- Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams, (born September 26, 1981) is an American former World No. 1 ranked female tennis player who has won eight Grand Slam singles titles and an Olympic gold medal in women's doubles.. She is the last player, male or female, to have held all four Grand Slams at the same time. In 2005, "Tennis" magazine ranked her as the 17th-best player of the preceding forty years. She is the younger sister of another former world no.
- Roger Federer
Roger Federer (born August 8, 1981) is a Swiss tennis professional, currently ranked World No. 1. Many experts and many of his own tennis peers believe Federer may be the best player in the history of the game. Federer has won eleven Grand Slam men's singles titles in 33 appearances (all eleven coming in a record 17 consecutive appearances), three Tennis Masters Cup titles, and 13 ATP Masters Series titles.
- Rafael Nadal
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera (born June 3, 1986, in Manacor, Mallorca) is a top Spanish professional tennis player. As of July 2007, he is ranked No. 2 in the world. He is a three-time Grand Slam champion, having won three consecutive French Open singles titles (2005-07), and has twice been a runner-up at Wimbledon (2006-07). Nadal is undefeated in his career at the French, having won all 21 matches he has played en route to his three championships.
- Kelly Slater
Kelly Slater (b. Robert Kelly Slater February 11 1972, Cocoa Beach, Florida) is the most successful professional surfer in the history of the sport. Slater is an eight time world champion, and competed in the X-Games in 2003 and 2004. In May 2005 in the final of the Billabong Tahiti Pro contest at Teahupoo, …
- Ellen MacArthur
Dame Ellen Patricia MacArthur, DBE (born July 8, 1976) is an English sailor from Whatstandwell near Matlock in Derbyshire, now based in Cowes, on the Isle of Wight. She is best known as a solo long-distance yachtswoman who, on February 7, 2005, broke the world record for the fastest solo circumnavigation of the globe.
- Bob Burnquist
Robert Dean Silva Burnquist, better known as Bob Burnquist, is a professional skateboarder and a Christian Spiritist. He was born to a Swedish-American father and a Brazilian mother. He became adept at skateboarding in São Paulo starting at age 11 and turned pro at age 14. As an adult he emigrated to North America; he holds dual citizenship from Brazil and the U.S. The biggest competition that he has won was the vert contest at the 2001 X-Games.
- Cathy Freeman
Catherine Astrid Salome Freeman OAM (born February 16, 1973) is an Australian athlete who is particularly associated with the 400 m race. As an Aboriginal Australian, she is regarded as a role model for her people, and by many in the non-Aboriginal community as a symbol of national reconciliation between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. She was born in Mackay, Queensland. At the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, …
- Marat Safin
Marat Safin ; b. January 27, 1980) is a Russian former World No. 1 tennis player of Tatar ethnicity. Safin began his professional career in 1997 and held the No. 1 world ranking for 9 weeks in November and December of 2000. He is known for his large physical size, athleticism, controversial antics, and aggressive "power" style of play. He is fluent in Russian, English and Spanish.
- Amélie Mauresmo
Amélie Simone Mauresmo (born on 5 July 1979) is a French professional tennis player and is a former World No. 1. She is currently the sixth ranked player in the world. She has won two Grand Slam singles titles. Mauresmo first attained the top ranking on September 13, 2004, holding it for five weeks on that occasion. She was the fourteenth World No. 1 in women's tennis since the computer rankings began.
- Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis (born September 30, 1980 in Košice, Czechoslovakia, now Slovakia) is a former World No. 1 Swiss tennis player. Known as the "Swiss Miss", she has won five Grand Slam singles titles (three Australian Open, one Wimbledon, and one US Open). She has also won nine Grand Slam women's doubles titles, winning a calendar year Grand Slam in 1998, and one Grand Slam mixed doubles title. She spent a total of 209 weeks as World No.
- Jennifer Capriati
Jennifer Marie Capriati (born March 29, 1976, in New York City) is a former world number one women's tennis player from the United States. During her career, she has won three Grand Slam singles titles (2 Australian Open, 1 French Open), as well as the women's singles gold medal at the 1992 Olympic Games.
- Tiger Woods
Eldrick "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer whose achievements to date rank him among the most successful golfers of all time. Currently the World No. 1, Woods was the highest paid professional athlete in 2006, having earned an estimated $100 million from winnings and endorsements.
- Kelly Holmes
Dame Kelly Holmes, DBE (born April 19, 1970) is a retired British middle distance athlete. She won gold medals in the 800 metres and the 1500 metres at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
- Liu Xiang
Liu Xiang (born July 13, 1983) is a Chinese hurdling athlete and Olympic gold medalist and world record holder in the 110 metres hurdles at 12.88 seconds. Born in Shanghai, China, his given name, 翔, means "to soar".
- Chantal Petitclerc
Chantal Petitclerc is a Canadian wheelchair athlete. She won three gold medals (in 100 m, 200 m, and 400 m) and a bronze (800 m) at the 2002 World Championships and a gold at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in the 800 m. At the 2004 Summer Olympics (where wheelchair racing was an exhibition sport) she won the 800 m, and went on to an impressive showing at the 2004 Summer Paralympics.
- Janica Kostelić
Janica Kostelić is a retired female skier from Croatia, considered one of the greatest female skiers of all time. She is the only woman to win four gold medals in alpine skiing at the Winter Olympic Games (in 2002 and 2006), and the only woman to win three alpine Olympic gold medals in one year (2002). She was World Cup champion in 2001, 2003 and 2006.
- Sergio García
Sergio García, nicknamed 'El Niño', is a Spanish professional golfer who plays on both the United States PGA Tour and the European Tour. He has spent much of his career in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Rankings. As of June 2007, he has yet to win a major championship and has not won any tournaments for over two years.
- Yelena Isinbayeva
Yelena Gadschiyevna Isinbayeva is a Russian pole vaulter. She won the 2004 Olympic Gold Medal with a new World Record (then 4.91 m), was elected Female Athlete of the Year by the IAAF twice (2004 and 2005), and Sportswoman of the Year by Laureus, and has set 20 world records. On July 22, 2005, she became the first female pole vaulter to clear 5.00 metres. At the age of 25 she is seen as the best female pole vaulter in history.
- Layne Beachley
Layne Beachley (born May 24, 1972) is a professional surfer from Manly in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. She is regarded as the best female professional surfer in history, having won the World Championship for six consecutive years. ... Layne made a remarkable rise through the ranks in the masculine world of surfing: at the young age of 16 she became professional, and by the age of 20 she already ranked sixth in the world.
- Louise Sauvage
Alix Louise Sauvage <small>OAM</small> (born 18 September 1973 in Perth, Western Australia) is an Australian paralympic athlete. Often regarded as the most renowned disabled sportswoman in the Southern Hemisphere, she won two gold medals and a silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Paralympic games in front of a home crowd. At the 2004 Olympic Games, she finished 3rd in the demonstration sport of Women's 1500 m wheelchair.
- Alex Zanardi
Alessandro "Alex" Zanardi, (born October 23, 1966), is an Italian racing driver. He won two CART championship titles in North America during the late 1990s. He also had a less successful career as a Formula One driver. More recently he has attracted widespread praise for his racing comeback in the aftermath of a crash in 2001 which resulted in him losing both legs. As of 2007 he competes in the World Touring Car Championship.
- Lance Armstrong
Lance Armstrong Facing testicular cancer and not yet knowing his own fate, in 1997 champion cyclist Lance Armstrong established the Lance Armstrong Foundation, a non-profit organization that inspires and empowers people affected by cancer. This marked the beginning of Lance's role as an advocate for cancer survivors and a world representative for the cancer community.
- Shaun Palmer
Shaun Palmer (b. 1968-11-14 in San Diego, California) is a professional mountain biker, snowboarder, and skiier from the United States. In the course of his career he accumulated a significant string of competitive successes and substantial media exposure. Making his home in South Lake Tahoe, Palmer is especially fond of his vintage Cadillac, even to the point of having the marque's logo tattooed onto his body. He is also the proprietor and C.E.O. of Palmer Snowboards, …
- Steve Redgrave
Sir Stephen Geoffrey Redgrave CBE (born on 23 March, 1962, in Marlow, England) is a British rower who won a gold medal at five consecutive Olympic Games from 1984 to 2000, as well as an additional bronze medal in 1988. As the only Briton ever to achieve this feat, Redgrave is widely considered to be Britain's greatest Olympian. Only four other Olympians achieved the same: Pál Kovács, Aladár Gerevich (the only one to surpass it with 6 consecutive golds), Reiner Klimke, …
- Franz Beckenbauer
Franz Anton Beckenbauer (born September 11, 1945) is a German football coach, manager, and former player, nicknamed "der Kaiser" ("the emperor") because of his elegant style, his leadership qualities, his first name "Franz" (reminiscent of the Austrian emperors), and his dominance on the football pitch. He is generally regarded as the greatest German footballer of all time and also as one of the greatest footballers in the history of the game.
- Arne Næss Jr.
Arne Næss Jr. was a Norwegian mountaineer and businessman. Outside of Norway he may have been more known for being the former husband of Diana Ross. He is the father of 7 children, most notably singer/songwriter Leona Naess; and up and coming young actor Evan Ross (in the movie ATL). Næss Jr. was born in Germany in 1937 by Norwegian mother Kiki Næss and German father Raab, a physician and major of the Wehrmacht.
- Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher (pronounced /:Media:De-Michael-Schumacher.oggsmall>(help•info</small>/, born January 3, 1969, in Hürth Hermülheim, Germany) is a former Formula One driver, and seven-time world champion. According to the official Formula One website, he is "statistically the greatest driver the sport has ever seen". He is the first German to win the Formula One World championship and is credited with popularising Formula One in Germany.
- Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger
Arnold clearly harbored political ambitions for a long time. In 1977, six years before he became a US citizen, he told a German magazine: "When one has money, one day it becomes less interesting. And when one is also the best in film, what can be more interesting? Perhaps power. Then one moves into politics and becomes governor or president or something." He realized that one day his movie-making days were numbered and began thinking about a career in politics.
- Johan Cruijff
Hendrik Johannes Cruijff - often spelled Cruyff outside the Netherlands; see IJ (digraph)); born April 25, 1947 in Amsterdam) is a Dutch football manager/coach and former player. He was named European Footballer of the Year three times (1971, 1973, 1974) which is a record jointly held with Michel Platini and Marco van Basten. Cruijff was the most famous exponent of the football philosophy known as Total Football, developed by Rinus Michels.
- Goran Ivanišević
Goran Šimun Ivanišević is a former professional tennis player from Croatia. He is best remembered for being the only person to win the men's singles title at Wimbledon as a wildcard. He achieved this in 2001, having previously been runner-up at the championships in 1992, 1994 and 1998. Ivanišević's name is synonymous with his strong serve, which is one of the greatest to date. His career-high singles ranking was World No. 2 (behind Pete Sampras) in 1994.
- Marion Jones
Marion Jones (born October 12, 1975 in Los Angeles, California) is an American athlete of half Belizean and half African American descent. She is the winner of five medals at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. She holds dual citizenship from the USA and Belize (her mother's home country).
- Hermann Maier
Hermann Maier is an Austrian skier who has won four overall World Cup titles (1998, 2000, 2001, 2004), two Olympic gold medals (both in 1998), three World Championship titles (1999: 2, 2005: 1) and 53 races in the World Cup. He ranks among the likes of Jean-Claude Killy, Ingemar Stenmark, Toni Sailer, Alberto Tomba, Kjetil André Aamodt and Franz Klammer as one of the best exponents of the sport. Maier did not initially enjoy much success in skiing.
- Angelo D'Arrigo
Angelo d'Arrigo (April 3 1961 - March 26, 2006) was an Italian aviator who held a number of world records in the field of flight, principally with microlights and hang gliders, with or without motors. He has been referred to as the "Human Condor". D'Arrigo was born in Catania, Sicily.
- Yao Ming
Yao Ming (born September 12 1980, in Shanghai, China) is a Chinese professional basketball player and is arguably the best center in the National Basketball Association (NBA) today. He is also among the tallest of players in the NBA standing at a height of 7'6". He is the only son of his father Yao Zhiyuan and Fang Fengdi. He played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) for five years, and now plays center for the Houston Rockets in the NBA.
- Peter Blake
Sir Peter Blake, KBE (October 1, 1948-December 6, 2001) was a New Zealand yachtsman who led his country to two successive "America"’s Cup victories. He previously won the Whitbread Round the World Race in 1989, and the Jules Verne Trophy in 1994 by setting the fastest time around the world of 74 days 22 hours 17 minutes 22 seconds on catamaran "Enza". Blake was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1995 for services to yachting, …
- Valentino Rossi
Valentino Rossi born is an Italian professional motorcycle racer and multiple MotoGP World Champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest motorcycle racers of all time, with 7 Grand Prix World Championships to his name. In 2006, he narrowly missed an 8th title by scoring a second place in the Championship, and now continues in the 2007 season as one of the title favourites.
- Annika Sörenstam
Annika Sörenstam is a professional golfer whose achievements rank her as one of the most successful female golfers in golf history. She has won 69 official LPGA tournaments including ten majors, 17 other tournaments internationally and tops the LPGA's career money list with earnings of over $20 million, $7 million ahead of her nearest rival. Currently she ranks second only to Michelle Wie as the most marketable professional female golfer.
- Michael Milton
Michael Milton is an Australian Winter Paralympic skier. He lost a leg to bone cancer when he was nine years old. He grew up into a skiing family, and after losing his leg he was determined to be able to ski again. At the age of 14, he competed in the 1988 Winter Paralympics in Innsbruck, Austria. There he achieved a 12th in the slalom, an 11th in the Giant Slalom and an 18th in the downhill. In the 1992 Winter Paralympics in Albertville, France, …
- Kipchoge Keino
Kipchoge ("Kip") Keino (born January 17, 1940), chairman of the Kenyan Olympic Committee (KOC), is a retired Kenyan athlete and two-time Olympic gold medalist.
- Juan Pablo Montoya
Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán is a race car driver in NASCAR for Chip Ganassi Racing. He is a former Formula One driver. He was born in Bogotá where he was taught the techniques of karting from an early age by his father Pablo, an architect and motorsport enthusiast. He has enjoyed great success, most famously in top open wheel racing series. The highlights of his career include winning the International F3000 championship in 1998, and the CART Championship Series in 1999, …