[Emvi]

MICHAEL is one such name that may well evoke a few thoughts/memories in a sports follower. In sporting arena I believe Michael is one of the most common names that a few famous sportsmen share. If not all, most of them are not only famous but they are also the legends in their respective disciplines. Here goes my list.

Michael Schumacher- Retired German Formula one racing driver and a former 7-time world champion.

Michael Doohan- Retired Australian motorcycle grandprix racer and a former 5-time world champion.

Michael Jordan- Retired American basketball player and a former multiple NBA and Olympic champion.

Michael Tyson- Retired American Heavy weight boxer and a former undisputed World Champion.

Michael Phelps- American former swimmer and a multiple world championship and Olympic gold winner.

Michael Johnson- American former sprinter and a multiple world championship and Olympic gold winner.

Michael Chang- Retired American tennis player and former world no.2, who is the youngest male player to win a grand slam tournament.

Michael Brearley- Retired English cricketer and one of the greatest ever captains in English test history.

Michael Atherton- Retired English cricketer and a former English captain with over 160 international caps to his name.

Michael Vaughan- Retired English cricketer and one of the best English captains statistically.

Michael Slater- Retired Australian cricketer and one of the best test openers for Australia.

Michael Bevan- Retired Australian cricketer, a 2-time World Cup winner and a former record holder for the highest batting average in ODIs.

Michael Clarke- Retired Australian cricketer, a victorious member of the 2007 World Cup squad and the 2015 World Cup winning captain.

Michael Hussey- Retired Australian cricketer and a victorious member of the 2007 World Cup squad, who once was ranked no.1 in ODI cricket.

Michael Holding- Retired West Indian cricketer and a member of the 1979 World Cup winning team, widely regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers in the history of cricket.

Michael Ferreira- Retired Indian billiards player and a former 3-time amateur World Champion.

Michael Ballack- German former footballer and one of the all-time leading goal scorers for Germany.

Michael Owen- English former footballer and one of the all-time top goal scorers for England.

Other notable mentions:

Michael Andrew- American competitive swimmer and a gold medalist at the 2016 world championship in 100m individual medley event and 2020 Tokyo 4x100 metre medley relay event.

Michael Kasprowicz- Australian former cricketer with over 80 International caps to his name.

Michael Di Venuto- Australian former cricketer who has also represented Italy in international cricket matches.

Michael Yardy- English former cricketer with over 40 International caps for England.

Michael Gough- English cricket umpire and a former first-class cricketer, currently one of the best umpires in cricket.

While I might have missed a few, interestingly barring Micheal Andrew, there are not many famous MICHAELs 'competing' at the top level in the world of sports currently!
BHPians, kindly pitch in.

[Emvi]

Managed to discover one more famous 'Michael' today!

Michael Mario Andretti- American former racing driver and owner of Andretti Autosport, a racing team which competes in various American racing series. He is statistically one of the most successful drivers in the history of American open-wheel car racing. Michael is son of Mario Gabriele Andretti, a racing legend.

[One]

Michael Johnson was one of the athletes we saw growing up. Alongwith Carl Lewis, he was probably the most decorated Sprinter in the world and one of the few people who did exceedingly well in the 200m coming down from his main event of 400m (typically the 200m is dominated by 100m folks). His upright running style was distinct and beat logic , one should not be able to run fast with that posture.

[Shreyans_Jain]

I’ll add the most notorious Michael of them all

Michael Masi, ex FIA race director who is infamous for is decisions at the end of the title deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix of 2021. The image of Toto Wolff holding his head in his hands and screaming “No Michael, no!” is iconic.

[SilentEngine]

I would add Michael (Mike) Gatting, former England cricketer and captain, to the list, remembered now mostly as the one who faced that

ball of the century

from Shane Warne!

Michael is such a common name, so pick any area and you will find a bunch of famous Michaels! Interesting list nonetheless!