I'll chip in another personal favourate of mine that will not go down too well. Martin Keown. Never let the Arsenal side down and scored two goals in the last 5 minutes against Shaktar Donesk to win 3-2.

And he proved his versitility by playing as a right winger at the end of the 2004 season

Ian Botham is awesome. He could also eat 3 shredded wheat. I remember him as a kid playing at Somerset with Sir Viv Richards. It was a slogathon.

As for the Henman backlash, i think he is typical of what we class as British hero, tries hard but never gonna be the best.

Nigel Benn
Graeme Sharp

Thomas Billington.

My sporting hero as a kid, and IMO one of the greatest British sportsmen of all time would have to be Francis Morgan Oyodélé Thompson. Yes, I did look that bit up, until I checked on Wikipedia I always thought his name was simply Daley Thompson.

Gold medals at two Olympics, a World Championships, two European Championships and three Commonwealth titles. Also broke the decathlon world record on four occasions and remained unbeaten in the decathlon for nine years.

spot on, always remember that back flip in 1984

Mike Gregory, Graeme Obree and Daley Thompson for me.

What about Daley thompsons T-shirts with slogans on ....

"is the worlds second best athlete Gay" having a pop at carl Lewis... you couldnt get away with that these days...

and anyone that whistles along to the National Anthem After being presented with an olympic Gold is a legend all the way....



from the Times
"What was going through your head when you whistled the national anthem on top of the podium in Los Angeles?
Nothing. I don't know why I did it, I just fancied a whistle. I thought they're playing my song up there and I fancy whistling along, that was about it. "

Superb.....

I don't know why people generally have to look so far back for greatness. Nobody has mentioned woods or federer. Anyway, i'm going for Usain Bolt. What he did was unbelievable.

Sporting hero is tough, there's so many that I admire or have admired at various time in my life.

Growing up, John Barnes was my idol, then Gower, then Robin Smith. I was always Robin Smith on the field. As I've got older, I've respected folk like Steve Waugh for what he was, if he didn't want to get out, he didn't get out. Jonty Rhodes was an incredible athlete and led the way for cricketers to be athletes as well. Linekar was another massive favourite of mine, I couldn't give a monkeys about his goalhanging, his movement was class and his first touch exceptional.

I could go on all day, I've so many, but Nick Faldo was special, so dedicated. Mike Tyson, not a hero but somebody who demanded respect as a raw teenager with so much aggresion, he was box office. Botham I only got the fat bloke bowling medium paces, fielding at slip. Darren Gough was somebody I idolised, tried to mimic his action. Lara, breaking the world record, losing it, getting it back. His concentration, WOW.

Really hard this.

Brian McClair and David Lyon.

Choccy, bleedin' choccy.

That's like me saying my hero was John Spencer.

Or, Cat saying his hero was, O'Neill Donaldson. Bloody choccy.

David Beckham & Ian Botham for me.

Becks is a decent call, not my idol, but somebody who I respect.

Paul Scholes and Tiger Woods are mine.