ESPN posted a feature last night that ranks the top 10 athletic feats. You can read the whole list for yourself, but #1 was Bob Beamon shattering the world record in the long jump at the ‘68 Olympics. I won’t disagree with that, but a few of the others that made the list are “iffy”. Mike Vick breaking a long run to win a game in overtime? Sure, it was a great play, probably the best that year. But in the top 10 of all-time? No way.
The biggest oversight I saw was Michael Johnson. At the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, not only did he become the first person to win both the 200m and 400m, he completely destroyed the field in the 200. In fact, I think his split time after the first 100m would have been a world record at that distance. On top of that, there was a ton of hype around that race. I don’t recall if he predicted that he would win both races, or if the sportswriters did, but there was a lot of talk about it. And again, he didn’t just win - he killed everyone. The second place finisher was .36 seconds behind.
By far, the greatest athletic feat I’ve ever witnessed (albiet, on TV).
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