WATCHING Rafael Nadal on Sunday get to balls that would leave a retriever blushing, it struck me that he could be the fastest athlete I have seen (sprinters excepted). Of course, this is nonsense, Michael Chang admirers will insist Nadal isn't even the fastest tennis player ever.

What is unarguable is that tennis is faster today than ever before. In fact, all sport is faster. Even, gulp, cricket. Certainly no one was listening in sport when Mahatma Gandhi reportedly said: "There is more to life than simply increasing its speed."

As a result of heftier rackets, the ball moves twice as fast, so athletes have to be twice as quick. Better gripping shoes, lighter material, new-wave training techniques, sports science (a player once told me he measures how much he sweats and how much salt he loses), all contribute to quicker athletes.

John McEnroe, while naturally quick, once boasted he couldn't touch his toes; today, he would have a six-pack, and not of Heineken.

The fastest athletes are not necessarily the best athletes, but the greatest athletes are always among the fastest athletes. You can't win without speed.

Federer doesn't look fast until you figure, in his prime, he was never out of position. Michael Jordan over 5-10 paces was electric, George Best was snaky fast.

If professional sport bears no resemblance to what we practice on weekends, part of the reason is speed. Ronaldo's ability to manipulate the ball is amazing, that he can do it while sprinting is simply outrageous.

All of this got me thinking: who are the 10 athletes whose speed made an impression on me, for various reasons.

1) Muhammad Ali: Boxing is a tiny arena comparatively, but Ali's footwork around the ring in his young days was saucy, intricate, balanced, fluid. Or as he once taunted an opponent: "Your hands can't hit what your eyes can't see."

2) Bryan Habana: Actually the rugby player who I enjoyed watching most was All Black Christian Cullen, he just looked quick, but Habana raced a cheetah which has to be the coolest thing possible.

Years ago, Jesse Owens had to race horses (and dogs) after winning four golds in Berlin 1936, but that was seen as tragic, a proud man forced into this circus act to make a living.

As Owens said: "People said it was degrading for an Olympic champion to run against a horse, but what was I supposed to do? I had four gold medals, but you can't eat four gold medals." Habana, in a more fortunate time, was running to raise awareness about wildlife and raise funds.

3) Steffi Graf: No one moved faster between points (which is one reason she might have married Agassi, who did the same) and almost no one moved as quick on court. Until Venus came along.

4) Gymnasts: Ever seen the vaulters skittter down the runway, especially the men with their muscular arms and in their small white shorts: it's hilarious, but they're quick and get terrific height through their speed and jump on the board.

5) Lin Dan: Sometimes when he moves it seems as if someone has passed an electric current through him. Over a couple of paces, badminton players, bending and lunging, yet staying balanced and executing beautiful shots, are phenomenal.

6) Fernando Torres: Nothing more to say.

7) Basketball players: Pick who you like. Part of Maradona's greatness was his low centre of gravity, allowing him to spin and turn rapidly and not fall over. But how basketballers do this, men twice Maradona's size, how they explode, fly, swivel, turn, shoot, and look cool doing it, is one of the great sporting mysteries and pleasures.

8) Gael Monfils: The rangy French tennis player dresses sloppy, looks lazy but when he has to move, he takes these enormous quick strides. Monfils is less a tennis player and more a pure athlete with a tennis racket.

9) Jerry Rice: I don't watch American football, but I did watch Rice occasionally, a wide reciever with the San Francisco 49ers who won three Super Bowl rings. Rice seemed light on his feet, hard to catch, all agility and acceleration. It was intriguing that he wasn't supposed to be exceptionally fast, but he practiced his runs diligently, and as the great quarterback Joe Montana said: "He has the knack of knowing when to break, when to use his speed."

10) Jonty Rhodes: The South African cricketer was a grand fielder, reflex, agility and anticipation in an irrepressible mix. Rhodes wasn't just lightning over a few paces, he'd dive, stop a ball and get up almost in the same movement.

Which once led to a poster that stated: "Three quarters of the earth is covered by water. The rest is covered by Jonty Rhodes".

For those unfamiliar with the smiling fielder, here's a look at one of his more famous moments: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMHpZpwvPdM