time.

Wilt check so many boxes as well, especially considering he's also in the Volleyball HOF.  

Jim Brown is another great shout, think he could have competed in the modern era as well.

Michael Phelps - certainly belongs in the discussion, but too limited for me

Jim Thorpe - I just can't comment and I'm an old.

 

 

Have to choose one, give me my sentimental choice of Jackie Robinson but certainly open for debate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What about NASCAR racers?  lol

[golfaddict1]

On 4/11/2024 at 9:52 PM, dan in daytona said:

Did someone mention hurdles without the name Edwin Moses ?  Between 1977 and 1987  Mr Moses won 107 consecutive finals (122 consecutive races) and set the world record in the 400m hurdles four times.

Karsten Warholm has had a sweet run in the 400h. Rai Benjamin is making this race more interesting of late.  

From the women’s side, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is today’s superstar.   I hope she’s healthy for the Olympic Games.