What does it take to be the best? To be the best you need to demonstrate dominance and excellence in your sport and have the ability to perform at a high enough level to outpace your peers. You must break records and dominate for your whole career, and make sure you’re mentally ready with self-confidence. All athletes that are the best at their sport have had to train extremely hard throughout their career and achieve their maximum potential.
Michael Phelps, Swimming
An article by MySwimPro explains how Michael Phelps became the greatest swimmer of all time. Michael Phelps is an Olympic swimmer who holds a record 28 Olympic medals, including 23 gold medals. In fact, he has achieved the most gold medals at a single Olympics when he won 8 in one year. Michael was able to achieve these medals by using some of his physical advantages. Those advantages being his long torso, short legs and his flexible ankles. He also is an extremely hard worker, working out constantly and being very dedicated to training. He mentally prepares himself by avoiding all of the negative self talk and staying confident. His ability to perform at such a high level for 24 years gives him a huge advantage in his field.
Serena Williams, Tennis
Serena Williams is a 23 time major tennis champion, holding the women’s record with 365 major match wins, 73 career titles, and a grand slam in both singles and doubles. Serena dominated in tennis for 27 years and inspired many young women athletes. Serena began her tennis career at 14 years old and quickly became a fan favorite despite facing body shaming throughout her whole career. Instead of letting this stop her, Serena went on to dominate the sport until she retired at the age of 40. This ESPN article proves why Serena is the best tennis player of all time.
Lionel Messi, Soccer
Lionel Messi is a 10 time LaLiga champion, 7 time Copa Del Ray winner, 4 time champion league winner, 6 time champion league top scorer, 17 time FIFA FIFPRO World 11, World cup winner and a 8 time Ballon d’Or winner. Before pursuing soccer, Messi was diagnosed with a growth hormone which meant that his growth would be stunted but that never stopped him from constantly training. Messi’s training and concentration lead him to be the leader in all time assists and 2nd all time in goals. This just shows how Messi is a team player and not a one man show. The way that Messi can run in behind the opposing team’s defense and drop into midfield and then pull out wide, is accurately captured by
The Standard and single handedly proves why he is the greatest soccer player of all time.
Tom Brady, Football
Tom Brady is a seven time Super Bowl champion, 5 time Superbowl MVP, 3 time NFL MVP, 2 time offensive player of the year, 15 time pro bowler, and 3 time first team All Pro. While a Brady Article explains why Brady is the undisputed GOAT of American Football, his NFL career passing yards/TDs, remarkable consistency, leadership, ability to perform under pressure, and ability to elevate his teams to consistent success over two decades is really what makes him easily the greatest QB of all time.
Michael Jordan, Basketball
Michael Jordan is the NBA GOAT explained by an article about JD Style. Jordan won 6 NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls, scoring 10 titles and went on to be a 9 time NBA All Defensive First Team selection. His perfected dominance and ability to perform at a high level on both offense and defense matched with his leadership ability. He single handedly transformed the sport into a global phenomenon.
Wayne Gretzky, Hockey
According to the Daily Campus, Wayne Gretzky was the greatest hockey player of all time. Wayne Gretzky holds the record for most career points with an astonishing 2,857. He has won 4 Stanley cups, multiple 200 point seasons, and has more assists than any other player. Between this and his superior IQ, it made it very hard to defend Gretzky leading to an unbelievable career. His vision allowed him to anticipate the plays better than anyone that has ever played the sport.
Richard Petty, NASCAR
Richard Petty holds the record for most NASCAR Cup Series wins with 200 wins, 7 Cup Series championships, including winning 27 of 48 races in 1967 and setting a record of 10 consecutive wins in a row. These stats led to his nickname “The King” for the legacy he left behind in the sport. Petty’s public image and icon image made him one of the most recognizable figures in sports history. Petty dominated from the 50s to the 90s and was still able to perform at an unbelievably high standard
Muhammad Ali, Boxing
Muhammad Ali helped change the sport of Boxing forever, according to Britannica.com. Muhammad became the first boxer to win the heavyweight title three times. His career included 56 wins, 37 wins by knockout, and he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He was the youngest boxer to win a heavyweight title at only 22 years old. He even won an Olympic gold in 1960! While Muhammad’s skill and dominance made many boxers terrified to fight him, his impact on the sport had millions wanting to go to his games and had many sell out arenas. But the biggest thing Muhammad was known for was his foot work that was later named the “Ali Shuffle”.
Usain Bolt, Sprinting
An article published by Quartz shows why Usain Bolt is a house held name. Usain won a world record for the 100m (9.58 seconds),200m(19.19seconds), and the 4x100m relay (36.84 seconds). He is an 8 time Olympic gold medalist, winning 3 straight gold medals known as “Triple Triple”. Usain’s last name of Bolt not only fits him extremely well, but his name is also now known all around the world. His unbelievable dominance in the sport and his ability to reach top speeds combined with his unique build, contributed to a lot of his success.
Simone Biles, Gymnastics
Simon Biles has won 11 Olympic medals (7 gold) and 30 world championship medals (23 gold). She is also a 7 time all around US champion and the first woman to win 6 world all around titles. Simone’s combination of strength and speed allows her to perform incredibly difficult skills with precision. Her success is also attributed to her unique physique, providing leverage and quickness coupled with exceptional work ethic. With her being undersized and still dominating for so long makes her the best at her sport by far. According to LiveScience, these traits make Simone a very, very rare bird.
Babe Ruth, Baseball
According to condorperformance.com, Babe Ruth was an exceptional athlete. Babe had 7 World Series Championships, with a career record of 714 home runs that stood for decades. He was the first player to get 60 home runs in a single season (1927), a .342 lifetime batting average, led the league 12 times in home runs, AL MVP in 1923, was a successful pitcher with a 94-46 record and a league leading ERA in 1916. Ruth’s combination of rare physical truths and eye coordination were an advantage to his game. In just one season Babe out homered every team in baseball in just one season. Babe was also an exceptional hitter and loved hitting homeruns and putting the ball in play.
Tiger Woods, Golf
According to Golf Digest, Tiger Woods was the best golfer of all time. This is due to his mental toughness and very competitive spirit that would elevate him over his peers and help him to win 15 professional major golf championships, 82 PGA Tour events, was an 11 time PGA Player of the Year, a 11 time Tour Player of the Year, a 10 time PGA Tour Money Leader, and a 9 time Vardon Trophy winner. Tiger’s exceptional skill across all aspects of the game matched with his dominance and record breaking performances and is a main reason why he is so good.
Ronnie Coleman, Body Building
An article published by Bar Bend explains how strong Ronnie Colman really was. His strength went on to win him 8 Mr. Olympia wins and 26 pro wins. Ronnie deadlifted 800lb, squatted 800lb, benched 500lb and dumbbell bench pressed 200lb. Ronnie was very known for his jaw dropping size, strength, and work ethic but he did not only dominate body building he redefined it. Ronnie changed what people thought was possible in body building. His conditioning forced future generations to raise their standards. He also inspired countless lifters to train harder and believe in themselves.