St. David's Day Special: Five Welsh Sporting Greats

With today being St. David’s Day, it seems only appropriate that we mark the occasion by honouring some of Wales’ greatest sporting exports.

Boxing: Joe Calzaghe

Calzaghe earns his place on the list for being not only one of the best Welsh sportsmen, but one of the best boxers of all time.

The Italian Dragon, incidentally born in Hammersmith, moved to Wales at the age of two to the town of Newbridge.

His illustrious career spanned 16 years and featured a flawless 46-0 record, winning 32 by knockout. He retired as undisputed world champion, having defended his WBO title for over 10 years, an incredible achievement.

Calzaghe defeated the likes of Mikel Kessler, Roy Jones Jr., and Bernard Hopkins over his career and is widely regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound boxers ever.

Football: Ryan Giggs

Ryan Giggs is, quite simply, one of the greats of modern day football.

Born in Cardiff, Giggs has been one of the enduring faces of Manchester United’s unparalleled success in the Premier League era. He has won the title 11 times in his career at the Red Devils and also has the honor of being the only player to score in 11 successive Champions League seasons, winning Europe’s premier club competition twice.

His 828 appearances is a Manchester United record and is the only player to have played, and scored, in every Premier League season for one club.

Rugby Union: Neil Jenkins

Neil Jenkins is an icon of international Rugby Union, being the first ever player to score 1,000 points for his country. He remains second on the all-time points scorers list in international Rugby, behind Jonny Wilkinson.

Jenkins, affectionately called "the Ginger Monster" by his fans, was born in Church Village and went on to represent Wales 87 times. He also holds the world record for 44 consecutive successful kicks for his club side.

Despite being overhauled by Wilkinson, Jenkins will always be remembered for being the most exceptionally gifted goal kicker in Rugby Union.

Golf: Ian Woosnam

With 47 tour wins and a green jacket in his cupboard, Woosie can quite rightly be regarded as one of the top European golfers of his generation.

The only player to win the World Matchplay Championship in three decades, Woosnam was a member of eight consecutive Ryder Cup teams and also captained Europe to Ryder Cup glory in 2006.

Before the competition, Woosnam made the gutsy decision to select Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood as his wild cards, a move which was widely criticized at the time. However, he was completely vindicated when Clarke won all three of his matches and Westwood finished as Europe’s joint-top points scorer.

A great team player, Woosnam will be remembered as one of the true nice guys of golf.

Athletics: Tanni Grey-Thompson

Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson is the woman who brought the spectacle of the Paralympic Games to the nation. An incredibly successful athlete, her career included 16 Paralympic medals and 30 World Records.

A Cardiff native, Grey-Thompson’s career spanned five Paralympic games, with her first in Seoul in 1988 and culminating in Athens in 2004. She also won the London Marathon six times, a phenomenal achievement.

Following on from retirement, she became non-executive director for UK Athletics in 2007, as well as sitting on the board of the London Marathon.

Her career shone a light on British disabled sport and provided opportunities for countless other disabled athletes.

Who are your Welsh sporting heroes? Please comment below.