Who is the best current British sports star?

[Tom Bombadil]

Just watching Murray's fantastic comeback in the tennis got me wondering who is the best sportsman or woman Britain has atm. I realise it's a bit sports personality of the year, but if you take into account form over a longer period and leave out the personality contest who would you have as the top current sportsperson from the UK.

 

[Ulloa's Soul Patch]

Boris Johnson, he can dunk like it's nobodies business

 

[Stat Brother]

Cav ripped Le Tour a new one today.
Murray reached the semi finals.

I think he still has a little way to go.

 

[turienzo's lovechild]

don't know much about the sport, but from watching the olympics we seem to be ****ing amazing at cycling

so it's probably one of those cyclisters

 

[joeinbrighton]

I think we are quite blessed with sportspeople at the moment, given the achievements of the Olympics last year especially.

Murray is certainly right up there, as are Cavendish and Wiggins, but I'd probably go for Mo Farah. The 2 events he won at the Olympics last year are very difficult to win as a double and watching him run in the event at Birmingham at the weekend, he looks like will be hard to beat again in the World Championships this year. As with Murray, he is highly resilient.

 

[Brightonia]

Probably Rory Mcllroy at this moment in time!

 

[joeinbrighton]

Probably Rory Mcllroy at this moment in time!

If that's based on what he has done in 2013, that argument falls down somewhat considering he hasn't actually won a tournament this year and has missed several cuts of late.

 

[Stat Brother]

don't know much about the sport, but from watching the olympics we seem to be ****ing amazing at cycling

so it's probably one of those cyclisters

That we are.

 

[beorhthelm]

Just watching Murray's fantastic comeback in the tennis

i hope you're not suggesting Murray is good because he struggled to a win. bloody plucky underdog is not sign of a good sports man and i hope we have a few which are outright winners. Wiggins and Mo springs to mind.

 

[Durlston]

Leigh Halfpenny - if we win the test series on Saturday.

 

[Foolg]

Wiggins or one of the cyclists from the Olympics. As good as Cav is, Sagan challenges him extremely close as to the best sprinter in the tour.

Whereas nobody can beat Farah at the moment.

 

[Stat Brother]

You guys do know Wiggo has been pretty poor since last July, don't you.

In 2 weeks time Chris Froome should have taken BW's tour title.
In the meantime Cav has just gone to joint third (I think) in the list of all time Tour de France stage winners.

 

[Stat Brother]

Wiggins or one of the cyclists from the Olympics. As good as Cav is, Sagan challenges him extremely close as to the best sprinter in the tour.

No he doesn't, you couldn't be more wrong.

 

[joeinbrighton]

i hope you're not suggesting Murray is good because he struggled to a win. bloody plucky underdog is not sign of a good sports man and i hope we have a few which are outright winners. Wiggins and Mo springs to mind.

Murray's US Open victory and Olympic Gold medal demonstrate that he is an 'outright winner' as you put it. Tennis does happen in 50 other weeks of the year too.

 

[Husty]

Mo Farah is actually at the pinnacle of his sport, unlike Murray who struggles his way into the semi finals. He won't even come close to winning as the winner of Djokovic/Del Potro dispatches him in straight sets in the final.

 

[Tom Bombadil]

i hope you're not suggesting Murray is good because he struggled to a win. bloody plucky underdog is not sign of a good sports man and i hope we have a few which are outright winners. Wiggins and Mo springs to mind.

Im not saying he's the best, but if you can't accept that he should at least be in the discussion then imo you are letting personal prejudice cloud your judgement. When i thought of the question the immediate candidates were Wiggins, Farah and Ennis, but is there an argument for O'Sullivan or Bale or Alistair Cooke or someone else

 

[joeinbrighton]

Mo Farah is actually at the pinnacle of his sport, unlike Murray who struggles his way into the semi finals. He won't even come close to winning as the winner of Djokovic/Del Potro dispatches him in straight sets in the final.

Do you base that prediction on one match or on the tournament as a whole? Federer was in exactly the same position in last year's Wimbledon in the 3rd round, 2 sets down to player inferior to Murray's opponent today, but still came back to win the match and then the tournament. A close shave like that could in fact give Murray the belief that this is a tournament he can win.

 

[Stat Brother]

Once again Wiggins is no longer in the discussion.

O'Sullivan should be, but only playing for 2 weeks a year has to hamper things.
Bale, no.
You'd like to think/hope at least 1 cricketer will be top of the list come September.

 

[Husty]

Do you base that prediction on one match or on the tournament as a whole? Federer was in exactly the same position in last year's Wimbledon in the 3rd round, 2 sets down to player inferior to Murray's opponent today, but still came back to win the match and then the tournament. A close shave like that could in fact give Murray the belief that this is a tournament he can win.

I base it more on the last 5 years, in which he's done nothing of note in the sport compared to Nadal, Djokovic, Federrer and even Del Potro who dispatched 2 of those to win the US Open in '09. Murray isn't at the pinnacle of his sport unlike scores of others in this country so therefore he does not even come close to being our best sportsman. It's really that simple.

 

[joeinbrighton]

Once again Wiggins is no longer in the discussion.

O'Sullivan should be, but only playing for 2 weeks a year has to hamper things.
Bale, no.
You'd like to think/hope at least 1 cricketer will be top of the list come September.

In terms of cricket, England have a bowler who is the first Englishman to take 300 test wickets in nearly 30 years, an opening batsman who has scored as many test centuries as Geoff Boycott managed at the tender age of 27 and one of the most flamboyant middle order batsmen in the world who is a proven match-winner, so there are certainly respectable choices there.