Bleacher Report Top 50 Female athletes
Here is a list of the Top 50 Female athletes ever, compiled in 2011 by Kelsey Givens at the Bleacher Report. It’s quite a US-centric list, but interesting just the same.
Heptathlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee tops the list, with another track and field athlete from many years before, Babe Didrikson Zaharias, next on the list. Another track and field athlete, Florence Griffith Joyner, was also in fourth position.
There are actually 51 athletes listed, as they miscounted after listing a tie for 10th place. The same athletes are consistently at the top of such lists, as you can read about in our discussion of the World's Greatest Female Athlete Ever.
| rank | athlete | sport |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jackie Joyner-Kersee | Track & Field |
| 2 | Babe Didrikson Zaharias | Track & Field |
| 3 | Martina Navratilova | Tennis |
| 4 | Florence Griffith Joyner | Track & Field |
| 5 | Mia Hamm | Soccer |
| 6 | Annika Sorenstam | Golf |
| 7 | Bonnie Blair | Speed Skating |
| 8 | Tracy Caulkins | Swimming |
| 9 | Steffi Graf | Tennis |
| =10 | Billie Jean King | Tennis |
| =10 | Lisa Leslie | Basketball |
| 11 | Joan Benoit Samuelson | Distance Running |
| 12 | Chris Evert | Tennis |
| 13 | Cheryl Miller | Basketball |
| 14 | Sheryl Swoopes | Basketball |
| 15 | Ann Meyers | Basketball |
| 16 | Julie Krone | Horse Racing |
| 17 | Serena Williams | Tennis |
| 18 | Teresa Edwards | Basketball |
| 19 | Dara Torres | Swimming |
| 20 | Marta Vieira Da Silva | Soccer |
| 21 | Candace Parker | Basketball |
| 22 | Sonja Henie | Figure Skating |
| 23 | Nancy Lieberman-Cline | Basketball |
| 24 | Michelle Akers | Soccer |
| 25 | Peggy Fleming | Figure Skating |
| 26 | Diana Taurasi | Basketball |
| 27 | Olga Korbut | Gymnastics |
| 28 | Dorothy Hamill | Figure Skating |
| 29 | Kristine Lilly | Soccer |
| 30 | Yani Tseng | Golf |
| 31 | Nadia Comaneci | Gymnastics |
| 32 | Lisa Fernandez | Softball |
| 33 | Mary Lou Retton | Gymnastics |
| 34 | Cammi Granato | Hockey |
| 35 | Katarina Witt | Figure Skating |
| 36 | Nancy Lopez | Golf |
| 37 | Picabo Street | Skiing |
| 38 | Fabiola Da Silva | Inline Skating |
| 39 | Wilma Rudolph | Track & Field |
| 40 | Hayley Wickenheiser | Ice Hockey |
| 41 | Margaret Court | Tennis |
| 42 | Marion Jones | Track & Field |
| 43 | Anne Donovan | Basketball |
| 44 | Janet Evans | Swimmer |
| 45 | Mary Decker Slaney | Track & Field |
| 46 | Manon Rheaume | Ice Hockey |
| 47 | Hannah Teter | Snowboarding |
| 48 | Althea Gibson | Tennis |
| 49 | Dawn Fraser | Swimming |
| 50 | Mary T Meagher | Swimming |
Related Pages
- greatest female athletes of all time
- All time greatest index of sports
- women at the Olympics
Any comments, suggestions, or corrections? Please let us know.
Upcoming Events