Entertainment | 08/12/2008 1:30 pm

Ten of the Greatest Female Olympians of All Time

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Thanks for that great tribute to such wonderful dedicated women. It takes so much dedication to compete at those levels. The incredible inner and outer strength is admirable beyond belief.

By FrannieEm on 08/12/2008 2:12 pm

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These are all good but I believe that one of the greatest female athletes of all times was missed. Babe Didrikson Zaharias. She could do almost anything she put her mind to.

By SandbeeFB54 on 08/12/2008 2:47 pm

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I also thought that Babe Didrikson would be amongst the athletes.

By DianaT on 08/12/2008 3:15 pm

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Frankly, the top female should have been Babe Didrikson so you are so right, Diana. We had this woman on a pedestal that she deserved probably far more than any others as she competed and won in such a number of sports - and I think I remember she did three or more in the Los Angeles Olympics. The other factor that puts her in the very top echelon is that - in comparison to the present day - there were so few women athletes that rose to the top at the time.

By joan larsen on 08/12/2008 3:26 pm

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I think the list of the selected 10 Olympians is wonderful; however, I would add the following not because of the number of medals they received but because of their impact on their particular sport. 1) Janet Evans, another Olympian swimmer whose unique style of swimming amazed the experts and is not duplicated to this day because her style is thought to be ineffective for swimming speed. One of Janet’s 20 year records was broken this week in Beijing. 2) Peggy Flemming because of the world wide impact she made on figure skating by adding an emphasis of artistry to her routines along with the compulsory figure eights, double axle etc. 3) Olga Korbut - she changed women’s gymnastics forever by doing a back somersault over the parallel bars and by her youth. Gymnastics suddenly became a girls’ sport versus a woman’s sport. 4) Babe Didrikson - as noted by other bloggers. Kate Hepburn did a great portrayal of her and her multi-talented capabilities including golf, a non-Olympian sport. 5) Picabo Street - fearless on the downhill slopes; acquired so many injuries and spent so much time hospitalized that she has become a nurse since retiring.

By Bonnie Oliver on 08/12/2008 4:07 pm

Good job, Bonnie! I forgot about Olga Korbut, And, I was amazed that they forgot about Babe Didrikson..

By DianaT on 08/12/2008 8:58 pm

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Babe Didriksen was the greatest Olympian of all time. Why isn’t she here??????

By MugsyPeabody on 08/12/2008 4:28 pm

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It sounds like we are THE rooting section for Babe — as well it should be. Unlike the other athletes, she was entered in at least THREE different sports in the Olympics, but as there was not golf competition in the Olympics or her other championship sports that this diverse woman did that no other did, she not only should be the greatest Olympian but greatest all-around woman athlete. And I hope that she is reading this in the next world that her fame has lasted in our minds!!

By joan larsen on 08/12/2008 4:48 pm

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My husband got to see her play golf when he was young, he was a caddy at a course in Salt Lake City, he said she made shots the men didn’t even try.

By SandbeeFB54 on 08/12/2008 6:28 pm

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How memorable and exciting that had to be for your husband, Sandbee. I can even remember Babe’s weightlifting husband’s name and a lot of detail that must have been stored on the backburners for years. That WAS a great era, wasn’t it . . . in so many ways. The contrast to NOW - wow, it is extreme. Give me THEN any day!

By joan larsen on 08/12/2008 8:18 pm

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Babe Didrickson Zaharias was phenomenal in a whole host of sports, especially golf and basketball. I’d have to rate Jackie Joyner Kersee right behind her: three gold, one silver and two bronze medals.

By JamestheGame on 08/12/2008 8:29 pm

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For me it’s Nadia & Olga!!!

By HABIBI on 08/12/2008 9:02 pm

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Football has crept into the conversation thread about refrigerators, ‘Laine: The hubby? I was happy! I’m a major football fan! By Lorraine Bates on 08/13/2008 12:48 pm reply e-mail alert You’re lucky. I’ve been a Detroit Lions fan since 1969. And the Lions have won only one playoff game since then!!! It was 1991, when Wayne Fontes was the coach and the Lions advanced to the NFC title game, only to be trounced by the Redskins, who thus earned the right to go to the Super Bowl. I have a photo of Wayne Fontes hugging my late Jude (girlfriend) in April 1990 mounted on my living room wall. Your Packers were extremely successful in the 1960’s, when they were winning championships with Vince Lombardi as coach and Bart Starr as QB, and in the Brett Favre era that just ended. Now, it’s time for my Lions to stomp your Packers into the ground. But I’m sure Elaine will counter that it is her Vikings that will be doing the stomping in the NFC North this year. My mother was a big fan of the Miami Dolphins and Bob Griese back in the day. By James Gemmell on 08/13/2008 1:53 pm

By JamestheGame on 08/13/2008 2:58 pm

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Elaine, check out Ms. Sam Brown’s vocals on this link. Some of the best I’ve ever heard. Jon Lord of Deep Purple’s on piano, with the London Symphony Orchestra backing. Cheers: http://www.thehighwaystar.com/thsblog/2008/07/29/sam-brown-is-a-genius/

By JamestheGame on 08/13/2008 12:58 am

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Hi James, Sam sure does have a very beautiful voice. Her style of music is calming and laid back. I was checking out her site and it looks like she is not going to tour, something about her band canceling their tour dates. What happened?

By HABIBI on 08/13/2008 7:08 pm