We enjoy watching or participating in different sporting activities and we all have iconic sports personalities that we look up to or that inspire us a lot.
Maybe some of these persons just give us goosebumps whenever we watch them participate in sporting events.
Whatever we love about these individuals (active or retired), we cannot deny the impact they have had in their chosen fields. Some of these iconic figures include Tom Brady, Lionel Messi, Seren Williams, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, PelƩ and some others.
In no particular order, here are ten sportspersons we believe have left indelible marks in the sporting world whose names will live forever.
1. Michael Jordan
Also known as MJ, Michael Jordan remains one of the greatest basketball players to have ever graced the court.
MJ played across fifteen seasons in the NBA and lifted six championships with renowned U.S team Chicago Bulls.
Jordan is so well respected throughout the world for helping to put basketball on the world map. He ‘popularized’ the sport in many parts of the world, especially in the 1980s and 1990s.
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The now retired Jordan also won six NBA Finals MVP, five NBA Most Valuable Player awards, 14 NBA All-Star awards, and 10 All-NBA First Team places.
In 1985, he made the All-NBA Second Team and claimed the NBA defensive player of the year in 1988.
He was also named the NBA rookie of the Year in 1985 and was included in the NBA All-Rookie First Team in the same year.
He is presently the chairman and chief owner of NBA team Charlotte Hornets.
2. Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Brady Jr., popularly known as Tom Brady presently plays in the National Football League for the Tamba Bay Buccaneers.
He is an American football quarterback who is widely considered as the best quarterback of all time. Brady was with the New England Patriots for 20 seasons before teaming up with the Bucaneers in 2020.
He claimed a sixth-round selection back in the 2001 NFL Draft. A former University of Michigan quarterback, he helped the New England Patriots to three Super Bowl titles, playing an instrumental role during his successful time at the club.
3. Lionel Messi
Arguably the greatest football player of all time, Lionel Messi is an icon that has done what most footballers haven’t. His numbers are staggering and he doesn’t even look like he’s stopping anytime soon.
Messi won the FIFA World Cup with Argentina in December 2022 as he and his beloved fans could not contain their joy after the Albiceleste beat 2018 winners France via penalties in the final. That is only the latest in his very many trophies garnered during a professional career that has spanned over 17 years.
The 35-year-old has won seven Ballon d’Or awards (the most of any player) and six European Golden Shoes (also a record). Before joining Paris St-Germain, where he currently plies his trade, in 2021, he had spent all his professional career at Spanish La Liga outfit FC Barcelona.
He won 35 trophies during his time with the Catalans. These trophies include seven Copa del Rey trophies, 10 La Liga crowns and four UEFA Champions League titles.
At national team level, he won the Copa AmƩrica in 2021 and the World Cup in 2022. Messi is one of the most creative players the world has ever seen and that is evident in his 192 La Liga assists (the most in history).
He is also a prolific goalscorer as he has scored more La Liga goals than any other player. He netted 474 times in the league during his time at Barcelona.
Messi has scored more than 790 career goals for both country and club and holds many other mouthwatering and unbelievable records.
4. Muhammad Ali
Until his death in 2016, Muhammad Ali was an important sports figure that touched the world in an unusual way. Even till now, his legacy lives and will obviously transcend generations.
His birth name was Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr and he was born in 1942. Ali was an American professional boxer who was also a popular activist.
He was so great and obviously his nickname “The Greatest” was no fluke at all as he lived up to it. Many sports lovers around the world regard him as one of the most important sporting personalities in the 20th century.
Ali wasn’t the most physically built boxer but he was (and is) highly rated as the greatest heavyweight boxer in history. Ali was named Sportsman of the Century by Sports Illustrated in 1999 and claimed the BBC Sports Personality of the 20th Century.
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The icon was a great speaker who spoke with a high level of wisdom. His quotes have been used several times across all walks of life.
One of the highlights of his highly successful career was his Rumble in the Jungle fight against George Foreman on October 30, 1974.
Foreman had won 37 out of 37 fights with 34 of them being knockouts but in Kinshasa, Zaire, the king of knockouts was knocked out by Muhammad Ali.
He also proved victorious by claiming gold medal for he United States in the 1960 Olympics in Rome.
5. Tiger Woods
After turning pro in 1996, Tiger Woods never looked back. The American professional golfer is unarguably the most well known golfer in the history of golf.
He is joint-first in terms of the number of PGA Tour wins. He is ranked second in the number of men’s major championships.
Apart from being the most popular golf player ever, he is also one of he most iconic sports personalities in modern history. In his pro career, the 47-year-old has won 14 major championships.
6. Serena Williams
The super former tennis player won her maiden major singles title at the US Open in 1999, after turning pro in 1995.
She dominated the major tennis tournaments in the early 2000s, winning the available Grand Slams between June 2002 to January 2003.
She achieved a non-calendar year Grand Slam and the career Grand Slam during her early years.
During her dominant years, she claimed the Olympic gold and became the first tennis player ever to attain a career Golden Slam in both singles and doubles.
Williams was at a time, ranked world No. 1 in singles by the WTA for 319 weeks. This includes a joint-record 186 straight weeks, while she was also rated No. 1 at the end of the year on five occasions.
Williams claimed eight singles majors out of an available thirteen, which includes four successive titles from 2014 to 2015.
She claimed her 23rd Grand Slam title at the 2017 Australian Open, overtaking Steffi Graf’s Open Era record.
However, the legend decided to halt her career after she got pregnant. She was able to reach four major finals after she returned to the court but could not win a 24th major singles title.
In August 2022, she announced she would be retiring from the sport and played what many believe should be her last professional game at the 2022 US Open.
Her 23 Grand Slam singles titles is the most by any player (in the Open Era). It is also the second-most in tennis history, only bettered by Margaret Court who won 24 titles.
7. PelƩ
Born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, PelƩ was a professional player who represented South American giants Brazil.
He is widely referred to as one of the greatest footballers to have ever played the round leather game. He was about the most popular football and sport figure of the 20th century.
PelĆ© was voted “Player of the Century” back in 2000 by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS). The International Olympic Committee (IOC) also named him “Athlete of the Century” in 1999.
The iconic figure, one of the greatest sports personalities ever seen, has used his voice to advocate for peace and human rights all over the world. He netted 1,279 times in 1,363 matches, including friendlies. This figure is recognised as a Guinness World record.
PelƩ remains the only man to have won the World Cup three times. He died on 29 December, 2022.
8. Usain Bolt
Bolt won the Olympic gold medal an impressive eight times and remains the only sprinter to claim Olympic 100 m and 200 m titles at three successive Olympic tournaments (2008, 2012, and 2016).
The rise to fame of this Jamaican is one of the most impressive stories ever witnessed.
Bolt also won two 4 Ć 100 relay gold medals. He gained worldwide fame for his double sprint victory in world record times at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which made him the first person to hold both records since fully automatic time became mandatory.
9. Cristiano Ronaldo
Adjectives fail to describe this man. You’ll always find him in the mix of any conversation that revolves around the best players in the history of football. He’s an exceptional player who’s been more than consistent even at the age of 38.
Ronaldo has set and even shattered some records that only an extraordinary person can achieve.
Ronaldo started his senior career with Portuguese side Sporting CP, before joining Manchester United in 2003.
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He won the FA Cup in his first season and went ahead to claim three straight Premier League titles. The player also won the Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup.
At a young age of 23, he won his first Ballon d’Or. The tricky forward teamed up with Real Madrid in 2009 in a transfer worth ā¬94 million (Ā£80 million). He formed a deadly partnership with Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale (known as the BBC) – one of the most feared attacking trio in football history.
The three players combined for multiple goals during their time together and helped Madrid win several titles. Being an iconic figure and one of the top sports personalities to reckon with, he also emerged the club’s all-time top goalscorer and the all-time top scorer in the Champions League.
CR7 finished as the competition’s top scorer for six consecutive seasons between 2012 and 2018. With Real, Ronaldo won two La Liga titles, two Copas del Rey, four Champions Leagues, three UEFA Super Cups and three Club World Cups.
He joined Juventus in 2018, and won two Serie A titles, two Supercoppa Italiana trophies and a Coppa Italia. He also became the first footballer to finish as top scorer in the English, Spanish and Italian leagues.
The Portugal international returned to Manchester United in 2021. He left in 2022 after his contract with the club was terminated. He signed for Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr in 2023.
10. Michael Schumacher
Schumacher began his racing career in karting and enjoyed great success in several junior single-seater series. He later switched to Formula One, the sport which made him very popular. He won his first and second drivers’ titles successively in 1994 and 1995.
Schumacher then joined the struggling Ferrari team in 1996. He and Ferrari won five straight titles from 2000 to 2004, including unprecedented sixth and seventh titles. This broke several records. After finishing third in 2005 and second in 2006, Schumacher retired from the sport. Although he later made a brief return with Mercedes from 2010 to 2012.
Schumacher was known throughout his career for his ability to produce fast laps at very important moments in a race. The legend was also noted for his sustained fitness regimen.
Up to the end of 2003, Schumacher claimed 17 of the 30 races in wet conditions he contested. In fact, some of Schumacher’s most precious and best performances took place in such conditions.
This earned him the nicknames “Regenkƶnig” (rain king) or “Regenmeister” (rain master).
In 2006, Formula One figures such as Niki Lauda and David Coulthard hailed Schumacher as the greatest all-round racing driver in the history of the sport. Later in 2020, Schumacher was voted the most influential person in Formula One history.
The debate continues to linger on who the greater Formula One driver is between Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton. Both drivers raced at different periods and also dominated during these periods.
Meanwhile, the legacy both have left on the sport live forever.
Honorable mentions
Due to the limitations on this list above, we cannot name all iconic sports personalities we have had grace our screens. This is why we have decided to recognise some of them.
These icons include LeBron James, Lance Armstrong, Diego Maradona, Mia Hamm, Manny Pacquiao, Jesse Owens, Michael Phelps, Magic Johnson, Michael Schumacher, Roberto Clemente, Ted Williams, Lewis Hamilton, Ronaldinho amongst others.
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