Greatest athlete ever (Prime)

I really feel like Deion Sanders is the greatest athlete of all time. He was all state is basketball, football and Baseball. Played in a World Series and won 2 superbowls. The fastest guy in the NFL during his time with home run hitting power.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1R1dz-Z-Jc

I know Bo Jackson is always getting compared with Deion, but I really feel like Deion has a huge edge over Bo as an all around athlete. When he ran he looked like he was just gliding on air. Thoughts?

If you going to pick a wrestler, Shawn Michaels and Shelton Benjamin( I didn't see much of him though)

What year did you stopped watching wrestling?

@Ricko1234:

I saw this topic and thought, "great some idiot is going to claim Lebrons James," lol.

I was going to mention the very two you did, in addition to the top multi sport Olympians. Usain Bolt deserves a mention as well.

Think I might lean towards Bo Jackson, though. He was great at everything he did.

Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders

GSP

Wayne Gretzky.Has broke/shared more records then any other sports figure.

That shows proficiency at a single sport, not the same as athleticism.
I think Deion Sanders is the most athletic all time. Two sport athlete, amazing run time, exceeded at a multiple positions in both sports.

Jim Thorpe

His airness

Agreed with Bo and Deion.

I would add Allen Iverson and Darrell Green.

....why would that make them an idiot? LeBron is a freak of nature, can play all positions in the NBA, and could play in the NFL if he wanted to (he played football too in HS).

Fair point. He's just too clumsy.

Jim Thorpe

American FootballJames Francis "Jim" Thorpe was a Sac and Fox athlete of Native American and European ancestry. Considered one of the most versatile athletes of modern sports, he won Olympic gold medals for the 1912 pentathlon and decathlon, played American football, and also played professional baseball and basketball. He lost his Olympic titles after it was found he was paid for playing two seasons of semi-professional baseball before competing in the Olympics, thus violating the amateurism rules that were then in place. In 1983, 30 years after his death, the International Olympic Committee restored his Olympic medals.

Wayne Gretzky and Michael Jordan!

Yogi Berra

Floyd mayweather is the greatest in boxing

Mike Tyson FTW

Shelton Benjamin sucked as a Pro Wrestler, he wasn't entertaining to watch compared to the best.

However I agree he was an amazing athlete, his conditioning was among the best.

@thehig1: "Shelton Benjamin sucked as a Pro Wrestler, he wasn't entertaining to watch compared to the best."

That's weird. Well I personally didn't see alot of him to really judge him, but most fans and experts say he made the money in bank fun again. His only drawback is his mic skills.

Why are people taking about wrestlers?

@Chutebox:

Despite being a fixed event, they are athletes.

Jim Thorpe, no doubt. Won Gold medals in the Olympics, then played pro football, baseball and basketball.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Thorpe

http://www.cmgww.com/sports/thorpe/

http://www.biography.com/people/jim-thorpe-9507017

http://www.profootballhof.com/players/jim-thorpe/

I don't think it's even close between Deion Sanders and Bo Sanders. Bo was a freak of nature.

Jim Thorpe was also great.

But why are so many people talking about 'wrestlers' in this thread. I though it was about greatest athletes.

All around - Bo Jackson

At what they do: Barry Sanders

Barry Sanders was one of the best runningbacks in the league, even with the crap O-line. It might make a list of the worst O-lines, almost every time he got the ball he was facing defenders, juking, dodging, barreling through at times. People don't realize how valuable a good O-line is and how good it can make a runningback. Barry Sanders was great even without the O-line, not just good, great.

Heather Mckay.

Google it youngsters...

I would definitely have to give a nod to Anderson Silva, but I think the greatest athlete ever has to be Jon "Bones" Jones. Choking out a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt as a white belt? That is freaking insane. He also holds the longest streak of defending his title which eventually got stripped away. When he comes back (and he will) he will dominate that division yet again. He also has one great resume:

Mixed martial arts

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • UFC Light Heavyweight Championship (one time)^[18]
  • Interim UFC Light Heavyweight Championship (one time)^[185]
  • Most successful light heavyweight title defenses in UFC history (8)
  • Most consecutive light heavyweight title defenses in UFC history (8)
  • Fight of the Night (four times) vs. Quinton Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Alexander Gustafsson and Daniel Cormier^{[186][187][188][189]}
  • Knockout of the Night (one time) vs. Brandon Vera^[44]
  • Submission of the Night (two times) vs. Ryan Bader, Vitor Belfort^[53][80]
  • Third most consecutive title defenses in UFC history (8)
  • Most submission victories in UFC light heavyweight history (5)
  • Longest win streak in UFC light heavyweight history (13)
  • Youngest fighter to win a UFC championship (23 years, 242 days)^[18]
  • Most wins in the UFC light heavyweight division (16)
  • Fight of the Year (2013) vs. Alexander Gustafsson
• United States Kickboxing Association
  • USKBA Light Heavyweight Championship (One time)^[28]
• Sherdog
  • 2009 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year^[190]
  • 2010 All-Violence 1st Team^[191]
  • 2011 All-Violence 1st Team^[192]
  • 2011 Beatdown of the Year for win over Maurício Rua^[193]
  • 2011 Fighter of the Year^[194]
  • 2012 All-Violence 1st Team^[195]
  • 2013 All-Violence 1st Team^[196]
  • 2013 Fight of the Year (vs Alexander Gustafsson) (UFC 165)^[197]
  • Mixed Martial Arts Hall of Fame^[198]
• World MMA Awards
  • 2010 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year^[199]
  • 2011 Fighter of the Year^[200]
  • 2012 Fighter of the Year^[201]
  • 2013 Fight of the Year vs. Alexander Gustafsson on September 21^[202]
• MMAFighting.com
  • 2013 Fight of the Year vs. Alexander Gustafsson on September 21^[203]
• MMAInsider.net
  • 2013 Fight of the Year (vs Alexander Gustafsson) (UFC 165)^[204]
• FoxSports.com
  • 2013 Fight of the Year (vs Alexander Gustafsson) (UFC 165)^[205]
• Yahoo! Sports
  • 2013 Fight of the Year (vs. Alexander Gustafsson)(UFC 165)^[206]
• MMAWeekly.com
  • 2013 Fight of the Year (vs.Alexander Gustafsson) (UFC 165)^[207]
• MMAjunkie.com
  • 2013 Fight of the Year (vs.Alexander Gustafsson) (UFC 165)^[208]
  • 2015 January Fight of the Month vs. Daniel Cormier^[209]
• ESPN
  • 2011 Fighter of the Year^[210]
  • 2013 Fight of the Year (vs. Alexander Gustafsson) (UFC 165)^[211]
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter
  • 2014 Feud of the Yearvs. Daniel Cormier^[212]
  • 2011 Most Outstanding Fighter^[213]
• Spike Guys' Choice Awards
  • 2011 Most Dangerous Man^[214]
• FIGHT! Magazine
  • 2009 Newcomer of the Year^[215]

Amateur wrestling

• National Junior College Athletic Association
  • NJCAA Junior Collegiate Championship out of Iowa Central Community College (2006)^[216]
  • NJCAAAll-Americanout of Iowa Central Community College (2006)^[217]
• National High School Coaches Association
  • NHSCA Senior All-American (2005)^[218]
• New York State Public High School Athletic Association
  • NYSPHSAA Division I State Championship out of Union-Endicott High School (2005)^[219]
• USA Wrestling
  • Northeast Junior Greco-Roman Regional Championship (2004)^[220]

Ashton Eaton - World record holder in the decathlon.

@Blueresident87: There's really only one wrestler sho should be mentioned and that's Brock Lesnar. Near perfect amateur wrestling career, WWE star, tried out and almost got into pro football, went to MMA and won the heavyweight title twice and defended it a few times all with no prior MMA experience, the guys just a beast.

Necro thread, but Bo Jackson is the correct answer if we are talking about raw, pure all around athleticism. If you want to debate most decorated athlete, that's a different discussion. Bo Jackson was the closest to a real life demigod that modern man has seen and might not be bettered until we genetically engineer people.

oh oh oh oh oh ,

@mighty-lu-bu: John Jones can't even dunk a basketball and hes like 6'5. He also said he sucked as a wide receiver. Great at MMA but overall athelete? Not sure.