This column gives a brief introduction to the legends in sports other than soccer and basketball.

Many of these players are the finest in their respective games and gained their legendary status when they set new records and achieved unrivalled heights in their careers.

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A 4-year-old Michael Schumacher became the youngest member in a karting club when his father took him there to learn racing. At 6, he won his first club championship. Between 1983 and 1988, when Schumacher was a teenager, he began to dominate the karting game after obtaining his kart license. By 1987, he was already the German and European kart champion.

In 1989, Schumacher joined F3 and competed in it, winning his first title a year later. It was then very obvious that Schumacher was destined for F1, and he continued his development by winning the World Sportscar Championship in 1991.

Later that year, Schumacher made his debut in the F1 series with Jordan-Ford team at the Begian Grand Prix. A short stint after that with Benetton saw Schumacher won his first and second Drivers' Championship in 1994 and 1995.

In 1996, history was made when Schumacher joined Ferrari, who later changed from a struggling team to the most successful team in F1 history. Schumacher was credited with Ferrari's transformation, who started to dominate in the early 2000s when they won five consecutive World Champions titles. Ferrari racecars became a symbol of speed, power and control.

Schumacher has been working as Ferrari's adviser after retirement. He intended to make a comeback in 2009 after Ferrari's driver Felipe Massa suffered a serious injury. But he was unable to resume his F1 career due to a neck injury and was forced to call off the comeback.

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Tiger Woods is considered the greatest golfer ever to play the game since Jack Nicklaus. He has won 14 championships and has 94 professional wins so far, and it is a matter of time before he surpasses Jack Nicklaus' record 18 championships and 114 professional wins.

Tiger Woods was a child prodigy at golf. He picked up golfing when he was only 2. He had his first win in 1984, when he was eight, to claim the Junior World Golf Championship. He went on to dominate the tournament for the next few years and won the titles six times.

At 15, Woods became the youngest ever player to win the US Junior Amateur Championship. He defended his title three consecutive times, still a record standing till today. After enrolling into college in 1994, Tiger Woods won the US Amateur Championship and defended it the following year. In 1996, at age 20, Tiger Woods set an record of winning three consecutive US Amateur titles and also the NCAA Individual Golf Championship. Later that year, he turned professional.

Shortly after becoming a professional, Tiger Woods would go on to dominate the men's golf not seen for the past few decades. After breaking a series of records and scoring numerous victories, he finally became the youngest ever player to achieve the Career Grand Slam at 24. Apart from a slump in 2003-04 and injuries in 2008, Tiger Woods would go on with his winning style and domination.

Already a legend and still only 34 in 2009, one can sure that Tiger Woods will continue to win more titles and awards and smash all the records that are available in the history of golf.

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By 2009, after capturing the career Grand Slam, Roger Federer is considered by many critics and former players that he is the greatest male tennis player ever to play the game.

Roger Federer has talents in both languages and sports. He is fluent in Swiss, German, French and English and can play soccer and crickets other than his beloved tennis. Starting to learn tennis at only 6, Federer went on to become the national champion of all groups in Switzerland by 14. In 1998, he won the Junior Wimbledon title and was awarded the ITF World Junior Tennis Champion of the Year.

Federer started competiting in Grand Slam tournaments since 1999. His ranking was constantly on the rise and he finally charged into the Top 10 at the end of 2002. His dominance in tennis began in 2003, when he won his first Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon. From then onwards, Roger Federer would win titles every year and he finally completed his career Grand Slam with the win in the French Open in the mid of 2009.

Versatile in all clay, glass and hard courts, and blessed with an excellent single-handed backhand and serve at more than 200km/h, Federer has set unprecedented records and achievement. At 28 and still having many playing years before retirement, one can expect Federer to add more trophies to his cabinet in the future.

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With arms longer than his height, a long streamline body, relatively short powerful legs and flipper-like sized 14 feet, Michael Phelps is born for the water.

Till 2009, Phelps has already won 45 medals in his career, including 14 Olympic Gold and broken 37 world records, making him the greatest swimmer of all time. He is also the greatest Olympians ever.

Phelps started competiting in the Olympic as early as 2000, at Sydney, where he finished fifth in the 200m butterfly event. Four years later, Phelps would announce his arrival at the world stage as he grabbed four gold and two bronze in the 2004 Athens Summer Olympic. In the process, he broke two world records and three Olympic records.

After the Olympic, Phelps took part in the World Championships in 2005 and 2007, smashing another five world records and won a total of 12 golds and one silver in the two events.

When 2008 Beijing Olympic came, Phelps became a household figure and established his legendary status in the swimming arena as he won a record of eight gold medals and broke seven world records. Not since 1972 has the world witnessed an individual winning so many gold medals.

Phelps continues his swimming career in 2009, as he participated in the 2009 World Championship, winning another five golds. Still only 24, one can only guess how many more gold medals he is going to win and how many records he is going to set.

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Starting with go-karts at a very young age, Rossi would display confidence and little fear in high speed racing. At 12, Rossi started to race minibikes and got his first 125cc motorbike two years later.

In 1996 at age only 17, Rossi joined Aprilia for 125cc motorbike races. The debut did not end well, as Rossi came in 9th, but he claimed his first world championship a year later, when he finished the tournament with 321 points, 11 wins, 13 podiums and 4 pole positions.

For the next four seasons, Rossi went on to compete in the 250cc and 500c motor races, first with Aprilia and later with Honda. The results were impressive as Rossi won two world championships and finished as runnerup in other seasons.

By 2002, the premium superbike race MotoGP saw the rise of Rossi and the start of his domination. Four consecutive world championships with Honda and Yamaha from 2002 to 2005 established Rossi's legendary status. Although he finished second and third in 2006 and 2007, Rossi would continue his winning ways for another two years, bringing the total of his world championships to 9.

Rossi is one of the highest earning sportsmen in the world, racking in almost US$35 million a year in recent seasons. He has expressed his desire of retirement recently .

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Nicknamed the Golden Boy, Stephen Henry picked up snooker as early as 12 years old. He won his first title in the National Under16 Championship in 1983, aged 14. After winning the Scottish Amateur Championship twice and playing in the World Amateur Championship, Hendry turned professional in 1985, beginning a career than has already lasted more than 20 years.

After turning professional, Hendry broke into the snooker scene with syle, claiming victories in the Grand Prix, the British Open, the Scottish Professional Championship, the World Doubles Championship and the Australian Masters. In 1988, Hendry was ranked number 4, and it suggested more to come for the young Scottish.

Two years later, Hendry rose to the number 1 spot, which truly marked the start of his dominance at the snooker world. In 1990, he swept the UK Championship, Dubai Classic, Asian Open, Scottish Masters, Wembley Masters and the World Championship. A sixth crown in 1996 saw him equaled a former legend Steve Davis' record. Hendry's successful run would last until 1999, where he began to find tough competition against other improving rivals.

Ever since 2000, Hendry's form began to wane, and he did not win any more tournaments. But nevertheless, he is still being rated as one of the greatest snooker player of all time. His 72 professional titles are only second to Steve Davis, but his 36 ranking titles hold the record in the world of snooker.

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