[JAPAN SPORTS NOTEBOOK] A Trio of Japanese Athletes Included on ESPN's Top 100 List

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Global sports media giant ESPN published an ambitious article "Ranking the top 100 professional athletes since 2000" on its flagship website on Thursday, July 18.

The list was not limited to North America, but rather was a compilation of sporting greats spanning the globe.

It was a fascinating read, reminding one of dozens and dozens of great achievements and the rich history of sports in the 21st century over the past two-plus decades

A few key guidelines were used in producing the list.

"ESPN editions from around the globe contributed to the nominations and voting process, as well as the individual sport list rankings that will follow," reads a brief passage from the article. "Voters were instructed to consider only an athlete's performance since 2000."

More than 70,000 votes from ESPN contributors were tallied to come up with the top 100.

A Few Notes on the List of Top 100 Athletes

All-time swimming great Michael Phelps, winner of an Olympic record 23 gold medals, is No 1 on the list of sports standouts.

Retired tennis legend Serena Williams, who captured 23 Grand Slam singles titles, follows at No 2.

Soccer superstar Lionel Messi, winner of 10 La Liga titles with Barcelona, is third.

LeBron James, the NBA's all-time scoring leader and a player who led three franchises to championships (Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers), is No 4.

Seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Tom Brady is fifth.

The rest of the top 10 in order: Roger Federer (tennis), Simone Biles (gymnastics), Tiger Woods (golf), Usain Bolt (track and field) and Kobe Bryant (basketball).

Japan's Representatives on the Top 100 Sports List

Of the 100 selected athletes, three are Japanese: retired baseball superstar Ichiro Suzuki at 37th, current MLB fan favorite Shohei Ohtani at No 62, and retired gymnast Kohei Uchimura at 82.

Ichiro was a 10-time MLB All-Star and a 10-time Gold Glove winner. He also set the MLB single-season record with 262 hits.

Ohtani's growing list of achievements are regularly chronicled on this website.

Uchimura's nickname, "King Kohei," was an apt description of what he accomplished over the years. Most notably, he won back-to-back Olympic all-around gold medals in 2012 and 2016 and six consecutive world titles in the same event between 2009-16.

Also, among the top 100 athletes who played in team sports one had a long tenure in Japan: former Vissel Kobe midfielder Andres Iniesta (2018-23 with the J.League squad), who now plies his craft in the United Arab Emirates. Iniesta is ranked 70th.

Amateur Athletes Excluded From the Top 100 Sports List

Some of Japan's greatest athletes of the 21st century play amateur sports. Thus, they weren't among those under consideration for this list.

For example, women's freestyle wrestler Kaori Icho is without a doubt one of the premier athletes who was born in Asia. Icho became the first female athlete to win four consecutive Olympic gold medals in a single sport, doing so from 2004-16.

She did not, however, compete as a pro wrestler. Neither did compatriot Saori Yoshida, another amazingly successful female wrestler, including three Olympic titles and 13 consecutive world titles.

Oddly enough, one might argue, elite-level figure skating is also considered an amateur sport, though top skaters have sponsorships and make money from endorsement deals.

Therefore, Japan's best figure skaters of the 21st century, including three-time world champions Mao Asada and Kaori Sakamoto, two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time world titlist Yuzuru Hanyu and two-time world champs Miki Ando and Shoma Uno, among others, were not eligible for this list.

A Glaring Omission from the Top 100 List

With a perfect 27-0 record and 24 knockouts in his illustrious boxing career, Naoya "Monster" Inoue should have been included on the list.

At 31 years old, Inoue isn't a newcomer as a professional puncher. He fought his first pro bout in October 2012.

Inoue became an undisputed world champion in the bantamweight and super bantamweight divisions. You could make a compelling argument that this alone should've been a feat worthy of landing on ESPN's top 100 list. (The methodology used for compiling the list is explained at the bottom of ESPN's article.)

Looking ahead, ESPN did include Inoue's name in a related article, "Who'll make the 2050 top athletes list? These 25 stars are on their way."

A Note About the Next Edition of the Top 100 List in 2050

Don't expect Ohtani to remain at No 62 in the next version of this list in 2050.

ESPN's Jeff Passan explained why in his short profile of the baseball star that appears in the compilation of athletes.

Wrote Passan, "When ESPN runs the sequel to this exercise in 2050, Ohtani is the likeliest candidate from baseball to rate worthy of the top 10. His first seven years in MLB have been transcendent. What before him was taken as fact ― that nobody can hit and pitch at a high enough level to warrant doing both ― is now null."

Continue reading the full story, which includes news items on boxing, gymnastics and more, on SportsLook.

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Author: Ed Odeven

Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.