The Greatest British Sportspeople 30-21

30. Tony McCoy (Horse racing, 1990s-2010s)

 Even though horse racing is not my sport, the magnitude of McCoy is summed up by the fact that when he was Sports Personality of the Year in 2010, I didn't object at all. That was the year he finally won the Grand National, having won every single other race going. His supremacy is Bradmanesque - he has won twice as many races as any other National Hunt jockey in history (twice as many!) and been Champion jockey almost 20 years in a row.
Extraordinary skill, one imagines, bravery, relentlessness and obsession. He has broken nearly every bone in his body and just keeps going.

29. Geoff Hurst (Football, 1960s-1970s)

 Another knight. Pretty obvious choice this, really. Despite not really being one of England's Top 5 strikers, Hurst is responsible for what is widely acknowledged as the greatest moment in English sporting history. So that'll do really. Had a very good career besides of course, as well as actually playing a first class cricket match for Essex.

28. Tanni Grey-Thompson (Wheelchair racing, 1990s-2000s)

 And now a baroness, no less. Even more the queen of wheelchair racing than David Weir is the king, with 11 Paralympic gold medals, and the person whose done more than anyone else to being paralympic sport to the forefront in the UK, she also has the distinction of being the victim of a nasty Conservative stitch-up which denied her the chance to be chair of Sport England because she was too political. Criticising the coalition and all that.

27. Gareth Edwards (Rugby union, 1960s-1970s)

Sports fan of my generation might best know Gareth Edwards for two things - being a team captain on Question of Sport and scoring "the best try of all time", in 1973 for the Barbarians against New Zealand. But any investigation into who might be considered the finest rugby player of all time puts his name very near the top. On the triumphant Lions tours of 71 and 74, as well as winning the Grand Slam three times, he combined the statistics of success with a total all round game.

26. Sarah Storey (Swimming, Cycling, 1990s-2010s)

Sarah Storey's pre-eminence as a Paralympic cyclist renders the competition meaningless - she laps everyone, including the men. In some ways, serious consideration of her sporting achievement sees her almost a victim of her own talent. She's so good, she also competes in non-Paralympic events, where is twice British champion at the time trial.
Even more remarkably, she has a previous life as a five time Paralympic gold winning swimmer. Completely ridiculous.

25. Jackie Stewart (Motor racing, 1960s-1970s)

 A couple of great things about Jackie Stewart - first, he won three Formula 1 championships, the only Brit to do so, and held the record for the most Grand Prix wins for many years. Also, and even more significantly, he relentlessly lobbied for greater safety in Formula 1, thus saving a lot of lives, and making sure that Formula 1 stayed within my idea of what sport is. Sport is, in case you're wondering, not something where people are always dying. That's war. And everyday life. That's why sport is better than war and everyday life. Less death. More life and death.

24. Len Hutton (Cricket, 1930s-1950s)

 A personal favourite, albeit one from reading copious cricketing history when I was younger, Len Hutton made 364 in 1938, which was the individual record for many years. He would have scored many many more test runs had the 2nd World War not taken away his best years, but was the mainstay of the England batting for many years post-war.
He finally became captain in 1951, and was in fact the first professional in the 20th century to captain England, and did more than most to break down the silly class barriers of England cricket.
His finest hour was captaining England to one of the most famous Ashes wins of all in 1953. Was knighted pretty much as soon as he retired. They don't make them like this any more (or maybe they do, Joe Root).

23. George Best (Football, 1960s-1980s)

 Felt a little bit the same about this as about Paul Gascoigne - Best's career ended up a disappointment, but there was real success at the start, with two league titles and the legendary 1968 European Cup win with Manchester United.
And, of course, the obvious thing is the legend of George Best, the fact that people say he was the best they saw, better than Pele, Puskas, whoever.
There's plenty of footage of Best to recognise his brilliance, his athleticism, his other wordly skill. He didn't possess that many of the hallmarks of sporting greatness, but that doesn't seem to matter in this case.

22. Chris Hoy (Cycling, 1990s-2000s)

 It's possible cycling aficionados might not agree with Hoy being placed above Cavendish, and I'm certainly more of a Cav fan, but Hoy is not just a cyclist, he's an Olympian, and being Britain's most decorated Olympian is worth a lot, compared to Cav with exactly 0 Olympic medals.
Also, obviously, he's been not just any track cyclist, but the king of the sprints, the fastest man on two wheels.

21. Dennis Compton (Cricket, Football, 1930s-1950s)

 Pietersen and Beckham rolled into one (all three are linked by being the face of Brylcreem). Imagine, now, if England's finest, most thrilling batsman spent his spare time as a flying winger for Arsenal. Can you even imagine it? And this isn't 100 years ago, this is when things were starting to get serious.
A beloved sportsman of his era, who possesses talent, elan and charisma - I suppose it's not like they don't make them like this any more. Phil Neville, for example, was apparently one of the very best cricketers of his age group, but it's just not possible to do it anymore. Is most famous for scoring a record number of runs in the 1948 season and for hitting the shot that gave England the Ashes in 1953.