Who was the Greatest Athlete that ever lived?

[DangerBoy]

Who's the greatest athlete that ever lived? That's easy. Secretariat.

 

After 29 years, his records at the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes still stand (as do some other track records he set). His never seen before and never seen since 31 length (~250 ft! ?) margin of victory at the grueling Belmont Stakes will never be touched.

 

Later, computer analysis revealed that his physical anatomy, geometry, etc. was as perfect as a horse's can possibly be. Further analysis revealed that his gait/stride was also as perfect and efficient as a horse's can possibly be. Couple that with the fact that after his death, his heart was found to be approximately TWICE the size of a normal race horse's and you've got the perfect/ultimate equine running machine.

 

But all of those things put together are not all that's needed to make an athlete, especially a distance runner, truly great. What are also needed (and arguably even more important) in such an athlete are the desire and the indomitable will to push his or herself to outcompete and win and you see those things in spades in this video: Watch how, in every race, Turcotte never puts the whip to him but Big Red never stops trying to go faster and pull further away from the pack. Even at the Belmont, when he was so far ahead he literally could've trotted the last furlong and still won, he kept pouring it on and kept pulling further and further ahead of the pack. But Turcotte wasn't the one making him do it; it was his will and desire. It was Secretariat pushing himself to get to the finish line faster. In that sense, his heart was WAY more than twice the size of other horses. To my mind, he was, without contest, the greatest athlete that ever lived.

 

Watch this video and be in awe...

 

[The_MS]

Gretzky

Mapple

 

 

[ski6jones]

Bo Jackson, Jim Thorpe.

[DangerBoy]

@The_MS Gretzky was an Oiler (Flames fan here) so he cannot be in the conversation. ;)

 

Yes, all these athletes you and @ski6jones mention were all great athletes and stood above their peers, but I would argue that no athlete has ever stood so far above and been so far superior to his/her peers of their time and his/her peers from the past or future as Secretariat. Watch the last race in the video and see by how much he won the race. By the time he crossed the finish line, the rest of the pack were just barely rounding the home corner and getting to the beginning of the homestretch. It's absolutely awe inspiring and astonishing.

 

At that level of racing, a victory by 31 lengths (~250 feet!) NEVER happens. Yeah, a good horse on a good day can win a race by a couple lengths but not 31. That's like Hussain Bolt at his best running the 100 m against a bunch of kindergarten students. Those other horses (like Sham) were great horses but they weren't even in the same league as Secretariat. Not even close. And nothing's ever come close since. The reasons for that are obvious: he was anatomically perfect and optimized for racing in every single way - literally a freak of nature - and he had all the desire, determination and heart an athlete could ever have. He was perfect.

[The_MS]

Lanny McDonald

[lpskier]

Say what you will: Lance Armstrong.

[ALPJr]

Showing my age… Thorpe was my first thought, in the 20th century. Jackson is also a good one, and I’d probably put Michael Jordan in the mix. For waterskiers… so many… I’d say Suyderhoud, Grimwidch, Roberge, Mapple, Jacques. It’s like ice cream and music, lots of choices.

[Wish]

Still winter I see. Sometimes I forget that living on FL.

[lakeo]

Hmm, well if you are going to enter horses in the discussion, then I'm going either Mother Nature or Father Time. Both undefeated and untied. Where as Secretariat lost a couple of times. I don't know I think probably there is some downhill snow skier who should be considered as World class downhill is the toughest thing to do in the world of sports being that you are on the edge of death. No, hitting major league pitching is not the toughest thing to do in sport.

[Skoot1123]

Mario Lemieux

[B_S]

Psht, that athlete couldn't even ski!

[Horton]

Regina

[DW]

Eddie the Eagle!

[MrJones]

Jim Thorpe

[eyepeeler]

Bobby Boucher

[jimbrake]

Kelly Slater

[DangerBoy]

@lakeo Sometimes horses lose races because of the jockey making tactical errors by making a move too early or too late or allowing other horses to close in around them and not allowing them to get to the outside in time to make a move on the lead. How many track records did Father Time or Mother Nature set that have stood up 29 years and counting? Did either of them ever win a race, and particularly a long race like the Belmont by even 20 lengths?

 

Has there ever been a top level waterskier who has ran, say, two line length changes above what everyone of his/her peers could do at the time? Like say, run 39 clear when not one other top competitor was capable of running even 3 or 4 at 35 yet? That's about equivalent to finishing the Belmont 31 lengths (~250 feet) ahead of the rest of the pack.

 

I'm surprised that no one has looked at the video and said something about how incredible it was what Secretariat did and/or talk about their memories of watching those races back in '73. I remember them. I was 12 and like a lot of people in the world was caught up in all the excitement about Secretariat. I remember watching him come around the home corner at the Belmont with the rest of the pack not even in site. I remember jumping up and down in excitement with my parents as he tore down the homestretch, yelling at the TV urging Secretariat to go, Go, GO! I remember how awestruck and astonished we were when we saw how far ahead of the rest of the pack he was when he got to the finish line and how we cheered so loudly. I remember how we all felt we had seen something truly great; something legendary. Something for the ages. Watching that video brings back all of those memories and I can't help but feel some of those feelings again. It also makes me feel wistful with memories of good times I had with my parents when I was a kid. I do miss them. :'(

[ScottScott]

 

[igkya]

Caitlyn Jenner aka Bruce :D

[skibrain]

C’mon people, this is a waterskiing site. Can’t we give Wayne Grimditch an honorable mention?

 

“Wayne became water skiing's No. 1 public relations ambassador in 1978 when sports fans throughout America saw him win the ABC Superstars, a television presentation featuring the country's finest athletes in a variety of sports.”

 

 

[Horton]

@skibrain

I edited your post ( added the gif ) because you are exactly right. Wayne is forgotten by history but is one of the greatest athletes in the history of any sport.

[thager]

Jesus: Walked on water first and better than anyone else ever!!

[slow]

Bo Jackson, then way down on the list I take Bode Miller before Mapple

[NameUnavailable]

Not sure about the horse vs human comparison, but I do feel sorry for the owners of Sham....born any other year he is a triple crown winner too.

[ScarletArrow]

Uncle Rico… if only the coach would have put him in we would have all known it.

[BigGerald3]

Bo Jackson, Dwight Edelman

[lpskier]

Wayne also snow skied, and played tennis and golf. Three time water ski world champion, once in trick and twice in jump. Held the world jump record at 169 feet (on Cypress Gardens Ramp Masters) for a long time. Played high school soccer and kicked for the football team. I believe he was All Florida in both. He’s currently a strength and conditioning coach in the Fort Lauderdale area.

[skialex]

Admiral General Aladdin…. For a period of time he won in every sport he participated!!

No competitor ever question his dominance, at least not in the open…

[2Valve]

Bodacious is right up there. Probably more feared than Cassius Clay or Mike Tyson. And I doubt Secretariat would last very long in the ring with him. :)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodacious_(bull)

[Wish]

Tiger Woods. Mental dominance.

[thager]

2nd place: Chuck Norris

[Horton]

@lpskier

Wayne's long-standing record was 180

[lpskier]

@horton True. But that was after he switched to EP skis (as I recall). 169 on wood skis is the bomb in my book.

[6balls]

Secretariat ok.

Jordan

Serena

Federer—ooh I went tennis twice!

Woods

Phelps—freak of nature in the pool

Tyson

Bo Jackson

Bruce Jenner

Carl Lewis

Regina!

Pick the best 3 eventer of all time and count them in as well—a number to choose from.

[lpskier]

Tom Brady

[Than_Bogan]

Pretty sure it's Vladimir Putin. He skates circles around top Russian players and his shot is so good it looks like the goal keeper is diving out of tbe way!

[Horton]

how do Brett Wing and Chuck Stearns always get forgotten in these conversations?

[Ski2000]

Being a child in the 80s, (Bo Knows) is a significant memory, if not a career cut short this might be different, but I must say though the dominant performance that Michael Jordan would have on the biggest stage has him top for me.

[ski6jones]

There is Chuck Norris, everyone else fights for second. No one fights Chuck and lives.

[Jmoski]

Hands down the greatest single athletic achievement goes to Alex Honnold for free soloing (no rope) free rider on El Cap in Yosemite. 3,200 feet of rock climbing at an unrelenting difficult level.

 

Watch National Geographic’s documentary called “Free Solo” if you haven’t already.

[ski6jones]

@Jmoski a very specific set of skills but also not possible without insane fitness and natural athletic ability.

[Taynton]

@jmoski, if you think thats true watch the alpinist you will probably agree that Canadian Marc-André Leclerc leaves alex honnold in the dust. I still don't think either qualifies as the greatest athlete as climbing is more of a mental game than a physical one. Does anyone consider motorcycle racer Ricky Carmichael? An outdoor motocross race IS one of the most physically demanding and dangerous sports on the planet and he was champion for 7 years straight as well as 2 perfect seasons where he won EVERY race. oh ya, and 5 supercross championships as well..

[Jmoski]

@taynton - yes, what LeClerc was doing was unbelievable, I was a pretty good ice climber back in the day, I couldn’t believe some the mixed routes he pulled off and how at ease he was.

[hemlock]

Based on the title of this thread, I would vote for someone that won a gold medal in a decathlon.

Best ever of that? Hard to say.

[MillerTime38]

@Jmoski if 99% of America has no clue who you are, you cannot be the greatest athlete ever

 

If I made a list I will probably get to a waterskier around 150 to 200

[NameUnavailable]

I would have said Deion Sanders, but then as I thought about it all the way back to high school you can't leave out Al Bundy or as mentioned Uncle Rico if coach put him in......

[bigtex2011]

tonya harding was a good baseball player

[tjs1295]

Aleksandr Karelin. I'm not into wrestling, but this guy has fascinated me since he lost in the 2000 Olympic gold medal match. I think it was his only loss in a 13 year international career. Got his first silver medal, and called it a career. Pretty sure he didn't even give up a point for 6 years straight.

[lpskier]

James Brown

[Rednucleus]

Based on all the vids I have seen on BOS, have to put in a vote for @thager for this honor!