I’M USING PUB RULES — AND THOMPSON’S IN!
MY criteria are not as complicated as Daley thompson’s. the point is that we are in a pub discussing Britain’s greatest sports people, so you don’t want too many caveats. Most of my choices are people I’ve seen or who have had an impact on me.
MY TOP 10 MEN
IAN BOTHAM THE greatest english cricketer of all time. some of the things he did and his willpower in winning games on his own from dead situations was extraordinary. DALEY THOMPSON MAY not have chosen himself but I’d have him in! Olympic decathlon gold medals in 1980 and 1984 and he broke the world record four times. He was very charismatic, too. MO FARAH REMARKABLE that Daley didn’t include Mo in his list. Double Olympic gold in the 5,000m and 10,000m. He’s an unbelievable athlete and seems to win everything he races in. BOBBY MOORE ENGLAND’s only World cup winning captain in our national sport. growing up in the east end of London and going to the same school in snaresbrook where Bobby’s lad Dean went, I was very much aware of the Bobby Moore legend. graham gooch never stopped talking about him in the essex dressing room! JONNY WILKINSON a LAST-MINUTE drop goal to win a World cup final against australia — it doesn’t get much better than that. Jonny was incredibly professional and driven and I loved watching his attention to detail. NICK FALDO at THE 1996 Masters, greg norman was leading by six shots and lost by five. Watching him implode and see nick go past him was painfully fascinating. Faldo’s singleminded, driven way appealed to me. ANDY MURRAY I can’t believe Daley left him out. all those years watching Wimbledon and never coming close to a British men’s winner then Murray wins it twice, plus two Olympic golds and almost single-handedly brings home the Davis cup. One of the all-time greats. STEVE REDGRAVE It DOESN’T matter to me whether rowing is a team sport. Redgrave won five consecutive Olympic gold medals. think of the dedication and hard work that went into that. a truly extraordinary British sportsman. PHIL ‘THE POWER’ TAYLOR It Is a sport and has become a hugely popular one. and there’s one man responsible for that popularity. taylor has won 16 world titles, eight in a row. BRADLEY WIGGINS WIGGINS or chris Hoy? Both are worthy of inclusion but I only want one cyclist and I’m going for Wiggins because he has been a master on the track and road.
MY TOP 10 WOMEN
CHARLOTTE EDWARDS THE single biggest reason why there are so many girls playing cricket now and why it can become a career for them in Britain. she transformed the game and made it cool for girls. KATE RICHARDSON-WALSH HAVING a daughter who plays hockey, I watched every game in the Olympics and I’m going for the captain of the gold medal-winning Brits. VIRGINIA WADE WON the 1977 Wimbledon title, was no 2 in the world in singles at one stage and was simply the British women’s tennis player when I was growing up. VICTORIA PENDLETON NINE world cycling titles, six individual sprints and gold in London at the 2012 Olympics. another one who made her sport cool for girls. PAULA RADCLIFFE an unbelievable marathon record, winning London three times and new York three times and is still the world record holder. another fantastic role model. LAURA DAVIES THE most accomplished British women’s golfer of her generation. she put her sport on the map and I like the way she doesn’t take herself too seriously. ELLEN MACARTHUR THE fastest solo circumnavigation of the globe! can you imagine that? How anyone can sit in a boat that long and battle all the elements, the loneliness of it all, is unimaginable. JESSICA ENNIS-HILL WHAT she did in the 2012 Olympic heptathlon under immense pressure as the poster girl of the games was incredible. KELLY HOLMES DOUBLE Olympic champion in 800m and 1500m in athens in 2004 (below) at a stage when she might have thought that level of success had passed her by. TANNI GREY-THOMPSON a TALLY of 11 gold medals and 30 world records says it all. also won the London Marathon six times and is an inspiration for any disabled sports person.