Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill, Lucy Bronze, Wayne Rooney and Rory McIlroy are among the top 25 UK athletes of the 21st century, according to ESPN. Chris Froome, Lennox Lewis and Sir Mark Cavendish also make the prestigious list of the best athletes from the year 2000 onwards. Gareth Bale, Sir Chris Hoy, Sir Mo Farah and Andy Murray all head up the list, with the former two-time Wimbledon champion featuring in the top three.
Over the last two-and-a-half decades, the UK has continued to produce many iconic sporting stars, making it tough to determine the very best. The ESPN UK team decided to rise to the challenge and named the 25 greatest sportspeople from the UK this millennium . For the rankings, the editorial, video and social teams all had their say on who they think should be considered and where they should be placed on the list, using a voting system to choose between names and create a seeding system.
The likes of Rory McIlroy , Wayne Rooney and Lennox Lewis - despite their success at the highest level, fail to make it in the top 10 of the stacked list. However, the following list of names has been considered the best among voters. ESPN's top 25 UK athletes of all time (11-25) Position Name Sport 25.
Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill Athletics 24. Tom Daley Diving 23. Lucy Bronze Football 22.
Alfie Hewett Wheelchair tennis 21. Jonny Wilkinson Rugby 20. Lennox Lewis Boxing 19.
Dame Ellen MacArthur Sailing 18. Joe Root Cricket 17. Wayne Rooney Football 16.
Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson P.
