Top Ten Greatest Female Athletes of all Time
Top Ten Greatest Female Athletes of all Time.
Most lists of the greatest athletes in the history are dominated by male athletes. There are plenty of female athletes that are regarded as greatest in the history. These female athletes have excelled in their sport and had a significant impact on their sport. We have decided to list the top ten greatest female athletes of all time. As always, with any list, there’s plenty of room for debate. It certainly becomes more difficult when you’re comparing the accomplishments from different athletes across different sports but across different eras as well.
Having said that, here’s our list of the top ten greatest female athletes of all time.
10. Danica Patrick. 
Regarded as pioneer for the women in this sport. American race driver Danica Patrick is the most successful woman in the history of Indy Car racing. Her win in the 2008 Indy Japan 300 is the only women’s victory in an Indy Car Series race. Danica’s third place in the 2009 Indianapolis 500 is the highest finish there ever by a woman. She is also one of only two women to ever complete both the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500. Danica Patrick was voted Rookie of the Year in 2005 for her inaugural Indy Car Series season.
9. Larissa Latynina
The former Soviet gymnast’s record haul of 18 Olympic medals put her far above the reach of any other gymnast. She is no doubt one of the greatest female athletes of all time. Among 18 of the all medals she won 9 are gold medal. Aged just 21, Latynina made her Olympic debut at the 1956 Melbourne Games. For 48 years Larissa Latynina has been untouchable, Until Michael Phelps broke her record in London. She was the only athlete in any sport to have won eighteen Olympic medals. She is one of only four athletes to have won nine gold medals in the Olympics.
8. Nadia Comaneci
Legendary Romanian gymnast Nadia Comăneci is next in the list. She is the first female athlete to score the perfect 10. Nadia was very dominant female athlete during her era. She captured five Olympics gold medals in her career. She won three gold medals in 1976 summer Olympics. Her five Olympic gold medals came in balance beam (twice), uneven bars, floor exercise and all-around, showcasing her versatility. In 2000, the Laureus World Sports Academy named her one of the Athletes of the Century.
7. Bonnie Blair
American speed skater Bonnie Blair competed in four Olympics winning six medals, five of which were gold. She is one of the top female skaters of all time as well as one of the most decorated female athletes in Olympic history. Blazing fast on the ice, Blair set the 500 meter speed skating world record at 39.10 seconds. Bonnie became first ever women to break the 39 seconds barrier. She set the world record of 38.99 seconds.
6. Lisa Leslie
Clocking in at six feet, five inches, Lisa Leslie was the most dominant player in the Women’s National Basketball Association for years. A three-time league MVP. Lisa Leslie is also four-time Olympic gold medal winner in 1996, 2001, 2004 and 2008. She was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015. In 2011, Lisa Leslie was voted in by fans as one of the Top 15 players in WNBA history.
5. Lottie Dod
At age 15, she became the youngest woman ever to win the Wimbledon Ladies’ Singles Championship. She went on to win it 4 more times. In addition to tennis, Dod competed in many other sports, including golf, field hockey, and archery. She played field hockey for England national two years after taking up the sport. Not only had that she also won the British Ladies’ Amateur golf tournament in 1904. Won the silver medal in archery at the 1908 Olympics in London. Lottie Dod is on 5th place in our top ten greatest female athletes of all time. The Guinness Book of Records has named her as the most versatile female athlete of all time.
see also :Top Olympics Gold Medal Winners of all Time
4. Serena Williams
Serena emerged as arguably the top women’s tennis player in history. Showcasing both devastating power and remarkable longevity, Sarena became the oldest player to achieve the No. 1 ranking in Women’s Tennis Association history. She has since achieved this ranking six times. With 68 career titles, Williams holds more major singles, doubles, and mixed doubles titles combined than any other active player, male or female. With 21 Grand Slam titles, she is also the only tennis player of either gender to have ever won singles titles at least six times in three of the four Grand Slam tournaments.
3. Mia Hamm
Next in the list of greatest female athletes of all time is USA women soccer legend Mia Hamm. Without any doubt Mia is responsible in large part for the surge in popularity women’s soccer experienced in America in the 1990’s. She led Team USA to its historic win at the 1999 Women’s World Cup and was named the Women’s FIFA World Player of the Year the first two years the award was given. Hamm spent 17 seasons with the United States Women’s National Team, joining the team at age 15. She netted 159 goals and assisted 144 for her national side, which is also a record.
2. Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Arguably the greatest female track star of all time, Joyner-Kersee was a dominant force in the long jump and heptathlon, medaling at four different Olympics. Jackie Joyner-Kersee is often referred to as the First Lady of American athletics. She competed in four Olympic Games for the United States from 1984 to 1996, earning medals in both the women’s heptathlon and the women’s long jump. When all was said and done, Joyner-Kersee earned an astounding three gold, one silver, and two bronze medals.
1. Babe Didrikson Zaharias
Mildred Babe Didrikson Zaharias was one of the most versatile female athletes the sports world has ever known. At the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, she won gold in both the 80-meter hurdles and javelin throw, as well as took silver in the high jump. She won the British Ladies’ Amateur golf tournament. She was the first (and still the only) woman in history to make the cut in a regular PGA Tour event. She achieved All-American status in basketball. Six times from 1932-1954, Zaharias was named the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year.
