The sport of swimming is enjoying a moment in the mainstream spotlight, as Michael Phelps is highlighted among ESPN.com’s Top Athletes from 1995 to 2015.
As part of its 20th anniversary week, ESPN has ranked in order the athletes the sports news outlet determined as “the best of the best”, and whose careers either existed or their defining achievements took place within the last 20 years. Names such as Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and Mia Hamm are on the list.
Sandwiched between #10 Derek Jeter and #8 Kobe Bryant is the greatest Olympian of all time, Michael Phelps, as the 9th-ranked top athlete since 1995. The list specifically points to Phelps’ enormous success at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, where the icon earned an astounding eight gold medals, the most in Olympic history, resulting in a career total of 22 Olympic medals in all.
The full list:
#20 – Sidney Crosby, hockey
#19 – Barry Bonds, baseball
#18 – Mia Hamm, soccer
#17 – Floyd Mayweather, Jr., boxing
#16 – Usain Bolt, athletics
#15 – Brett Favre, football
#14 – Tim Duncan, basketball
#13 – Lance Armstrong, cycling
#12 – Lionel Messi, soccer
#11 – Shaquille O’Neal, basketball
#10 – Derek Jeter, baseball
#9 – MICHAEL PHELPS, swimming
#8 – Kobe Bryant, basketball
#7 – Peyton Manning, football
#6 – Serena Williams, tennis
#5 – Roger Federer, tennis
#4 – Tom Brady, football
#3 – Tiger Woods, golf
#2 – LeBron James, basketball
#1 – Michael Jordan, basketball
With or without a list…who can argue that MP isn’t the greatest swimmer we have Now and the past how many years?…Fact!!!!…
I like how this list has everyone riled up and engaged in debate. In my list Phelps would be higher. Carry on
This list should be titled “Most accomplished athletes from the last 20 years.” Regardless, I love lists.
Typical ESPN. 2 females? Yeah right. You have Michelle Kwan in figure skating 5 time world champion managed to win 2 Olympic medals. Yuna Kim from South Korea, 2 time world champion, 2 Olympic medals (1 Gold and 1 Silver) and never missed a podium in her career. Figure skater’s longevity is harder. And you can’t even cheat except if you have Russian judges on the the judging table.
No Steffi Graf? No Pak Se-ri who revolutionized golf?
Great to see Phelps make the list but the fact that Lance Armstrong is on there completely discredits it. Shame. What on earth were they thinking?
Well, if this was an April’s fool, it was the lamest I have ever seen.
PS: in boxing, I would have “Triple G” Golovkin or Pacquiao over Mayweather without thinking twice.
Shaun White. Can’t forget about that dude. One of the best athletes on the planet, if not the best.
lol no
Putting Lance Armstrong and Barry Bonds on the list is akin to Fortune or Forbes magazine choosing to out Bernie Madoff in the top 20 entrepreneurial of the past 20 years.
I mean, who are those people at ESPN that allowed this list to happen????????????