The Fittest 50 Women (Sports Illustrated, 2016)
Who is the fittest female athlete in sports? A panel of experts was recruited by the magazine Sports Illustrated to list who they considered the current fittest athletes in sports in 2016 - what they called the "Fittest 50".
Athletes were considered based on performances in the previous last 12 months. The athletes were assessed based on characteristics that define fitness and conditioning: strength, speed, endurance, agility, flexibility and skill in her respective sport.
The top-ranked female athlete was heptathlete Jessica Ennis-Hill. In the men's category, the top athlete was decathlete Ashton Eaton, another multi-event track and field athlete. Sports Illustrated have also created similar lists of the fittest females in 2014, 2017 and 2019. See more about rating the World's Fittest Athletes.
The Top 20 Fittest Women
Here are the top-20 of the SI Fittest 50 women.
| rank | Name | Sport |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jessica Ennis-Hill | Track and Field |
| 2 | Allyson Felix | Track and Field |
| 3 | Simone Biles | Gymnastics |
| 4 | Katie Ledecky | Swimming |
| 5 | Serena Williams | Tennis |
| 6 | Gwen Jorgenson | Triathlon |
| 7 | Claressa Shields | Boxing |
| 8 | Maggie Steffens | Water Polo |
| 9 | Holly Holm | MMA |
| 10 | Kerri Walsh-Jennings | Beach Volleyball |
| 11 | Jenn Suhr | Track and Field (Pole Vault) |
| 12 | Meghan Duggan | Ice Hockey |
| 13 | Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce | Track and Field (Sprints) |
| 14 | Ashima Shiraishi | Rock Climbing |
| 15 | Samantha Briggs | CrossFit |
| 16 | Gabby Douglas | Gymnastics |
| 17 | Ali Krieger | Football (Soccer) |
| 18 | Maya Moore | Basketball |
| 19 | Ronda Rousey | MMA |
| 20 | Missy Franklin | Swimming |
Source
- Sports Illustrated online: https://www.si.com/specials/fittest50/index.html (May 2016)
Related Pages
- The fittest men for 2016
- Other lists of the fittest athletes in the world
- Testing to determine the world's fittest athlete
- Who really is the greatest athlete of all time?
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