Athlete/sportsman of the decade

sargeant · Post by **sargeant** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 7:17 pm

Firstly let me say up front i would be posting this even without Tiger Woods private life

The first time i heard it it was "Athlete of the Decade" the second time this evening it was "Sportsman of the decade"

As sportsman of the decade i would still have two people in the mix with him
Roger Federer and Olle Einer Bjorndahlen

As Athlete of the decade Roger and Olle would be on their own

Post by **Norseman** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 11:12 pm

If you could spell his name with only one "L" instead of two it would be great.

When you write Olle as his first name it sounds, and is, Swedish. but I can assure you he's not Swedish.

His name is Ole Einar Bjørndalen and he is a Norwegian athlete!! (Biathlon).

Just for the record.

Post by **hhfarang** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 11:19 pm

Tiger probably wins if you count women, money, or divorce settlements...

sargeant · Post by **sargeant** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 8:38 am

Sorry Norseman for the spelling i know he is norwegian after all he always gets last run in the relay a minute down and still wins or second at worst personally he would be my pick for athlete of the decade.
firstly going uphill on sticks

and then sking a few kilometres depending on the race and shooting and being so accurate has had my admiration for the three years i have been interested (first time i took any notice of biathlon)but he has also dominated his sport the ammount of money he makes is nothing compared to Federer a great athlete but well paid. Tiger great as he is is not to my mind an athlete and so would not be on my list at all.
Sportsman both Federer and Tiger can play their respective sports all year poor old ole only gets 6 months at best so has to be on the ball from season day one to finish
maybe those that dont know of him should read up maybe norseman can give a list of his achievements it is very very impressive

Post by **Norseman** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 10:48 am

If you want to know more about his achievements go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ole_Einar_Bj%C3%B8rndalen

sargeant · Post by **sargeant** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 12:34 pm

Thanks for that Norseman as i say very very impressive i think had Biathlon recieved as much coverage on TV he would be Athlete of the decade for sure
Its not a question of will he win gold in the 2010 olympics

its more like will anybody else win ONE

Post by **Jaime** » Tue Feb 02, 2010 5:17 pm

For me it would be Joe Calzaghe or, although I hate to admit it because he is just so smug, Roger Federer.

Post by **richard** » Tue Feb 02, 2010 6:38 pm

Not sure they fit within the decade but my two would be Redgrave the oarsman and Daly Thompson. Megga fit, many medals and both well behaved in their private lives. Good role models

Post by **BaaBaa.** » Tue Feb 02, 2010 10:37 pm

For me it would be Manny Pacquiao but the only two realistic contenders would be Tiger and Federer as they are the best sportsmen their respective sports have ever seen.

I agree with Jaime about Federer.

Post by **lindosfan1** » Wed Feb 03, 2010 1:42 am

Richard I think Redgrave does and he would be my first choice my second choice i am ashamed to say.

She was the disabled wheelchair athlete who was made a Dame i believe. Can any help with her name.
Edited with thanks to Randy Cornhole her name is Dame Tanni Grey-Thompsom for me a heroine.

Post by **Randy Cornhole** » Wed Feb 03, 2010 1:55 am

I think you mean Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson.

Post by **Randy Cornhole** » Wed Feb 03, 2010 2:34 am

As this thread has reared its head again I have been giving it some thought.

The trap most people fall into is the publicity one. ie the most promoted star is assumed to be the greatest. Very wrong!!

Certainly within the last decade sir Roger of Switzerland is a worthy contender as is wayward willy woods but what about Sachin Tendulkar? Not widely known in the British media but reckoned to be the best test cricketer of all time. Or so im told.

And that Ole Einar Bjørndalen chap that Norseman mentioned. Ive never heard of him but I am sure he ranks up there with the best.

Then there is Valentino Rossi with nine world championships to his name. Will he be considered?

Lance Armstrong and Shumaker also must be up there along with a gaggle of NBNA and baseball players none of who I could name...

Everyone has a right to demand Johnny Wilkinson be named but I would suggest that the forwards did all the grind and that his kick was only possible because of their hard work.

The truth is that you cant name the greatest sports person of the last decade accurately because no one person knows enough about every sport in the world to judge without prejudice.

So what we will end up with is a top 10 of publicity bods of which I will now guess the top 5...

1. Saint Roger of Switzerland
2. Wayward willy woods
3. Some footballer that dives a lot has nice hair and drives a bentley
4. A foreign cricketer (take your pick)
5. Sir Steven retire-a-lot

To conclude - If your a mediocre sportsman and want to go the extra mile and attain greatness just hire a good publicist. I hear Max Clifford might be free at the moment...

Post by **Jaime** » Wed Feb 03, 2010 7:55 am

Oooh, very cynical Randy. Truth is that publicity goes with greatness - the extent of that publicity depends on the relative popularity of the sport.

As for Jonny, well he was a great player but nowhere near sportsman of the decade as he hasn't really contributed much to the last 5 years of it!

Anyway, this guy really is the world's greatest athlete of the last 20 years:

http://www.worldsfittestathlete.co.uk/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paddy_Doyle

Our karate club is going to attempt to beat his world record of 5750 roundhouse kicks in one hour, except the club will be doing it in team shuttles and he did it alone!