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

The 50 Greatest Sports Athletes Of All Time Have Been 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.

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz

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 ice hockey legend Wayne Gretzky.

Ali secured a whopping 47,187 upvotes from fans over at the site, putting him well clear of Gretzky's 29,393 upvotes.

Also finishing inside the top 20 included Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi, LA Lakers star LeBron James and boxing legend Mike Tyson.

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

PA

50. Magdalena Forsberg (skiing)

49. Karl-Heinz Schnellinger (football)

48. Fritz Walter (football)

47. Katrin Davidsdottir (CrossFit athlete)

46. Ivan Lendl (tennis)

45. Goran Ivanisevic (tennis)

44. Pele (football)

43. Sally McLellan (track and field athlete)

42. Sugar Ray Leonard (boxing)

41. Mario Lemieux (ice hockey)

PA

40. Georges Miez (gymnast)

39. Tony Hawk (skateboarding)

38. George Foreman (boxing)

37. Marc Girardelli (skiing)

36. Rafael Nadal (tennis)

35. Michael Johnson (sprinting)

34. Zvonimir Boban (football)

33. Nicklas Lidstrom (ice hockey)

32. Annemarie Moser-Proll (skiing)

31. Niki Lauda (F1)

PA

30. Matti Nykanen (ski jumping)

29. Rocky Marciano (boxing)

28. Lou Gehrig (baseball)

27. Joe DiMaggio (baseball)

26. Jack Nicklaus (golf)

25. Monica Seles (tennis)

24. Martina Navratilova (tennis)

23. Ayrton Senna (F1)

22. Bjorn Daehlie (skiing)

21. Larry Bird (basketball)

PA

20. Janica Kostelic (skiing)

19. Babe Ruth (baseball)

18. Jesse Owens (track and field athlete)

17. Lionel Messi (football)

16. Bill Russell (basketball)

15. Diego Maradona (football)

14. Michael Phelps (swimming)

13. LeBron James (basketball)

12. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (basketball)

11. Magic Johnson (basketball)

PA

10. Mike Tyson (boxing)

9. Wilt Chamberlain (basketball)

8. Serena Williams (tennis)

7. Michael Jordan (basketball)

6. Joe Montana (American football)

5. Carl Lewis (track and field athlete)

4. Usain Bolt (sprinting)

3. Roger Federer (tennis)

2. Wayne Gretzky (ice hockey)

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: Golf, Mike Tyson, Basketball, Baseball, Football, Tennis, Serena Williams, roger federer, Boxing, F1, muhammad ali, ice hockey, NFL, Michael Jordan, Usain Bolt