The 50 most dominant athletes alive

Al Bello/Getty; Jason Miller/Getty; Chris Coduto/Getty; Elsa/Getty; Skye Gould/Business InsiderHow do you define dominance? How do you compare the achievements of athletes all around the world, in different leagues, in different sports?

There's no exact formula, but we're once again giving it a shot by ranking the most dominant athletes in the world.

Every aspect counts - athletes who crush opponents with power, speed, or technique, athletes who win individual accolades, athletes who reach the pinnacles of their sports, both individually or with a team.

Our list skews toward recent performance: while longevity and history counts, we favored athletes who have had successful years or stretches since our last edition in 2016.

The result is a wide variety of competitors in a wide variety of sports - football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer, golf, tennis, swimming, gymnastics, track and field, ice skating, and more.

Take a look below.

Cork Gaines contributed to this report.