Golf, tennis, football and basketball are 4 of the toughest sports just becuase of the sheer competition.

Everyone is awarded the silly Halberg award for one off performances. ie Hamish Carter won the Olympic Gold, yet Bevan had a better overall season. However the OG is the pinnacle for Triathletes.

I dont actually rate the Halberg awards anyway, they are a ceremonious joke, with decisions often terrible – best example was when the All Whites did not receive one, despite making the World Cup, a feat only dreamt about by NZ footballers. From that point, its credibility was irrepairably damaged in my eyes.

Sure, Campbell’s consistency doesn’t matter in the context of sporting feats, but it wrong for him to be awarded Sportsman of the Year for a one-off performance.

Big Bruv I echo your points about Rugby one-eyeness. However, Rufer has never completed any remarkable sporting feat.
However, the All Whites did in 82 and if you look at my above post, you will see they are in my top 5.

Saying Rufer (recognised as Oceania’s greatest footballer) is in the top ten is like saying Hadlee and one of our many good rugby players should be too. If you want to do a best ten sportpersons list then by all means, but you are off topic here.

It annoys me that people forget Hulme so readily. For a New Zealander to do what he did today would almost certainly assure them of A-grade celebrity status, and his acheivement is even more impressive as he was a number two driver in what was far from the quickest car on the grid. He almost won it again the year after, as well.

Let’s have some credit where credit is due.

To clarify my comments I have to say that I also would consider myself to be a bit of a rugby nut (well I was until this year anyway) however that does not stop me from appreciating the amazing levels of success and achievement attained by Wynton Rufer.

Rufer played in the European leagues at a time when it was almost unthinkable for somebody from this part of the world to do so, not only did he participate in throe leagues he was consistently one of the star performers, sadly his achievements go almost unnoticed by the average kiwi sports fan.

Make no mistake Rufer is a much bigger sporting name in Europe than any you may care to mention, given that football is the worlds number one game I would suggest he is without doubt our most famous and highest achieving sportsman.

Charles also was one of the top 2 or 3 money earners for the firsat 3 or 4 years of the Seniors Tours so he certainly meets the longevity criteria.

Right of Centre – I am not a motor racing fan of any type but two people I overlooked were dirt bikers Barry Briggs and Ivan Mauger. I had Hulme in my 10 but when I think about it I wonder if McLaren is not more deserving because of the legacy he left.

But it does make him a floater.

rightofleftcentre, thanks I think though I wasn’t denigrating Dixon’s achievement.

I don’t know enough to comment, but did she break world records as well? That would clinch her inclusion. I think world records should be used as a tie-breaker when deciding between athletes. Snell was incredibly dominant in his day, as was Walker, and both set world records, though the latter was never tested against Filbert Bayi at the Olympics.

It could be that Valerie Vili will qualify as one of the greatest by the time she’s finished too.

Inevitably, choosing the greatest must take into account the worldwide profile of the sport and the amount of worldwide media exposure an event generates. Otherwise the likes of Ivan Mauger and Susan Devoy would figure more highly.

In that case, Hulme, Campbell and Charles should be on my list at the expense of Todd, the Originals and… who? Hmmm. I give up.

Your memory serves you, ah, kind of – 1967 F1 Champion was Denny Hulme, and yes, that was a greater achievement than Scott’s.

But Denny would roll over in his grave to to hear someone using his name to denigrate one of the greatest motorsports achievements by a NZer. It’s hardly a mutually exclusive acclaim.

Please excuse my sarcastic contribution above but I was sickened by the ignorance of motorsport displayed by many posters and the disparaging way such ignorami commented on a stunning sporting achievement.

So typical of the kiwi attitude to winners – can’t imagine Aussies being down on one of their winners like so many of the losers here!! Strikes to the core of our national psyche. And we wonder why we are falling so far behind……………….

In most cases, I believe longevity at the top trumps brilliant one-offs.

On a list of greatest ever sportsmen. On a list of feats, it’s individual one-off brilliance we’re looking at. Comparing a life-time of achievement with a single flawless performance is pretty much pointless.

4. Peter Snell – NZ’s athlete of the century.

Peter Heidenstrom wrote a great book a few years back (called something like New Zealand’s athlete of the century), where the author looked at all the athletic feats of New Zealanders across the decades used them to come up with the top male and female athletes from each decade and then the top male and female athlete for the century. It came down to Peter Snell vs Yvette Williams/Corlett, and Williams’ brilliance across the range won her the day (or is that the century?).

There was the long jump at Helsinki and the world record, there were also Empire golds in the Long Jump (twice), shot, and discuss and a javelin silver, as a final of the 80m hurdles! Not to mention representing the country at Basketball. She’d have been a shoe-in for a heptathlon medal (if they’d had them at the time).

How can it possibly be so if there is no oval ball involved??!!
And Dixon a great sportsman?? how can he possibly be if he’s not surrounded by beer swilling mates RA RA!!
Get real guys. True sportsmen have hairy chests and stick their nose up each others arses while fighting over a leather pill.
Anything else is just pretending!
open your minds!
Wait for the Sportsman of the Year is announced and you’ll all see I’m right!

1. Ed Hillary – the exception to the above rule.
2. Team NZ 1995-9 – Russell Coutts world’s best-ever yachtsman.
3. Tony Wilding – the Federer of his day, dominant for six years.
4. Peter Snell – NZ’s athlete of the century.
5. Bob Fitzsimmons – multiple world boxing champ, raised in Timaru.
6. Jack Lovelock – for the perfectly-executed race and world record when it mattered.
7. John Walker – for his longevity at the top and world records.
8. Jonah Lomu – 1995-99 World Cups – world’s only rugby superstar, despite kidney disease.
9. Todd – world rider of the century.
10. 1905 Original All Blacks – revolutionised the sport and changed NZ.
11. Scott Dixon – Indy 500 plus earlier series win. (10th if you don’t count Fitzsimmons as Kiwi.)

Michael Campbell, Bob Charles – brilliant one-offs, but neither among golf’s greats.

1987 All Blacks – won the World Cup at home without South Africa, who had thrashed most of them (as the Cavaliers) the year before. To be great, you have to win when it matters against all the best teams. I’d rate the 1961-69 All Blacks as better for that reason. They lost, I think, only two tests and no series in those nine years.

If you go the Christian Cullen way then how about Cardigan Bay the first pacer/trotter to win $1m in stakes.

It’s an achievement, I’d like to see him in F1 though!

Hillary
Snell
Anthony Wilding
Charles
Loader
Halberg – Olympic 5,000m and first NZ to Break 4 minute Mile
Walker
Susan Devoy
Hulme
Mark Todd

I think you have to dominate your sport at world level to rate – Charles and Halberg probably didn’t do that but they are in because of the uniqueness of their major achievements.

Buggerlugs – re Jerry Collins – I am with Henry.

This year he has been a seagull with his onging touch of thuggery still present. Every other franchise had a better No6 than him and some had more than one. Even though I am from the Hurricanes area I am not sad to see the back of him – Michael Johnson would have been better value this year and he never even got a game.