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The 50 Greatest Sports Athletes Of All Time Have Been Named And Ranked By Fans

The 50 Greatest Sports Athletes Of All Time Have Been Named And Ranked By Fans

From LeBron James to Lionel Messi to Usain Bolt, fans have had their say on the best of the best across all forms of sports.

Anonymous

Anonymous

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali has been crowned the best sports athlete of all time in a star-studded list.

The 'Greatest' is widely considered the best boxer in history and arguably the most iconic sports star of the 20th century.

And fans over at Ranker voted Ali to be at the top of the pile ahead of track and field athlete legend Carl Lewis.

Ali secured a whopping 46,329 upvotes from fans over at the site, putting him well clear of Lewis' 24,690 upvotes.

Also finishing inside the top 20 included Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi, LA Lakers star LeBron James and Argentine icon Diego Maradona.

Posted below are the top 50 athletes of all time, according to fans.

PA

50. Karl-Heinz Schnellinger (football)

49. Bjorn Dunkerbeck (windsurfer)

48. Paula Radcliffe (long-distance runner)

47. Marc Girardelli (skiing)

46. Dana Vollmer (swimmer)

45. Allan Simonsen (football)

44. Sbastien Loeb (rally driver)

43. Peyton Manning (American football)

PA

42. Lothar Matthaus (football)

41. Carolina Kluft (track and field athlete)

40. Magdalena Forsberg (skiing)

39. Lasse Viren (long-distance runner)

38. Franz Beckenbauer (football)

37. Vera Caslavska (gymnast)

36. Mario Lemieux (ice hockey)

35. Henrik Sedin (ice hockey)

PA

34. Matti Nykanen (ski jumping)

33. Sir Bradley Wiggins (cyclist)

32. Emil Zatopek (long-distance runner)

31. Pele (football)

30. Bjron Borg (tennis)

29. Gerd Muller (football)

28. Michael Schumacher (F1)

27. Ole Einar Bjorndalen (biathlete)

PA

26. Goran Ivanisevic (tennis)

25. Monica Seles (tennis)

24. Lou Gehrig (baseball)

23. Wilt Chamberlain (basketball)

22. Sonja Henie (figure skater)

21. Jesse Owens (track and field athlete)

20. Martina Navratilova (tennis)

19. Bjorn Daehlie (skiing)

PA

18. Janica Kostelic (skiing)

17. Larry Bird (basketball)

16. Babe Ruth (baseball)

15. Lionel Messi (football)

14. Ayrton Senna (F1)

13. Zvonimir Boban (football)

12. LeBron James (basketball)

11. Blanka Vlasic (track and field athlete)

10. Diego Maradona (football)

PA

9. Michael Phelps (swimming)

8. Steffi Graf (tennis)

7. Paavo Nurmi (middle-distance and long-distance runner)

6. Michael Jordan (basketball)

5. Aleksandr Karelin (wrestler)

4. Roger Federer (tennis)

3. Usain Bolt (sprinting)

2. Carl Lewis (track and field athlete)

1. Muhammad Ali (boxing)

PA

You can find the complete list, which features over 100 sports athletes, over at Ranker.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: roger federer, Diego Maradona, Michael Phelps, muhammad ali, Michael Jordan, Usain Bolt