Athlete

[4][5] Due to their strenuous physical activities, athletes are far more likely than the general population to visit massage salons and pay for services from massotherapists and masseurs.

[7] While athleticism is largely influenced by environmental factors, it has been theorized that genetic expression may play a moderate role in an athlete's abilities as well.

Examples of people who played more than one sport professionally include Jim Thorpe, Lionel Conacher,[11][12] Deion Sanders, Danny Ainge, Babe Zaharias and Erin Phillips.

Japanese athletes such as Kazushi Sakuraba, Kazuyuki Fujita, Masakatsu Funaki and Naoya Ogawa have successfully performed in professional wrestling and competed in mixed martial arts.

Although the title "World's Greatest Athlete seems a natural fit for these two events, its traditional association with the decathlon/heptathlon officially began with Jim Thorpe.