A selection of biographies about famous sportsmen and sportswomen from the fields of athletics, football, cricket, tennis, boxing, baseball and cycling.
Athletics
Roger Bannister ( – ) (Great Britain, athletics) Roger Bannister became the first athlete to run a sub-four minute mile in Oxford,
Usain Bolt ( – ) (Jamaica, athletics) Usain Bolt holds the world record for m and m. Bolt won triple Olympic gold at the , and Olympics.
Mo Farah ( – ) (GB, athletics) and Olympic champion. Gold at , and 10, World Championship Gold at 5, Silver in 10,m.
Haile Gebreselassie ( – ) (Ethiopia, athletics) Double Olympic gold in 10,m. Held world record for the marathon for three years with
Eric Liddell ( – ) (Scottish, athletics) Represented Scotland at Rugby Union and GB athletics. Olympic gold medallist at m ().
Tegla Laroupe ( – ) (Kenya, athletics) Held world record for the marathon and won five world championships at the half-marathon.
Carl Lewis ( – ) (US, athletics) Nine-time Olympic gold medalist, Carl Lewis won gold over three Olympics and was the great star of s track and field.
Jesse Owens () Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics.
Paula Radcliffe ( – ) (Great Britain, athletics) Current holder of women’s marathon record time. Gold in marathon world championship
Emil Zatopek ( – ) (Czechoslovakia, athletics) Won four Olympic gold medals at 10,m, 5,m and marathon. Including three gold in the games.
Babe Ruth () US, baseball. Set numerous baseball records – was famous for his big hitting. He won many titles with the New York Yankees.
Michael Jordan ( – ) (US, basketball) 6*NBA champion. Considered the greatest basketball player of all time.
Muhammad Ali ( – ) US, boxing Olympic champion and world heavyweight champion of the world.
Sir Donald Bradman ( – ) Australia, cricket. Donald Bradman was by far the greatest ever batsmen in cricket. Finished with test average of
( – ) (England, cricket, football) Represented England at football and cricket. Also played in F.A. Cup final. Scored 30, first-class cricket runs.
Sir Viv Richards ( – ) (West Indies, cricket) Considered one of the greatest batsmen of all time. He played for West Indies during the s and 80s.
Sir Gary Sobers ( – ) (West Indies, cricket) One of greatest all-rounders in the game.
Sachin Tendulkar ( – ) (India, cricket) Only player to score 30, runs in international cricket. Won world cup with India in Played in Test matches.
Shane Warne ( – ) (Australia, cricket) One of the greatest leg-spin bowlers of all time. Warne took over 1, wickets in international cricket and became one of the five ‘Cricketers of the Century.’
Lance Armstrong ( – ) (US, cycling) Armstrong dominated cycling through the early s, winning seven consecutive Tour de France wins (). But, in was stripped of wins due to drug use.
Chris Froome ( – ) (Great Britain, cycling) Kenyan born British athlete, Chris Froome won , , , Tour de France and was 2nd in the Vuelta Espagne ,
Eddy Merckx ( – ) Belgium, cycling. Merckx is the most successful cyclist ever &#; winning both classic one-day races and the major tours, including 5* Tour de France.
David Beckham ( – ) (England, football) Won league title in four different countries. appearances for England.
George Best ( – ) (Northern Ireland, football) Mercurial genius considered one of the greatest natural talents. Played for Manchester United
Alex Ferguson ( – ) (Scotland, football) Scottish football manager for Aberdeen and Manchester United. During his 26 years at Manchester United, he won 38 trophies.
Diego Maradona ( – ) (Argentina, football) Joint FIFA player of Century with Pele. Won World Cup with Argentina.
Jose Mourinho ( – ) (Portugal, football) Football manager who has achieved success with clubs in Italy (Inter Milan), Spain (Real Madrid) and England (Chelsea).
Lionel Messi ( – ) (Argentina, football.) Messi has led Barcelona FC to domestic and European. The finalist with Argentina in World Cup.
Pele ( – ) (Brazil, footballer) Winner of three World Cups with Brazil. Pele was the greatest footballer of the century. He scored goals in games.
Cristiano Ronaldo ( – ) (Portugal, football) One of the greatest football players of all time. Has played for Manchester United, Real Madrid and Portugal.
Wayne Rooney ( – ) (England, football) Represented England over times. With Manchester United has won Premier League five times.
Bill Shankly ( – ) ( – Great Britain, football) Managed Liverpool FC leading the club to three First Division championships and one UEFA Cup.
Aryton Senna ( – ) Brazilian motor racing champion. Three times Formula One world champion (’88,’90,’91). Died in a motor racing accident, Bologna, Italy.
Roger Federer ( – ) (Switzerland, tennis) Has won 17 singles Grand Slam titles. Held no.1 world ranking for weeks overall.
Billie Jean King ( – ) US, tennis. Billie Jean King won a total of 38 Grand Slam titles. – 12 singles titles.
Fred Perry ( – ) (GB, Tennis) 8 grand slams (in short amateur career). Also was table tennis world champion.
Related
Famous sporting personalities – Famous sporting personalities, including Muhammad Ali, Nadia Comaneci, Pele and Jesse Owens.
Female athletes
Over 50 famous female athletes who have made contributions to tennis, football, cycling, athletics, gymnastics, golf and swimming.