Sport has been filled with a host of winners who undoubtedly had mental strength in vast quantities. You just knew that no matter how much pressure they were put under, it would be very unlikely that they would crack – if anything, their body would be more likely to give out before their mind did.

Here’s realbuzz.com’s top 10 of those sporting giants who seemingly have or had that mental edge:

Bjorn Borg

Unquestionably one of the coolest customers on the tennis court, so much so that the words ‘ice', 'cool', and 'Swede’ came to be associated with him. His calm court demeanor and unflappability earned him the nickname of the ‘Ice Man’ or ‘Ice-Borg’. The Swede never seemed flustered – unlike some of his main rivals such as Jimmy Connors or John McEnroe – and he has been the model on which many coaches have tried to get their protégés to follow. His winning of a fifth consecutive Wimbledon singles title in a five-set epic with John McEnroe came after the American had saved five match points in the fourth set. That would usually have been enough to break many.

Muhammad Ali

Can anyone in sport have ever displayed as much confidence as Muhammad Ali? Self titling himself ‘The Greatest’, Ali was the best at talking himself up, and his psychological tactics before, during, and after fights are the stuff of legend. Ali talked as good a fight as he fought, and his victory in the ‘Rumble in Jungle’ in 1974 against George Foreman – when he largely retreated to the ropes and invited Foreman onto him while taunting him verbally – were aimed at exhausting Foreman mentally and physically. It worked, and Ali regained his World Heavyweight title when few had given him a chance.

Pete Sampras

‘Pistol Pete’ had the uncanny knack of backing himself even in the most precarious of positions. With break points, set points and even match points against him, Sampras would go for broke and come up with a superb second serve that left his opponents dumbfounded. His mental focus allowed him to play his best at these decisive moments so that opponents often knew that an ace would be coming up – even on a second serve! Despite appearing rather dour on court and being accused of not showing any emotion, 14 Grand Slam titles are testament to Sampras’ toughness and winning mentality.

Michael Schumacher

German F1 driver Schumacher has always been viewed as a ‘win at all costs’ driver whose approach on the race track has drawn plenty of criticism. In both 1994 and 1997 he was involved in collisions, one of which gave him the title and another which cost him it. It was Schumi’s ability to produce fast laps and turn it on at crucial moments in a race that made his name. In races when the rain came, Schumacher’s opponents would crumble, with the German having the confidence to know that he was the best driver in the wet, and deserving of his name ‘the rainmaster’. Not satisfied with what he had achieved in his career, he returned to F1 in 2009.

Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods is in the unenviable position of knowing that he’s the best and that most others just think they are competing for the runner up spot. Tiger has proven his mental superiority time and time again. Many questioned whether his focus would still be there when he got married. The same happened when kids came along, when his father died, and even when his marriage collapsed due to his infidelities, but each time he has bounced back and been as good as as ever, if not better. Golf is a mental game and Tiger is the master. His victory in the US Open in 2008 when clearly struggling with a knee injury was clearly a case of mind over matter.

Solo long-distance yachtswoman Ellen MacArthur has displayed extreme mental toughness in achieving several great feats. She first came to general prominence in 2001 when she came second in the Vendée Globe solo round-the-world sailing race in her boat Kingfisher, sailing solo for over 94 days. But it was  her breaking of the solo record for sailing non-stop around the world in 2005 that was her crowning glory, covering 27,354 nautical miles (50,660 km) in just 71 days and  14 hours. The mental toughness required to complete such a feat when sleep deprivation is one of the main challenges must have been immense.

Niki Lauda

No sportsman has ever shown the same kind of toughness as F1 driver Niki Lauda, who given up for dead following an appalling accident, yet was back behind the racing wheel just weeks later. In what many commentators have described as the most courageous comeback in sporting history, the Austrian driver was pulled from the burning inferno that was his Ferrari at the Nurburgring in 1976. Suffering first  to third degree burns on his head and wrists, several broken bones and lungs scorched from inhaling toxic fumes, he was actually given the last rites by a priest. Just six weeks and two races later, he returned and finished fourth in the Italian Grand Prix. He went on to win the F1 title in 1977, retired in 1979, and then returned three years later before going on to clinch his final world title in 1984.

Haile Gebrselassie

Has the world of athletics ever been graced with as wide a smile as Haile Gebrselassie’s? Win or lose, the Ethiopian takes it in his stride and continually confounds those who have written him off. From a 1993 World Championship gold on the track to setting a new marathon world record (2:03:59 in Berlin in 2008), Gebrselassie has allied his immense running talent with a will to win. To date he has broken well in excess of 20 world records and won numerous world and Olympic titles. His decision to return to the sport after announcing his retirement prematurely is testament to his will to win.

Sir Ranulph Fiennes

Adventurer Fiennes has been wowing the public with his adventures for decades. Perhaps the most notable was the Transglobe Expedition he undertook from 1979 until 1982 when he and his team journeyed around the world on its polar axis, using surface transport only and covering a distance of 52,000 miles. Further expeditions brought him losses of digits due to frostbite, yet even a heart attack and double bypass operation did not stop him going on to complete seven marathons in seven days on seven continents in 2003. A failed attempt in May 2008 to be the oldest Briton to climb Mount Everest, despite his heart problems, and ongoing treatment for prostate cancer, are testament to his human spirit.

Lance Armstrong

Few sports can be more testing mentally than endurance cycling and Lance Armstrong has to be considered the best. Not only did he win the Tour De France seven times (1999-2005), but this came against the background of having survived testicular cancer which had spread to his brain and lungs in 1996 when he had been given only a 40 per cent chance of  survival. As if that wasn’t enough, Amstrong had it in him to make a return to professional cycling after a three-year absence in order to raise awareness of cancer.