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' set the still-standing 100m and 200m WRs at 1988 Olympics.

3 Olympic golds

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3

AF

American·Athletics

Allyson Felix

Most decorated female track Olympian in history.

7 Olympic golds · 14 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 · 9 world titles

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5

RR

American·MMA

Ronda Rousey

Pioneering women's MMA star who dominated the UFC bantamweight division with six consecutive title defences before retiring after back-to-ba

12-2 · 2 title reigns

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6

LV

American·Alpine Skiing

Lindsey Vonn

American alpine ski racer regarded as one of the greatest downhill skiers in history, with 84 World Cup wins.

1 Olympic golds · 2 world titles

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7

MS

American·Alpine Skiing

Mikaela Shiffrin

American alpine ski racer who holds the all-time record for World Cup race wins, male or female.

3 Olympic golds · 8 world titles

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8

VW

American·Tennis

Venus Williams

American pioneer who won 7 Grand Slam singles titles and, with sister Serena, transformed women's tennis, competing at the top level for ove

7 Grand Slams · 11 weeks at No.1

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9

MO

Jamaican·Athletics

Merlene Ottey

Most decorated female sprinter without Olympic gold (9 medals).

3 world titles

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10

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 · 3 world titles

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11

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 · 6005 career points

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12

TD

Ethiopian·Athletics

Tirunesh Dibaba

First woman to win Olympic 5000m/10000m double at same Games.

3 Olympic golds · 4 world titles

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13

SM

American·Athletics

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone

400m hurdles world record holder, back-to-back Olympic champion.

3 Olympic golds · 2 world titles

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14

IŚ

Polish·Tennis

Iga Świątek

Iga Świątek is a Polish professional tennis player who has won six Grand Slam singles titles and spent over two years as world No. 1.

6 Grand Slams · 125 weeks at No.1

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15

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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16

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 · 6811 career points

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17

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 · 6454 career points

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18

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 · 7025 career points

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19

CK

American·Snowboard

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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20

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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21

JM

American·American Football

Jessica Mendoza

Two-time Olympic softball medalist for Team USA who went on to become the first full-time female analyst on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball.

Olympic gold medal 2004

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22

VS

Kyrgyzstani/Peruvian·MMA

Valentina Shevchenko

Dominant two-time UFC Women's Flyweight Champion who reclaimed the title in September 2024 and has since retained it against Fiorot and Zhan

26-4-1 · 2 title reigns

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23

DF

Mexican·American Football

Diana Flores

Diana Flores is a celebrated Mexican flag football quarterback known for her viral highlight-reel plays and international success.

World Games gold medalist

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24

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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25

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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26

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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27

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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28

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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29

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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