Top 10 Greatest Women Athletes of All Time

Simone Biles owns 37 Olympic and World Championship medals, the most of any gymnast in history, with seven skills named after her by the FIG—a record no other gymnast approaches. She debuted the Yurchenko double pike, a vault once deemed too dangerous, scoring a perfect 10 in execution. Her medal count is 18% higher than the average of the top five female gymnasts combined.

Steffi Graf is the only tennis player ever to achieve the Golden Slam—four Grand Slam titles plus Olympic gold in 1988—and spent 377 weeks at world #1, more than any other player except Novak Djokovic. She won 22 Grand Slam singles titles, with a 92% win rate in Grand Slam finals. Her 1988 season remains the benchmark, outperforming #3 Serena Williams’ best single-year Grand Slam haul by two titles.

Martina Navratilova’s 167 career singles titles are the most of any professional tennis player, male or female, and she claimed 18 Grand Slam singles titles, including a record 9 Wimbledon championships. Her seven consecutive Wimbledon titles (1982-1987) and 74-match winning streak at Wimbledon set benchmarks that stand today. Her total title count is 24% higher than #1 Serena Williams’ combined singles and doubles titles.

Mia Hamm's 158 international goals remain the most iconic scoring mark in women's soccer history, a record she held for a decade before it was broken. In 1999, she led the United States to their second World Cup victory, scoring twice in the tournament and assisting the winning kick in the final against China, a match watched by 90,000 fans. Her two Olympic gold medals (1996, 2004) and consistent dominance over rivals like #7 Nadia Comaneci's individual achievements in a team sport context underscore her impact. ESPN named her the greatest female athlete of the 20th century, a title no other soccer player has claimed. She was also the first woman to appear on an EA Sports FIFA video game cover, a milestone reached in 2000 that predates similar cover spots for players like #8 Billie Jean King in tennis video games.

Florence Griffith-Joyner holds the fastest women's 100m time in history at 10.49 seconds and the 200m record of 21.34 seconds, both set in 1988 and still unbroken 37 years later—the longest-standing sprint records in track and field. At the 1988 Seoul Olympics, she won three gold medals (100m, 200m, 4x100m relay) and a silver, outperforming #5 Mia Hamm's Olympic total of two golds in a single Games. Her distinctive one-legged running suits and painted fingernails made her the most visually memorable sprinter of the 20th century, a style that influenced athletes beyond her sport. These records are 0.2 seconds faster than the average of all other top-three sprint performances since 1990, highlighting her unparalleled speed.

Nadia Comaneci became the first gymnast to score a perfect 10.0 at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, and she achieved nine such perfect scores in that single event, winning three gold medals. Her iconic routine on the uneven bars, where the scoreboard displayed 1.00 due to its inability to show 10.0, remains the defining image of Olympic gymnastics. This feat is faster than the average of all gymnastics routines from her era by 2.0 points on the difficulty scale. She outperforms #6 Florence Griffith-Joyner in terms of sustained perfect execution across multiple disciplines, as Griffith-Joyner's records are single-event focused. Comaneci's 14-year-old performance set a benchmark for technical perfection that inspired generations.

Billie Jean King's 1973 victory over Bobby Riggs in the Battle of the Sexes was watched by 90 million people worldwide, making it the most-watched tennis match in history and a pivotal moment for women's rights. She won 39 Grand Slam titles across singles, doubles, and mixed doubles, a total that is 10 more than #7 Nadia Comaneci's Olympic and World Championship medals combined. King founded the Women's Tennis Association in 1973, securing equal prize money for female players, a move that increased prize purses by 50% within three years. Her impact off the court outpaces #5 Mia Hamm's advocacy by creating the structural framework for professional women's sports.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias remains the only athlete—male or female—to win Olympic gold medals and major golf championships. She earned two golds at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics (80m hurdles and javelin) with a world-record 11.7 seconds in the hurdles, then won 10 LPGA major titles, including three U.S. Women's Opens. Her 1950 Associated Press honor as greatest female athlete of the 20th century holds up: she outperforms #10 Cathy Freeman in versatility, being the sole woman to dominate two distinct sports at elite levels. Also a professional basketball player, Zaharias captured 33 total LPGA wins—more than three times the majors of most modern rivals. Her athletic range remains unmatched in the 21st century.

Cathy Freeman became the first Aboriginal Australian to win an individual Olympic gold medal, blazing the 400m at the 2000 Sydney Games in 49.11 seconds. She also lit the Olympic flame in that same emotional ceremony, making her one of two athletes in history to both light the cauldron and win gold at the same Games. As world champion in 1999, Freeman ran faster than the average elite 400m time by 0.3 seconds, cementing her dominance. Her victory lap carrying both the Aboriginal and Australian flags symbolized Australia's reconciliation movement, a cultural impact unmatched by #9 Babe Didrikson Zaharias. Freeman's legacy endures as a trailblazer for Indigenous representation in global athletics.