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Sports have been around for centuries, and have become an essential part of many communities around the world. The thing that makes sports so omnipresent is that people from any place in the world or background can get involved.
Another reason why sports are so popular is their entertainment value. Sports such as football and basketball are watched by millions of people worldwide. This huge popularity led to large amounts of money being invested in sports, and sport was rolled into a big number of communities around the world.
Today, we are going to explore sports athletes from different parts of the world who made historical sporting records and are considered to be one of the all-time greatest.
Jesse Owens
Jesse Owens was an American track and field athlete and is considered one of the greatest athletes in track and field history.
Jesse was a specialist in the sprints and the long run. At the 1935 Big Ten Track meet in Ann Arbor Michigan, Jesse set three records in less than an hour. His performance is considered to have never been equaled and is considered as “ the greatest 45 minutes in sport”. To this day, the highest award for track and field in the US is called the “Jesse Owens reward”.
At the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Jesse achieved international fame. He won four gold medals including long jump, 100 meters, 200 meters, and 4 x 100-meter relay.
Joe Louis
Joe Louis was an American heavyweight boxer who was world champion from June 22 1937 until March 1, 1949. During this time Joe Louis successfully defended his title 25 times and scored 21 knockouts.
In 1934, Louis won the US Amateur Athletic Union 175-pound championship and was the Golden Gloves titleholder. Within the first twelve months of his professional career, Louis knocked out Primo Carrera, Max Baer, Jack Sharkey, James J. Braddock, Max Schmelling, and Jersey Joe Walcott.
Louis suffered his first loss in 1936 at the hands of Max Schmelling. After beating Braddock and taking the title, Louis beat Schmelling in a rematch in 1938.
Louis was famous for his extraordinary pugilistic skills and great sportsmanlike behavior in the ring.
Pele
Edson Arantes do Nascimento, widely known as Pele, is a retired Brazilian football player who is regarded as one of the greatest forward players of all time. Pele was one of the most successful and popular sports athletes in the 20th century. At one point in his career, Pele was the best-paid athlete in the world.
He began playing for Santos at the age of 15, and at the age of 16, he was already playing for the Brazilian national team. Throughout his career, Pele won three FIFA world cups in 1958, 1962, and 1970. Pele scored 77 goals in 92 games and is the all-time leading goal scorer for Brazil.
Throughout his career, Pele scored almost a goal per game. He was an accurate striker with both feet and could anticipate the opponent’s movements on the field. Although Pele mostly played as a striker, he could also play as a playmaker. He provided assists with his passing ability and used his great dribbling skills to go past opponents.
According to RSSSF, Pele is one of the leading goal scorers in football history, scoring 541 goals in 560 league games.
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who won eight Wimbledon’s men singles, six Australian Open titles, five US Open titles, and one French Open title. Federer has held the world number 1 spot in the ATP rankings for a record of 310 weeks and was the year-end number one five times.
Early in his career, Federer was mostly a serve-and-volley player. From 2003 he became an aggressive baseliner who played in the back of the court and occasionally came to the net. In the 2014-15 season, he changed his style into a mix of serving and volleying, baseline play, and net charging.
Federer has received the tour sportsmanship award 13 times and has been named ATP player of the year and ITF champion 5 times. He is the only player besides Jimmy Connors that has won over a hundred career single titles as well as 1,200 wins in the Open Era.
Nadia Comaneci
Nadia Elena Comaneci is a retired Romanian gymnast who is a five-time Olympic gold medalist At the age of 14, Nadia was awarded a perfect score of 10.0 at the summer Olympic games in Montreal. At the 1980 summer Olympics in Moscow, Nadia won two gold medals and was awarded two more 10.0 perfect scores. Throughout her career, Nadia won 9 Olympic medals and also four World Artistic Gymnastic Championship medals.
Nadia is one of the most famous gymnasts in the world, and in 2000, the Laureus World Sports Academy named her as one of the athletes of the 20th century
Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher is a retired German Formula one driver who competed for Jordan Grand Prix, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes. He is regarded as one of the greatest racing drivers of all time, and his legacy now continues through his son, Mick who is now at Mercedes. Under the guidance of Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff, Mick plays a crucial role in supporting the team’s main drivers, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, by providing valuable feedback and contributing to car development. His presence at Mercedes brings a wealth of racing knowledge and heritage, passed down from his legendary father who achieved so much during his career. From 2000 to 2004, Schumacher won seven Formula 1 championship titles, which five out of seven he won consecutively. According to the Formula 1 website, Schumacher is statistically the greatest formula driver in the world. He holds the record for the most championship titles, the joint-most Grand Prix wins, the fastest laps, and the joint-most races won in a single session.
