12. Anthony Davis (Kentucky/USA/New Orleans Hornets basketball)-Davis won a NCAA Basketball championship, and then became the only college player to represent the USA in the Olympics. He ended his incredible summer by being selected with the #1 pick in the NBA. Look for the unibrow to be making more headlines in years to come.

11. Misty May Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings (team USA, beach volleyball) – The famed beach volleyball played their last match as a team in the 2012 Olympics. However, winning their 21^st straight Olympic match and three-peating in their sport isn’t the worst way to go out.

10.  Jeremy Lin (New York Knicks/Houston Rockets, basketball) – Linsanity took over New York early in the year. An undrafted point guard from Harvard, Lin was signed to be a Knicks back-up. But injuries to other Knicks put him on the court and he made the most of it. After a 25 point performance in a game against the Nets, Lin was named a starter and the team won 7 straight from then on behind the great play of Lin and without superstar Carmelo Anthony in the lineup. Becoming one of the most popular athletes of the year, Lin, the first NBA player from Taiwan, put himself in the global spotlight and looks to stay there.

9.  Missy Franklin (USA Swimming) – Tying Olympic legend Michael Phelps with 4 gold medals at this year’s Olympics, Franklin, a senior in high school, proved to the world that the USA might have found its next swimming superstar. After her senior year at a Colorado high school, Franklin will attend the University of California Berkley where she will continue to swim.

8. Gabby Douglas (USA Gymnastics) – Winning the individual and team all around gold medals in gymnastics, 16 year old Douglas became the first African American to win the individual all-around and instantly became a worldwide celebrity.

7. Tim Tebow (Denver Broncos/New York Jets, football) – Tebowmania dominated the country during the first few months of the year. After leading his Denver Broncos from a 1-4 record to the playoffs and an overtime victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tebow became the most popular athlete of 2012 and the most searched, mentioned, or talked about athlete all over the internet.

6. Adrian Peterson (Minnesota Vikings, football)-After tearing his ACL and MCL in December 2011 there were questions about if Peterson’s career would ever be the same. He answered them, in a big way. Rushing for 2,097 yards, 9 yards short of the all-time single season record, Peterson’s remarkable comeback has been highly profiled. And above all that, he put himself at the front of the NFL MVP race by carrying his Minnesota Vikings into the playoffs.

5. Oscar Pistorious (South Africa, runner)-This South African runner was the first Paralympic athlete to ever compete with able bodied athletes in the Olympic Games. He advanced to the semifinals of his race, greatly exceeding expectations.  He also won the 400m gold at the 2012 Paralympics. Pistorious was also named the South African flag bearer for the Paralympics after his inspiring performance in the Olympics.

4. Lionel Messi(Argentina/ FC Barcelona, soccer) -The Argentinean soccer player scored an all-time record 91 goals throughout 2012 for the Argentina national team, and his club team FC Barcelona. Messi cemented his place among soccer’s legends, move over Pele.

3. Michael Phelps (USA Swimming) -The pride and joy of American Olympic athletes, Phelps set the all-time Olympic medal record with 22 throughout his career, including an amazing 18 golds. Phelps is arguably the best Olympic athlete ever, and by far the best swimmer to ever dive into a pool, and his final run in 2012 proved that.

2. LeBron James (Miami Heat/ Team USA, basketball) -2012 helped King James earn his royal name. Winning the NBA MVP, his first NBA Championship, NBA Finals MVP, and a second Olympic gold, thrust James to the top of the basketball hierarchy. The G.O.A.T. debate has been blown open by James’ 2012 accomplishments and at 28 years old, LeBron shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

1. Usain Bolt (Jamaica, sprinter)-After losing to Yohan Blake in the Jamaican Olympic trials, the world wondered, for only 9.63 seconds, if Bolt would win gold again. But the fastest man alive again showed that nobody will ever catch him. By defending his gold in both the 100m and 200m sprint Bolt did something nobody had ever done before, and set multiple records while doing it. He has been proclaimed a Jamaican hero and is undoubtedly the greatest sprinter of all time.