3

 

 

3. Roger Federer - 367pts

 

And so we enter the Top 3, and we start with the highest non-North American in the countdown. This countdown has been filled with tennis players, but with the most Grand Slam titles by a male and holding the No. 1 spot for a record number of weeks, Federer has been ranked by Buzzjack as the highest. He also has 103 career titles in total, and remains in the Top 3 as of today. He's in the Top 3 here as well, but there are still two to go...

Federer the most remarkable tennis player I've ever seen.

Weirdly, and I admit I haven't thought too much about it, but I can't think who one of the last two is.

Pretty sure I know who 'the greatest' is though.

2

 

 

2. Muhammad Ali - 376pts

 

I think it will probably come as a shock to most of the people on here that Ali didn't clinch the top spot, but here we are. Ali, born Cassius Clay, is a name which nearly everyone is familiar with. Named Fighter of the Year a record six times, winning 56 of 61 fights and holding the record for beating the most boxers for the World Heavyweight Title are just some of his achievements as a fighter, however his cultural significance plays a massive part of who he is as well, what with his conversion to Islam and refusing to fight in the Vietnam War. His death a few years ago was certainly one of the most hard-hitting, and he will be remembered as a legend for years to come.

1

 

 

1. Usain Bolt - 418pts

 

Now I don't actually think Bolt was mentioned at all in terms of contenders when considering who would top the poll, which makes it even more extraordinary that he's managed to do it by a whole 42 points. He was, however, in the Top 10 of nearly every voter which made a massive difference here. He holds the world record for the 100m, 200m and the 400m relay, he has won the first two at three consecutive Olympics, he has won 11 World Championship golds, he has been named the Overseas Sports Personality of the Year four times and that is only the start. The fact that he has only recently retired means that we have no idea how much of a legacy will leave, which may be what makes him such a surprise winner in this, however in the future he may be seen as potentially greater than Ali and all the others below him - who knows? For now though, we know that Buzzjack has officially voted him as the winner of the World Cup of Sportspeople!

Full Top 100:

 

1. Usain Bolt - 418pts

2. Muhammad Ali - 376pts

3. Roger Federer - 367pts

4. Serena Williams - 357pts

5. Pelé - 247pts

6. Michael Schumacher - 312pts

7. Aryton Senna - 296pts

8. Steve Redgrave - 295pts

9. Michael Phelps - 293pts

10. Chris Hoy - 288pts

11. Martina Navaratilova - 285pts

12. Mo Farah - 280pts

13. Steffi Graf - 276pts

14. Cristiano Ronaldo - 264pts

15. Lionel Messi - 262pts

16. Haile Gebrselassie - 260pts

17. Rafael Nadal - 254pts

18. Novak Djokovic - 252pts

19. Don Bradman - 235pts

20. Lewis Hamilton - 234pts

21. Johann Cruyff - 226pts

22. Carl Lewis - 215pts

23. Bradly Wiggins - 206pts

24. Mark Spitz - 203pts (one 8th, one 18th)

25. George Best - 203pts (one 8th, no 18ths)

26. Bjorn Borg - 200pts

27. Sachin Tendulkar - 197pts

28. Jesse Owens - 195pts

29. Chris Evert - 194pts

30. Bobby Charlton - 191pts

31. Eusebio - 188pts

32. Laura Kenny - 185pts

33. Frankie Dettori - 183pts

34. Franz Beckenbauer - 179pts

35. Jack Nicklaus - 178pts

36. Alain Prost - 172pts

37. Pete Sampras - 171pts

38. Brian Lara - 166pts

39. Garfield Sobers - 164pts

40. Bobby Moore - 159pts

41. Ian Botham - 152pts

42. Thierry Henry - 136pts

43. Manny Pacquiao - 132pts

44. Zinedine Zidane - 120pts

45. Ronaldinho - 100pts

46. David Rudisha - 98pts

47. Kenenisa Bekele - 88pts

48. Jonah Lomu - 80pts

49. Tirunesh Dibaba - 79pts

50. Garrincha - 71pts

51. Paolo Maldini - 39.5pts

52. Muttiah Muralitharan - 35.25pts

53. Sebastian Coe - 35pts (2 votes)

54. Margaret Court - 35pts (1 vote)

55. Diego Maradona - 34pts

56. Ryan Giggs - 33pts (3 votes)

57. Emerson Fittipaldi - 33pts (1 vote)

58. Hicham El Guerrouj - 32.75pts

59. Juan Manuel Fangio - 32.625pts

60. Rod Laver - 32pts (3 votes)

61. Shane Warne - 32pts (2 votes)

62. Eliud Kipchoge - 32pts (0 votes)

63. Nelson Piquet - 31pts

64. Ben Ainslie - 30pts

65. Jack Brabham - 29pts (3 votes)

66. Billie Jean King - 29pts (2 votes)

67. Kapil Dev - 27pts (1 vote)

68. Mark Waugh 27pts (0 votes)

69. Andy Murray - 26pts (0 votes, one 4)

70. Roy Emerson - 26pts (0 votes, 0 4s)

71. Ferenc Puskas - 28.875pts

72. Niki Lauda - 28pts

73. Carlos Alberto - 27pts

74. Cafu - 25pts (one 5)

75. Vitali Klitschko - 25pts (no 5s)

76. Evonne Goolagong Cawley - 24pts

77. Nadia Comaneci - 23pts (one 2)

78. Ezekiel Kemboi - 23pts (one 4)

79. Ian Thorpe - 23pts (one 5)

80. Rebecca Adlington - 23pts (no 5s)

81. Zico - 22.75pts

82. Marta - 22pts

83. Didier Drogba - 21pts (one 4)

84. Ronaldo - 21pts (no 4s)

85. Richard Hadlee - 20.125pts

86. Said Aouita - 20pts (one 4)

87. Boris Becker - 20pts (no 4s)

88. Genzebe Dibaba - 19.25pts

89. Cathy Freeman - 19pts (one 4, one 6)

90. Paul Tergat - 19pts (one 4, no 6s)

91. Stephen Hendry - 18pts

92. Scott Dixon - 17pts

93. Valerie Adams - 16pts

94. Vijay Singh - 15pts

95. Jacques Kallis - 14pts (one 5)

96. Nwankwo Kanu - 14pts (no 5s)

97. Ricky Ponting - 12pts (one 7, one 8)

98. Samuel Eto'o - 12pts (one 7, no 8s)

99. Jairzinho - 11.375pts

100. Gary Player - 8pts

 

A massive thank you to everyone who's helped shape this contest, sorry it's gone on for so long but feel free to leave your closing remarks!

Usain Bolt is a worthy winner. He has the advantage over Muhammad Ali in that all the people who voted would have witnessed his achievements at the time they happened. That was great fun to take part in from start to finish. Thanks Pete for running the poll.

Many thanks for running this, Pete. Really enjoyed this.

I felt sure Ali would win and I forgot about Bolt, but he's a worthy winner for certain.

 

I really enjoyed this and great work. Thanks