When I was first handed this assignment, my first thought was, “50 best backsides in sports? That’s easy. They’re all surfers and beach volleyball players.” However, while surfers and beach volleyball players did indeed make a very strong showing here—15 out of 50, or 30%—we ended with a pretty nice variety of sports, and the top two spots actually went to soccer players.

Now, what do we mean by “in sports”? Well, here we mean basically anyone who makes their living of of sports. So hot wives and girlfriends are out (unless they are also athletes), but reporters, ring girls, and cheerleaders are in. That being said, the vast majority of the women on the list are actual athletes.

Ready to take a look? Then get clicking on those arrows.

Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova may only be #50 here, but she’s #15 in the world at tennis, so she’s doing okay for herself.

Well, it didn’t take us long to get to a surfer, did it? Catherine here is a Billabong Girl…which sounds kind of funny.

Australian pole vaulter Melanie Adams is part of a very strong contingent from track and field on this list. There are a couple more pole vaulters, plus some long jumpers, and sprinters, too.

Germany’s Laura Ludwig has one of the fittest bodies in beach volleyball. Don’t you agree?

You wouldn’t think Danica would have such a nice backside since her sport involved sitting on it for hours on end. But, you know, I guess she also gets to the gym.

Spain’s Elsa Baquerizo has a rather shapely figure.

See? We’re only on #44 and already our second pole vaulter. What is it about this particular athletics discipline that crafts such fine derrieres?

Italian beach volleyball Maria Antonelli comes in all sandy at #43.

Meet Jennie Fletcher, model and professional triathlete.

You’re still looking, aren’t you?

Okay, seriously though…it’s been five minutes. You should move on to the next one.

That sounds like a Persian name, but Erica Hosseini doesn’t really look Persian. Maybe it’s the blonde hair, or maybe it’s the surfboard, but she looks like a typical California girl to me.

Australian hurdler Michelle Jenneke took the internet by storm last summer with her sexy pre-race warmup dance. Now you can see her in the pages of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.

Diver Juliana Veloso competed at four consecutive Summer Olympic Games for her native Brazil. She never won a medal, but she did pose for this photograph.

Francesca Piccinini has won pretty much every major competition with the Italian national team…except the Olympics. Four trips, zero medal.

Oh well.

Voula got sent home from the 2012 Summer Olympics because of a racially insensitive tweet. But hey, we can still admire her impressive physique, right?

How could we do this list and not include internet legend Allison Stokke?

Australia’s Eloise Amberger is almost enough to make me watch synchronized swimming. Almost.

Italian + beach volleyball = win

Ah yes, the good old Lingerie Football League—it was created to populate lists like this.

Obviously this French-Canadian athlete hasn’t been overindulging in poutine.

At one point Argentina’s Victoria Vanucci was a tennis player. Then she realized she was a lot better at being hot than playing tennis and could therefore make a lot more money as a model. And so here she is today.

I’ll give you one guess as to what sport Bruna plays.

Yes, it’s surfing.

Natalie Gulbis has become a fan favorite on the LPGA Tour. Can’t imagine why.

This is Angela Rypien, daughter of Super Bowl-winning quarterback Mark Rypien. In case you couldn’t figure it out, she plays in the LFL.

Amanda Beard would have to be considered one of the hottest Olympians of all time, no?

Funny how the hand signals used in beach volleyball give photographers a “valid” excuse to take closeup photos of players’ backsides without being labeled perverts.

Anyway, Liliana Fernandez…she’s muy caliente.

Retired Russian ice dancer Anna Semenovich never made it to the Olympics, but at least she’s got a strong second career as a model.

Pro surfer Alana Blanchard—you should definitely follow her on Twitter.

Niki Gudex is without a doubt one of the hottest pro cyclists on the planet.

There’s a reason they call Michelle Waterson “the Karate Hottie.”

What a brutal name. I bet in school her teachers always thought the name was an error on the class list, expecting to meet a boy named Tom Logan. At least poor Logan’s parents gave her a mighty fine set of genes.

Not as many tennis players made the list as I would have expected. But Maria Sharapova never disappoints.

I have no idea how good Christa Alves is at surfing, and I really do not care.

You might have seen Brazilian (indoor) volleyball player Jacqueline Carvalho at the Olympics this past summer. If so, you may have expected to encounter her on this list.

They don’t usually tell you the last names of the cheerleaders in the NFL, so all I know is that this woman’s name is Chelsey and that she has a lovely figure.

Ronda Rousey looks like of scary when she’s in the ring with her hair pulled back and her veins popping. But as you can clearly see here, she also has a feminine side.

If you don’t think UFC ring girl Arianny Celeste is one of the hottest women on the planet, go ahead and slap yourself in the face and look at this photo again.

Laura Enever has the honor being our first surfer in the top 15. She won’t be the last.

I always thought Erin Andrews was a little overrated in terms of her looks. Then I saw this ad campaign she did for Reebok. Changed my mind entirely.

I bet you never thought you would have a “favorite javelin thrower,” did you?

If you thought Michelle Jenneke had a great pre-race routine, you should see Ivet Lalova do her thing.

Meet Tanyka Renee of the LFL’s Philadelphia Passion. Is she any good at football? I have no idea, but I’m pretty sure they put her on the team for the impressive way in which she fills out the uniform.

Christie plays (well, played) for the San Diego Seduction of the LFL.

So, tell me—are you seduced?

George Clooney is dating this former WWE Diva. So there’s another reason why he is the most enviable man on the planet.

Some people think Monica Byrne-Wickey is the hottest pro surfer on the planet.

Those people have a solid case.

This summer, USA soccer player Alex Morgan went on vacation and tried her hand at surfing. In doing so she showed us all that she was even hotter than we had imagined.

Anastasia Ashely is my favorite pro surfer. Who is yours?

(Correct answer: Anastasia Ashley.)

You didn’t see Slovenian triple jumper Snežana Rodić at the Olympics last summer. What a shame, huh?

Miesha officially joined UFC just this month and will make her debut against Cat Zingano on April 13. Her glutes look toned and ready.

I’ve been a big fan of Sydney Leroux for a while now. However, I had no idea she had these kinds of curves.

Laisa Andrioli is a Brazilian soccer player. And not like one of those soccer players who kind of play soccer at low levels for a while, but like an actual, good soccer player. However, she really only became famous when she did a very revealing photoshoot back in 2007, the results of which are not suitable for display here.

In any case, I think Laisa is a pretty reasonable pick for the best backside in sports. Don’t you?