Long-distance runner Eliud Kipchoge, the current record holder in the marathon, came in second in ESPN's 20 most dominant athlete list of 2018.
Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles has been announced as ESPN's Most Dominant Athlete of 2018 after an astounding year in gymnastics where she took home multiple titles at the World Championships.
Shortly after the 21-year-old opened up about battling anxiety after publicly revealing she was abused by Larry Nassar, the powerhouse gymnast's fun and carefree cover shoot for 's December/January issue was debuted online.
ESPN compared athletes against their current peers and previous top athletes within their sport from 1998 until today. Using that analytical yardstick, Simone Biles was deemed so far above other top gymnasts that she was rated the most dominant athlete of the year.
ESPN THE MAGAZINE: DOMINANT 20
ESPN The Magazine ends the year by highlighting the of 2018 in the current issue, hitting newsstands on Friday, Dec. 14. Senior writer Peter Keating developed a statistical methodology to determine the list of dominant athletes who redefined the impossible. Below is ESPN The Magazine’s full “Dominant 20” list:
- 1. Simone Biles (Olympic gymnast)
- 2. Eliud Kipchoge (Olympic runner)
- 3. Daniel Cormier (MMA fighter/former Olympic wrestler)
- 4. Ariya Jutanugarn (professional golfer)
- 5. Katie Ledecky (Olympic swimmer)
- 6. Chloe Kim (Olympic snowboarder)
- 7. Breanna Stewart (WNBA/Seattle Storm)
- 8. Luka Modric (professional soccer player/Real Madrid)
- 9. Simona Halep (professional tennis player)
- 10. Novak Djokovic (professional tennis player)
- 11. Yuzuru Hanyu (Olympic figure skater)
- 12. Lewis Hamilton (professional race car driver)
- 13. LeBron James (NBA/Los Angeles Lakers)
- 14. Mookie Betts (MLB/Boston Red Sox)
- 15. Drew Brees (NFL/New Orleans Saints)
- 16. Justify (Triple Crown winner)
- 17. Alex Ovechkin (NHL/Washington Capitals)
- 18. Patrick Mahomes (NFL/Kansas City Chiefs)
- 19. James Harden (NBA/Houston Rockets)
- 20. Mike Trout (MLB/Los Angeles Angels)