Best Person

Wayne Gretzky, known as 'The Great One', dominated as a centre for the Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings. He retired with 2857 NHL points and 894 goals, both records at the time, plus 9 Hart Trophies, 10 Art Ross Trophies and 4 Stanley Cups with Edmonton.

The trumpet solos and unmistakable singing voice of Louis Armstrong helped change the direction of American jazz. Emerging from New Orleans musical traditions, he brought a strong individual presence to music that had often emphasized collective improvisation. His Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings d...

A restrained trumpet tone and a willingness to change musical direction made Miles Davis a central figure in modern jazz. The American trumpeter and composer, who lived from 1926 to 1991, helped shape cool jazz and modal jazz before exploring electric fusion. His playing often gave weight to space a...

Two human figures lifting a globe form the central design of the FIFA World Cup Trophy, the gold cup presented to the winner of the international association football tournament for senior men's national teams. Made of 18-carat gold with a malachite base, it uses the globe to connect the object visi...

Bobby Orr redefined the defenceman position for the Boston Bruins, winning the Art Ross Trophy twice, the only blue liner ever to do so. He added 8 consecutive Norris Trophies, 3 straight Hart Trophies and 2 Stanley Cups before chronic knee injuries ended his career early.

Endgame technique and persistent pressure are defining features of Magnus Carlsen's chess. The Norwegian held the classical world championship from 2013 to 2023 before choosing not to defend it again. His games frequently show how small positional advantages can become practical winning chances, mak...

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was a German Baroque composer, organist and teacher whose music remains central to classical performance and study. His output includes cantatas and concertos as well as instrumental suites and keyboard works. German chorales and Baroque dance forms supplied materia...

Intense melodic development and a searching approach to sound distinguish John Coltrane's saxophone playing. The American musician worked with advanced chord-based improvisation before expanding his use of modal jazz and freer musical structures. Tenor saxophone was central to his work, although his...

Spanish painter Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) helped transform twentieth-century art by questioning how a picture represents its subject. Together with Georges Braque, he pioneered Cubism, using fragmented forms and multiple viewpoints to move beyond a single fixed perspective. His intensely productive...

Armand Duplantis is a Swedish athlete specializing in the pole vault. He holds numerous world records, setting unprecedented heights and demonstrating remarkable power and precision. His performances are particularly relevant for fans of athletics and those interested in observing exceptional human...

Leonardo da Vinci epitomized the Renaissance ideal of the universal genius. Though not a scientist in the modern, theoretical sense, his unparalleled powers of observation, detailed recording, and inventive engineering were profoundly scientific. His thousands of pages of notebooks reveal groundbrea...

Fast-moving melodic lines and intricate harmonic thinking distinguish Charlie Parker's alto saxophone playing. The American jazz musician helped develop bebop, a style that expanded the possibilities of improvisation through demanding chord changes and flexible rhythms. His virtuosity involved more...

Italian High Renaissance artist Michelangelo Buonarroti worked as both a painter and sculptor, with major achievements concentrated in the sixteenth century. His Sistine Chapel frescoes use the human body as a principal means of expression. The ceiling's biblical scenes and the later Last Judgment b...

Mario Lemieux spent his entire playing career with the Pittsburgh Penguins, scoring 1723 points in 915 games. He won 6 Art Ross Trophies, 3 Hart Trophies and 2 Stanley Cups as a player, overcoming back surgery and a Hodgkin's lymphoma diagnosis along the way.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period whose output encompasses more than 600 works. His music includes symphonies and operas alongside concertos, chamber works and solo keyboard pieces. A childhood prodigy, he began composing at about five and performed...

Across a professional basketball career spanning more than two decades, LeBron James has combined sustained scoring with playmaking and a broad influence on team offense. His game is notable for the way physical strength supports passing as well as finishing near the basket. Rather than contributing...

Gordie Howe played right wing across 26 NHL seasons, mostly with the Detroit Red Wings, and stayed active professionally into his fifties. His totals include 801 NHL goals, 1850 points, 6 Hart Trophies, 6 Art Ross Trophies and 4 Stanley Cups.

Known professionally as Jim or James Peebles, Philip James Edwin Peebles is a theoretical physicist whose work helped establish modern physical cosmology. He developed ways to connect the early universe with observations, particularly the cosmic microwave background, the radiation left from its hot...

Awarded to the National Hockey League's playoff winner, the Stanley Cup connects a current championship with a much longer sporting history. It began as the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, donated by Lord Stanley of Preston, and was first awarded in 1893. Its recognizable bowl and tiered base make it...

Mikaela Shiffrin is a prominent American alpine skier recognized for sustained dominance in World Cup competitions and Olympic events. Her remarkable consistency achieving top finishes demonstrates exceptional technical ability and mental fortitude. She competes at the highest levels of the sport, p...

Aggressive play and detailed opening preparation are central to Garry Kasparov's chess legacy. He became the youngest undisputed world champion in 1985 and repeatedly defended his title against Anatoly Karpov. His games often combine strategic preparation with direct attacking pressure, making them...

Written in the Florentine vernacular, Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy made everyday Italian speech the medium for an ambitious literary and philosophical journey. The Italian poet, who lived from 1265 to 1321, follows a pilgrim through Hell, Purgatory and Paradise. That journey brings questions of s...

Born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pelé became a defining figure in Brazilian football through his performances for Santos FC and Brazil's national team. A forward with close control and an inventive approach to attacking play, he could create chances as well as finish them. His reputation rests on b...

A central figure in French mime, Marcel Marceau built stage stories from precise movement, expressive gestures and carefully controlled stillness. His whiteface makeup made small changes of expression readable, while his recurring character Bip gave audiences a recognizable figure through whom to ex...

John Milton's poetry brings religious questions into sustained dialogue with political freedom and human responsibility. A central figure in seventeenth-century English literature, he wrote across several forms, but Paradise Lost remains especially important to his place in literary history. The epi...

Classical proportion and carefully organized space define Andrea Palladio's contribution to Renaissance architecture. The Italian architect studied ancient building traditions, particularly those of Rome, and adapted their principles to the needs of his own period. His villas across the Veneto regio...

Cristiano Ronaldo is a globally recognized athlete primarily known for his exceptional performance in soccer. His sustained dominance over decades has resulted in numerous records and cemented his status as a legendary figure within the sport. He represents Portugal internationally and continues to...

The UEFA Champions League Trophy is the silver cup presented to the winner of the UEFA Champions League, Europe's premier men's club association football competition. Its large handles have given it the informal nickname "big ears." The winning club receives a full-size replica for its own collectio...

Michael Phelps's Olympic career is arguably the most decorated in history. With 28 medals (23 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze), he redefined the limits of swimming performance. His versatility across multiple strokes and distances, combined with his longevity at the top, cemented his status as a global ico...