Ryan Gregson's Blog by Ryan_Gregson

5. Mark Cavendish - Isle of Man: Cycling

When Mark Cavendish was lead out by Australia's Mark Renshaw and pedalled to the line virtually unchallenged to get another Tour de France stage win for team HTC-Highroad, it was as close to sporting perfection as I've seen. In 2012 he will lose his lead out man as Cavendish will ride for Team Sky and Renshaw for Rabobank, so it will be interesting to watch as the formidable duo will now be racing each other to the line. Cavendish has won 20 stages in the Tour de France and will most likely finish his career as the greatest sprinter of all time. Cavendish is also quite entertaining and is very good to follow on Twitter. 

4. Cam Newton - USA: American Football
 
I've followed Cam Newton during his time at the University of Auburn where he had a stellar final season, winning the national championship and winning the Heisman Award as the nation's best college football player. He then got drafted at number 1 to the Carolina Panthers and will most likely win the NFL Rookie of the Year award when it's announced in the next couple of weeks. This is all after it looked like his chance of becoming a professional footballer was doomed when he was kicked out of the University of Florida for stealing a laptop. Newton made a mistake, was disciplined, transferred schools, started again, and now is one of the most exciting prospects in the NFL. Most people deserve a second chance and Newton certainly made the most of his.

       

3. Lance Franklin - Australia: Australian Rules Football

I'm a West Coast Eagles member and I follow the Sydney Swans because they're the local team but there is nobody in the AFL that I enjoy watching more than Lance 'Buddy' Franklin. The Hawthorn Hawks centre half-forward is an absolute superstar of Australian sport. When on his game,  Buddy  is literally unstoppable. Sometimes Franklin is a little shaky on the set shot straight in front of goal, but it's his split-second instincts to produce magic from out wide on the boundary that shows his true brilliance.

2. Kobe Bryant - USA: Basketball
 
I'm not a huge fan of the LA Lakers because I don't like going for the teams that everyone else goes for, but I really look up to Kobe Bryant. He's been one of the best players in the NBA for the past 15 years and has 5 championship rings to show for it. Watching Kobe play, it looks as though he hates losing more than anybody, and when he does lose, he takes the defeat personally. To me, Kobe is the ultimate competitor.

1. Usain Bolt - Jamaica: Athletics

We are all very lucky to live in the same generation as this great man. Usain Bolt's exploits in 2008 and 2009 are by far the most incredible things I've ever seen in sport. The first meet that I ever did in Europe was a meet in Ostrava, Czech Republic and as I went for dinner the night before the race, it was none other than Usain Bolt shaking my hand and greeting me into the food hall. He then came over the morning after and sat at the table with me and the other Aussies and we talked a bit of cricket and a bit of rubbish and I couldn't believe what was happening. Later in the year at the 2009 World Championships I was lucky enough to be invited to his private party in a VIP section of a nightclub in Berlin. A great memory of that night was at about 2am, Bolt calling out to his manager and asking him to call McDonalds as he needed some Big Mac's in the nightclub. Half an hour later I was enjoying a glass of champagne, chomping down on a Big Mac and having the time of my life. The exciting thing about 2012 is that with Yohan Blake, Bolt has a big job on his hands to defend his Olympic crowns. Unlike the majority of sports fans, I am in no way expecting Bolt to break another world record, but I think defending his crowns in London will cap off a perfect career.

Ryan Gregson