With so much discussion on football in this section, just
wondering if anyone out there actually has any athlete - from
individual sports past or present - in mind whom
you'd consider a great athlete(and why do you reckon they're
great?). To kick things off, I'd start with 2 of my personal
favourites :
Roger Federer (Swiss), Tennis - Quite simply, the
most naturally gifted tennis player I've ever seen and I don't
think it's an exaggeration to suggest he plays tennis from a
different planet. Just an absolute delight to watch when he's in
the mood and with 8 Grand Slams under his belt(Sampras holds the
all-time record with 14 Grand Slams) at just 24, it surely is just
a matter of time before he cements his place as the most
successful, if not the greatest, tennis player of all time - so
long as he keeps his motivation and stays injury-free.
Ayrton Senna (Brazilian), Formula 1 - Although he
doesn't hold too many records in terms of drivers' title won, his
premature death did not help his cause in this endeavour.
Nevertheless, for all those fortunate enough to have lived to watch
him race, I don't think it's hard to see he was a class apart from
most of his peers wherever he raced. While it's debatable as to
whether Michael Schumacher will still have been as successful had
Senna survived the fatal crash at Imola in '94, I don't think
anyone will dispute the flamboyance, charisma and sheer class Senna
brought into F1 is something that has not been seen since.
