Davinder Jhamat, Head of Research and Education at BCSC
So they have finally arrived - the Olympics. With all the recent documentaries on TV, particularly the Olympics' Most Amazing Moments, the fastest man on the planet - Usain Bolt, the BBC evening news coming live from the Olympic village and more, with all the excitement getting a tad too palpable, something struck me.
There is a long list of male athletes (not necessarily Olympians) I can name as being the greatest athletes of all time. To name a few:
- Muhammad Ali
- Aryton Senna
- Usain Bolt
- Roger Federer
- Steve Redgrave
- Pele. Let's not even begin on the rest of the Brazilian football team - it's a list of its own!
- Chris Hoy
- Maradona. Messi in due course will have his place in sporting history. Excuse the bias.
- Haile Gebrselassie
- Daley Thompson
- Michael Johnson
- Michael Phelps
- And others, though it pains me to say Tiger Woods.
The list goes on for the men. However, upon deep contemplation I am struggling with the ladies. To name a few are:
- Nadia Comăneci - Romanian gymnast to score the first perfect 10's. A true inspiration for me though my attempts to follow suit were quickly shortlived.
- Martina Navratilova
- Steffi Graff
And that's where I become stuck. I can't even name five women! However, I am confident there are others and am currently scouting other sports.
So here is a shout out for your recommendations in padding out the female list. Remember it's a list of the greatest athletes that have lived and not just any athlete. And just before it gets too competitive, ladies and gentlemen may I iterate it is not a 'them and us' issue - it's about bringing knowledge to the table.
So as we clammer to grab the best sofa seats, I really hope that these games live up to expectations. I for one will be following track and field, gymnastics, diving, boxing, judo, weightlifting... guess that's the whole of August written off for me!
Interesting. The reason as perceived is I thinkthat there are few great sportswomen is twofold. one in the main sports except tennis there is very liitle following. Second this leaves the olympics. many of the greatest have been discredited by drugs particularly the east germans - Koch 400m, ender swimming, dreschlersprints & long jump.