The last ten years has been phenomenal in terms of records that have been set in a variety of sports and as we start a new decade I just wanted to add my appreciation to some of the great sport that has been witnessed since 2000.
It is nigh on impossible to compare the sportsmen of one era in a sport with another era for a whole host of reasons, and therefore not really realistic to compare the greats of one sport with those of another sport, but like many before me and I am sure more to follow I am going to indulge you with my thoughts in this fairly pointless endeavour.
To make any sort of comparison the only real measure has to be based on records and statistics and thankfully these are readily available. The first major sporting event of the decade were the summer Olympics in Sydney where the first of many sporting records were broken. The sport was rowing and the individual was (Sir) Steve Redgrave who won a gold medal at his fifth consecutive Olympics. This was a phenomenal achievement as winning one gold medal is regarded my many Olympians as the crowning achievement of their career but to have peaked five times over a period of sixteen years in such a physical event is just remarkable. Unfortunately, Sir Steve is the only Brit to make my list though my individual highlight of the decade was England's triumph in the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia - made all the more enjoyable as we beat Australia in their own backyard in the final, and one of the most enduring images was the expression on John Howard's (the Australian PM) face as he handed the trophy to Martin Johnson.
Perhaps as you would expect three of the sportsmen who have made my list hail from the United States. The first of which is Tiger Woods who first came to prominence towards the end of the 20th Century and has continued through the last decade to dominate the world of golf having retained the world number one status for much of the decade. Even though he failed to win a major in 2009 he still retained his pre-eminent status as the world's best and it surely won't take too long for him to catch and beat Jack Nicklaus' record of major wins as we enter the second decade of the 21st Century, even allowing for his recently announced self-imposed exile from the game as he sorts out other aspects of his life.
The next American is Lance Armstrong who completely rewrote the record books in perhaps the toughest sporting event of all - the Tour de France. Of course what is all the more remarkable is that all of this has been achieved after recovering from life-threatening cancer. Armstrong started his winning run in 1999 and remained unbeaten in Le Tour until his retirement in 2005. His record of seven consecutive wins eclipses the likes of Anquetil, Merckx, Hinault and Indurain all of whom won five tours and only Indurain won his title's consecutively. Then having been retired for three years he returned in 2009 to finish third in the tour to equal Raymond Poulidor's record of eight podium finishes. Perhaps the only weakness in Armstrong's achievement is that during his period of greatness his sole focus was the one race each year whilst his predecessors and competitors often competed in the other grand tours and significant races during the season.
The last of the Americans to make my list is Michael Phelps who rewrote the record books for not just his sport swimming, but the whole of Olympic history with his haul of fourteen gold medals and numerous world records. His talent first came to prominence in the Athens Olympics in 2004 when he won six golds and two bronze medals but in Beijing he did what many thought was impossible by winning all eight of the events he entered breaking Mark Spitz's 36 year old record of seven golds in one Olympics as well as the modern Olympic record of nine gold medals in total. Like Woods, Phelps has also made the news for some out of pool exploits but at just 24 and only two and a half years from the next Olympics in London it is possible that he can extend his medal haul and take the last Olympic medal record he doesn't have by taking his overall tally beyond eighteen.
My next three nominees are all European and from the world of motorsport. Sebastian Loeb from France has dominated world rallying for much of the decade having finished second in the championship by a single point in 2003 he has won the last six championships in his Citroen. As well as the record number of championships he has won more races than anyone in the sport before and more consecutively giving him just about every record in the sport, and for good measure has also a second place finish in the Le Mans 24 hour race.
The Italian Valentino Rossi has dominated the premier class of motorcycling throughout the decade with seven championships in 500cc / MotoGP through the noughties. Like Loeb he has re-written most of the records in his sport during this decade though he trails his countryman Agostini who has won eight championships in the premier class and who won seven in consecutive seasons. He also trails Agostini in one other key statistic and that is the total number of races won in all classes but in this final measure it should be remembered that riders often use to compete in multiple classes during a season. Where Rossi differs from his predecessors is his consistency, he holds the record for 23 consecutive podium finishes, and the fact that half-way through the decade he switched manufacturer teams but that made no difference to his winning streak as following three consecutive championships on a Honda he then won for the next two years on a Yamaha. All this and he is still only thirty!
One hardly needs to write anything about Michael Schumacher who in his Ferrari between 2000 and 2004 dominated the premier class of Motor Racing F1 like no-one before or since. He has won more world championships, more races, had more podium finishes etc. than any other F1 driver and in his pomp was literally unbeatable. Like many others here he first came to prominence in the 1990s with two world championships for Benetton before taking on the challenge of putting Ferrari back at the forefront of the sport - a place they hadn't been for two decades and a task that had beaten many esteemed predecessors including Nigel Mansell and Alain Prost. Of course Schumacher's success has not been without controversy but how many of the sportsmen in this list have not seen the red mist at some stage when it came to winning.
My penultimate nomination is another European who is from a country more associated with success in winter sports and not the game of tennis. Roger Federer is another to have re-written the record books in his chosen sport in the last decade and now stands pre-eminent in the list of male tennis players to win Grand Slams. What makes his achievement so outstanding is that he has won all four of the grand slams at some stage and along with Andre Agassi has done so on three surfaces. All the more impressive is the fact that this has not been done in a weak era of competition and it looked as if Rafael Nadal would prevent Federer from achieving the levels of success that he has delivered.
Finally, one man has come into sporting prominence in only the last couple of years of the decade and what's more from a small nation in comparison with all of those mentioned above. His name is Usain Bolt and in a sense making comparisons in his sport are easier than in any other - it's pretty simple really, just run faster than anyone else. This Bolt does with apparent nonchalance and consummate ease. Whilst the 100 metre world record has nudged downwards by a hundredth of a second every now and then this Jamaican has comprehensively re-written the record books by moving the 100 and 200 metre world records by tenths of a second and who knows how much further he can lower them. I ask this because the one event of 2009 that amazed me more than any other were not the new records at the World Championships but the 150 metre race he ran in Manchester where on a wet temporary track, coming back from injury he not only set a new world record but in so doing ran the last 100 metres in 8.7 seconds!
So before I announce my selected greatest of the decade, I make no apologies for not including any individuals from a team (Zidane, Beckham, Wilkinson etc.) but it is just not possible to sensibly compare them with individuals. Secondly, there are a couple of British coaches / managers who do deserve a mention for their achievements in the decade and they are Sir Alex Ferguson who could perhaps be remembered as the greatest football manager of them all and Ross Brawn who in F1 has perhaps been the most successful (if not influential) part of the sport in the last 20 years and it was brilliant to see a team with his name over the door win last year's world championship.
My top three are sportsmen of the last ten years are:
1. Usain Bolt
2. Roger Federer
3. Lance Armstrong
It is only my opinion but based on the level they have raised the bar to in their sports but also the fact that teams and technology have had less of an influence on their success than any of the others I highlighted above.
I can't wait for 2010 and the next decade of sport and what makes this even greater is that of my list only Steve Redgrave won't be competing in the decade following Schumacher's return from retirement in the last couple of weeks.
Where might the records be in 2020?
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