Aged 24, Rudisha is the current Olympic and world record holder in 800m. He is also the defending World champion in 800m, and has run 10 of the 20 fastest times in the history of 800m.
SportsPro Media ranks athletes from across the world according to the athlete’s marketing potential over a 3-year period using this criteria; Value for money, age, home market, charisma, willingness to be marketed, and crossover appeal.
Brazilian football star Neymar tops the list for the second year in a row, followed by Argentinian football Lionel Messi and UK golfer Roly Mcllroy in third place.
Here is the complete list:
1 Neymar – football, Brazil
2 Lionel Messi, football, Argentina
3 Rory McIlroy, golf, UK
4 Robert Griffin III, American football, USA
5 Usain Bolt, athletics, Jamaica
6 Novak Djokovic, tennis, Serbia
7 Lewis Hamilton, Formula One, UK
8 Cristiano Ronaldo, football, Portugal
9 Sloane Stephens, tennis, USA
10 Blake Griffin, basketball, USA
11 Tiger Woods, golf, USA
12 Sebastian Vettel, Formula One, Germany
13 Virat Kohli, cricket, India
14 LeBron James, basketball, USA
15 Victoria Azarenka, tennis, Belarus
16 Maria Sharapova, tennis, Russia
17 Alan Oliveira, Paralympic sprinter, Brazil
18 Andy Murray, tennis, UK
19 Alex Ovechkin, ice hockey, Russia
20 Missy Franklin, swimming, USA
21 Vincent Kompany, football, Belgium
22 Carmelo Anthony, basketball, USA
23 Caroline Wozniacki, tennis, Denmark
24 Sergio Perez, Formula One, Mexico
25 Rafael Nadal, tennis, Spain
26 Lindsey Vonn, skiing, USA
27 Alex Morgan, football, USA
28 Mike Trout, baseball, USA
29 Jack Wilshere, football, UK
30 Yani Tseng, golf, Taiwan
31 Manny Pacquiao, boxing, Philippines
32 Saul Alvarez, boxing, Mexico
33 Lucas Moura, football, Brazil
34 Bubba Watson, golf, USA
35 Shaun White, snow/skateboarding, USA
36 Ellyse Perry, cricket/football, Australia
37 James Harden, basketball, USA
38 Shinji Kagawa, football, Japan
39 Seth Jones, ice hockey, USA
40 Laura Robson, tennis, UK
41 David Rudisha, long-distance runner, Kenya
42 Mark Cavendish, cycling, UK
43 Stacy Lewis, golf, USA
44 Kim Yu-Na, figure skating, South Korea
45 Danica Patrick, Nascar, USA
46 Anderson Silva, MMA, Brazil
47 Dale Earnhardt Jnr, Nascar, USA
48 Gareth Bale, football, UK
49 Robert Kubica, Formula One, Poland
50 Katie Walsh, jockey, UK
-Mwakilishi.com
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