It is recommended to readers to appreciate lists like this as a product of both empirical research and sporting biases. This means that a reader’s personal favorite may not make the list.
To be considered for our list, one had to be an athlete in a non-team sport. This means the likes of very popular names such as Didier Drogba will not be here.
Our candidates do not need to have been winners, although that too helps. What is most important is that they should have been individuals who embodied a country’s dreams.
They should have been seen to have set a standard and appealed to national values as long as they were in competition. As follows is our list.
