Usain Bolt voted ‘The Greatest’ in almost a century
Since 1945, there hasn’t been an athlete who has impacted track and field the way Usain Bolt has.
That’s according to Athletics Weekly readers who voted the eight-time Olympic gold medalist the greatest male athlete to grace the sport in 75 years.
Bolt received more than half of the votes, specifically 55.3 per cent, to get the honour.
Retired Ethiopian long-distance track and road running athlete Haile Gebrselassie finished in second place with 17 per cent of the votes. And Czech long-distance runner, Emil Zátopek, received 14.5 per cent of the votes to round out the top three.
Tirunesh Dibaba, the Ethiopian long-distance icon, was voted the greatest female athlete in 75 years, bagging 31.1 per cent of the votes. The late Dutch athlete, Francina “Fanny” Blankers-Koen, finished second with 25. 7 per cent of the votes.
Jamaican two-time Olympic champion, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, completed the top three with 18.9 per cent of the votes.
The voting was done to commemorate the publication’s diamond anniversary in December.
