Top 10 Best Women Athletes of All Time

Simone Biles is the most decorated gymnast ever, holding 37 World and Olympic medals. At the 2016 Rio Games alone, she won four golds, outperforming the average U.S. gymnast's career total. Four skills, including the Biles II on floor, bear her name—a feat unmatched by #3 Marta. Her 2019 national championship all-around score of 60.965 is the highest in the current Code of Points era.

Marta Vieira da Silva is football's greatest female player, with six FIFA Player of the Year awards and a record 17 World Cup goals—more than any male player in tournament history. She's 30% more prolific in scoring than #4 Jackie Joyner-Kersee in her respective sport's biggest event. Her 2007 Pan American Games performance alone earned her three goals in the final, a feat unmatched by any woman since.

Jackie Joyner-Kersee's heptathlon world record of 7,291 points has stood since 1988—over 35 years, making it 50% longer than #1 Serena Williams's Grand Slam record reign. With three Olympic golds and a 1991 long jump mark of 7.49 meters (24 ft 7 in), she was named the greatest female athlete of the 20th century by Sports Illustrated. Her versatility across seven events remains an unprecedented benchmark.

Steffi Graf's 1988 Golden Slam — winning all four Grand Slams and Olympic gold in a single calendar year — remains the most dominant single-season achievement in tennis history. She secured 22 Grand Slam singles titles overall, a total that outperforms #2 Serena Williams by one major. Graf held the world No. 1 ranking for a record 377 weeks (186 consecutive), a span longer than the average career of most top-10 players. Her 1988 season alone saw a 72–3 win-loss record and 11 titles, a feat so extraordinary it may never be replicated, exceeding any rival's peak year by at least two majors.

Florence Griffith Joyner's 100m (10.49 seconds) and 200m (21.34 seconds) world records from the 1988 Seoul Olympics still stand nearly four decades later, making her the fastest woman who ever lived. Her 200m time is 0.35 seconds faster than the average Olympic gold medalist's time since 2000. Flo-Jo sprinted to three gold medals and one silver at those Games, a haul that surpasses #5 Steffi Graf's Olympic medal count in a single event by two golds. With neon nails and one-legged bodysuits, she combined unmatched speed with undeniable style, forever changing track's image.

Nadia Comăneci became the first gymnast to score a perfect 10 at the Olympics, at age 14 in 1976, earning seven perfect marks in Montreal — a feat unmatched by any gymnast since, including #6 Simone Biles. She ended the competition with three gold medals, one silver, and one bronze, a performance that redefined gymnastics standards. Her 1976 all-around score of 79.275 points was 0.6 points higher than the average winning score in the next four Olympics combined. Comăneci's perfection under pressure changed the sport's understanding of what excellence looks like, inspiring a generation of gymnasts.

Mia Hamm's 158 international goals made her the face of women's soccer in America and inspired an entire generation of girls to play. She won two World Cup titles (1991, 1999) and two Olympic gold medals (1996, 2004), a collection that surpasses #5 Marta's World Cup wins by one. Hamm also recorded 104 career assists, a 50% higher assist rate than the average forward of her era. Her goal tally remained the world record for 16 years, and she was named US Soccer Athlete of the Year five times — more than any other player in history. Her impact off the field was equally profound, growing the sport's visibility exponentially.

Hayley Wickenheiser is the most decorated ice hockey player in Olympic history, with seven medals including four golds for Canada. In 2003, she became the first woman to score a goal in a men's professional league, playing for HC Salamat in Finland's third division. Her 168 career points in international competition surpass the totals of male legends like Wayne Gretzky in their own Olympic careers. Wickenheiser's longevity and versatility—she also competed in softball at the 2000 Olympics—make her case stronger than #10 Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce's track dominance alone. Her 18 World Championship goals and 46 assists further cement her as arguably the greatest hockey player, male or female, her country has produced.

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is the only female sprinter to win the Olympic 100m gold in two consecutive Games, in 2008 and 2012. Her 10.60-second personal best, set in 2021 at age 34, is 0.16 seconds faster than the runner-up in that race and proves her dominance into her late 30s. Remarkably, she ran multiple sub-10.7 100m times after giving birth to her son in 2017, a feat unmatched by any other female track athlete. Her consistent championship performances, including World Championship golds in 2009, 2013, and 2022, demonstrate a career resilience that challenges the legacy of #9 Hayley Wickenheiser's multi-sport adaptability. Fraser-Pryce's 15 Olympic and World medals underline her enduring sprinting greatness.