Most dominant athlete ever?

[Chrisbarnes182]

Maybe no strictly classed as an athlete but Phil "The Power" Taylor is a sportsman and a legend.

Just check out his records.

Awards and records

Taylor holds records for high scoring in darts. His three-dart average per match records are the highest in the history of the game.[146] No player has a winning head-to-head record against him. Taylor has a 79% win rate against Raymond van Barneveld, the player with the most wins against him.[147] Taylor is the first darts player to win more than £1 million in prize money.[148]

On 9 January 2007 Taylor won the 2006 PDC Player of the Year award at the inaugural PDC Awards Dinner held at the Dorchester Hotel in London's Park Lane. He was one of ten nominees for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award in 2006; the award went to Zara Phillips.[149] Taylor was voted the 2007 Fans' Player of the Year following a vote conducted on the website Planet Darts. He received the award at the annual PDC Awards Dinner in January 2008. After his fifteenth world championship victory, Taylor was made an inaugural inductee to the Stoke-on-Trent Sporting Hall of Fame on 7 January 2010.[4] Awards excluding Hall Of Fame are handed out the following January so add a year for the year received.

PDC Player of the Year: 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
PDC Fans' Player of the Year: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
Best PDC Pro Tour Player/Floor Player: 2008, 2009
PDPA Players' Player of the Year: 2007, 2008, 2009
PDC Nine Dart Club: *2007, *2008, *2009, *2010, *2011, −2011 *Gold Pin Badge(Televised)/-Silver Pin Badge(Non Televised)
BBC Sports Personality Of The Year (Runner Up): 2010
PDC Hall Of Fame: 2011
[edit]Tournament wins


This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living people that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately. (February 2012)
[edit]BDO major finals: 6 (4 titles, 2 runner-ups)
Legend
World Championship (2–0)
Winmau World Masters (1–1)
World Darts Trophy (1–1)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score[N 1] Ref.
Winner 1. 1990 World Darts Championship Eric Bristow 6–1 (s) [150]
Winner 2. 1990 Winmau World Masters Jocky Wilson [N 2] [151]
Runner-up 1. 1991 Winmau World Masters Rod Harrington [N 2] [152]
Winner 3. 1992 World Darts Championship (2) Mike Gregory 6–5 (s) [153]
Winner 4. 2006 World Darts Trophy Martin Adams 7–2 (s) [154]
Runner-up 2. 2007 World Darts Trophy Gary Anderson 3–7 (s) [155]
[edit]PDC premier event finals: 73 (67 titles, 6 runner-ups)
Legend
World Championship (13–3)
World Matchplay (13–0)
World Grand Prix (10–0)
Grand Slam (4–0)
Premier League (6–0)
Other (21–3)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score[N 1]
Runner-up 1. 1994 World Darts Championship Dennis Priestley 1–6 (s)
Winner 1. 1995 World Darts Championship Rod Harrington 6–2 (s)
Winner 2. 1995 World Matchplay Dennis Priestley 16–11 (l)
Winner 3. 1996 World Darts Championship (2) Dennis Priestley 6–4 (s)
Winner 4. 1997 World Darts Championship (3) Dennis Priestley 6–3 (s)
Winner 5. 1997 World Matchplay (2) Alan Warriner-Little 16–11 (l)
Winner 6. 1998 World Darts Championship (4) Dennis Priestley 6–0 (s)
Winner 7. 1998 World Grand Prix Rod Harrington 13–8 (l)
Winner 8. 1999 World Darts Championship (5) Peter Manley 6–2 (s)
Winner 9. 1999 World Grand Prix (2) Shayne Burgess 6–1 (s)
Winner 10. 2000 World Darts Championship (6) Dennis Priestley 7–3 (s)
Winner 11. 2000 World Matchplay (3) Alan Warriner-Little 18–12 (l)
Winner 12. 2000 World Grand Prix (3) Shayne Burgess 6–1 (s)
Winner 13. 2001 World Darts Championship (7) John Part 7–0 (s)
Winner 14. 2001 World Matchplay (4) Richie Burnett 18–10 (l)
Winner 15. 2002 World Darts Championship (8) Peter Manley 7–0 (s)
Winner 16. 2002 Las Vegas Desert Classic Ronnie Baxter 3–0 (s)
Winner 17. 2002 World Matchplay (5) John Part 18–16 (l)
Winner 18. 2002 World Grand Prix (4) John Part 7–3 (s)
Runner-up 2. 2003 World Darts Championship John Part 6–7 (s)
Winner 19. 2003 UK Open Shayne Burgess 18–8 (l)
Winner 20. 2003 World Matchplay (6) Wayne Mardle 18–12 (l)
Winner 21. 2003 World Grand Prix (5) John Part 7–2 (s)
Winner 22. 2004 World Darts Championship (9) Kevin Painter 7–6 (s)
Winner 23. 2004 Las Vegas Desert Classic (2) Wayne Mardle 6–4 (s)
Winner 24. 2004 World Matchplay (7) Mark Dudbridge 18–8 (l)
Winner 25. 2005 World Darts Championship (10) Mark Dudbridge 7–4 (s)
Winner 26. 2005 Premier League Darts Colin Lloyd 16–4 (l)
Winner 27. 2005 UK Open (2) Mark Walsh 13–7 (l)
Winner 28. 2005 Las Vegas Desert Classic (3) Wayne Mardle 6–1 (s)
Winner 29. 2005 World Grand Prix (6) Colin Lloyd 7–1 (s)
Winner 30. 2006 World Darts Championship (11) Peter Manley 7–0 (s)
Winner 31. 2006 World Series of Darts Adrian Lewis 13–5 (l)
Winner 32. 2006 Premier League Darts (2) Roland Scholten 16–6 (l)
Winner 33. 2006 World Matchplay (8) James Wade 18–11 (l)
Winner 34. 2006 World Grand Prix (7) Terry Jenkins 7–4 (s)
Runner-up 3. 2007 World Darts Championship Raymond van Barneveld 6–7 (s)
Winner 35. 2007 US Open (2) Raymond van Barneveld 4–1 (s)
Winner 36. 2007 Premier League Darts (3) Terry Jenkins 16–6 (l)
Winner 37. 2007 Grand Slam of Darts Andy Hamilton 18–11 (l)
Winner 38. 2008 US Open (3) Colin Lloyd 3–0 (s)
Winner 39. 2008 Premier League Darts (4) James Wade 16–8 (l)
Winner 40. 2008 Las Vegas Desert Classic (4) James Wade 13–7 (l)
Winner 41. 2008 World Matchplay (9) James Wade 18–9 (l)
Winner 42. 2008 World Grand Prix (8) Raymond van Barneveld 6–2 (s)
Winner 43. 2008 Championship League Darts Mervyn King 7–5 (s)
Winner 44. 2008 European Championship Adrian Lewis 11–5 (l)
Winner 45. 2008 Grand Slam of Darts (2) Terry Jenkins 18–9 (l)
Winner 46. 2009 World Darts Championship (12) Raymond van Barneveld 7–1 (s)
Winner 47. 2009 Players Championship Finals Robert Thornton 16–9 (l)
Winner 48. 2009 UK Open (3) Colin Osborne 11–6 (l)
Winner 49. 2009 Las Vegas Desert Classic (5) Raymond van Barneveld 13–11 (l)
Winner 50. 2009 World Matchplay (10) Terry Jenkins 18–4 (l)
Winner 51. 2009 World Grand Prix (9) Raymond van Barneveld 6–3 (s)
Runner-up 4. 2009 Championship League Darts Colin Osborne 4–6 (l)
Winner 52. 2009 European Championship (2) Steve Beaton 11–3 (l)
Winner 53. 2009 Grand Slam of Darts (3) Scott Waites 16–2 (l)
Winner 54. 2010 World Darts Championship (13) Simon Whitlock 7–3 (s)
Winner 55. 2010 Premier League Darts (5) James Wade 10–8 (l)
Winner 56. 2010 UK Open (4) Gary Anderson 11–5 (l)
Winner 57. 2010 US Open (4) Denis Ovens 6–2 (s)
Winner 58. 2010 World Matchplay (11) Raymond van Barneveld 18–12 (l)
Winner 59. 2010 European Championship (3) Wayne Jones 11–1 (l)
Runner-up 5. 2010 Championship League Darts James Wade 5–6 (l)
Winner 60. 2011 Players Championship Finals (2) Gary Anderson 13–12 (l)
Winner 61. 2011 World Matchplay (12) James Wade 18–8 (l)
Winner 62. 2011 European Championship (4) Adrian Lewis 11–8 (l)
Winner 63. 2011 World Grand Prix (10) Brendan Dolan 6–3 (s)
Winner 64. 2011 Championship League Darts (2) Paul Nicholson 6–1 (s)
Winner 65. 2011 Grand Slam of Darts (4) Gary Anderson 16–4 (l)
Winner 66. 2012 Premier League Darts (6) Simon Whitlock 10–7 (l)
Runner-up 6. 2012 UK Open Robert Thornton 5–11 (l)
Winner 67. 2012 World Matchplay(13) James Wade 18–15 (l)
[edit]Other wins
[156]

Antwerp Darts Trophy: 2008
Antwerp Open: 1997, 1998
Battle of the Champions: 1997
Berlin Open: 1993
Bobby Bourn Memorial: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
British Pentathlon: 1990, 1991
Canadian Open: 1988
Center Parcs Masters: 1996
Champion Vs Champion: 1999, 2004
Championship of Darts: 2008, 2011
China Telecom Cup: 2004
Dartgala Hengelo: 2005, 2005, 2005
Denmark Open: 1990
Eastbourne Pro: 2002
Finnish Open: 1990
German Darts Championship: 2007, 2009
Gleneagle Irish Masters: 2009
Hemeco Open Rosmalen: 2009, 2011
Ireland Open Autumn Classic: 2004, 2005
Isle Of Man Open: 1990
Jersey Festival Of Darts: 1990, 1999
Jocky Wilson Cup: 2009
Killarney Pro Tour: 2009
London Masters: 2008
Masters Of Darts: 2005
MDA Face Off: 2010
Montreal Open: 2001, 2002
Munich Open: 2006
News of the World Tournament: 1997
North American Cup: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
North American Open: 1990, 1991
Open Lunteren: 2011
PDC UK Masters: 1994
PDC UK Matchplay: 1996
PDC World Cup of Darts: 2012
PDC World Pairs: 1996
Pontins British Masters: 1990
RTL7 Masters: 2011
South African Masters: 2007, 2008, 2009
WDF Europe Cup: 1990, 1992
WDF Europe Cup Pairs: 1990
World Cricket Championship: 2010
[edit]European Tour Events
German Darts Championship: 2012
[edit]Players championships
Players Championships (Austria): 2010
Players Championships (Bristol): 2008
Players Championships (Derby): 2010, 2010
Players Championships (Eindhoven): 2008, 2008
Players Championships (Germany): 2008, 2008, 2009, 2009
Players Championships (Gibraltar): 2009, 2009
Players Championships (Netherlands): 2005, 2005, 2007, 2007
Players Championships (Ireland): 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011
Players Championships (Las Vegas): 2008
Players Championships (English Midlands): 2008
Players Championships (Nuland): 2009, 2009
Players Championships (Reading): 2012
Players Championships (Southern England): 2008, 2009
Players Championships (Wales): 2005, 2006
Players Championships (Wigan): 2010, 2011, 2011
[edit]UK Open Regionals
UK Open Regional (Ireland): 2002, 2004
UK Open Regional (English Midlands): 2008, 2009
UK Open Regional (North West England): 2008
UK Open Regional (South West England): 2009
UK Open Regional (Southern England): 2003, 2007, 2009
UK Open Regional (Wales): 2002, 2004, 2006
UK Open Qualifier: 2010, 2010, 2011, 2011, 2012, 2012

 

[Hound55]

I'll pay it... Darts is more of a sport to me than 10m air rifle or dressage and they're both in the Olympics...

 

[BAH HUMBBUG!]

I'll pay it... Darts is more of a sport to me than 10m air rifle or dressage and they're both in the Olympics...

But would you consider a dart thrower an athlete? Or an air rife-ist, or dressage player?

 

[charl_huntress]

Because it is the Olypmics, I'm going to say:

Ludmilla Tourischeva and Elena Shushunova....best gymnasts ever.

 

[rozidays]

AUTO RACING - Richard Petty

BASEBALL - Babe Ruth

BASKETBALL - Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan

Boxing - Sugar Ray Robinson

CYCLING - Lance Armstrong

FOOTBALL - Jerry Rice

GOLF - Tiger Woods

HOCKEY - Wayne Gretzky

SOCCER - Diego Maradona and Pele

SWIMMING - Michael Phelps

**Are you into spamming and banning....I bet you are...the spam link you have been putting into all your posts has been removed....you may also note that you are banned....oh noes.....**

 

[Chrisbarnes182]

AUTO RACING - Richard Petty

BASEBALL - Babe Ruth

BASKETBALL - Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan

Boxing - Sugar Ray Robinson

CYCLING - Lance Armstrong

FOOTBALL - Jerry Rice

GOLF - Tiger Woods

HOCKEY - Wayne Gretzky

SOCCER - Diego Maradona and Pele

SWIMMING - Michael Phelps

**Are you into spamming and banning....I bet you are...the spam link you have been putting into all your posts has been removed....you may also note that you are banned....oh noes.....**

You will probably have to change maradona and pele to messi very soon

 

[Sakuraba]

Anyone saying Richard Petty is the most dominant force in auto racing has blinders on. The most dominant force in NASCAR, yes, but beating Cale Yarborough in a bunch races around a Wal*Mart parking lot doesn't really compare to someone like Michael Schumacher or Alain Prost who raced at the highest level and won assloads of grand prixs and multiple world championships.

 

[BAH HUMBBUG!]

Senna then?

 

[Hound55]

I'd say Senna over both Prost and Schumacher.

 

[Sakuraba]

They're all three fantastic, certainly superior to Richard Petty lol, but in something subjective as this, it helps to look at the stone cold statistics. Schumacher's numbers are ridiculous.

 

[Hound55]

So were Senna's.

There was a time when you just couldn't imagine anyone else winning a damn race, let alone the year's circuit.

 

[Sakuraba]

How much of Senna's enduring legacy is due to his charisma and martyrdom? Wasn't Schu beating him regularly in a crap car before his death?

I'm not that big an F1 head so I'm not going to make any point by point arguments. I just wanted to come in and point out Richard Petty not being the king of auto racing as a whole.

 

[Hound55]

The guy finished third in '87 driving a f***ing Lotus. Even greater than that he won pole and his second race ever back in '85 in a f***ing Lotus. I think he won something like 15 or so pole positions driving in those ****** Lotuses and then took the role of number one driver at McLaren from Prost (who was then seen as a God) in his first year.

Bennetton provided (and still provides) a considerably better car than Lotus ever did.

When Schumacher started to emerge McLaren had been on a downward slide (which is why Senna left to Williams... only to find himself on a team with a quality engine but inferior car because they were still in the extremely early stages of tinkering with power steering - the probable reason as to why he never finished a race with them) with their engine deal falling out with Honda. That in itself pretty much took McLaren out of the running for years and set Schumacher up for half a decade of virtually unopposed racing to establish himself.

Schumacher was great, and even beat out times that Senna himself put up, but he was driving significantly better cars and wasn't feuding with his teammates at the time.

I mean when Senna first got to McLaren he was beating Prost in the number 2 car.

As for charisma, I thought he was a c***. He was just ridiculously good whilst being a c***. Like Michael Jordan.

 

[Hound55]

I will say though, he was one of the few people in sport who I actually loved for being a c***. But I wouldn't buy into it being charisma or martyrdom pushing him to being overrated.

From the very second he took Prost's number 1 car at McLaren there was only one person who would affect auto-racing and that was Ayrton Senna. That to me is dominance, the argument over who was better between him and Schumacher might be a different kettle of fish, but the only person who could beat Senna when he was in that McLaren MP4/6 was Senna himself. Either from pushing too hard or rushes of blood to the head. He put up times with that car which were pretty much unthinkable.

 

[jaqua99]

typical non NASCAR fans taking away from the talent it takes to drive those, and chalk up "driving in circles" to nothing. There is a reason why some great f1 drivers, and indy drivers make the move, and fail miserably. Tony Stewart is the ONLY driver I can think of who has made a successful career out of NASCAR, after leaving the "higher level" indy cars. I just LOL at those people, because I am tired of explaining it to all of them. I find it more enjoyable to laugh at their ignorance, and idiocy, because they are wrong, and its all there.

But most dominant athlete.

Usain Bolt. Broke Michael Johnson's 200m world record of 19.32. Second fastest time, at the time was 19.62. That record was thought to stand the test of time. Bolt runs a 19.30. In the same olympics, 100m final, bolt is the last one out of the blocks, and shuts down, and breaks his ALREADY world record of 9.72, lowering it to 9.69. Probably the most dominant 100m final in Olympic history.

Following year in world championships, he lowered is 200m record to 19.19, and his 100m to 9.58. Since establishing himself as the dominant athlete, he's lost proabably about 4 races. Each loss due to an injury, or a horrible horrible start, etc. (though he still usually wins, even when not in peak condition)

Usain Bolt, when healthy, is unbeatable. And almost everyone knows it.

His dominance to me is HUGE

 

[Hound55]

What great F1 drivers have gone to NASCAR..?

I'd hardly call Kimi Raikkonen "great".

There's F1 guys tinkering with going to NASCAR because it's an older man's game, driving around and around in virtually mechanical circles, competing with specialists who have done that since they were able to drive a car... Most F1 guys are viewing it as a way to extend their paycheck a few more years since their shelflife is shorter, since once their reflexes start to slow, they're done.

NASCAR drivers wouldn't have a hope in hell of competing in an F1 car, and because of the specialised nature of NASCAR its unlikely you'd find an F1 driver who could step in and reign the roost of NASCAR either. That's the facts, Jack.

 

[The Caped Knight]

1 - Basketball - Michael Jordan
2. Hockey - Wayne Gretzky
3. Swimming - Michael Phelps

 

[BAH HUMBBUG!]

typical non NASCAR fans taking away from the talent it takes to drive those, and chalk up "driving in circles" to nothing. There is a reason why some great f1 drivers, and indy drivers make the move, and fail miserably. Tony Stewart is the ONLY driver I can think of who has made a successful career out of NASCAR, after leaving the "higher level" indy cars. I just LOL at those people, because I am tired of explaining it to all of them. I find it more enjoyable to laugh at their ignorance, and idiocy, because they are wrong, and its all there.

But most dominant athlete.

Usain Bolt. Broke Michael Johnson's 200m world record of 19.32. Second fastest time, at the time was 19.62. That record was thought to stand the test of time. Bolt runs a 19.30. In the same olympics, 100m final, bolt is the last one out of the blocks, and shuts down, and breaks his ALREADY world record of 9.72, lowering it to 9.69. Probably the most dominant 100m final in Olympic history.

Following year in world championships, he lowered is 200m record to 19.19, and his 100m to 9.58. Since establishing himself as the dominant athlete, he's lost proabably about 4 races. Each loss due to an injury, or a horrible horrible start, etc. (though he still usually wins, even when not in peak condition)

Usain Bolt, when healthy, is unbeatable. And almost everyone knows it.

His dominance to me is HUGE

This is also assuming he, and, michael Johnson were/are clean athletes. And compared to what michael phelps has done, bolt isn't nearly as dominant.

 

[Chrisbarnes182]

Tony Hawk

 

[jaqua99]

What great F1 drivers have gone to NASCAR..?

I'd hardly call Kimi Raikkonen "great".

There's F1 guys tinkering with going to NASCAR because it's an older man's game, driving around and around in virtually mechanical circles, competing with specialists who have done that since they were able to drive a car... Most F1 guys are viewing it as a way to extend their paycheck a few more years since their shelflife is shorter, since once their reflexes start to slow, they're done.

NASCAR drivers wouldn't have a hope in hell of competing in an F1 car, and because of the specialised nature of NASCAR its unlikely you'd find an F1 driver who could step in and reign the roost of NASCAR either. That's the facts, Jack.

NASCAR is the most competitive form of auto racing. and f1 cars being easier to drive...

and like I said, I am not going to argue this and explain. so..

LOL guy

 

[BAH HUMBBUG!]

Just to throw a little more gasoline on the fire, when the hell did F1 drivers, or NASCAR drivers become athletes?

 

[Doc Samson]

Usain Bolt. Broke Michael Johnson's 200m world record of 19.32. Second fastest time, at the time was 19.62. That record was thought to stand the test of time. Bolt runs a 19.30. In the same olympics, 100m final, bolt is the last one out of the blocks, and shuts down, and breaks his ALREADY world record of 9.72, lowering it to 9.69. Probably the most dominant 100m final in Olympic history.

Following year in world championships, he lowered is 200m record to 19.19, and his 100m to 9.58. Since establishing himself as the dominant athlete, he's lost proabably about 4 races. Each loss due to an injury, or a horrible horrible start, etc. (though he still usually wins, even when not in peak condition)

Usain Bolt, when healthy, is unbeatable. And almost everyone knows it.

His dominance to me is HUGE

I'll just say this. And it might be impractical due to his length in comparison to his opponents. But if he could ever get good starts, consistently, which he almost never does, I feel he could run sub-9.5 in the 100. Easily.

Just like you pointed out it seems to take him a good while to get to top gear, but once there, its game over. It was true in the last Olympics, true last night (compounded by the false start) and TBH, the only time I've really seen him get off "somewhat" clean was the '09 WC. If he can find a way to correct that, with his length and the long, powerful stride he has, he would be virtually unbeatable for sure.

 

[Hound55]

NASCAR is the most competitive form of auto-racing in the world because there are strict regulations on the cars to ensure parity, F1 money rules the roost and teams are seldom on equal technological ground.

That doesn't make the drivers in one form of auto-racing better or worse than drivers in the other.

None of what I said before was untrue. F1 drivers are tinkering with going to NASCAR to stretch out their paycheck, since their sport has a far shorter lifespan whilst drivers in NASCAR can compete still in their 50s.

If Michael Schumacher started up in NASCAR do I think he'd do well? No. Because he'd be competing against guys who've been driving in circles in modified-stock cars in NASCAR for years, he'd be at a handicap. Do I think that Jimmie Johnson would be able to compete in F1, again no.

Two different worlds.

This isn't me treating NASCAR with disrespect or contempt, its a valid form in its own right (although I much prefer the supercars and F1 as a spectacle). I'm just saying apples with apples, oranges with oranges. If there's a form of auto-racing I do treat with contempt its indy... because if the drivers were really any damn good they'd be in F1.

But it is nice to see that someone can just throw down an "I'm not going to argue this or explain myself" disclaimer and it somehow being a valid excuse to not have to back up ones points. If only the world worked that way...

 

[Gothams Reckoning]

1 - Basketball - Michael Jordan
2. Hockey - Wayne Gretzky
3. Swimming - Michael Phelps

I can't believe Michael Phelps is retiring at his age. He could take his world record of medals to a whole new level if he just went one more time

 

[TheOnlyOmega]

Just to throw a little more gasoline on the fire, when the hell did F1 drivers, or NASCAR drivers become athletes?

Have you ever driven one? It is very physically taxing, and I honestly don't see how NASCAR drivers do it.