Who are the best athletes of all time?

[AARPLynne]

On January 24, American alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin set the all time-record for World Cup race wins with 83, passing fellow American Lindsey Vonn, who had held the record. Shiffrin followed up with two more wins and currently sits with 85, just one off the overall record of 86 held by men’s skier Ingemar Stenmark since 1989. At only 27 years old, Shiffrin could very well reach an astounding 100 World Cup wins in her career. Should Mikaela Shiffrin be in the conversation for best athletes of all time? Which current or past athletes rival her accomplishments?

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[dt324]

I'd say Hercules, Odysseus, Jim Thorpe, Rogers Hornsby, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Otto Graham, Jim Brown, Emmitt Smith, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Rod Laver, Roger Federer, Billie Jean King, Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, Nadia Comaneci, Michael Phelps, Eric Heiden, Nichelle Kwan, Apolo Ohno, Bonnie Blair, Simone Biles, Shannon Killer, Mary Lou Retton. Rocky Marciano, Cassius Clay, Floyd Mayweather, George Foreman, Hulk Hogan, Edwin Moses, Wilma Rudolph, Pele, Messi, Chuck Norris, and Bruce Lee come to mind (bodybuilding, golf, table tennis, bowling, archery, etc. masquerade as sports but they're not).

[ds30055407]

I think you forgot Jesse Owens. (Hercules is a myth;he’s not real, and Odesseus is questionable.)

[2Papa]

Obviously, in swimming, it would be Michael Phelps with his 23 gold medals.

[mg78377172]

Greg Louganis, and Secretariat !

[ad65459185]

.. adding Paavo Nurmi

[JaneH722263]

I could name so many Walter Payton, Carl Lewis, Muhammed Ali, Eric Heiden, Usain Bolt, Michael Jordan, Jim Thorpe, Jackie Joiner-Kersee, Mia Hamm, Kareem Abdul-Jabar, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Nadia Comenicia, Dan Gable, Bill Russell, Bobby Orr, Wilt Chamberlain, Babe Didricksen Zaharias, Babe Ruth, Jesse Owens, Michael Phelps, Simone Biles, Olga Korbut, Gale Sayers, and so on.

[WebWiseWoman]

Great topic!

For me it was Lenny Dawson 

THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME OG!