# Most athletic person ever. **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 10, 2017, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-athletic-person-ever/788635 "2017-06-10T19:59:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CastletonSnob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ea924/32.png) [@CastletonSnob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CastletonSnob)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-athletic-person-ever/788635/1 "2017-06-10T19:59:37Z")
Who would you say are/were the most athletic people who ever lived? I say Bo Jackson. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-athletic-person-ever/788635/2 "2017-06-10T20:10:36Z")
Good choice along with Jesse Owens, Carl Lewis, Babe Didrikson Zaharias and a few others. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-athletic-person-ever/788635/3 "2017-06-10T20:14:55Z")
Decathletes. Not only are some of the events at odds with each other (sprinting and distance running), the pole vault requires you to be a gymnast to an extent. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-athletic-person-ever/788635/4 "2017-06-10T20:18:25Z")
Martial artists like Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan have to be on the list. Also, American Ninja competitors, I would think. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-athletic-person-ever/788635/5 "2017-06-10T20:31:09Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Martial artists like Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan have to be on the list. Also, American Ninja competitors, I would think. Jackie Chan is a stuntman…not a martial artist but he is very athletic. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-athletic-person-ever/788635/6 "2017-06-10T20:32:21Z")
Well, this [guy](https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=3221334577913710&id=199098633470668&refsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fm.facebook.com%2FLADbible%2Fvideos%2F3221334577913710%2F&_rdr) is pretty impressive. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-athletic-person-ever/788635/7 "2017-06-10T20:33:54Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Jackie Chan is a stuntman…not a martial artist but he is very athletic. He made an autobiographical film about his childhood [Painted Faces (1988) - IMDb](http://m.imdb.com/title/tt0095937/) which explains his training. Its a very touching film. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-athletic-person-ever/788635/8 "2017-06-10T20:35:08Z")
Lebron. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-athletic-person-ever/788635/9 "2017-06-10T22:24:51Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Decathletes. Not only are some of the events at odds with each other (sprinting and distance running), the pole vault requires you to be a gymnast to an extent. And pretty much the top person on that list is [Jim Thorpe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Thorpe), who not only won a gold medal in both the decathlon (and pentathlon), but also played pro football, baseball, and basketball, and just for the hell of it, did a 5’9"high jump in street clothes. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-athletic-person-ever/788635/10 "2017-06-10T22:32:13Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Lebron. I know this is probably not a popular opinion here but I definitely think it’s true. His combination of versatility, strength, size, speed and intangibles are second to none. I think he could excel at multiple sports at the highest level if he had the desire. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-athletic-person-ever/788635/11 "2017-06-10T23:02:22Z")
Came in to nominate Babe Didrickson, but I see she’s already on the list. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-athletic-person-ever/788635/12 "2017-06-10T23:34:19Z")
What does “most athletic” mean? If it’s athletic prowess, then it’s ridiculous to to include athletes from the past like Thorpe and Owens, and beyond absurd to include Didrikson. Lebron is good starting point. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-athletic-person-ever/788635/13 "2017-06-10T23:39:14Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > What does “most athletic” mean? If it’s athletic prowess, then it’s ridiculous to to include athletes from the past like Thorpe and Owens, and beyond absurd to include Didrikson. > > Lebron is good starting point. Oh really? > **[Babe Didrikson Zaharias](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babe_Didrikson_Zaharias)** > > Mildred Ella "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias (/zəˈhɑːriəs/; née Didrikson; June 26, 1911 – September 27, 1956) was an American athlete who excelled in golf, basketball, baseball, and track and field. She won two gold medals and a silver in track and field at the 1932 Summer Olympics before turning to professional golf and winning 10 LPGA major championships. > Mildred Ella Didrikson was born on June 26, 1911, the sixth of seven children, in the coastal city of Port Arthur, Texas. Her mother Hannah and... ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-athletic-person-ever/788635/14 "2017-06-10T23:47:12Z")
Jack Lalanne. He started working out every day when he was 15 and continued to do so for over EIGHTY years. In fact, he did his regular work out routine the day before he died at age 96. Jack’s athletic feats were legendary including in 1984 at age SEVENTY when he was handcuffed, shackled, and fought strong winds and currents and towed 70 rowboats, one with several guests, from the Queen’s Way Bridge in the Long Beach Harbor to the Queen Mary, the distance of 1 mile. A lot of people become great athletes during their youth, but when they get into their 40’s, they stop working out and put on weight. (I’m looking at you, Arnold.) Jack Lalanne was a great athlete just about his entire life, that’s why he is the “most athletic person ever”. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-athletic-person-ever/788635/15 "2017-06-10T23:50:06Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Jackie Chan is a stuntman…not a martial artist but he is very athletic. He has trained in several martial arts disciplines, including under a _hapkido_ grand master. And I’m pretty sure he graduated from stuntman to movie star a long time ago. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-athletic-person-ever/788635/16 "2017-06-10T23:50:16Z")
> [@CastletonSnob](#): > > … I say Bo Jackson. Another Chicago player, Michael Jordan gets my vote. You know how today’s basketball stars have no problem creating BS reasons for sitting out regular season games toward the end of the season in order to stay fresh for the playoffs? This is a concept that Michael Jordan never once considered. (He did more than consider taking an entire year off for, oh, curious reasons. But in that time he played MLB, so my point stands.) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-athletic-person-ever/788635/17 "2017-06-10T23:57:59Z")
Jim Thorpe should be included. There’s going to be different definitions of athletic but in Jim’s case he won the decathlon and pentathlon at the 1912 Olympics, was college football standout, played professional baseball, basketball, and football, finally ending his athletic career at age 42. Clearly sports were different in that time but it’s unlikely any athlete will demonstrate that level of versatility over such a long period of time. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2017, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-athletic-person-ever/788635/18 "2017-06-11T00:01:54Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > What does “most athletic” mean? If it’s athletic prowess, then it’s ridiculous to to include athletes from the past like Thorpe and Owens, and beyond absurd to include Didrikson. > > Lebron is good starting point. Wide range of athletic abilities _relative to the time they lived_. Athletic prowess is not the same as the level of accomplishment achieved. Emil Zatopek, among other accomplishments, was the first man to run more than 20,000 meters in an hour. The current record is 21,285 meters, more than three laps further. The question is how much further could Zatopek have run given modern shoes and knowledge of exercise physiology and different training philosophies? Jim Thorpe, if he lived in modern times, probably would have been just as dominant. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2017, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-athletic-person-ever/788635/19 "2017-06-11T00:02:23Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > He has trained in several martial arts disciplines, including under a _hapkido_ grand master. And I’m pretty sure he graduated from stuntman to movie star a long time ago. I meant that he trained as a Peking Opera performer…not as a martial artist. He is not a Bruce Lee or Chuck Norris. Jack LaLane is an interesting choice. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2017, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-athletic-person-ever/788635/20 "2017-06-11T00:11:08Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Jackie Chan is a stuntman…not a martial artist but he is very athletic. Jackie Chan was trained as a martial artist in the same way as Bruce Lee and other great Kung Fu practitioners. Bruce was lucky enough to study under a great martial artist while Jackie had to endure the brutal conditions of a Peking Opera School where his training was meant to be exploited for entertainment. Sugar Ray Robinson should be noted for a boxing career that lasted 25 years as a professional. His record of 173-19-6 will likely never be broken or even approached. He is considered by many to the best pound for pound boxer of all time. ETA: > [@madsircool](#): > > I meant that he trained as a Peking Opera performer…not as a martial artist. He is not a Bruce Lee or Chuck Norris. > > Jack LaLane is an interesting choice. I don’t think you understand what the Peking Opera School training consisted of, or how Kung Fu was studied and practiced at the time. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-athletic-person-ever/788635.md?page=2)