Power that lasts.......

[Nakor]

A few that spring to mind:

Ed Moses - 122 consecutive wins over 10 years in the 400m hurdles.

Carl Lewis - 65 consecutive wins over 10 years in the long jump.

Sergey Bubka - Broke the world pole vault record 35 times. Has jumped the 13 highest heights of all time. Has cleared 6.00m more times than the rest of the world put together.

BOOM!

That was the guy lurking in the back of my mind.

Genuine contendor.

Guess Lewis & Moses qualify, too.

In a way, all these names put Phil Taylor's achievements into better perspective, but it's good to rejoice in success, or at least I think it is.

Would Sir Alex Ferguson get in the list? Guess he's not a "sportsman" as such, but still, thats some CV he has.

The remarkable thing about Taylor is he keeps raising his standard.

At the age of 50+ he keeps pushing it further and further.  I can’t think of any other sportman that has not only maintained his skill level but has increased it as he has got older to the degree Taylor has.  He has dominated so many “next big things” people just take him for granted.  From the old guard of Wilson, Anderson, Bristow and the like, through the Priestly era, and then the influx of BDO champs including Barney and now Wade, MVG and Lewis he always has an answer, always raises his game, no matter the format of that game.

He dominates all formats of the game,  Legs, sets, matchplay, short format, long formats he has no weakness, and they all lend themselves to different “types” of player.
111 Average in a matchplay event over 30+ legs is remarkable, this at a time when everyone expects MVG to come along and take away all of Taylor’s titles.  The current “Next big thing”.
I don’t find him endearing at all but I do appreciate what he has bought to the game.  I can’t believe he does not get the mainstream acclaim he deserves, but one thing for sure Darts will miss him when he has gone.

Aside from Taylor I would add

Sugar Ray Robinson – 128 professional wins in 11 years, the true, greatest boxer of all time, IMO.  He fought over 250 times as amateur and pro and only lost 2 of his first 200 odd bouts before he turned 30.  

Jack Nicklaus – who dominated a sport when it was at its peak, the fields he beat may not have had the depth of tournaments today but he faced off against more of the greats then Tiger or Faldo every week.  Also at a time when technology had little bearing on the game – he strove to drive the ball further, hit more greens and sink more putts then everyone else, and most weeks he did just that.

[BigAdz]

Alberto Tomba

[tikay]

Great Post Nakor, especially Sugar Ray.

Especially liked this, it was sort of my original point really....


I don’t find him endearing at all but I do appreciate what he has bought to the game.  I can’t believe he does not get the mainstream acclaim he deserves, but one thing for sure Darts will miss him when he has gone.

He is 52 now, at an age when our eyesight, & hand-eye co-ordination skills start to wane, yet he seems better than ever.

Whether we like him or not is irrelevant.

[Tal]

Aleksandr Karelin

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleksandr_Karelin

13 years without losing a fight and the last six of those without conceding a single point.

[The Camel]

What about this bloke?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasily_Alekseyev

[tikay]

What about this bloke?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasily_Alekseyev

Nah, never held enough World Records.


1/24/1970 Clean & Press 210.5 kg Super Heavyweight Velikie Luki[9]
 1/24/1970 Clean & Jerk 221.5 kg Super Heavyweight Velikie Luki
 1/24/1970 Total (3) 592.5 kg Super Heavyweight Velikie Luki
 1/24/1970 Total (3) 595 kg Super Heavyweight Velikie Luki
 3/18/1970 Clean & Press 213 kg Super Heavyweight Minsk
 3/18/1970 Total (3) 600 kg Super Heavyweight Minsk
 4/26/1970 Clean & Press 216 kg Super Heavyweight Vilnius
 4/26/1970 Clean & Jerk 223.5 kg Super Heavyweight Vilnius
 4/26/1970 Total (3) 602.5 kg Super Heavyweight Vilnius
 4/26/1970 Total (3) 607.5 kg Super Heavyweight Vilnius
 6/28/1970 Clean & Press 219.5 kg Super Heavyweight Szombathely
 6/28/1970 Clean & Jerk 225.5 kg Super Heavyweight Szombathely
 6/28/1970 Total (3) 610 kg Super Heavyweight Szombathely
 6/28/1970 Total (3) 612.5 kg Super Heavyweight Szombathely
 9/20/1970 Clean & Jerk 227.5 kg Super Heavyweight Columbus
 11/17/1970 Clean & Press 220.5 kg Super Heavyweight Volgograd
 11/17/1970 Clean & Jerk 228 kg Super Heavyweight Volgograd
 12/4/1970 Snatch 177 kg Super Heavyweight Shakhty
 12/4/1970 Clean & Press 221 kg Super Heavyweight Shakhty
 12/4/1970 Clean & Jerk 228.5 kg Super Heavyweight Shakhty
 12/4/1970 Total (3) 615 kg Super Heavyweight Shakhty
 12/4/1970 Total (3) 620 kg Super Heavyweight Shakhty
 12/26/1970 Clean & Press 222 kg Super Heavyweight Dnipropetrovsk
 12/26/1970 Clean & Jerk 229.5 kg Super Heavyweight Dnipropetrovsk
 12/26/1970 Total (3) 622.5 kg Super Heavyweight Dnipropetrovsk
 12/26/1970 Total (3) 625 kg Super Heavyweight Dnipropetrovsk
 2/14/1971 Snatch 177.5 kg Super Heavyweight Paris
 2/14/1971 Clean & Press 222.5 kg Super Heavyweight Paris
 2/14/1971 Clean & Jerk 230 kg Super Heavyweight Paris
 3/26/1971 Clean & Press 223 kg Super Heavyweight Wienn
 4/7/1971 Clean & Press 223.5 kg Super Heavyweight Moscow
 4/18/1971 Clean & Jerk 230.5 kg Super Heavyweight Taganrog
 6/27/1971 Clean & Press 225 kg Super Heavyweight Sofia
 6/27/1971 Clean & Jerk 231 kg Super Heavyweight Sofia
 6/27/1971 Clean & Jerk 232.5 kg Super Heavyweight Sofia
 6/27/1971 Total (3) 627.5 kg Super Heavyweight Sofia
 6/27/1971 Total (3) 630 kg Super Heavyweight Sofia
 7/24/1971 Snatch 180 kg Super Heavyweight Moscow
 7/24/1971 Clean & Press 225.5 kg Super Heavyweight Moscow
 7/24/1971 Clean & Jerk 233 kg Super Heavyweight Moscow
 7/24/1971 Clean & Jerk 235 kg Super Heavyweight Moscow
 7/24/1971 Total (3) 632.5 kg Super Heavyweight Moscow
 7/24/1971 Total (3) 637.5 kg Super Heavyweight Moscow
 7/24/1971 Total (3) 640 kg Super Heavyweight Moscow
 9/26/1971 Clean & Press 227 kg Super Heavyweight Lima
 9/26/1971 Clean & Press 230 kg Super Heavyweight Lima
 9/26/1971 Clean & Jerk 235.5 kg Super Heavyweight Lima
 3/19/1972 Clean & Press 231.5 kg Super Heavyweight Bollnas
 3/19/1972 Clean & Press 235.5 kg Super Heavyweight Bollnas
 4/15/1972 Clean & Jerk 236 kg Super Heavyweight Tallinn
 4/15/1972 Clean & Press 236.5 kg Super Heavyweight Tallinn
 4/15/1972 Clean & Jerk 237.5 kg Super Heavyweight Tallinn
 4/15/1972 Total (3) 642.5 kg Super Heavyweight Tallinn
 4/15/1972 Total (3) 645 kg Super Heavyweight Tallinn
 4/29/1972 Clean & Jerk 238 kg Super Heavyweight Donetsk
 6/18/1973 Clean & Jerk 240 kg Super Heavyweight Madrid
 6/18/1973 Total 417.5 kg Super Heavyweight Madrid
 1/3/1974 Clean & Jerk 242 kg Super Heavyweight Glazov
 3/20/1974 Clean & Jerk 240.5 kg Super Heavyweight Erevan
 4/28/1974 Clean & Jerk 241 kg Super Heavyweight Tbilisi
 4/28/1974 Total 420 kg Super Heavyweight Tbilisi
 6/6/1974 Snatch 187.5 kg Super Heavyweight Verona
 6/6/1974 Total 422.5 kg Super Heavyweight Verona
 9/23/1974 Clean & Jerk 245.5 kg Super Heavyweight Moscow
 9/29/1974 Clean & Jerk 241.5 kg Super Heavyweight Manila
 9/29/1974 Total 425 kg Super Heavyweight Manila
 11/27/1974 Clean & Jerk 242.5 kg Super Heavyweight London
 12/14/1974 Clean & Jerk 243 kg Super Heavyweight Zaporizhia
 12/29/1974 Clean & Jerk 243.5 kg Super Heavyweight Lipetsk
 7/11/1975 Clean & Jerk 245 kg Super Heavyweight Vilnius
 9/23/1975 Total 427.5 kg Super Heavyweight Moscow
 11/11/1975 Clean and Jerk 246 kg Super Heavyweight Arkhangelsk
 11/11/1975 Total 430 kg Super Heavyweight Arkhangelsk
 12/7/1975 Clean & Jerk 247.5 kg Super Heavyweight Montreal
 5/15/1976 Total 435 kg Super Heavyweight Karaganda
 7/27/1976 Clean & Jerk 255 kg Super Heavyweight Montreal
 9/1/1977 Clean & Jerk 255.5 kg Super Heavyweight Podolsk
 9/1/1977 Total 445 kg Super Heavyweight Podolsk
 11/1/1977 Clean & Jerk 256 kg Super Heavyweight Moscow

[AndrewT]

Can think of a good reason why we shouldn't count Soviet weightlifters from the 1970s.

[Tal]

Can think of a good reason why we shouldn't count Soviet weightlifters from the 1970s.

The thought did cross my mind.

[tikay]

Can think of a good reason why we shouldn't count Soviet weightlifters from the 1970s.

Now now......blame Camel.

[KarmaDope]

Going back many, many years here, but W.G. Grace should be in this list.

[Snowball]

Dermot Weld at the Galway festival

[The Camel]

Can think of a good reason why we shouldn't count Soviet weightlifters from the 1970s.

Dare you to call him a cheat to his face



Give me warning when you're going to do it, so I can run the other way.

[Karabiner]

Click to see full-size image.

Is he on an EMC?

I must have told you that I went to school for a year or so with Joe Ehrlich's lad.

[BigAdz]

Can think of a good reason why we shouldn't count Soviet weightlifters from the 1970s.

Dare you to call him a cheat to his face



Give me warning when you're going to do it, so I can run the other way.

Is that the prototype for the Mankini?

[Longy]

Going back many, many years here, but W.G. Grace should be in this list.

Using anyone for cricket but Bradman is a reach IMO, slightly different criteria but Bradman is arguably statistically the most dominant sportsman to ever exist.

http://michaelnielsen.org/blog/the-most-remarkable-graph-in-the-history-of-sport/