The History of Sport 1951: The First PanAm Games, Asian Games and Mediterranean Games

The National Football League has its first Pro Bowl Game (Los Angeles).
– Norm Van Brocklin sets NFL single game record for most passing yards (554) helping Los Angeles Rams beat New York Yanks 48–21.

Britain’s Randy Turpin becomes the middleweight boxing champion by defeating Sugar Ray Robinson at Earls Court on points. Robinson wins the return in New York in the tenth round. Jersey Joe Walcott knocks out Ezzard Charles to win the world heavyweight championship aged 37 years 168 days.

Citation wins his 32nd race, the Hollywood Gold Cup, becoming the first equine millionaire earner.

Grand National is won by Nickel Coin, the last mare to win the race. The Champion Hurdle is won by Hatton’s Grace for the third successive year.

500cc World Championship is won by the United Kingdom’s Geoff Duke 1951 Grand Prix motorcycle racing Season manufacturers title goes to United Kingdom’s Norton. Sidecars World Championship United Kingdom’s Eric Oliver wins his third successive title with Italian Lorenzo Dobelli.

World Snooker Championship – Fred Davis beats Walter Donaldson 58–39.

First Pan American Games are held in Buenos Aires.

The First Mediterranean Games are held in Alexandria, Egypt

The first Asian Games are held in New Delhi.

Ilona Schacherer-Elek (Hungary) wins her third world foil title in fencing to add to two Olympic titles.

England defeat Australia 17-0 in Sydney to set a record for the highest score in a football international match.

The International Judo Federation is founded.

The World Parachute Championships are instituted.

The first televised rugby league match: England v New Zealand at Swinton is shown on the BBC.

Lionel Cooper scores ten tries for Huddersfield v Keighley in a rugby league match.

The first Tour of Britain cycle race is held and won by I Steel of Great Britain.

Britain’s Max Faulkner wins the Open golf championship.

The Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe horse race is won by Tantieme for the second time, ridden by Jacko Doyosbere having his fourth victory.

At the world figure skating championship the Ladies’ champion is Jeannette Altwegg, and the ice dance champions are Jean Westwood and Lawrence Demmy of Great Britain.

Nancye Wynne Bolton (Australia) wins her fifth Australian Women’s tennis singles title.

Ian Appleyard wins the inaugural RAC Rally.

Johnny Leach of England wins his second world singles title at table tennis with Diane and Rosalind Rowe winning the women’s doubles.

Sheila Lerwill of Britain sets a world record in the high jump at White City stadium.

William Jones scores six touchdowns for Cleveland against the Bears.

Frank Sedgman and Ken McGregor do the grand slam in men’s doubles at the tennis majors.

World Sports Hall of Fame 1959: Patty Berg, Viktor Chukarin, Juan Manuel Fangio and Shirley Strickland

My choices for the Hall of Fame for 1959 are:

Patty Berg (USA – Golf) – the first great female professional golfer. She helped found the LPGA in the 1940s and went on to be money leader in 1954, 1956 and 1957. She led the tour in victories three times and in her career had 57 wins. She won 29 amateur championships, including the US Amateur title, before turning pro in 1940. She won the first US women’s Open in 1946 and recorded the first hole in one at the event in 1959. She had seven wins at the Titleholders Championship between 1937 and 1957, and seven at the Western Open between 1941 and 1958. These events counted as Majors at the time.

Viktor Chukarin (USSR/Ukraine – Gymnastics) – the Olympic all round champion in 1952 and 1956. At the 1952 Games he won two golds and two silvers in individual apparatus events plus a team gold. In 1956 he won three golds and in total won eleven Olympic medals. In 1954 he was world all round champion and also won the parallel bars gold.

Juan Manuel Fangio (Argentina – Motor Racing) – one of the greatest Formula One drivers of all time. He was world champion five times, in 1951 and each year from 1954 to 1957, the most of anyone in the 20th century. He won 24 of his 51 races, a record winning percentage. His five titles were won with four different manufacturers.

Shirley Strickland (Australia – Athletics) – winner of seven Olympic medals, for many years the record for any woman in athletics. She won bronze at the 100m and 80m hurdles in 1948, and should have had another in the 200m but the photo finish was incorrectly read. In 1952 she won the hurdles gold, breaking the world record in both the heats and the final. She won another bronze in the 100m. In her home Olympics in 1956 she retained the hurdles crown and won gold with the world record breaking 4 x 100m relay team. She set a world record for the 100m in 1953. She won three golds and two silvers at the 1950 Empire Games.

British Sports Hall of Fame 1959: Godfrey Evans, Gordon Pirie, Randolph Turpin and Billy Wright

Godfrey Evans (Cricket) – one of England’s best ever wicket keepers. He made the position his own in the twelve years following World War II and when he retired from Test cricket in 1959 had played in a record 91 tests. In 1954 he broke the record for the most dismissals by a keeper in Tests and went on to be the first to 200, finishing with 219. He also scored more than 2000 Test runs. He played first class cricket for thirty years scoring nearly 15000 runs and making more than 1000 dismissals.

Gordon Pirie (Athletics) – a great distance runner who set four world records. In 1953 he broke the world record for 6 miles and in 1956 set new marks for 5000m and 3000m twice. The 5000m record was set when beating Vladimir Kuts who won the Olympic title that year. Three days later he set the first of the 3000m records and took another 2.9 seconds off a few months after. He struggled to make an impact in major championships with an Olympic silver and European bronze at 5000m being his only medals. He made many finals however and won numerous national titles.

Randolph Turpin (Boxing) – he produced one of the best performances in British boxing history when defeating the great Sugar Ray Robinson to win the world middleweight title in 1951. Robinson regained the title later that year. Turpin had already won the European middleweight title in 1951, taking just 48 seconds to knock out his opponent. In 1952 he won the British and Empire titles at light-heavyweight. He relinquished and regained the titles twice and still held them when retiring in 1958.

Billy Wright (Football) – the first British football player to win 100 international caps. A versatile half-back who won 105 caps for England between 1946 and 1959, he captained the team a record 90 times. He played for Wolverhampton Wanderers throughout his career and made 490 league appearances for them, winning the league in 1954, 1958 and 1959 plus the FA Cup in 1949. He was Footballer of the year in 1952.

History of Sport 1950: Uruguay win the World Cup, the LPGA begins and the Motor Racing world championship is inaugurated

The football World Cup is held in Brazil. Uruguay are the winners after beating Brazil in the final group decider in front of a crowd of 199,854 at the Maracana stadium. Earlier in the tournament the United States defeat England 1–0 in one of the great upsets in sports history.

Rangers win a third successive Scottish Cup when defeating East Fife.

In Australian Rules football the Victorian Football Association began playing as an affiliated member of the Australian National Football Council and playing under the same rules as the rest of the country. This ended a schism which had begun in 1938, during which the VFA had played under its own rival set of rules under which throwing the football in general play was legalised.

In boxing Joey Maxim of the USA wins the light-heavyweight world title, stopping champion Freddie Mills of Britain in 10 rounds. Mills retires from the sport.

Vic Toweel of South Africa knocks down English boxer Danny O’Sullivan fourteen times in a world bantamweight title fight.

Britain’s Terry Allen wins the vacant world flyweight title by outpointing Honore Pratesi.

The first world ice dance championship is won by the Americans Lois Waring and Michael McGean.

Bobby Locke of South Africa retains his Open golf championship title.

A group of women golfers found the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA). Babe Zaharias, the gold medal winner in athletics at the 1932 Olympics, wins all three major titles played for.

In British horse racing the Cheltenham Gold Cup steeplechase is won by Cottage Rake for the third successive year.

The world motor racing drivers championship is inaugurated. It is won by Italian driver Giuseppe Farina in an Alfa Romeo. He won the first race of the season, the inaugural British Grand Prix at Silverstone, and secured the title at the final race held at Monza in Italy.

In motorcycle racing Great Britain wins world championships at 350cc with Bob Foster, sidecar with Eric Oliver retaining his title, 500cc with Norton winning the constructors title and Speedway with Freddie Williams.

In rugby union the Five Nations Championship series is won by Wales who complete the Grand Slam.

In tennis Louise Brough wins a third consecutive Wimbledon singles title and with Margaret du Pont a third successive doubles crown. Du Pont herself wins a third successive US Open singles title.

4At the 4th British Empire Games held in Auckland, New Zealand Australian Shirley Strickland wins five medals, including three golds, in athletics.

Racquetball is invented by Joe Sobek at Greenwich, Connecticut.

he International Softball Federation is formed.

Hans Deutgen wins a fourth consecutive world archery title.

The first world mens basketball championship is won by Argentina.

The first Channel swimming race is won by Aldel Rehim of Egypt in a time of 10 hours 50 minutes.

In cricket twenty wickets fall for just 102 runs after lunch in an Australia v England Test Match at Brisbane.

The first World Cyclo-cross championship is won by France’s J Robic.

At the world table tennis championship England’s Richard Bergmann wins his second singles title. British players Beregi and Elliot win the women’s doubles crown.

Blossom of Annagurna retains the greyhound Grand National title.

Halina Rekoczy of Poland wins five golds at the world gymnastics championships.

Sports History Chronicle World Sportsman, Sportswoman and Team of the Year 2025: Mondo Duplantis, A’ja Wilson and the England women’s rugby union Red Roses.

These are some of the global sports performances I think are the most notable in 2025.

Summer McIntosh (Canada – Swimming) At her country’s 2025 World Championship trials, she set three long course new world records:the 400 freestyle (3:54.18), 200 IM (2:05.70), and 400 IM (4:23.65). The latter record already belonged to McIntosh. She was the first woman to break three at one meeting for over a decade. At the world championship she won the 400m freestyle, 200 and 400 IM, and 200m butterfly, and bronze in the 800m freestyle.

Nika Prevc (Slovenia – Ski Jumping) won both individual events at the world championship and set the record for the most points scored in a women’s World Cup season. Additionally, she finished the season with ten consecutive World Cup victories, tying the record set in 2015–16. She also tied another record for the most World Cup victories in a single season, with fifteen.

Johannes Høsflot Klæbo (Norway – Cross country skiing) won gold medals in all six events at the world championships, four individual events. He won three World Cup titles and the overall crown.

Rachel Homan (Canada – Curling) won world championship, five Grand Slam and reached the final of all ten events with her team.

Ilia Malinin (USA – Figure Skating) won all seven of his competitions including the world championship in the 2024-5 season.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Canada – Basketball) was the leading scorer, league MVP, finals MVP and led the Oklahoma City Thunder to the NBA title.

Tadej Pogacar (Slovenia -Cycling) had a fourth Tour de France win, completed the Flanders-Liège-Lombardia triple. He retained his world championship in the road race and became the first man to be on the podium in all five monument road races in one year.

Florian Wellbrock (Germany – Open water swimming) won all three individual events at the world championships and gold in the relay.

Akbar Djuraev (Uzbekistan – Weightlifting) won the world championships in all three disciplines and set a world record in the overall event. He also won the Asian championship.

Olivia Reeves (USA – Weightlifting) won the world championships in all three sections and set a world record in the overall event. She also won the PanAm Games.

Harrie Lavreysen (Netherlands – Cycling) became the first man in history to win four gold medals at a world track cycling championship when winning the sprint, time trial, team sprint and keirin. He also won two golds at the European Championship.

Shohei Ohtani (Japan – Baseball) – had an outstanding season both hitting and pitching as he took the LA Dodgers to victory in the World Series. He was the NLCS MVP, and won his second unanimous NL MVP award.

A’ja Wilson (USA – Basketball) Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces won the WNBA Championship. She became the only player in the WNBA or NBA to ever win the scoring title, MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and Finals MVP in the same season.

Yao Qianxun (China – Shooting) won six golds and two silver medals at the world championships in pistol events, three individual event golds. She also set three world records.

Armand Duplantis (Sweden – Athletics) unbeatable in all sixteen of his competitions in pole vault. He won the world championships indoors and outdoors and broke the world record four times.

Norway’s women’s handball team won world championships gold, winning every single match except the final against Germany by nine or more goals. This continues the dominance from the previous year where they won Olympic and European championship golds.

Beatrice Chebet (Kenya – Athletics) won world championship gold at 5000m and 10000m. She set a world record in the 5000m

England women’s rugby union team have won every match since defeat in the 2021 World cup final, and now have the longest ever winning streak in international rugby, of 33 consecutive games after winning the 2025 World Cup final.

My shortlist for sportsman of the year is Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, Armand Duplantis and Harrie Lavreysen who were all completely dominant. My choice as sportsman of the year is Armand “Mondo” Duplantis who has been brilliant for so long and is able to break the world record at will. He did this again in 2025 culminating in the world championships where he cleared 6.30m.

My top three sportswomen of the year are Summer McIntosh, Nika Prevc and A’ja Wilson. For me it’s close between McIntosh and Wilson but because she has achieved something that hasn’t been done before my choice is A’ja Wilson.

The three best teams of 2025 are the Rachel Homan curling team, the Norwegian handball women and the England rugby union Red Roses women. My choice as winners is made due to dominance over the last four years. I could have chosen them in previous years but wanted to wait for the premier tournament in their sport to come around. The Red Roses converted their long supremacy into victory in the World Cup and they are my World Team of the year.

Sports History Chronicle British Sportsman, Sportswoman and Team of 2025:

It’s time for my annual awards where I choose my top sportsman, sportswoman and team for the previous year in the United Kingdom and the World.

The year after an Olympics can be a bit of a strange one as some sportspeople have a bit of a down year. If the truth is told 2025 was a bit of a down year for Britain generally in Olympic sports. Here are some of the notable performances in UK sports.

In darts the teenage sensation Luke Littler won the PDC world championship and a host of other titles. In women’s darts Beau Greaves was also dominant and won a record 86 consecutive contests at one point.

In indoor bowls Scotland’s Jason Banks won singles, pairs and mixed pairs titles at the world championship.

In snowboarding Mia Brookes won the world cup in Big Air and overall freestyle.

In skeleton bob Matt Weston won the world cup and the world championship.

In freestyle skiing Zoe Atkin won the world championship in half pipe and shared the World cup title.

In curling the Scottish team skipped by Bruce Mouat won the world championship.

In women’s football Arsenal won the Champions League and England won the Euros. Hannah Hampton was named the best goalkeeper in the world.

In men’s football Chelsea won the so called World Club Championship.

In tennis Cash and Glasspool won the men’s doubles at Wimbledon.

In golf Northern Ireland saw Rory McIlroy complete the career Grand Slam of Majors by winning the Masters at Augusta.

In swimming the British men won the world title at 4x200m freestyle again.

In cycling Simon Yates won the Giro d’Italia. At the world championships on the track there were golds for Anna Morris and Josh Charlton in the individual pursuit events, for Josh Tarling in the points race and for Katie Archibald and Madeleine Leach in the Madison. Beth Shriever won a second world championship in BMX racing.

Joe Clarke won another world championship in K1 canoe cross.

Jake Jarman won the world title in gymnastics in the floor exercise.

Hull Kingston Rovers won the league, cup and Grand Final to complete the domestic treble in rugby league.

The England Red Roses won the World Cup in women’s rugby union to remain unbeaten for four years.

Hannah Cockroft added another three golds to her huge tally at the world para athletics championships.

Lauren Price won the WBC and IBF welterweight titles. Ellie Scotney won the WBC super bantamweight title.

In canoe slalom Kimberley Woods won both K1 and C1 World Cup titles.

My shortlisted sporttsmen are Luke Littler, Matt Weston and Jake Jarman. Jarman not only won a world title on floor, but was also a key member of the British team that won the European Championship gold. However, for me the choice comes down to Littler or Weston. Weston became the first male British skeleton bob slider to win a world cup and world championship in the same year twice. He won two world cup races and was placed in five others. Littler not only became the youngest darts world championship winner but went on to back it up with dominating performances for the rest of the year. He won seven other major titles including the world matchplay and Grand Slam. This dominance makes him my choice as British Sportsman of the year.

The women’s choice is difficult but my shortlist is Zoe Atkin, Beau Greaves and Ellie Scotney. Greaves completely dominated women’s darts and had some notable performances against men. Atkin won the world championship and world cup, winning one and coming second twice in cup events. Scotney won two world title fights and Retained IBF, WBO & The Ring female super bantamweight titles. She won the WBC female super bantamweight title in her second fight to unify the world title. This unification makes Ellie Scotney my British sportswoman of the year.

The shortlist for team of the year comes down to three world champion teams. The Red Roses, Bruce Mouat and his curling team and the swimming 4x200m freestyle relay team. The swimmers have been at the top of the sport for several years now in a strong event and have done very well to stay there. This year they didn’t set any records. Mouat’s team had a good year generally and won three Grand Slam events as well as the world championship to be ranked number one in the world. However, I have to give team of the year to the England Red Roses rugby team. They have won every match since defeat in the 2021 World cup final, and now have the longest ever winning streak in international rugby, of 33 consecutive games after winning the 2025 World Cup final. There are star players all over the team and this makes it very difficult to single out individual people who could have won the sportswoman of the year.

25 for 25, The Greatest Sportsmen and Sportswomen of the 21st Century (Part Five)

Here are my final ten choices as my greatest sportsmen and sportswomen of the century so far, bringing the total to twenty-five men and twenty-five women.

Lewis Hamilton (Great Britain – Motor Racing) one of the best Formula 1 drivers ever, Hamilton has won a joint-record seven Formula One World Drivers’ Championship titles and holds the records for most wins (105), pole positions (104), and podium finishes (202).

Tong Wen (China – Judo) one of the best judokas of all time. In the 2008 Summer Olympics she won the gold medal. She also won gold medals at the World Judo Championships of 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2011 as well as a bronze medal in 2001.

Sven Kramer (Netherlands – Speed Skating) won an all-time record nine World Allround Championships as well as a record ten European Allround Championships. He is the Olympic champion of the 5000 meters at the Vancouver 2010, Sochi 2014 and Pyeongchang 2018 Olympics, and won a record 21 gold medals at the World Single Distance Championships; eight in the 5000 metres, five in the 10,000 metres, and eight in the team pursuit. He broke world records in the 5000 and 10,000 metre events three times. By winning the 2010 World Allround Championship, Kramer became the first speed skater in history to win four consecutive world allround championships and eight consecutive international all round championships. He was undefeated in the 18 international allround championships he participated in from the 2006/2007 season until the 2016/2017 season.

Faith Kipyegon (Kenya – Athletics)Kipyegon is the world record holder for the 1500 metres and the mile, and she is the former world record holder for the 5000 metres. Kipyegon is the only three-time Olympic champion in the 1500 metres, having won a gold medal each at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro, 2020 Tokyo, and the 2024 Paris Olympics. She also won a gold medal in the 1500 meters at the 2017, 2022, 2023 and 2025 World Championships and in the 5000 metres at the 2023 World Championships.
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Kipyegon became the first athlete ever to win three consecutive gold medals in the 1500 m women’s race, where she also set a new Olympic record.

Vincent Hancock (USA – Shooting) a four-time Olympic champion. He won the gold medal in men’s skeet shooting at the 2008 Summer Olympics (with a then Olympic record), 2012 Summer Olympics, 2020 Summer Olympics, and 2024 Summer Olympics. He is the first skeet shooter to repeat as the Olympic champion. He is the only shooter to win the same individual event at four Olympics and four world championships. Hancock is one of the most decorated shooters in the history of the sport, holding a total of 29 medals from various world competitions, including the Olympics.

Cristina Neagu (Romania – Handball) rated by many in the sport as the greatest of all time, Neagu is the only female handball player in history to win four IHF World Player of the Year awards (in 2010, 2015, 2016 and 2018). She also won the EHF European Player of the Year award in 2017 and 2018 (a record). She has been selected to the All-EHF Champions League All-Star Team seven times (2015–18 and 2020–22). One of the most prolific goalscorers ever, she scored 972 times for the Romanian national team.

Tadej Pogacar (Slovenia – Cycling) His victories include four Tours de France (2020, 2021, 2024, and 2025), the 2024 Giro d’Italia, and ten one-day Monuments (Tour of Flanders twice, Liège–Bastogne–Liège three times and Giro di Lombardia five times), as well as the World Championship Road Race twice.Comfortable in time-trialing, one-day classic riding and grand-tour climbing, he is considered one of the greatest cyclists of all time.In 2024 he became only the third male cyclist to achieve the Triple Crown of Cycling, winning the Giro, the Tour, and the World Championships in the same year. He is the only rider in history who took the Triple Crown and two monuments (Liège–Bastogne–Liège and Giro di Lombardia) in the same year. In 2025, he became the first male cyclist to win both the Tour de France and the UCI Road World Championship Road Race in two successive years (2024 and 2025).

Natalie Geisenberger (Germany – Luge) one of the greatest lugers of all time, she is a nine-time World champion and six-time Olympic champion. The only woman luger ever to win three individual Olympic gold medals. She is the most successful and decorated female Olympic luger, with five gold medals and one bronze. Geisenberger has won a total of seven gold, six silver, and one bronze medals at the FIL European Luge Championships. She has also accrued sixteen medals at the FIL World Luge Championships, including nine gold, five silver, and two bronze medals. She is the most decorated and most successful female luger in championship history. She has won a total of 7 world cups in singles and 3 in sprint, both of which are all-time records in women’s competitions.

Michael Jung (Germany – Equestrian 3 Day Event) four-time Olympic gold medallist, he won individual and team gold at the 2012 London Olympics, followed by individual gold and team silver at the 2016 Rio Olympics, and the individual gold for the third time at the 2024 Paris Olympics. He is the only person to win a third individual title. He has won three world golds including one individual title, and eight European golds (3 golds). In 2016 he became only the second rider in history to win the Grand Slam of Eventing that is comprised of the major events in the sport.

Claressa Shields (USA – Boxing). After winning two Olympic gold medals she turned professional where she has won all seventeen fights, held 18 major world championships spanning five weight classes, including the undisputed female light middleweight title, the undisputed female middleweight title twice between 2019 and 2024; the World Boxing Council (WBC) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) female super middleweight titles; the World Boxing Organization (WBO) female light heavyweight title and the undisputed female heavyweight title. Shields currently holds the record for becoming a two, three, four and five division world champion in the fewest professional fights. She is ranked the world’s best active female light heavyweight by BoxRec as well as the best active female boxer, pound for pound.

25 for 25, The Greatest Sportsmen and Sportswomen of the 21st Century (Part Four)

So far I have written about thirty of my top sports people of the century.  Here are the names of the next ten.

Lasha Talakhadze (Georgia – Weightlifting)  – the greatest weightlifter of the century.  Talakhadze is a three-time Olympic champion, seven-time world champion, and seven-time European champion competing in the super-heavyweight category. He is a three-time winner of the IWF Male Lifter of the Year.  He holds the all-time world records independent of weight category in the snatch, the clean and jerk, and the total.  Throughout his career he has set 26 official senior world records.

Janja Garnbret (Slovenia – Sport Climbing).  She has won multiple competition lead climbing and competition bouldering events, two Olympic gold medals, and is widely regarded as the greatest competition climber of all time. In 2021, Garnbret became the first-ever female Olympic gold medalist in climbing, and successfully defended her title in 2024.  She has won ten world championship golds, the most by anyone.  In 2019, she dominated the bouldering World Cup by winning every event throughout the season. Throughout six events, she placed first in six qualifications, four semifinals and six finals. This feat had never been achieved before in the history of competition climbing.

Mikael Kingsbury (Canada – Freestyle Skiing) a 13-time FIS Freestyle World Cup title-holder for overall moguls and nine-time title-holder for overall freestyle, the records for most men’s Moguls World Cup titles and Overall Freestyle World Cup titles. He also holds the records for career World Cup moguls victories with 99, and consecutive Freestyle World Cup event wins with 13. He is the first man to have won both the moguls and dual moguls World Championship events (sweeping the two events three times), and has won the most medals at the Freestyle World Championships of any male competitor in history, having won a medal in 15 of the 16 events he has competed in. He won the gold medal in men’s moguls at the 2018 Winter Olympics and the Olympic silver medal in 2014 and 2022.

Valentina Vezzali (Italy – Fencing) – won six Olympic gold medals and was a 16-time World Champion in foil. She is one of only five athletes in the history of the Summer Olympic Games to have won five medals in the same individual event. She is widely considered to be the greatest women’s foilist in fencing history and arguably the greatest female fencer of all time. Vezzali was the first fencer in Olympic history to win three individual foil gold medals at consecutive Olympics – Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008. Of her sixteen gold medals at the World Fencing Championships, six were in individual competitions (1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2011) and another ten in team competitions. In European championships, she won nine gold medals , five individual golds.

Lin Dan (China – Badminton). He is a two-time Olympic gold medallist, five-time World Championships gold medalist, two-time World Cup champion, two-time Asian Games gold medalist, four-time Asian Champion, as well as a six-time All England champion. He led China to victory 5 times at the Sudirman Cup, 6 times at the Thomas Cup, and 3 times at the Asian Games men’s team event. He is the only man to have won the full set of all nine major titles in the badminton world. He also became the first men’s singles player to retain the Olympic gold medal by winning in 2008 and successfully defending his title in 2012. He is regarded as the greatest badminton player of all time.

Kaori Icho (Japan – Wrestling).She is a ten-time World Champion and four-time Olympic Champion, winning gold in 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016. Icho was undefeated between 2003 and 2016, winning 189 consecutive contests, the record for the longest winning streak in the history of international wrestling. She is the first female in any sport to win individual-event gold at four consecutive Olympics. She was five times Asian champion and winner at the Asian Games once.

Novak Djokovic (Serbia – Tennis) the world No. 1 in men’s singles for a record 428 weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 a record eight times. Djokovic has won 101 ATP Tour–level singles titles, including a record 24 majors (among which a record ten Australian Open titles and seven at Wimbledon), a record 40 Masters, a record seven year-end championships, and an Olympic gold medal. Djokovic is the only man in tennis history to be the reigning champion of all four majors at once across three different surfaces. In singles, he is the only man to achieve a triple Career Grand Slam. Djokovic is the only player in singles to have won all of the Big Titles over the course of his career.

Lindsey Vonn (USA – Skiing)She won a record eight World cup season titles in the downhill discipline (2008–2013, 2015, 2016), five titles in super-G (2009–2012, 2015), and three consecutive titles in the combined (2010–2012). In 2016, she won her 20th World Cup title, the overall record for men or women.She won four World Cup overall championships.Vonn is one of six women to have won World Cup races in all five disciplines of alpine skiing – downhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom, and super combined – and won 82 World Cup races in her career, a record at the time. Vonn won the gold medal in downhill at the 2010 Winter Olympics and two world championships golds.

Mondo Duplantis (Sweden – Athletics)He is a two-time Olympic (2020 and 2024) champion, a three-time World outdoor (2022, 2023 and 2025) champion and a three-time World indoor (2022, 2024 and 2025) champion.Duplantis is a three-time European champion. He has cleared six metres or higher in competition more times than any athlete in history, including setting 14 world records,single-handedly raised the bar from 6.17 m in 2020 to his current world record of 6.30 m in 2025. He is widely regarded as the greatest pole vaulter of all time.

Anita Włodarczyk (Poland – Athletics) She is the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Olympic champion, becoming the first woman in history to win three golds in any athletics event. The first woman to throw the hammer over 80 m; she currently holds the women’s world record of 82.98 m and has set six world records, holding the record for the last eleven years. She is considered the greatest female hammer thrower of all time. She has also won four world championships and four European titles.

25 for 25. The Greatest Sportsmen and Sportswomen of the 21st Century, Part Three

So far I have given the names of ten sportsmen and ten sportswomen who I regard as among the top fifty of the 21st century. Here are the names of the next ten.

Rafael Nadal (Spain – Tennis) One of the best tennis players of all time and the greatest ever player on clay courts. His 81 consecutive wins on clay constitute the longest single-surface win streak in the Open Era. He won 92 ATP Tour singles titles, with 22 major titles—including a record 14 French Open titles—as well as 36 Masters titles and an Olympic gold medal. Nadal is one of three men to complete the career Golden Slam in singles. Nadal became the youngest man in the Open Era to achieve the career Grand Slam, at 24, and the first man to win majors on three different surfaces in the same year.Nadal won major singles titles in 10 consecutive years from 2005 to 2014. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men’s singles for 209 weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 five times.

Katie Ledecky (USA – Swimming) – Widely regarded as the greatest female swimmer ever, she is the most decorated female swimmer in history and the most decorated American woman in Olympic history, with a total of 14 Olympic medals, including nine golds. She shares the record for the most Olympic gold medals won by a woman. She has won the 800m freestyle at each Games from 2012 to 2024 and is the only woman to win the same event at four successive Olympics. Ledecky has won a record 18 individual gold medals at the World Aquatics Championships, and has been the world record holder in the women’s 800- and 1500-metre freestyle for twelve years. During her career, she has broken 17 world records. In 2025, she won gold in the 800 metre World Championship, becoming the first swimmer—male or female—to win seven World Championship gold medals in the same event.

Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal – Football) one of the greatest players in history, winning five Ballon d’Or awards, a record three UEFA Men’s Player of the Year Awards, four European Golden Boots, and was named five times the world’s best player by FIFA. He has won 34 trophies in his career, including five UEFA Champions Leagues and the UEFA European Championship. He holds the records for most goals (140) and assists (42) in the Champions League, goals (14) and assists (8) in the European Championship, and most international appearances (223) and international goals (141). He is the only player to have scored 100 goals with four different clubs. He has made over 1,200 professional career appearances, the most by an outfield player, and has scored over 900 official senior career goals for club and country, making him the top goalscorer of all time.

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (Jamaica – Athletics) – the greatest female sprinter ever. She is the only sprinter to win five world titles in the 100 m—in 2009, 2013, 2015, 2019, and 2022. In 2013, she became the first woman to sweep the 100 m, 200 m and 4 × 100 m at the same World Championship. She has won two Olympic golds at the 100m and one in the relay. Fraser-Pryce has won more individual global sprint titles than any other female sprinter in history. At the World Athletics Championships, Fraser-Pryce is one of the most decorated athletes in history, winning ten gold, five silver medals and a bronze.

Mijain Lopez (Cuba – Wrestling) – one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, López is a five-time Olympic gold medalist, five-time World Champion, for a total of 10 world gold medals (second highest total ever) and a five-time Pan American Games champion. Upon winning the gold medal in the Greco-Roman 130 kg event at the 2024 Paris Olympics, López became the first and only athlete in modern Olympics history to win five consecutive gold medals in the same individual event. At the 2016 and 2020 Games he won gold without conceding a single point in the tournament.

Jessica Fox (Australia – Canoeing) – the greatest female canoe slalom athlete in history. She has won 22 medals at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships with 14 golds. Her ten gold medals in individual events make her the most successful paddler, male or female, in World Championship history. She has won four world championships and both Olympic titles at C1. At K1 she has also won four world championships. She has twice won C1 and K1 at the same championship. Fox has won the overall World Cup title seven times in the C1 class and five times at K1. She has finished the year as the World No. 1 in C1 12 times, including an uninterrupted streak from 2013 to 2023, and World No. 1 in K1 eight times.

Ma Long (China – Table tennis) – two-time Olympic champion, three-time World Champion, and three-time World Cup champion in men’s singles. Widely regarded as the greatest table tennis player of all time, he is the only male player to complete a career Double Grand Slam as the Olympic gold medalist in men’s singles in 2016 and 2020. He is also the only table tennis athlete to win 6 gold medals at the summer Olympics. Ma held the world number 1 ranking for a total of 64 months (and 34 consecutive months from March 2015), the most by any man in the history of table tennis. He won the World Championship in men’s singles consecutively in 2015, 2017 and 2019.

Diana Taurasi (USA – Basketball) one of the greatest women’s basketball players ever. She has won three WNBA championships (2007, 2009, and 2014), one WNBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award (2009), two WNBA Finals MVP Awards (2009 and 2014) and five scoring titles (2006, 2008–2011). She has also been selected to 10 WNBA All-Star teams. in 2021, fans selected her as the league’s greatest player of all time. In 2017, Taurasi became the WNBA all-time leading scorer. As a member of the U.S. national team, she has won six Olympic gold medals (2004–2024) and three FIBA World Cups (2010, 2014, and 2018). She is the only basketball player with six Olympic gold medals and one of only three people in any sport to win six golds in the same event.

LeBron James (USA – Basketball) – the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. He has won four NBA championships from 10 NBA Finals appearances, having made eight consecutive appearances between 2011 and 2018. He also won the inaugural NBA Cup in 2023 with and has won three Olympic gold medals as a member of the U.S. national team. James is widely considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time. He is fourth in NBA career assists and sixth in NBA career steals, James has four NBA MVP awards and four Finals MVP awards. A record 21-time All-Star and 21-time All-NBA selection (including a record 13 First Team selections) he holds the record for the most minutes played in league history.

Marianne Vos (Netherlands – Cycling) One of the greatest and most versatile female cyclists ever. She is a 3 times World Road Race Champion – in 2006, 2012 and 2013 – and 8 times World Cyclo-cross Champion – in 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2022. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, she won the gold medal in the points race; at the 2012 Summer Olympics, gold in the women’s road race. She has won the Giro d’Italia three times, the points classification at the Giro d’Italia seven times and at the Tour de France twice. She ranked first in points in the UCI Women’s Road World Cup five times and in the 2019 UCI Women’s World Tour.

25 for 25. The Greatest Sportsmen and Sportswomen of the 21st Century, Part Two.

I recently made my first post in a series choosing my top 25 Sportsmen and Sportswomen of the first 25 years of this century.  I named five men and women and now I am going to add another ten names.

Tom Brady (USA – American Football). Widely regarded as the greatest quarterback of all time and arguably the best player in the history of the NFL.  He was drafted by the New England Patriots in 2000 and was the team’s starter for 18 seasons.  Brady led the Patriots to 17 division titles (including 11 consecutive from 2009 to 2019), 13 AFC Championship Games (including eight consecutive from 2011 to 2018), nine Super Bowl appearances, and six Super Bowl titles, all NFL records for a player and franchise. He joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020 and won Super Bowl LV, extending his individual records to ten Super Bowl appearances and seven victories.  Brady holds many major quarterback records, including most career passing yards, completions, touchdown passes, and games started. He is the NFL leader in career quarterback wins, quarterback regular season wins, quarterback playoff wins, and Super Bowl Most Valuable Player (MVP) Awards. Additional accolades held by Brady include the most Pro Bowl selections and the first unanimous NFL MVP.  He is the only quarterback to win a Super Bowl in three separate decades.

Serena Williams (USA – Tennis) .  In many people’s opinion the greatest female tennis player of all time.  She won 73 WTA Tour–level singles titles, including 23 major women’s singles titles, all except one in this century—the most in the Open Era, and the second-most of all time. She is the only player to accomplish a career Golden Slam in both singles and doubles.  She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women’s singles by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) for 319 weeks (third-most of all time).  She won the Australian Open and Wimbledon seven times, the US Open six times and the French Open three times.  She twice held all four Grand Slam titles simultaneously.  She also won the Tour Finals title five times and the Olympics gold once.  In doubles she won fourteen Grand Slam titles and three Olympics gold medals.

Ben Ainslie (Great Britain – Sailing).  The most successful sailor in Olympic history. He won medals at five consecutive Olympics from 1996 onwards, including gold at four consecutive Games from 2000 to 2012.  In addition in the 21st Century he won five Finn Gold Cups and a World Championship, the supreme event for individual sailors, having won three world titles at Laser class in the 1990s.  He also won the world match racing Championship.  All of these titles were won as a line sailor but in 2013 he was recruited in the middle of the America’s Cup as a tactician by Oracle Team USA, who trailed 5-0.  His team recovered to win the series and Cup 9-8.

Mikaela Shiffrin (USA – Alpine Skiing). She has the most World Cup wins of any alpine skier in history (men or women) and is considered one of the greatest alpine skiers of all time. She is a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, a five-time Overall World Cup champion, a four-time world champion in slalom, and an eight-time winner of the World Cup discipline title in that event.  Shiffrin won her eighth career Alpine world championships gold medal this year, making her the most successful skier of the modern era.  She has also won the World Cup and World Championships at Giant Slalom and Super G.

Lionel Messi (Argentina – Football) – one of the greatest footballers of all time who has won almost everything there is to win.  A wonderfully creative playmaker with a magical left foot, Messi has been named the best player in the world eight times.  He is the most decorated player in the history of professional football having won 45 team trophies, including the World Cup in 2022 and two Copa América titles for his national team, and four Champions League wins with Barcelona.Messi’s records include most goals in a calendar year (91), most goals for a single club (672 for Barcelona), most goals in La Liga (474), most goal contributions in the FIFA World Cup (21), and most goal contributions in the Copa América (32). Messi has scored over 870 senior career goals and has provided over 380 assists for club and country.

Lisa Carrington (New Zealand – Canoeing).  One of the best canoeists ever. She has won a total of eight Olympic gold medals, three consecutive gold medals in the Women’s K‑1 200 metres at the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Games.  At the 2020 Summer Olympics she also won a gold medal in the K2 500m and as an individual in the K1 500m. At the 2024 Games, Carrington defended her titles in the K1 and K2 500m and also won the K4 500m.  At World Championships she has won 15 gold medals, all but two in individual events.  She won the 200m at every championship from 2011 to 2023.

Tiger Woods (USA – Golf).  One of the greatest golfers of all time and undoubtedly the finest of the 21st Century.  He was the top-ranked golfer in the world from August 1999 to September 2004 (264 consecutive weeks) and again from June 2005 to October 2010 (281 consecutive weeks). During this time, he won 13 of golf’s major championships.  This is the greatest total number of weeks of any golfer in history. He has been awarded PGA Player of the Year a record 11 times.  He has won 15 professional major golf championships (second most in history, all but two in this century, winning every major at least three times) and 82 PGA Tour events (tied for first all time).

Marit Bjørgen (Norway – cross-country skiing). She is ranked first in the all-time Cross-Country World Cup rankings with 114 individual victories and is also the most successful sprinter in Cross-Country World Cup history, with 29 victories.  Her five Olympic medals at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games brought her total number of medals up to a record 15, making her the most decorated Winter Olympian of all time.Bjørgen has eighteen World Championship gold medals, twelve of them individual (four in sprint, three pursuit and three at 30km).  She won 12 World cup titles – (4 Overall, 3 Distance, 5 Sprint).

Teddy Riner (France – Judo).  Nine-time world champion in the heavyweight (+100 kg) division, two-time openweight world champion, and one-time world champion with the French men’s team, he is the first and only judoka in history to win twelve gold medals at the World Judo Championships. He won the gold medal in the Men’s +100 kg event at the Summer Olympics three times (2012, 2016, and 2024) and, as a member of the French team, in the mixed team event twice (2020 and 2024). He is a five-time European champion, a four-time World Masters gold medalist, and an eleven-time Grand Slam winner in his weight category.  Riner went undefeated between October 2010 and February 2020, 154 consecutive victories.

Simone Biles (USA – Gymnastics) – possibly the best female gymnast ever.  At the Olympic Games, Biles is a two-time gold medalist in the individual all-around (2016, 2024). She is also a two-time champion on vault (2016, 2024), the 2016 champion on floor.  At the World Championships, she is the most decorated – male or female – artistic gymnast of all time with 30 total medals in which 23 of them are Gold. Biles is a six-time individual all-around champion (2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2023), six-time floor exercise champion (2013–2015, 2018–2019, 2023), and four-time balance beam champion (2014–2015, 2019, 2023), all record-high totals. She is also a two-time vault champion (2018–2019) and a member of a record-high five gold medal-winning United States teams.