Over the last five years, Twitter has become one of the most used sites in the world with a reported 500 million users. It has become a platform for celebrities, sports stars and industry professionals to express their freedom of speech, and offend one or two at the same time. The number of sports men and women now active on Twitter is staggering, so here at TibsNews we have selected the top ten sports personalities to follow on the social networking site.
Joey Barton: @Joey7Barton
Joey Barton has the unusual situation where he has perhaps become more known for his Twitter rants than he is for his profession. The former Manchester City, Newcastle and QPR man is now applying his trade in the French League but while he is obviously passionate about football, he also has some other strong views. The 30-year-old has used the social networking site to express his view on all things from his love of Morrissey, to the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. Barton has divided opinion in the sporting world but there is no denying that he is one of the most entertaining people to follow on Twitter.
Michael Owen: @themichaelowen
Michael Owen is an active Twitter user, tweeting every day on all warps of life. It’s clear to see that the former England striker has a vast amount of knowledge when it comes to sports and he is certainly not afraid to start a debate or two. Owen, now at Stoke, has shown a keen interest in horse racing, boxing, Formula One and darts in the past month alone and is a must follow for sport’s fans who want to engage in some hard-hitting and interesting discussions.
Lance Armstrong: @lancearmstrong
Lance Armstrong has become the most controversial figure in sports today after a recent investigation into cycling revealed that he had been the ringleader of a doping scheme that had been running for over a decade. The former seven-time winner of the Tour de France has been disgraced although he seems to have taken it in his stride and embraced his controversial personality. The Texan recently tweeted a picture of himself lying in a room with his seven Yellow Jerseys saying: “just laying around.”
Stan Collymore: @StanCollymore
Stan Collymore, like many others on Twitter has been subjected to abuse via the social networking site. However, Collymore has been in favour of singling out the people that he receives abuse from often re-tweeting them and offering strong opinions via his radio show. Collymore is a must follow if you want to have in-depth discussion about football and his twitter account offers just that.
Graham Swann: @Swannyg66
Graham Swann is one of the funniest characters on Twitter, cracking jokes left right and centre and giving his followers pictures of his exploits with the England national team. Swann is also a Newcastle fan and tweets about his beloved club when they are playing.
Lennox Lewis: @LennoxLewis
The former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Lennox Lewis has over 200,000 followers on Twitter, posting classic photos and videos from his time as a boxer. As well as this, Lewis has started to do an ‘On this day’ feature. The 47 year-old also has a great sense of humour tweeting “I would prefer to see @mrdavidhaye fight @piersmorgan next.”
Shaquille O’Neal: @SHAQ
Shaquille O’Neal is one of the more eccentric characters to use Twitter, but he must be doing something right as he has gained over six million followers since joining. The 7 ft 1 former basketball star was known during his time on the court as a flamboyant player arguing with players including Kobe Bryant and Erick Dampier. O’Neal is a big admirer of social media and is on the advisory board for Tout Industries, a social video service, and he also announced his retirement on Twitter via a 15 second video on the site.
Usain Bolt: @usainbolt
Usain Bolt is not shy when it comes to the media and attracting attention. He even calls himself the most naturally gifted athlete the world has ever seen. Strong words, but it is hard to argue with the first man to win six Olympic sprinting gold medals. His followers certainly think he is worth it as the man from Jamaica carries his personality to Twitter, where he posts pictures from training and meetings with his fans offering an insight into what life’s like for the fastest man on the planet.
Laura Robson: @laurarobson5
Laura Robson is just 18-years-old but has already achieved great success in her tennis career, most notably at the 2012 Olympics where she won a silver medal with the US Open Champion Andy Murray. Robson’s youthful take on life is a refreshing break from the dramas of sports, tweeting pictures from her nights out and most recently a video doing the Gangnam Style dance along with other tennis stars, including Maria Sharapova.
Tom Daley: @TomDaley1994
Tom Daley captured the hearts of a nation at the London 2012 Olympics and became somewhat of a poster boy for the Games. He has been affectionately named the Justin Bieber of sports and it’s easy to see why. The 18-year-old has an Olympic bronze medal, girls clambering all over him and has amassed over two million Twitter followers; all of this while still studying and training, an impressive feat. Daley interacts with his followers keeping them up-to-date with his life and what he is watching on the telly “Was not expecting that!!! @TheXFactor”
By Jamie Bassett
@jmebassett
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