Occupation

ATHLETES

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With 6,025 biographies, Athletes are the 5th most common occupation in Pantheon, behind Politicians, Actors, and Writers.

People

Pantheon has 13,769 people classified as athletes born between 800 BC and 2010. Of these 13,769, 11,799 (85.69%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living athletes include Bob Beamon, Ben Johnson, and Carl Lewis. The most famous deceased athletes include Emil Zátopek, Paavo Nurmi, and Abebe Bikila. As of April 2024, 1538 new athletes have been added to Pantheon including Park Sung-soo, Nasser El Sonbaty, and Robby Naish.

Living Athletes

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Deceased Athletes

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Newly Added Athletes (2025)

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Places

Most athletes were born in United States (1498), Germany (972), and Russia (676). By city, the most common birth places were Budapest (135), Moscow (86), and Berlin (61).

Places Over Time

The earliest biographies classified as athletes in Pantheon are Archon of Pella, Theagenes of Thasos, and Coroebus of Elis.  The concentration of athletes was largest during the Television Era, which lasted from 1950 to 1989. Some birth or death locations for earlier athletes are unknown, which may account for timeline differences below.

Lifespans

Which Athletes were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 25 most globally memorable Athletes since 1700.