When is a sport a sport or an athlete an athlete?

I was talking with a co-worker of mine today and sports was brought up. She is a former cheerleader -- did it basically from third grade on through college. She says it's a sport and the athletes involved don't get the credit they deserve.
Here's the problem I have with that: Anything that requires judges isn't a sport. It's a competition. Don't give me the referees-are-basically-judges argument. Sports where there is a point system (not given out by judges, a la ice skating) are the only ones that are just that ... sports.

Are horses athletes? There was some flap when Secretariat was named one of the top athletes of the century, but I'll go along with this. Out of a field of 15, one horse runs the fastest. He/she is an athlete. It's simply a footrace, or hoofrace, only they happen to have a 115 pound Venzualean clinging to their back.

How about competitive diving? Sorry. They are athletes, sure. I contort my body into two positions at the pool: can opener and cannonball. However, it's a competition. There's a difference. Swimming, sport. First one to the wall wins.

This is one reason I have more trouble than I should staying with the Olympics when they're on. Anything with judges just loses me. How do I know Bulgaria doesn't have it in for anyone from Moldova? How can I sleep at night worrying that Nadia Koroshivakamic's gold medal in baton twirling might not be legit due to some fued between countries?

Enough about all of this. I have to go see if Kobayachi can stuff 50 hot dogs in his mouth on ESPN2. Now that's a sport!