Best British Athletes of All Time
Which UK athlete is the greatest of all time? The GOAT of the world of sport in the UK? To put it mildly, that’s a complicated question. Men’s and women’s athletes, as well as competitions from the Olympic and individual realms, are considered, across all the different eras, looking at not only the greatest of each sport but the greatest of all. So, even if many may disagree, here’s the list of the best British athletes of all time.
Sir Chris Hoy
Olympic cyclist Old Jumbo Thighs Hoy is the most decorated Olympian of all time with seven Olympic medals, six golds and one silver. For the first time in 100 years, a Brit won three gold medals in a single Olympics. He has won 11 World Championship titles as well. In addition to having been inspired to begin cycling by the film ET, he’s an entirely decent guy as well, which is worth more than points.
Lennox Lewis
Lewis boxed for Canada at the Olympics, but he was a proud Brit by the time he did what he did best. He was also the world’s undisputed heavyweight champion at one time, which is rare these days. After defeating Evander Holyfield in 1999, he became WBC Heavyweight champion in 1993. As a result of his victories over Mike Tyson in 2002 and Vitali Klitschko a year later, he showed that he could beat the best in the business.
Jonny Wilkinson
In the 2003 World Cup final, he scored a famous drop goal to end years of underachievement in rugby. In arguably helping pave the way for England’s success, he helped prove that England could win under the greatest pressure on the biggest stage. England reached the 2007 final as Wilko’s cool head kept Australia and France from scoring. The local Toulon fans fell in love with him during his final season with the club, just like the Twickenham crowd did years earlier.
Andy Murray
Prior to Tim Henman, British tennis was laughed at all over the globe. Yet, the man from Dunblane caught up to him in 2012, winning the US Open and Wimbledon in the same year. The Scot won the Grand Slam for the first time since Fred Perry in 1930, and he won it at the same time as such greats as Federer and Nadal. Andy’s star will shine even brighter if he manages to help Britain win the Davis Cup and so far no one player has won the tournament virtually all by themselves.
Nick Faldo
While Rory McIlroy is well on his way to becoming a legendary player, he hasn’t yet equaled the achievement of golf’s “Mr Single-minded”. Three of Faldo’s major championships in America were Open Championships and three Masters. A peak of his power saw him ranked number one in the world for 98 weeks. A member of 11 Ryder Cup teams, Faldo is also known for helping to end America’s dominance in the sport.
Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton showed that he has talent when he joined Formula 1 in 2007. It was one of the greatest rookie seasons in F1 history. In the past few years he has been breaking record by record. In 2020. he won his seventh F1 Title – the record that belonged to legendary Michael Schumacher. Last year, he almost broke even that one! Just a couple of laps before the end of the last race of the 2021 F1 season everyone thought that the eighth Title was in his hands. To his misfortune, some unexpected things happened and turned things in Max Verstappen’s favour. Still, Hamilton’s career is one of the most successful ever, and it’s not over yet.