I brought this question up in another thread, but thought this deserved a home of its own.
To quote AT in the thread "Why hasn't Bolt been competing?": "This is something I've never understood…[Usain Bolt] owns the World Record over 100 and 200 meters. Meaning he has run faster than any human in history over 100 and 200 meters. He is therefore the greatest 100 and 200 meter runner of all time. Incredibly simple, right?"
I personally disagree with this, in that I think a WR-holder is NOT necessarily the greatest ever at their event. I think other things, such as Olympic/World Championship/Indoor World Championship medals, World Cross Country titles (although I guess this wouldn't be event-specific to track distance events), total win-loss ratio, amount of victories and races, longevity, consistency, indoor WRs/national records/etc., dominance in an era (Emil Zatopek or Paavo Nurmi, for instance), and innovation/influence (think the "Fosbury Flop").
I'm not necessarily a track historian or expert, though, so I'd love to hear everyone's opinions on who is the greatest in EACH track & field event, but I'm going to make a quick list below of the WRs and their holders, followed by if I think they're the GOAT or not (note that the world records below are from Track & Field News):
MEN'S:
Track Events
100 9.58 Usain Bolt (Jamaica)
GOAT?: Yes, I think Bolt is the GOAT. He DESTROYED the WRs in both the 1 and 2, plus won basically every championship he could (other than one WC 100M when he false-started once, which DQed him with the new rules). I don’t think any sprinter, period, much less a 100/200M-double runner, has been as dominate as he has, plus he has awe-inspiring records (will he ever break 19?).
150+ 14.35 Usain Bolt (Jamaica)
GOAT?: See above.
200 19.19 Usain Bolt (Jamaica)
GOAT?: See above.
300+ 30.85(A) Michael Johnson (US)
[low-alt WR+ 30.97 Usain Bolt (Jamaica)
GOAT?: It’s interesting that they count altitude records still (on another note, why don’t they standardize all 100-200M times using a wind-conversion scale? It seems unfair that a person with +2.0 wind could get a WR by 0.01 seconds over a person with -0.10 wind). Not really a commonly run distance, so I won’t hazard a guess as to who’s the best here. I suspect Bolt could beat MJ over this distance if he tried, but no way to tell for sure.
400 43.18 Michael Johnson (US)
GOAT?: Yes, I believe he’s the top 400M runner of all time. I know he won a bunch of championship medals, as well as owning the WR. That being said, I can’t say I know of too many other great 400M runners, and I’m sure there’s been many. Does anyone think Kirani James will ever get close to MJ’s record? Is a sub-43 possible?
600+ 1:12.81 Johnny Gray (US)
GOAT?: Interesting that Duane Solomon hasn’t been able to take either this or his coach’s 800M AR away from him. Does anyone think he’ll ever beat Gray? This event isn’t run frequently enough to have a GOAT. If it were, I suspect it’d be between Kipketer, Coe, and Rudisha.
800 1:40.91 David Rudisha (Kenya)
GOAT?: I think so, because he’s the only man in modern times to set a WR in an un-rabbited championship (the Olympics, no less!) race. Plus, out of the top 11 times, he has 6, while second place (Kipketer) has only 3 (although he does own the indoor WR…but he has no Olympic gold to his name, as far as I know, at least).
1000 2:11.96 Noah Ngeny (Kenya)
GOAT?: I’m surprised the 1-kilometer race isn’t run more frequently, given its sense of neatness (as well as the kilometer being the sense of pace for most of the non-American/English world). I don’t think the event is run frequently enough to determine a GOAT, but Ngeny has 2 of the top 3 times, so why not him?
1500 3:26.00 Hicham El Guerrouj (Morocco)
GOAT?: Hard to argue with this. Look at his championship medals and his HUMONGOUS amount of sub-3:30 1,500s.
Mile 3:43.13 Hicham El Guerrouj (Morocco)
GOAT?: See above.
2000 4:44.79 Hicham El Guerrouj (Morocco)
GOAT?: See above.
3,000 Steeple 7:53.63 Saïf Shaheen (Qatar)
GOAT?: I don’t know enough about this event to even hazard a guess here, but I’d love to hear others give some input.
2000 St+ 5:10.86 Mahiedine Mekhissi (France)
GOAT?: Event doesn’t seem to be run enough to determine a GOAT.
3000 7:20.67 Daniel Komen (Kenya)
GOAT?: His WR is so far ahead of second place that it has to be him. Plus, he has a staggering indoor WR.
2 Miles+ 7:58.61 Daniel Komen (Kenya)
GOAT?: The only man to run sub-8 in the two-mile (and he did it twice!)? Has to be Komen.
5000 12:37.35 Kenenisa Bekele (Ethiopia)
GOAT?: I think his WR, plus his gold medal(s) give him the #1 spot here. Geb is someone to be considered, given that he lowered the WR by a pretty huge margin while running, and he’s also won a fair amount of golds in this event. I suppose for this and the 10K you could also consider older greats like Nurmi and Zatopek, but it’s hard to argue with Bekele when his time is so much faster than theirs, and he was almost as dominant as they were in a much, much tougher era. Plus, he ran his 12:37 WR largely alone, which is mighty impressive. I think he could’ve beaten anyone ever over the distance.
10,000 26:17.53 Kenenisa Bekele (Ethiopia)
GOAT?: See above. He’s won even more golds in this than the 5,000, I believe. He is also the only man to go sub-26:20.
20,000 56:25.98 Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia)
GOAT?: Not run frequently, but I believe that Haile is pretty far ahead of second place on this, so he deserves the GOAT.
Hour 21,285m (13M,383y) Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia)
GOAT?: See above.
25,000 1:12:25.4 Moses Mosop (Kenya)
GOAT?: Mosop is way better than second place on this, so he deserves GOAT.
30,000 1:26:47.4 Moses Mosop (Kenya)
GOAT?: See above.
110 Hurdles 12.80 Aries Merritt (US)
GOAT?: This is a tricky one, and I don’t really know enough about 110H to answer it fully. I know Merritt had one phenomenal (best ever) season of 110H in 2012, with many sub-13 clockings. Still, this is Aries’s only time in the top 10, whereas almost everyone above owned most of the top times in their event(s). For instance, Dayron Robles has 3 times in the top 10, and Liu Xiang and David Oliver have 2. Also, Renaldo Nehemiah was a big name in the event who lowered the WR by a whopping margin. Has Merritt won many championships? Would love to hear other input here.
400 Hurdles 46.78 Kevin Young (US)
GOAT?: I think, based on reputation, Edwin Moses deserves this one.
Field Events
High Jump 2.45 | 8-½ Javier Sotomayor (Cuba)
GOAT?: He so dominates the all-time jump list that he deserves this (only man ever to clear 8 feet, I believe), as well as being a World and Olympic Champion.
Pole Vault 6.16i | 20-2½ Renaud Lavillenie (France)
GOAT?: Very strange that an indoor pole vault is higher than the outdoor WR. Anyone know why this is? Despite having a lower jump, I think Bubka deserves this title. Just look at the all-time list for confirmation. Also look at his World Championship streak, and, despite having bad luck at the Olympics over the years, he does own an Olympic gold.
Long Jump 8.95 | 29-4½ Mike Powell (US)
GOAT?: For consistency and championship medals, I think it has to go to Carl Lewis, despite no WR. Correct me if I’m wrong here. Perhaps Jesse Owens could be considered for his long-standing record, which was eclipsed by the famous Beamon jump, but I think Lewis is the all-time greatest in the LJ. Not to mention his sprinting.
Triple Jump 18.29 | 60-¼ Jonathan Edwards (Great Britain)
GOAT?: It’s crazy to me that a white, British guy has the WR. I don’t know enough about this event to award this. Kenny Harrison has to be up there.
Shot 23.12 | 75-10¼ Randy Barnes (US)
[note: Barnes tested positive for steroids later in the year; in keeping with its standard policy, T&FN does not carry any of his ’90 marks on its all-time lists]
[best non-Barnes mark: 23.06 | 75-8 Ulf Timmermann (East Germany)
GOAT?: Don’t know enough about this to award a GOAT, but it’s interesting to read the note above. Obviously Barnes was doping at SOME point, but weren’t most shotputters?
Discus 74.08 | 243-0 Jürgen Schult (East Germany)
GOAT?: No clue. This is apparently the longest-standing track & field WR, though, so I think Schult deserves some note (he also has an Olympic and World Championship gold to his name).
Hammer 86.74 | 284-7 Yuriy Syedikh (Soviet Union)
GOAT?: This guy seems to dominate the all-time list, so I shall award it to him thusly.
Javelin 98.48 | 323-1 Jan Železný (Czech Republic)
GOAT?: 5 meters farther than anyone else EVER? Has to be this guy. Still, Uwe Hohn was 5 meters beyond anyone else using the old specifications javelin, which had to be changed in weight because of his monstrous, 100M+ throw.
Multi Event
Decathlon 9039 Ashton Eaton (US)
GOAT?: No clue. Roman Sebrle and Jim Thorpe should be in the conversation. I’ll give this to Jim Thorpe, as he was voted the “Greatest Athlete of the First Half of the 20th Century” by the Associated Press.
Road Events
10K 26:44 Leonard Komon (Kenya)
GOAT?: Yes, IMO, because he’s the only guy to break 27 minutes. That’s mighty impressive to do in a road race.
15K 41:13 Leonard Komon (Kenya)
GOAT?: See above.
20K 55:21 Zersenay Tadese (Eritrea)
GOAT?: Yes, I think he’s the greatest half-marathoner of all time, given his WR and championship wins.
½-Mar 58:23 Zersenay Tadese (Eritrea)
GOAT?: See above.
25K 1:11:18 Dennis Kimetto (Kenya)
GOAT?: No clue.
30K 1:27:38 Patrick Makau (Kenya)
GOAT?: Distance probably doesn’t deserve one.
Marathon 2:03:23 Wilson Kipsang (Kenya)
GOAT?: I don’t think so, but not sure who to put for this one. Abebe Bikila? Geb (first man under 2:04, at age 35!)? Paul Tergat? Someone older like Abebe?
100K 6:13:33 Takahiro Sunada (Japan)
GOAT?: No clue. Curious to hear what people say as to the best ultra-distance runners ever.
Walk Events
20,000 1:17:25.6 Bernardo Segura (Mexico)
GOAT?: Unfortunately, I have no clue in terms of race-walkers, although I do respect the sport.
20K(r) 1:17:16 Vladimir Kanyakin (Russia)
GOAT?: See above.
30,000 2:01:44.1 Maurizio Damilano (Italy)
GOAT?: See above.
50,000 3:35:27.2 Yohann Diniz (France)
GOAT?: See above.
50K(r) 3:34:14 Denis Nizhegorodov (Russia)
GOAT?: See above.
WOMEN'S:
Track Events
100 10.49 Florence Griffith Joyner (US)
[T&FN believes the 10.49 is illegally wind-aided and should never have been accepted as the WR]
[We believe the “real” fastest is 10.61 Florence Griffith Joyner (US) Indianapolis, Indiana, 7/17/88]
GOAT?: It has to be FloJo. Even with her 10.61 instead of 10.49, she’s still the best of all time. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is catching up to her, though, and has won more medals (possibly by a significant margin).
200 21.34 Florence Griffith Joyner (US)
GOAT?: Again, it has to be FloJo. She is the only woman to run sub-21.6. And she ran 21.3!
400 47.60 Marita Koch (East Germany)
GOAT?: I think it’s her. She lowered the WR by almost two seconds! She was also the first woman under 22 seconds in the 200M (she had that WR for 9 years). She also has the 300M women’s all-time best (34.1 seconds), which was set in her 400M WR.
600+ 1:22.63 Ana Guevara (Mexico)
GOAT?: Can’t say this distance deserves a GOAT, although if you want to argue for one, go for it!
800 1:53.28 Jarmila Kratochvílová (Czechoslovakia)
GOAT?: This one is tough. Jarmila doesn’t have an Olympic gold, although she does have a WC gold. Nadiya Olizarenko, the only other sub-1:54 woman, beat her in 1980 to win the gold (America boycotted the 1980 games, but, realistically, could any American woman have competed with these ladies?!). Pamela Jelimo, a Kenyan from the 2000s, has a number of sub-1:55 performances, including 1:54.01, and she might not be as PED-clouded of a choice as the two Eastern Europeans above her (although, I’m largely ignoring PED claims in my commentary here, since there is no proof for almost any of these athletes, so why speculate?). She also has an Olympic gold, as well as a World Indoor gold. Ana Fidelia Quirot More is another runner worth mentioning, as she has run sub-1:55, holds the 600M WR (see above), and holds a number of WC/Olympic medals (WC gold, but no Olympic gold). Ultimately, based on these stats, I’d give it to Jarmila, simply because she has the best time, but I don’t know this event too well, especially for women.
1000 2:28.98 Svetlana Masterkova (Russia)
GOAT?: I’m awarding this to Maria Mutola, since I didn’t mention her in the 800M category above. She has most of the top 1,000M times, has run a 1:55.1, and has 7 Olympic/WC medals, plus has a whopping 7 (!!!) World Indoor gold medals in the 800M. Heck, maybe I should’ve included her above.
1500 3:50.46 Yunxia Qu (China)
[T&FN believes all the marks made in the Chinese National Games of ’93 and ’97 are flawed.]
[We believe the “real” fastest is 3:52.47 Tatyana Kazankina (Soviet Union) Zürich, Switzerland, 8/13/80]
GOAT?:This goes to Tatyana Kazankina, the first woman under 4 minutes, who lowered the WR by 8 or 9 seconds, which is absolutely astonishing, and won 3 Olympic golds (two in the 1,500M). She was also the first woman to run faster than Paavo Nurmi. She set seven world records. Sorry, Yunxia, but this beats you!
Mile 4:12.56 Svetlana Masterkova (Russia)
GOAT?: Yes. First off, she’s three seconds faster than her next closest competitor. Secondly, she won two Olympic golds (800M and 1,500M in the same Olympics! When’s the last time that’s been done?). Thirdly, she has the 1,000M WR as well.
2000 5:25.35 Sonia O’Sullivan (Ireland)
GOAT?: Event isn’t run often enough to determine this. The record is good enough that Dibaba hasn’t come within two seconds of it (yet), though. Obviously, Wang Junxia in her prime could’ve eaten this for breakfast.
3,000 Steeple 8:58.81 Gulnara Galkina (Russia)
GOAT?: First woman under 9 minutes, plus a gold medal? Yes, she’s it, in my book.
3000 8:06.11 Junxia Wang (China)
[T&FN believes all the marks made in the Chinese National Games of ’93 and ’97 are flawed.]
[We believe the “real” fastest is 8:21.42 Gabriela Szabo (Romania) Fontvieille, Monaco, 9/19/02]
GOAT?: Come on, Wang deserves this one, even if the track was somewhat short. Her time is absolutely astonishing, as is her 10,000M time. She’s the best.
2 Miles+ 8:58.58 Meseret Defar (Ethiopia)
GOAT?: Her record is 15 seconds ahead of the nearest competitor, so definitely.
5000 14:11.15 Tirunesh Dibaba (Ethiopia)
GOAT?: Despite the strong competitor of Meseret Defar, Tirunesh takes this one. She’s the female equivalent to Bekele, in that she’s won basically everything (Olympic doubles, World Championship doubles, World XC, etc.), as well as owning a killer WR.
10,000 29:31.78 Junxia Wang (China)
[T&FN believes all the marks made in the Chinese National Games of ’93 and ’97 are flawed.]
[We believe the “real” fastest is 29:53.80 Meselech Melkamu (Ethiopia)]
GOAT?: Despite never winning an Olympic gold in the event (she won gold in the 5K and, surprisingly, won silver in the same Games at the 10K, competing against the international championship-tested Fernanda Ribeiro), she has a staggering WR, as well as World Championship gold at the 10K. In my book, the 29:31 is enough alone to give her the GOAT title, but the Olympic and WC gold seal it for me.
20,000 1:05:26.6 Tegla Loroupe (Kenya)
GOAT?: Not sure about this, but she has 3 World Half-Marathon golds, plus some track WC medals, so I’ll award this to her. Interesting that she has the 20,000/25,000/30,000 WRs. Were they all from the same race? Also interesting that she has the 20,000M WR, but not the one-hour WR (Geb has both for the men).
Hour 18,517m (11M,878y) Dire Tune (Ethiopia)
GOAT?: Not sure about this one.
25,000 1:27:05.9 Tegla Loroupe (Kenya)
GOAT?: See above.
30,000 1:45:50.0 Tegla Loroupe (Kenya)
GOAT?: See above.
100 Hurdles 12.21 Yordanka Donkova (Bulgaria)
GOAT?: 4 WRs in one year, plus a 5th that’s still the current WR AND an Olympic gold? I pick her.
400 Hurdles 52.34 Yuliya Pechonkina (Russia)
GOAT?: I’m giving this to Melaine Walker, for having more impressive championship medals than Pechonkina (although apparently Yuliya retired early due to illness issues).
Field Events
High Jump 2.09 | 6-10¼ Stefka Kostadinova (Bulgaria)
GOAT?: Yep. Look at the all-time list for confirmation. Plus, Olympic and WC gold.
Pole Vault 5.06 | 16-7¼ Yelena Isinbaeva (Russia)
GOAT?: Hell yes! The only woman over 5 meters outdoors (one woman did it indoors, apparently at altitude [does this affect it at all indoors?]). In fact, the only woman over 4.92 meters outdoors. Her list of championship medals and IAAF Woman of the Year awards is staggering. She’s set 28 WRs! Has anyone else set that many?
Long Jump 7.52 | 24-8¼ Galina Chistyakova (Soviet Union)
GOAT?: Man, talk about Eastern Europeans dominating the jumps…hell, all the field events. Especially the Russians. Anyways, this goes to Jackie Joyner-Kersee, since she won tons of long jump WC and Olympic medals, in addition to dominating the heptathlon.
Triple Jump 15.50 | 50-10¼ Inessa Kravets (Ukraine)
GOAT?: Sorry, Inessa, but, like so many other Eastern European women, you were suspended (twice!) for doping. Whereas, number-two woman of all time, Francoise Mbango Etone, has won one more Olympic gold medal than you in the triple jump. Her lack of suspensions and the extra gold gets her the nod here. Tatyana Lebedeva is another one that deserves mention (also a great long jumper).
Shot 22.63 | 74-3 Natalya Lisovskaya (Soviet Union)
GOAT?: Slupianek, despite owning many outstanding throw marks, was caught for doping. Lisovskaya, who owns the top four throws of all time, wasn’t. Therefore, she’s the GOAT.
Discus 76.80 | 252-0 Gabriele Reinsch (East Germany)
GOAT?: She’s so damn much farther than 2nd place. Probably doped, but she’s the GOAT based on her distance.
Hammer 79.42 | 260-7 Betty Heidler (Germany)
GOAT?: I like that, for once, a woman’s throwing record wasn’t set during the goddamn Cold War (half of the women’s WRs were, actually). The top marks are still all by Eastern Europeans, though. What’s up with that?! I have no clue who to give GOAT honors to here. Lots of women are close to each other in recent times.
Javelin 72.28 | 237-2 Barbora Špotáková (Czech Republic)
GOAT?: I give it to Barbora. Two Olympic golds and a WC gold. Plus that tasty WR (only woman over 72 meters).
Multi Event
Heptathlon 7291 Jackie Joyner-Kersee (US)
GOAT?: Voted as the “Greatest Female Athlete of the 20th Century” by Sports Illustrated? Yep, it has to be her.
Decathlon 8358 Austra Skujytė (Lithuania)
GOAT?: How many women even compete in the decathlon? Still, props to her. I never understood why women had to do less events in the multi-event discipline of track & field.
Road Events
10K 30:21 Paula Radcliffe (Great Britain)
GOAT?: That’s a sick time on the road. I’ll give it to her.
15K 46:28 Tirunesh Dibaba (Ethiopia)
GOAT?: Her time is way up there, especially considering most of the other times were from (presumably) half-marathon race splits. I’ll give it to her.
20K 61:56 Florence Kiplagat (Kenya)
GOAT?: Yes, I think she deserves it, with the WR and a World Half Marathon gold.
½-Marathon 65:12 Florence Kiplagat (Kenya)
GOAT?: See above.
25K 1:19:53 Mary Keitany (Kenya)
GOAT?: She’s ran a sub-2:19 marathon, a sub-1:06 half-marathon, and has a World Half Marathon gold. She deserves this.
30K 1:38:49 Mizuki Noguchi (Japan)
GOAT?: Paula Radcliffe ran 1:36:36, en route to her marathon WR, as well as two other sub-1:38 times. She deserves this.
Marathon 2:15:25 Paula Radcliffe (Great Britain)
GOAT?: It’s pretty hard to dispute that Paula is the greatest female marathoner ever, despite no Olympic gold in it.
100K 6:33:11 Tomoe Abe (Japan)
GOAT?: No clue. Sorry, Tomoe!
Walk Events
10,000 41:56.23 Nadezhda Ryashkina (SU) Seattle, Washington 7/24/90
GOAT?: As with the men, I have no clue about walking events.
10K(r) 41:04 Yelena Nikolayeva (Russia) Sochi, Russia 4/20/96
GOAT?: See above.
20,000 1:26:52.3 Olimpiada Ivanova (Russia) Brisbane, Australia 9/06/01
GOAT?: See above.
20K(r) 1:25:02 Yelena Lashmanova (Russia) London, England 8/11/12
GOAT?: See above.
There you have it, folks. A lot of the research, especially on the women’s side, was done last-minute while writing this up. So I make no definitive claims about who the greatest are for each woman’s event. I was a little more confident in my answer to the men’s side, although I have less knowledge about field events.
I’d love to hear what others think about this subject.