πββοΈ Introduce yourselves, Atlympians!
Howdy, Atlympians!
Many of you have already shared your favorite sports + quotes when signing up for the Atlympics (thanks)! For this intro thread, the prompt is:
Who is your favorite athlete of all time and why?
I'll go first!
My favorite athlete of all time is Natalie Coughlin. I looked up to her because we shared the same specialty (backstroke) and I really admired how she was both a fierce competitor and a really nice person. Now, she lives in Northern Cali and likes to garden and practice yoga. Sounds pretty nice to me! Here's a photo of her ready to compete!
Looking forward to hearing from all Atlympians - who knows ... maybe one day someone will share your photo as their idol! π
23 comments
Hello Everyone,
My absolute personal favourite player whom I completely idolise is Mahendra Singh Dhoni or MS Dhoni.
He is one of the most popular cricketer and one of the most successful cricket captain in the world. MS Dhoni is a leader with a passion.
Dhoni is an international Indian cricketer who plays as a middle-order batsman and a wicket-keeper. He is also known to be a finisher in many matches.
MS Dhoni is always a role model for all youngsters. He always demonstrated how to handle pressure situation and earned the name Captain Cool
In 2011, Dhoni was also featured in TIMES List of 100 Most Influential People in The World.
Under him, India won the 2011 Cricket World Cup π
He is most beloved sports personality and my most beloved sports is Cricket.
Namaste
My one of the all time favorite sport's person is "P. V. Sindhu", an Indian badminton player. Her career graph, over-coming the challenges, dedication towards her goal and chasing dreams is what draws me to look up to her.
She broke many records and been an icon of inspiration with many laurels under her kitty:
- Won medals in multiple tournaments including Olympics, BWF circuit.
- First Indian to become the Badminton World Champion.
- First Indian woman to earn an Olympic silver medal. etc. etc.
My favorite is Padma Shri. Karnam Malleswari. When I was 8 years old. my father proudly said we got an Olympic medal and the first woman got an Olympic medal.. at that age, I don't know. what is Olympics and what are these medals. some years later I saw articles on Her. in the early '90s, many women are stuck to daily works and home tasks. At that time she represents my country in weight lifting and won the Bronze medal. so inspiring. and this helps more women to get into sports and activities.
she received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, India's highest sporting honor.
Malleswari lifted 110 kg in the "snatch" and 130 kg in the "clean and jerk" categories for a total of 240 kg. She won the bronze medal and became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal
And recently she is appointed as the first V-C of Delhi Sports University.
Hi Atlympians!!
Among other great athletes I admire Mireia Belmonte, I love swimming and she is a Spanish swimmer who has participated in different competitions and has won many medals in different Olympics, and this year, in the Olympic Games in Tokyo, she is the Spanish flag bearer.
I consider her to be a disciplined, tenacious and mentally very strong person.
Greetings to all of you
While it is hard to say for sure who my favorite is, I would like to offer up Jean-Claude Killy as the one that probably influenced me the most at an early age. Yes I am dating myself.
I remember as a youth watching him ski and a friend and I would go out and strap boards to our feet and ski down grassy slopes pretending to be him. Yes we were young and crazy back then. I just remember in awe watching the sport and Jean-Claude owning it.
Hello Atlympians,
Hope you all are doing well and safe!
It's really hard to mention only single iconic figure due to brilliance, playing in true sprit.
If I have to choose only one of them I would definitely mention - Carl Ludwig Long aka Luz Long !
The era was different(i.e. Berlin Olympics 1936) and this German Long Jumper provided technical advice to Jesse Owens (all time great athlete) winning the Gold medal and Luz secured Silver in that Long Jump event. People do refer this event during memorable Olympics events.
Luz Long(Left)and Jesse Owens(right) at Berlin Olympics 1936
Image Courtesy: Reddit
It's really hard to imagine but it showcases winning or losing but playing the game in true spirit.
All the best Atlympians!
Hello Friends,
My favorite athlete of all time is the man, the myth, the legend: Steve Prefontaine, who shattered American running records at every distance from 2,000 to 10,000 meters, a feat that has never been repeated.
A generous teammate, a fearsome competitor, and an icon in the making when he died in a car accident at the age of 24, "Pre" famously said: "Somebody may beat me, but they'll have to bleed to do it." Pre put his heart, guts, sweat, tears, and blood into his sport, and if anybody wanted to keep up with him they'd have to do the same. He refused to lose, but he won with grace and kindness.
During one race, Pre noticed an opposing fan wearing a shirt that said, "Stop Pre." After winning the race, Pre charmed the fan into giving him the shirt, which he proudly wore during his post-race interview.
My favorite olympian was Michelle Kwan. As an aspiring figure skater, I had found her grace and poise so inspiring, and something I would try to channel every time I had a performance.
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My favourite is Australian Steven Bradbury. He's an ice skater who got gold in the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games by ... well, you can see in the picture ...
He was last and wasn't even really trying, and everyone else in front were jostling for positions that they all fell over and he just strolled on through ...
Hello Atlympians!
My favourite athlete is Serena Williams. Not only is she a tremendous athlete who has been dominating her sport for decades, but she is also a role model on and off the court. I enjoy watching her play as much as I enjoy watching her interviews and activism.
Well the Jamaican bob sled team has to be up there :) Seriously though, the idea, concept, and audacity. Really, respect mon!
Then I'd probably say Carl Lewis in the 1984 LA Olympics. He kicked some serious rear end that summer! I remember watching on TV and just being in awe of his ability.
Hello everybody!
My favorite athlete is Juan Manuel Fangio who achieved 5 world titles in F1.
To practice motorsport on those dates was really a sentence to danger.
He was one of the people who inspired me to continue competing in karting.
One of the phrases that I like the most about him:
You always have to try to be the best, but never believe yourself the best.
Greetings
Hi everyone! :) I really like the Olympics, I've watched almost all competitions when I was a kid :) Sadly I don't have time to do it now, but I still enjoy watching gymnastics π€ΈββοΈ
My favourite gymnast is McKayla Maroney, definitely one of the best gymnasts of all time!
My favourite athlete is Eliud Kipchoge. A Kenyan professional long distance runner. He is a world record holder in marathon with a time of 2:01:39. He has been described as "the greatest marathoner of the modern era". Out 13 marathons he has participated, he has won 11 of them π. Kipchoge is also the only person to ever break two hours in an unofficial marathon. This massive feat is already motivating the next generation of runners. I really like this quote by him β
βAthletics is not so much about the legs. Itβs about the heart and mind.β
I'm really looking up to Misty Copeland. Misty is the first African-American performer to be appointed as a principal dancer for American Ballet Theatre. π©°
She started at the age of 13 - which is "a late start" in this industry but despite that and her difficult childhood, she was dancing en pointe within three months of taking her first dance class and performing professionally in just over a year.
In 2012, she found out just how taxing ballet had been on her body when she discovered she had six stress fractures in her left leg. She was told by a lot of dance doctors that she would never dance again. But just like many athletes, Misty fought her way back to health.
Today she's a dancer at one of the most prestigious ballet companies in the world.
I really like her fighting spirit and that she brings diversity into the ballet industry.
Hi everyone,
I don't really have an all time favorite but my favorite of this year is Sarah Voss from Gymnastics. She didn't care about dresscodes and started doing gymnastics in a long dress!
In my early years (a really long time ago) I was also doing gymnastics and always found the short suits super uncomfortable and sexist.
She is my hero - doesn't matter what place or medal she will get!
My favorite one is Raissa Leal, 13th years old Brazilian Skater. Fearless, corageos and humble.
Doing what she loves and disciplined enought to be favorite this year at her category. 
When the summer Olympics come around, I'm always pulling for this guy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Heinzer
He is a fencer for the Swiss national team. No idea if we might actually be related distantly somehow (I have my doubts), I have no proof we are related but the last name makes me wonder. Always feels like I'm pulling for my cousin. Go cousin Max!
Hi Atlassians :)
My Favourite Athlete is Michael Fred Phelps II - The Flying Fish
His achievements - He has won 82 medals in major international long course competitions, of which 65 were gold, 14 silver, and three bronze, spanning the Olympics, theWorld Championships, and thePan Pacific Championships.
History - Phelps began swimming at the age of seven 7!!
When Phelps was in the sixth grade, he was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
This disorder was merely vanished by his willpower and strength.
As a teenager, Phelps idolized Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe and modeled his public image after Thorpe
Said Phelps, upon completing the event that awarded him his eighth gold medal and eighth Olympic record in as many events,
"Records are always made to be broken no matter what they are ... Anybody can do anything that they set their mind to."
Phelps's performance in the Rio Olympics was unique in "winning multiple gold medals at 31 years old, well beyond the typical peak for male swimmers". Phelps is considered one of the greatest Olympians of all time.
Phelps holds 21 Guinness World Records which predominantly consist of accumulative Guinness World Records ("Guinness mosts", records formulated starting with "most") for total number of accomplishments and victories in swimming such as: most medals, consecutive number of medals, most medals within one tournament, most records in swimming etc. It is the highest number of accumulative Guinness World Records held by an athlete.
