50 greatest Summer Olympians in history
By John Buhler
49. Muhammad Ali, Boxing.
To put Muhammad Ali 49th on any list seems almost disrespectful. He is, after all, The Greatest, and may be the most influential athlete in American history. Though he later became a three-time heavyweight champion of the world on three separate occasions, Ali first came to national prominence as an amateur boxer at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.
Known then as Cassius Clay, Ali — all of 18 years old at the time — took home the gold in the light-heavyweight division, before turning pro just a few months later.
After he and a friend weren’t allowed to eat at a segregated restaurant in his hometown of Louisville, the ever-political Ali reportedly tossed his gold medal into the Ohio River. Ali would later receive a replacement at the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta, where he was famously chosen to light the Olympic torch.
Could Ali have won more medals? Without a doubt. But he was clearly ready for bigger and better things, professionally as well as politically. In the end, Rome was the first of many giant stepping stones for a man who became one of the world’s most iconic figures. After a decades-long battle with Parkinson’s Disease, Ali passed away on June 3, 2016.
Next: 48. Bruce Jenner.