The Most Famous

ATHLETES from United States

This page contains a list of the greatest American Athletes. The pantheon dataset contains 6,025 Athletes, 645 of which were born in United States. This makes United States the birth place of the most number of Athletes.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary American Athletes of all time. This list of famous American Athletes is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of American Athletes.

1. Jesse Owens (1913 - 1980)

With an HPI of 70.20, Jesse Owens is the most famous American Athlete. His biography has been translated into 83 different languages on wikipedia.

James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens (September 12, 1913 – March 31, 1980) was an American track and field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games. Owens specialized in the sprints and the long jump and was recognized in his lifetime as "perhaps the greatest and most famous athlete in track and field history". He set three world records and tied another, all in less than an hour, at the 1935 Big Ten track meet in Ann Arbor, Michigan, a feat that has never been equaled and has been called "the greatest 45 minutes ever in sport". He achieved international fame at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, by winning four gold medals: 100 meters, long jump, 200 meters, and 4 × 100-meter relay. He was the most successful athlete at the Games and, as a black American man, was credited by ESPN with "single-handedly crushing Hitler's myth of Aryan supremacy". The Jesse Owens Award is USA Track & Field's highest accolade for the year's best track and field athlete. Owens was ranked by ESPN as the sixth-greatest North American athlete of the 20th century and the highest-ranked in his sport. In 1999, he was on the six-man short-list for the BBC's Sports Personality of the Century.

2. Bob Beamon (b. 1946)

With an HPI of 66.31, Bob Beamon is the 2nd most famous American Athlete. His biography has been translated into 50 different languages.

Robert Beamon (born August 29, 1946) is an American former track and field athlete, best known for his world record in the long jump at the Mexico City Olympics in 1968. By jumping 8.90 m (29 ft 2+1⁄4 in), he broke the existing record by a margin of 55 cm (21+3⁄4 in) and his world record stood for almost 23 years until it was broken in 1991 by Mike Powell. The jump is still the Olympic record and the second-longest in history unassisted by wind.

3. Carl Lewis (b. 1961)

With an HPI of 65.32, Carl Lewis is the 3rd most famous American Athlete. His biography has been translated into 72 different languages.

Frederick Carlton Lewis (born July 1, 1961) is an American former track and field athlete who won nine Olympic gold medals, one Olympic silver medal, and 10 World Championships medals, including eight gold. Lewis was a dominant sprinter and long jumper whose career spanned from 1979 to 1996, when he last won the Olympic long jump. He is one of six athletes to win gold in the same individual event in four consecutive Olympic Games, and is one of two people to win gold in the same individual athletics event in four Olympic Games, along with USA discus thrower Al Oerter. He is the head track and field coach for the University of Houston. Lewis topped the world rankings in the 100 m, 200 m and long jump events frequently from 1981 to the early 1990s. He set world records in the 100 m, 4 × 100 m and 4 × 200 m relays, while his world record in the indoor long jump has stood since 1984. His 65 consecutive victories in the long jump over a span of ten years is one of the sport's longest undefeated streaks. Lewis broke 10 seconds for the 100 meters fifteen times and 20 seconds for the 200 meters ten times. He also long jumped over 8.53 metres (28 ft) 71 times. His accomplishments have led to numerous accolades, including being voted "World Athlete of the Century" by the International Association of Athletics Federations, "Sportsman of the Century" by the International Olympic Committee, "Olympian of the Century" by Sports Illustrated and "Athlete of the Year" by Track & Field News in 1982, 1983, and 1984. After retiring from athletics, Lewis became an actor and has appeared in a number of films. In 2011, he attempted to run for a seat as a Democrat in the New Jersey Senate, but was removed from the ballot due to the state's residency requirement. Lewis owns a marketing and branding company named C.L.E.G., which markets and brands products and services including his own.

4. Dick Fosbury (1947 - 2023)

With an HPI of 63.81, Dick Fosbury is the 4th most famous American Athlete. His biography has been translated into 41 different languages.

Richard Douglas Fosbury (March 6, 1947 – March 12, 2023) was an American high jumper, who is considered one of the most influential athletes in the history of track and field. He won a gold medal at the 1968 Summer Olympics, revolutionizing the high jump event with a "back-first" technique now known as the Fosbury flop. His method was to sprint diagonally towards the bar, then curve and leap backward over the bar, which gave him a much lower center of mass in flight than traditional techniques. Debbie Brill was developing her similar "Brill Bend" around the same time. This approach has seen nearly universal adoption since Fosbury's performance in Mexico. Though he never returned to the Olympics, Fosbury continued to be involved in athletics after retirement and served on the executive board of the World Olympians Association. In 2014, Fosbury challenged Steve Miller for a seat in the Idaho House of Representatives, but was unsuccessful. Fosbury ran for Blaine County Commissioner against incumbent Larry Schoen in 2018, won the seat, and took office in 2019.

5. Ronnie Coleman (b. 1964)

With an HPI of 63.65, Ronnie Coleman is the 5th most famous American Athlete. His biography has been translated into 38 different languages.

Ronald Dean Coleman (born May 13, 1964) is an American former professional bodybuilder, who is widely regarded as the greatest bodybuilder of all-time. Known as "The King", Coleman shares the all-time record for most Mr. Olympia titles at eight with Lee Haney. The winner of 26 IFBB professional titles including the Mr. Olympia for eight consecutive years, he is also renowned for his combination of size and conditioning, dominant body-parts and extremely heavy workouts, making him the strongest Mr. Olympia of all-time. Coleman was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame in 2016 and was bestowed with the 'Arnold Classic Lifetime Achievement Award' in 2021.

6. Ray Ewry (1873 - 1937)

With an HPI of 60.97, Ray Ewry is the 6th most famous American Athlete. His biography has been translated into 33 different languages.

Raymond Clarence Ewry (October 14, 1873 – September 29, 1937) was an American track and field athlete who won eight gold medals at the Olympic Games and two gold medals at the Intercalated Games (1906 in Athens). This puts him among the most successful Olympians of all time.

7. Thomas Burke (1875 - 1929)

With an HPI of 60.86, Thomas Burke is the 7th most famous American Athlete. His biography has been translated into 39 different languages.

Thomas Edmund Burke (January 15, 1875 – February 14, 1929) was an American sprinter. He was the first Olympic champion in the 100 and 400 meter sprint races.

8. Mike Powell (b. 1963)

With an HPI of 60.63, Mike Powell is the 8th most famous American Athlete. His biography has been translated into 39 different languages.

Michael Anthony Powell (born November 10, 1963) is an American former track and field athlete, the holder of the long jump world record, and a two-time world champion as well as two-time Olympic silver medalist in the event. His world record of 8.95 m (29 ft 4+1⁄4 in) was set on August 30, 1991.

9. Florence Griffith Joyner (1959 - 1998)

With an HPI of 60.37, Florence Griffith Joyner is the 9th most famous American Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 50 different languages.

Florence Delorez Griffith Joyner (born Florence Delorez Griffith; December 21, 1959 – September 21, 1998), also known as Flo-Jo, was an American track and field athlete and the fastest woman ever recorded. She set world records in 1988 for the 100 m and 200 m. During the late 1980s, she became a popular figure due to both her record-setting athleticism and eclectic personal style. Griffith Joyner was born and raised in California. She was athletic from a young age and began running at track meets as a child. While attending California State University, Northridge (CSUN), and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), she continued to compete in track and field. While still in college, she qualified for the 100 m 1980 Olympics but did not compete due to the U.S. boycott. She made her Olympic debut four years later, winning a silver medal in the 200 meter distance at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. At the 1988 U.S. Olympic trials, Griffith set a new world record in the 100-meter sprint. She won three gold medals at the 1988 Olympics. In February 1989, Griffith Joyner abruptly retired from athletics. She remained a pop culture figure through endorsement deals, acting, and designing. In 1998, at age 38, she died in her sleep during an epileptic seizure caused by a birth defect. Griffith Joyner is buried at the El Toro Memorial Park in Lake Forest.

10. Ellery Harding Clark (1874 - 1949)

With an HPI of 60.34, Ellery Harding Clark is the 10th most famous American Athlete. His biography has been translated into 32 different languages.

Ellery Harding Clark (March 13, 1874 – July 27, 1949) was an American track and field athlete and a writer. He was the first modern Olympic champion in high jump and long jump.

People

Pantheon has 1,369 people classified as American athletes born between 1751 and 2006. Of these 1,369, 986 (72.02%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living American athletes include Bob Beamon, Carl Lewis, and Ronnie Coleman. The most famous deceased American athletes include Jesse Owens, Dick Fosbury, and Ray Ewry. As of April 2024, 727 new American athletes have been added to Pantheon including Sherm Clark, George Horine, and Sidney Johnson.