Athlete

An Athlete is one who participates in, or is capable of participating in Athletics. Both a participant and a possessor of skills can be referred to as an athlete, even though they are not inclusive. Skills typical of an athlete include strength, agility, and endurance. The term is more common of those participating in competitive events such as professional sports.

Athlete can also, although less often, refer to a mental, instead of physical, competitor or possessors of skills.

An athlete is also one who participates in the Olympic games. This is also where the origin on the word arises. Greek for "contest" was "athlos" and those competing in the games were called athletes.