wow, Thorpe is amazing.
wikipedia wrote:
James Francis Thorpe (
Sac and Fox (Sauk):
Wa-Tho-Huk, translated as "Bright Path";
[4] May 22 or 28,
[2] 1887 – March 28, 1953)
[5] was an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. A member of the
Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe became the first Native American to win a gold medal for the United States. Considered one of the most versatile athletes of modern sports, he won Olympic gold medals in the
1912 pentathlon and
decathlon, and played
American football (collegiate and professional), professional baseball, and basketball.
Serena is impressive but when I think "greatest athlete", I think of a lot of sports before tennis. I do put it ahead of golf though, so she beats Tiger. I don't know how Nike feels about that.
to give a different perspective, I always hated this a-hole. SURE he won the gold medals, and SURE his bike cross-training made him good enough to be a competent cyclist, BUT THEN he had to go to Stanford medical school. friggin show-off.
wikipedia wrote:
Eric Arthur Heiden (born June 14, 1958) is an American physician and a former
long track speed skater, road cyclist and track cyclist. He won an
unprecedented five individual gold medals, and set four Olympic records and one world record at the
1980 Winter Olympic Games. Heiden was the most successful athlete at those Olympic Games, single-handedly winning more gold medals than all nations except for the
Soviet Union (10) and
East Germany (9).
[2] He is the most successful Winter Olympian from a single edition of any Winter Olympics. He delivered the
Athlete's Oath at those same 1980 Games. His coach was
Dianne Holum.
[3] Heiden is an icon in the speed skating community. His victories are significant, as few speed skaters (and athletes in general) have won competitions in both sprint and long-distance events. Heiden is the only athlete in the history of speed skating to have won all five events in a single Olympic tournament and the only one to have won a
gold medal in all events. He is considered by some to be the best overall speed skater (short and long distances) in the sport's history. Heiden ranked No. 46 in
ESPN's SportsCentury 50 Greatest Athletes of the 20th Century in 1999, the only speed skater to make the list. In 2000, a Dutch newspaper called him the greatest skater ever.
[4]