Greatest Female Athletes of All Time

American·Gymnastics

Simone Biles

American artistic gymnast widely considered the greatest of all time with 7 Olympic golds and 25 World Championship medals including 19 gold

7 Olympic golds · 23 world titles

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2

FG

American·Athletics

Florence Griffith-Joyner

Flo-Jo — the fastest woman in history whose world records of 10.49s (100m) and 21.34s (200m) have stood for over 35 years.

3 Olympic golds · 1 world titles

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3

AF

American·Athletics

Allyson Felix

American sprinter who became the most decorated woman in Olympic track and field history with 11 Olympic medals, specializing in 200m and 40

7 Olympic golds · 13 world titles

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4

LL

Soviet·Gymnastics

Larisa Latynina

Soviet gymnast who dominated the sport in 1950s-60s, holding record for most Olympic medals (18) until Michael Phelps surpassed her in 2012.

9 Olympic golds · 18 Olympic medals

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5

RR

American·MMA

Ronda Rousey

American mixed martial artist and judoka who revolutionized women's MMA as the first female UFC champion and Olympic bronze medalist in judo

UFC Bantamweight Champion

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6

LV

American·Winter Sports

Lindsey Vonn

82 World Cup victories and four overall World Cup titles — Lindsey Vonn is the most successful female ski racer in history.

1 Olympic golds · 82 World Cup wins

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7

MS

American·Winter Sports

Mikaela Shiffrin

The most successful alpine skier in history — over 90 World Cup victories and multiple Olympic gold medals redefine what is possible in the

2 Olympic golds · 90 World Cup wins

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8

VW

American·Tennis

Venus Williams

Seven-time Grand Slam singles champion and pioneer of power tennis in the women's game. Won five Wimbledon titles and was the first Black wo

7 Grand Slams · 11 weeks at No.1

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9

MO

Jamaican·Athletics

Merlene Ottey

Jamaican-Slovenian sprinter who competed in seven Olympic Games and won nine Olympic medals, making her one of athletics' most decorated ath

7 world titles

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10

TD

Ethiopian·Athletics

Tirunesh Dibaba

Ethiopian long-distance runner, three-time Olympic champion and multiple world record holder in 5000m and 10000m events on track and cross c

3 Olympic golds · 7 world titles

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11

KE

German·Swimming

Kornelia Ender

East German swimmer who dominated women's swimming in the 1970s, winning 4 Olympic golds at Montreal 1976 and setting 23 world records durin

4 Olympic golds · 5 Olympic medals

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12

BB

American·Winter Sports

Bonnie Blair

America's most decorated female Winter Olympian — five Olympic gold medals across three Games and the first American woman to win the same e

5 Olympic golds

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13

SA

American·Basketball

Seimone Augustus

American basketball player who became one of the WNBA's greatest scorers, winning four championships with Minnesota Lynx and Olympic gold wi

4× champion

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14

JK

Croatian·Winter Sports

Janica Kostelić

Croatian alpine skier who became the most successful female skier in World Cup history and Croatia's first Olympic gold medallist with four

4 Olympic golds

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15

DM

American·Swimming

Debbie Meyer

American swimmer who dominated distance freestyle events in the late 1960s, becoming the first swimmer to win three individual Olympic gold

3 Olympic golds · 3 Olympic medals

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16

MM

American·Volleyball

Misty May-Treanor

American beach volleyball player widely regarded as one of the greatest of all time, winning three consecutive Olympic gold medals with part

3 Olympic golds

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17

IŚ

Polish·Tennis

Iga Świątek

Poland's world No. 1 and four-time French Open champion — the dominant women's player of the 2020s.

5 Grand Slams · 220 weeks at No.1

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18

CC

Australian·Swimming

Cate Campbell

Australian sprint freestyle swimmer and former world record holder in 100m freestyle, two-time Olympic gold medallist in 4x100m freestyle re

2 Olympic golds · 4 Olympic medals

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19

PO

Canadian·Swimming

Penny Oleksiak

Canadian swimmer who became the youngest Olympic champion in Canadian history and holds the record as Canada's most decorated Olympian with

1 Olympic golds · 8 Olympic medals

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20

SM

American·Swimming

Simone Manuel

American competitive swimmer and Olympic champion, first African American woman to win individual Olympic swimming gold in 100m freestyle at

2 Olympic golds · 4 Olympic medals

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21

CM

Spanish·Badminton

Carolina Marín

Spanish badminton player and three-time World Champion who became the first European woman to win Olympic gold in badminton singles at Rio 2

1 Olympic golds · 3 world titles

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22

SM

American·Athletics

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone

American track and field athlete who holds the world record in 400m hurdles and is a two-time Olympic champion in the event with a personal

2 Olympic golds

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23

CP

American·Basketball

Cappie Pondexter

American professional basketball player who won two WNBA championships and an Olympic gold medal, known for her scoring ability and clutch p

2× champion

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24

SF

American·Basketball

Sylvia Fowles

American basketball center who became the WNBA's all-time rebounding leader and won two Olympic gold medals, two WNBA championships, and lea

2× champion

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25

CK

American·Winter Sports

Chloe Kim

American snowboarder and two-time Olympic halfpipe champion, youngest woman to win Olympic snowboarding gold at age 17, dominant force in wo

2 Olympic golds

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26

MI

Japanese·Table Tennis

Mima Ito

Japanese table tennis player who became Olympic champion and youngest ITTF World Tour winner, reaching world No. 2 ranking with aggressive a

1 Olympic golds

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27

TC

American·Basketball

Tina Charles

American professional basketball player and center, one of the WNBA's most dominant players and two-time Olympic gold medalist with Team USA

1× champion

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28

SA

Japanese·Winter Sports

Shizuka Arakawa

Japanese figure skater who became the first Asian woman to win Olympic singles gold, claiming victory at the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics with

1 Olympic golds

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29

KM

Canadian·Swimming

Kylie Masse

Canadian backstroke swimmer, world record holder and multiple World Championship gold medalist, specializing in 50m and 100m backstroke even

1 Olympic medals

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30

DF

Mexican·American Football

Diana Flores

Mexican flag football quarterback who led Mexico to the 2022 IFAF Women's Flag Football World Championship and performed at Super Bowl LVII

IFAF Women's Flag Football World Champion

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31

JM

American·American Football

Jessica Mendoza

American softball player and broadcaster who won Olympic gold in 2004 and became the first woman to broadcast Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN.

Olympic Gold 2004

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32

OJ

American·American Football

Odessa Jenkins

American flag football player and administrator who founded the USA Flag Touch Football League and won multiple world championships.

Women's Football Alliance Champion

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33

LL

Italian·Formula 1

Lella Lombardi

Italian Formula 1 racing driver who became the first and only woman to score World Championship points, achieving this historic feat at the

Only woman to score F1 World Championship points (Austrian GP 1975)

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34

MT

Italian·Formula 1

Maria Teresa de Filippis

Italian Formula 1 racing driver who became the first woman to compete in F1 World Championship races, breaking significant gender barriers i

First woman to start an F1 World Championship race (1958)

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35

TW

Australian·Surfing

Tyler Wright

Australian professional surfer and two-time WSL World Champion, known for her powerful surfing style and advocacy for mental health awarenes

WSL World Champion 2017, 2022

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36

ED

American·Basketball

Elena Delle Donne

American professional basketball player widely regarded as one of the greatest WNBA players, known for her exceptional shooting and versatil

1× champion

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37

VS

Kyrgyzstani·MMA

Valentina Shevchenko

Kyrgyzstani-Peruvian mixed martial artist and former UFC Women's Flyweight Champion, widely regarded as one of the greatest female fighters

23-4

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38

KL

British·Formula 1

Katherine Legge

British racing driver who became the first woman to lead a Champ Car race and competed across Formula 1, IndyCar, Le Mans and DTM championsh

First woman to lead a Champ Car race

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39

SD

Swiss·Formula 1

Simona de Silvestro

Swiss racing driver known as 'Iron Maiden' for her fearless driving style in IndyCar, Formula 1 test driver, and Formula E pioneer competito

Sauber F1 Development Driver

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40

TC

Colombian·Formula 1

Tatiana Calderón

Colombian Formula 1 test driver and motorsport pioneer, first woman to drive F1 car in official session in 22 years and trailblazer for wome

Alfa Romeo F1 Test Driver

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41

TW

Brazilian·Surfing

Tatiana Weston-Webb

Brazilian professional surfer who won Olympic silver medal in 2020 and competes regularly on the WSL Championship Tour with multiple event v

Olympic Silver 2020 (Surfing)

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42

ES

Romanian·Table Tennis

Elizabeta Samara

Romanian table tennis player who reached world No. 4 ranking and won multiple European Championship medals including singles silver and doub

European Championship medallist multiple times

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43

LJ

Austrian·Table Tennis

Liu Jia

Austrian table tennis player of Chinese origin, multiple European Champion and four-time Olympian representing Austria from 2000-2016.

European Champion multiple times

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