Athlete Nicknames [split]

[EME1980]

Can anybody think of any other athlete nicknames? The Big Mazungo for Craig Mottram springs to mind.

[Ned Ryerson]

Can anybody think of any other athlete nicknames? The Big Mazungo for Craig Mottram springs to mind.

Maurice Greene - The Kansas City Cannonball
Jackson Scholz - The New York Thubderbolt
Paavo Nurmi - The Flying Finn
Haile Gebreselassie - The Emperor
Sileshi Sihine - The Silver Man
Martin McGrady - The Chairman of the Boards
Eamonn Coghlan - The Chairman of the Boards
Steve Cram - The Jarrow Arrow
Eric Liddell - The Flying Scotsman
FBK - The Flying Housewife
Babe Didrickson
Harrison Dillard - Bones
Carl Lewis - King Carl
Cornelius - The Flying Dutchman
Emil Zatopek - The Czech Locomotive
Alberto Juantorena - El Caballo

[gh]

Bob Richards: The Vaulting Vicar

Bob Hayes: Bullet

[gh]

Brian Oldfield: The Big O

Dwight Stones: Big D

Kate Schmidt: Kate The Great

[EastBayprepoftheweek67]

Florence "Flo-Jo" Griffith-Joyner
Steve "Pre" Prefontaine

[nevetsllim]

Christine Ohuruogu - TBO
Greg Rutherford - The Ginger Wizard

[Ned Ryerson]

The Great Dane

[bekayne]

Hector Hogan-"Hustling Hec"
Menzies "Ming" Campbell
Bob "The Flying Cop" McAllister

[Daisy]

Brian Oldfield: The Big O

Christine Ohuruogu - TBO

Interesting example of recycling.

Don't forget Alf Tupper: "Tough of the Track"

[EME1980]

David Rudisha - The Pride of Africa

[jmd]

A few others :

Serguei Bubka : "The tsar"
Yelena Isinbayeva : "The tsarin"
Merlen Ottey : "The bronze queen"
Cornelius Warmerdam : "The flying Dutchman"
Yohan Blake : " The beast"

[18.99s]

Lightning Bolt

[18.99s]

Merlen Ottey : "The bronze queen"

That was more of a subtle insult than a nickname (I'm not saying you're insulting her, I mean how the term was used back in her day)

[nevetsllim]

Merlen Ottey : "The bronze queen"

Kuzenkova was known as 'the silver lady' before winning gold in Athens.

[dukehjsteve]

Tarzan Bragg

[dj]

Hustling Herb McKenley
Peerless Mel Sheppard
Marvelous Mal Whitfield
Long John Woodruff
Horace "Nip" Ashenfelter
Bill "Tuck" Ashenfelter
Pat "Babe" McDonald
Larry James, "The Mighty Burner"
Renaldo "Skeets" Nehemiah
Mildred "Tex" McDaniel
James "Jumbo" Elliott
Clarence "Bud" Houser
Glenn "Slats" Hardin
Norwood "Barney" Ewell
Charles "Crip" Moore, Sr.
Harvey "Chink" Wallender

[gh]

Forrest "Spec" Towns.

Tommie Smith was sometimes called Tommie Jet, although I believe the more proper usage was relative to his top-end "Tommie-Jet Gear"

Gill Dodds: The Flying Parson

[gh]

Merlen Ottey : "The bronze queen"

That was more of a subtle insult than a nickname (I'm not saying you're insulting her, I mean how the term was used back in her day)

I never thought of it as an insult.

[Marlow]

"Tommie-Jet Gear"

When my track teammates and I spoke of him (in hushed reverential tones!) we ALWAYS called him that!!

[nevetsllim]

Merlen Ottey : "The bronze queen"

That was more of a subtle insult than a nickname (I'm not saying you're insulting her, I mean how the term was used back in her day)

I never thought of it as an insult.

Don't know about Ottey but Kuzenkova wasn't enamoured with her nickname.

[TN1965]

Eddie Tolan: Midnight Express.
Jesse Owens: Buckeye Bullet.
Abdi Abdirahman: Black Cactus.

[toyracer]

Asafa Powell: The Nearly Man
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce: The Pocket Rocket
Sherika Williams: Wire

[jmd]

Wilma Rudolph : "The black pearl"
Rod Milburn : "Hot Rod"
Steve Cram : "The Jarrow Arrow", from Jarrow, the town where he was born.
And Marie-Jo Perec : "La gazelle"

[KDFINE]

Irv "Moon" Mondschein

[tandfman]

Charles Jenkins, Jr.: "Chip"
Bernard Lagat: "Kip"

[18.99s]

Merlen Ottey : "The bronze queen"

That was more of a subtle insult than a nickname (I'm not saying you're insulting her, I mean how the term was used back in her day)

I never thought of it as an insult.

The Jamaicans I know think of it as an insult, a jab at her inability to win anything better than Olympic bronze for so many years.

[k3ck3c]

Renaud Lavillenie -> mad dog, the machine, the T1000
from
http://perchealtitude.over-blog.com/pag ... 67259.html

[jmd]

Merlen Ottey : "The bronze queen"

That was more of a subtle insult than a nickname (I'm not saying you're insulting her, I mean how the term was used back in her day)

I never thought of it as an insult.

The Jamaicans I know think of it as an insult, a jab at her inability to win anything better than Olympic bronze for so many years.

In regard to the long and wonderful career of Merlene, and to all her titles
and victories, I don’t humbly think the expression “Bronze queen”
can really be considered as an insult, not for me anyway !

She was also called “Queen of the Track”, which is probably far better !

Pietro Mennea : “ La Frecchia del Sud”, the Southern Arrow.
Allan Wells : “The beast”, another one !

[Gabriella]

Blade Runner - Oscar Pistorious
El Caballo (The Horse) - Alberto Juantorena
The Sewing Machine - Ingrid Auerswald-Lange
The Cat - Ivan Pedroso
La Pantera Nera - Fiona May

Some not so nice ones:
The Lunchbox - Linford Christie
Hormone Heidi - Heidi Kreiger
Stella The Fella - Stella Walsh

[nevetsllim]

Ana Quirot's nickname was La Tormenta del Caribe which apparently means something like the Caribbean storm.

Some not so nice ones:
The Lunchbox - Linford Christie
Hormone Heidi - Heidi Kreiger
Stella The Fella - Stella Walsh

MLF - KFC

[br]

Willie Banks - The Bouncing Barrister

[br]

Bershawn "Batman" Jackson
Xavier "X-Man" Carter
Dennis Mitchell "The Green Machine"
Bill "Boston Billy" Rodgers

[toyracer]

In regard to the long and wonderful career of Merlene, and to all her titles
and victories, I don’t humbly think the expression “Bronze queen”
can really be considered as an insult, not for me anyway !

She was also called “Queen of the Track”, which is probably far better !

It wasn't complimentary. It was a sad acceptance by the public because it seemed as if she couldn't win anything but bronze in the early stages of her career. The name had gotten stuck with her by the time she started to win more silver and gold medals.

[79.]

"Lo the Turbo" for Lorenzo DANIEL (19"87 200m sprinter in 1986).
Thomas "Chicken legs" HILL was a World-class hurdler in the 70s ( Olympic 110m/h bronze medallist in 1972)

[PZhelev]

John Walker - The Flying Kiwi