Best of the best
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| Mighty Mick: Mick Doohan came
back from a horrific accident to rule the world on two
wheels. Picture: AP |
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Queensland has produced an incredible array of
sporting greats in a wide variety of sports. In 1999 a panel
of judges appointed by The Courier-Mail ranked the
state's top 100 athletes of the post-war years. The following,
listed in alphabetical order, dominated that selection.
MICK DOOHAN
When he crashed at Assen, Holland, in 1992, up-and-coming
motorcycle champ Doohan almost lost his leg. Many felt the
rider who had made his 500cc grand prix debut in 1989 would
never compete again.
Shrugging off the pain and any mental hangover, Doohan
returned to win five consecutive world titles in 1994, 95, 96,
97 and 98.
ROY EMERSON
 Son
of a Blackbutt farmer, Emerson won 12 Grand Slam singles and
16 doubles titles from 1959 to 1971 – a record which has yet
to be beaten. The only man to win singles and doubles at all
four major championships, he took back-to-back Wimbledon
crowns in 1964-65.
He also won the Australian Open singles five years in a
row, the French Open doubles for five straight years with five
different partners, and 34 of 38 Davis Cup matches.
CATHY FREEMAN
 The
public face of the 2000 Sydney Olympics burst to prominence at
the 1994 Commonwealth Games where she won the 200m and 400m
and created a furore by carrying both the Aboriginal and
Australian flags.
She won silver in the 400m at the Atlanta Games before
consecutive world titles in 1997-98.
Freeman followed the honour of lighting the flame in Sydney
with a sensational gold medal performance in the 400m.
Continued >>
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