Usain Bolt and Fraser-Pryce Named in ESPN’s ‘Top 100 Athletes of the Century’
Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt has been ranked 9th in ESPN’s Top 100 Athletes of the 21st Century, with fellow Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce coming in at 77th.
Allyson Felix of the United States, at number 63, is the only other track and field athlete on the list. The top spot is held by American swimmer Michael Phelps.
Bolt is one of only three non-Americans in the top 10, alongside Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Switzerland’s Roger Federer.
Alyssa Roenigk from ESPN highlighted Bolt’s extraordinary achievements: eight Olympic gold medals, the world record in the 100 meters, and the unique accomplishment of winning both the 100m and 200m Olympic titles at three consecutive Games.
Roenigk reflected on Bolt’s memorable 100m semifinal at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where his iconic smile and confident glance back at his competitors captured global attention.
This image, she noted, has become one of the most enduring of Bolt’s career. His 2009 world record in the 100m (9.58 seconds) remains unbeaten.
Fraser-Pryce’s accomplishments are equally impressive: eight Olympic medals, three Olympic golds, a record five 100-meter world titles, and being the oldest sprinter (35 in 2022) to win a world title.
Roenigk recounted Fraser-Pryce’s historic win at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, making her the first Caribbean woman to win gold in the event.
Known as the “Pocket Rocket,” she has consistently medaled in the 100 meters across four Olympic Games and aims to reclaim her title at the Paris Olympics.
The top 10 athletes according to ESPN are:
1. Michael Phelps – Swimming
2. Serena Williams – Tennis
3. Lionel Messi – Soccer
4. LeBron James – Basketball
5. Tom Brady – American Football
6. Roger Federer – Tennis
7. Simone Biles – Gymnastics
8. Tiger Woods – Golf
9. Usain Bolt – Track and Field
10. Kobe Bryant – Basketball
ESPN undertook the challenging task of ranking the top 100 athletes since 2000, a follow-up to their SportsCentury project 25 years ago, which ranked the top 100 North American athletes of the 20th century.
This time, the scope was global, with input from ESPN editions worldwide. Contributors were instructed to consider only post-2000 performances, resulting in over 70,000 votes to determine the rankings.
Among the top 100, 56 are Americans, five are from Spain, four from Canada, four from the Dominican Republic, three from France, three from Japan, and two from Jamaica. Basketball is the most represented sport with 24 athletes, followed by baseball (17), soccer (15), American football (12), tennis (6), golf (4), boxing (4), and track and field (3).
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