Sportsmen of the Year

In 1954, British medical student Roger Bannister became the first man to break the four-minute mile barrier, earning him international admiration and Sports Illustrated's first Sportsman of the Year award. When asked how he achieved his record-breaking feat, he replied, “It’s the ability to take more out of yourself than you've got.”

Following a season in which he broke the franchise record for all-time hits and won the fifth World Series championship of his career, Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter was named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year for 2009.

Olympic decathlon winner Rafer Johnson is admired as much for his strength of character as his athletic triumphs. In 1958, Sports Illustrated noted that “Johnson's kind of tolerance is not the diluted brand that sells so cheaply around the world these days, good only among people who already think alike. His is the real thing—by Voltaire's definition, the capacity to be tolerant even of intolerance.” Fifty years later, that assessment still holds true.

Arthur Ashe's career echoed with the sound of barriers falling in the worlds of athletics, politics and social advancement. The only African-American man to win a Grand Slam title, the tennis star created a legacy of excellence and public advocacy that continues today, more than 15 years after his death.

Today, Sports Illustrated named its 2008 Sportsman of the Year. Practically everyone already knew who it would be: swimmer Michael Phelps, the Beijing Olympics superstar who at the young age of 23 is already one of the greatest athletes of all time. 

On May 6, 1954, British medical student Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile barrier in the Oxford v. British A.A.A. race. For his time of 3 min., 59.4 sec., he received Sports Illustrated's first Sportsman of the Year Award. At the time, he explained how he had achieved his record-breaking feat: “It’s the ability to take more out of yourself than you've got.”

In Kenya, the name Kipchoge "Kip" Keino is synonymous with long-distance running. His four Olympic victories include two gold medals, but it is his contributions off the track that have endeared him to his countrymen. Keino's world records in long-distance running opened the door to a competitive category now dominated by East Africans, and his support for other runners has continued long after his retirement.