# Describe a sportsperson you admire: IELTS Speaking sample answers Speaking Part 2 - People Describe a sportsperson you admire. You should say: - who this person is - what sport they play - what they have achieved - and explain why you admire this person Source: Sample answers and examiner notes are written by Testmigo. ## Band 6 sample The sportsperson I admire most is Lionel Messi. He is a football player from Argentina and I think he is the best player in the history of football, although some people will disagree with me. He started his career in Barcelona when he was very young. Actually, when he was a child he had a health problem and he was not growing properly, so he needed expensive treatment. Barcelona club agreed to pay for it, so his family moved to Spain when he was only thirteen. After that he played for Barcelona for many years and he won a lot of trophies there, like the Champions League and the Spanish league many times. His biggest achievement, in my opinion, is the World Cup in 2022. Before that, many people said he is great for his club but not for his country. In the final against France he scored two goals and Argentina won on penalties. I watched that match with my friends at midnight, and when they won we were shouting so loud that our neighbours complained. He has also won the Ballon d'Or eight times, which is a record. I admire him because of two things. First is his hard work. He was smaller than other players, but he never gave up and he improved his skills everyday. Second, he is very humble. Even he is so famous, he doesn't show off too much and he always respects other players. So for me Messi is not only a great player, he is also a good role model for the young people who want to be successful. **Examiner notes.** This Band 6 answer is relevant and well supported with facts, and the personal detail about the neighbors complaining makes it engaging. However, the reasons are introduced mechanically ("First is", "Second"), and the vocabulary is mostly general ("a lot of trophies", "very humble"). Errors are noticeable but don't block meaning: "Barcelona club", "said he is great", "everyday" for "every day" and "Even he is so famous". For Band 7, the speaker would use sports collocations such as "overcame a setback" and handle reported speech and concession ("Even though") accurately. ## Band 7 sample The sportsperson I'd like to talk about is Serena Williams, the American tennis player, who I think is one of the greatest athletes of all time, not just in tennis. She grew up in Compton, which is a fairly tough area of Los Angeles, and she and her sister Venus were coached by their father from a very young age, often on public courts that were in pretty poor condition. So she didn't come from the kind of privileged background that a lot of tennis players have. In terms of achievements, the list is almost endless. She won twenty-three Grand Slam singles titles, which was a record for the Open era, and she was ranked world number one on and off for years. The most remarkable win, for me, was the 2017 Australian Open, because it later turned out she'd been pregnant at the time. Winning a Grand Slam is hard enough, but doing it in that situation is just extraordinary. I first got into watching her when I was a teenager and started playing tennis myself. What I admire most is her mental strength. There were several matches where she looked completely beaten, and somehow she'd turn things around through sheer determination. Beyond tennis, I also respect the way she's spoken out about issues like equal pay for women and the health risks Black women face during childbirth, even when it attracted criticism. So she's someone I look up to, not only because she won so much, but because of the way she handled the pressure that came with it. **Examiner notes.** This answer is coherent and detailed, moving smoothly from background to achievements to reasons. The speaker uses natural expressions such as "the list is almost endless", "on and off", "turn things around" and "spoken out about", and handles complex forms like "it later turned out she'd been pregnant" accurately. This is typical Band 7: flexible and clear, with some familiar phrasing. For Band 8, the speaker would explore one reason in more depth, such as what mental strength actually looks like on court, and choose less predictable language than "just extraordinary". The Band 8 sample is free with an account on the [topic page](https://testmigo.com/ielts/speaking/topics/describe-a-sportsperson-you-admire). ## Part 3 follow-up questions 1. Why do so many people enjoy watching professional sport? 2. Do you think top athletes are paid too much? 3. Should famous sportspeople be expected to act as role models for children? 4. What can governments do to encourage more people to take part in sport? 5. Why do some countries win far more Olympic medals than others? ## Common questions ### How long should an IELTS Speaking Part 2 answer be? You get one minute to prepare and then speak for up to two minutes; the examiner stops you at two. Aim to keep talking for the full time, which is usually 220 to 300 words. ### Can I use these sample answers in my test? No. Examiners are trained to spot memorised answers, and a learned script is marked down. Use the samples to see what each band does, then answer in your own words.