For Marathon running he is the GOAT. I think it would dishonor him to compare him amongst others in different sports. I wouldn't put the wrestling GOAT ahead of him any more than I would put hockey great Gretsky ahead of him. Michael Phelps? Al Oerter? Where does this end?
Even within Track & Field running events do we place Edwin Moses ahead of him or vice versa? What about Bolt?
For Marathon running he is the GOAT. I think it would dishonor him to compare him amongst others in different sports. I wouldn't put the wrestling GOAT ahead of him any more than I would put hockey great Gretsky ahead of him. Michael Phelps? Al Oerter? Where does this end?
Even within Track & Field running events do we place Edwin Moses ahead of him or vice versa? What about Bolt?
It's apples and oranges.
Decathletes should get respect, too. Whoever is the best at decathlon is the best all-around athlete at any given time. That, or we might consider folks who excelled in more than one sport, such as Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders.
I think what people fail to understand when they argue against him being the GOAT, is that the marathon has much more gravitas than pretty much any other race. Bekele winning an individual world cross title, is not equivalent. Same goes for track. Kipchoge winning a World Marathon major is like him winning an entire season. And the guy has a completely unprecedented amount of consistency at the hardest event. On top of that he was also a world class track runner having a world title, and a silver and bronze in the 5000m. Kipchoge is the GOAT.
In fact I argue that Bekele is just as good at the marathon as kipchoge was in in track. Why can't we be fine with accepting that kipchoge is the best marathoner ever. Being this good at one thing can't make him the best overall distance runner. If that was the case David Rudisha has a great argument for being the best distance runner of all time
Kipchoge on the track is better than bekele on the roads. And Kipchoge on the roads is on his way to being better than KB on the track. Only cross country is keeping bekele ahead all time.
Its egregious to assert that Kipchoges track career is a stain and bekeles marathon career isn’t.
So comparing Bekele in his mid to late 30s AFTER winning 9 Olympic/world titles and 11 xc titles plus a completely dominant head to head record against kipchoge. Who then went on to struggle in many races but still run 2:01.41 the 2nd fastest time and 2:03:03 the 2nd fastest time at the time. In addition to some half marathon success. We can argue that when he isn't injured/hindered the world record is under threat still.
Comparing THAT guy to a guy with only one (epic 5000m title)and a 12:46 with following years of losing to Bekele and then Mo Farah. There's not even much to talk about here minus his epic 5000m win.
Don't think I'm saying his track career is a stain. As most good runners still never win one gold but objectively there's no way to put kipchoge ahead of Bekele overall. If you added all their gold medals up and the cumulative race distance times Bekele would win. That's if we want to be absolutely objective here. And that doesn't even account for head to head records or the level of competition consistently beaten to attain those gold medals. Kipchoge is the best marathoner hands down. Bekele is the best overall runner. Simple
In fact I argue that Bekele is just as good at the marathon as kipchoge was in in track. Why can't we be fine with accepting that kipchoge is the best marathoner ever. Being this good at one thing can't make him the best overall distance runner. If that was the case David Rudisha has a great argument for being the best distance runner of all time
Kipchoge on the track is better than bekele on the roads. And Kipchoge on the roads is on his way to being better than KB on the track. Only cross country is keeping bekele ahead all time.
Its egregious to assert that Kipchoges track career is a stain and bekeles marathon career isn’t.
Just to add one more thing. Kipchoge was on the same track for most of those years Bekeles track accomplishments which makes it more outrageous to say he's a better overall runner. It really makes no sense to come to that conclusion when I say it out loud.
Kipchoge on the track is better than bekele on the roads. And Kipchoge on the roads is on his way to being better than KB on the track. Only cross country is keeping bekele ahead all time.
Its egregious to assert that Kipchoges track career is a stain and bekeles marathon career isn’t.
So comparing Bekele in his mid to late 30s AFTER winning 9 Olympic/world titles and 11 xc titles plus a completely dominant head to head record against kipchoge. Who then went on to struggle in many races but still run 2:01.41 the 2nd fastest time and 2:03:03 the 2nd fastest time at the time. In addition to some half marathon success. We can argue that when he isn't injured/hindered the world record is under threat still.
Comparing THAT guy to a guy with only one (epic 5000m title)and a 12:46 with following years of losing to Bekele and then Mo Farah. There's not even much to talk about here minus his epic 5000m win.
Don't think I'm saying his track career is a stain. As most good runners still never win one gold but objectively there's no way to put kipchoge ahead of Bekele overall. If you added all their gold medals up and the cumulative race distance times Bekele would win. That's if we want to be absolutely objective here. And that doesn't even account for head to head records or the level of competition consistently beaten to attain those gold medals. Kipchoge is the best marathoner hands down. Bekele is the best overall runner. Simple
Longevity is important to be the greatest ever. Which again I still think is bekele, I just think eliud has a lot more of chance to overtake him than people think.
Jordan. Lebron. Ronaldo. Messi. Brady. All absurdly consistent late in their careers. Kipchoge won global golds 18 years apart. Bekele hasn’t won one since 2009.
Kipchoge on the track is better than bekele on the roads. And Kipchoge on the roads is on his way to being better than KB on the track. Only cross country is keeping bekele ahead all time.
Its egregious to assert that Kipchoges track career is a stain and bekeles marathon career isn’t.
Just to add one more thing. Kipchoge was on the same track for most of those years Bekeles track accomplishments which makes it more outrageous to say he's a better overall runner. It really makes no sense to come to that conclusion when I say it out loud.
And bekele is on the same roads while kipchoge is having a career so good you could split it in half and it would be 1 and 2 all time
From Wikipedia: His wrestling record is 887 wins and two losses, both by a single point. Prior to his farewell match versus Rulon Gardner in September 2000, a point had not been scored on him within the previous six years. He went undefeated in the world championships, having never lost a match.
Nine gold medals at the world championships, three golds and one silver at the Olympics.
This ^
So you’re saying that record in an obscure sport is all that matters? How about a single A high school basketball team that won 450 straight games? The best ever HS basketball team? No, not even in the realm of reality.
Karelin was good but lost the biggest match of his career to an unknown American.
I think what people fail to understand when they argue against him being the GOAT, is that the marathon has much more gravitas than pretty much any other race. Bekele winning an individual world cross title, is not equivalent. Same goes for track. Kipchoge winning a World Marathon major is like him winning an entire season. And the guy has a completely unprecedented amount of consistency at the hardest event. On top of that he was also a world class track runner having a world title, and a silver and bronze in the 5000m. Kipchoge is the GOAT.
This statement shows how little you know. The cross country fields Bekele dominated were far stronger than any marathon field Kipchoge has beaten. That, plus the courses are much tougher and often run in worse weather conditions. No flat and fast pancake course in ideal weather conditions time trial nonsense with an army of pacers. Bekele’s quintuple-double at world cross is far superior to anything Kipchoge has done.
I think what people fail to understand when they argue against him being the GOAT, is that the marathon has much more gravitas than pretty much any other race. Bekele winning an individual world cross title, is not equivalent. Same goes for track. Kipchoge winning a World Marathon major is like him winning an entire season. And the guy has a completely unprecedented amount of consistency at the hardest event. On top of that he was also a world class track runner having a world title, and a silver and bronze in the 5000m. Kipchoge is the GOAT.
Yeah but how many majors are there each year? and how many have most/all the top runners in against him? Bekele winning XC worlds, Track Worlds or Olympics were against the top at the time in those disciplines and in Kipchoges marathon wins there are a few good competitors but they are spread out amongst the other majors each year so not very often it's the best vs the best
still obviously so impressive what Kipchoge has done but don't agree a major is equivalent to winning a WC
I think what people fail to understand when they argue against him being the GOAT, is that the marathon has much more gravitas than pretty much any other race. Bekele winning an individual world cross title, is not equivalent. Same goes for track. Kipchoge winning a World Marathon major is like him winning an entire season. And the guy has a completely unprecedented amount of consistency at the hardest event. On top of that he was also a world class track runner having a world title, and a silver and bronze in the 5000m. Kipchoge is the GOAT.
This is true. 15 years ago the marathon was treated like ultra running on these boards. So you have to understand why so many track lovers are offended by this reality.
Distance running in track is not as competitive as marathoning. Personally I like track better, however, I had to face this reality. With that said Kipchoge’s consistency makes him the GOAT of distance running. It’s not even debatable.
Hahahha, yes, the goat in your joke of a view of sports. Even in distance running Fisher is greater than Kipchoge. 10000>>marathon. Marathon is simply a circus event for hobby joggers, not a real race. It was an event created to demonstrate survival not talent.
I think what people fail to understand when they argue against him being the GOAT, is that the marathon has much more gravitas than pretty much any other race. Bekele winning an individual world cross title, is not equivalent. Same goes for track. Kipchoge winning a World Marathon major is like him winning an entire season. And the guy has a completely unprecedented amount of consistency at the hardest event. On top of that he was also a world class track runner having a world title, and a silver and bronze in the 5000m. Kipchoge is the GOAT.
This is true. 15 years ago the marathon was treated like ultra running on these boards. So you have to understand why so many track lovers are offended by this reality.
Distance running in track is not as competitive as marathoning. Personally I like track better, however, I had to face this reality. With that said Kipchoge’s consistency makes him the GOAT of distance running. It’s not even debatable.
This quote from rising Ethiopian star Yalemzerf Yehualaw after she recently broke the world record for the road 10k proves you are wrong:
“I'll likely do a half marathon in the coming months,” added Yehualaw, who is coached by Tessema Abshero. “I won't focus on the track season because I probably wouldn’t challenge for a place on Ethiopia’s 10,000m team for the World Championships. Instead, I plan to tackle the marathon later in the year and the World Half Marathon Championships in Yangzhou in November.”
Case closed. The best runners compete on the track, and those who can’t hang on the track turn to the roads.
I think what people fail to understand when they argue against him being the GOAT, is that the marathon has much more gravitas than pretty much any other race. Bekele winning an individual world cross title, is not equivalent. Same goes for track. Kipchoge winning a World Marathon major is like him winning an entire season. And the guy has a completely unprecedented amount of consistency at the hardest event. On top of that he was also a world class track runner having a world title, and a silver and bronze in the 5000m. Kipchoge is the GOAT.
This is true. 15 years ago the marathon was treated like ultra running on these boards. So you have to understand why so many track lovers are offended by this reality.
Distance running in track is not as competitive as marathoning. Personally I like track better, however, I had to face this reality. With that said Kipchoge’s consistency makes him the GOAT of distance running. It’s not even debatable.
This is probably the 2nd worst reply on this post. If what you said were true and track were easier Kipchoge would have 9 or 10 medals like bekele and Mo farah right? He should at Least have some 10k medals with this logic. Kipchoge freakin lost to Asbel Kiprop in xc lol. The facts are he was forced in the marathon. It was the best thing to happen to him obviously but he just isn't better than bekele. You really have to reach and be ignorant to Bekele's accomplishments in many different fashions to keep thinking Kipchoge is overall superior.
to sum it up Bekele is a 3 dimensional runner while Kipchoge is 2 dimensional or borderline 1 dimensional in this comparison
Wins against the best competition in the world, wins at multiple majors, multi time winner at individual races, time trials, Tactical races, perfect weather, Hot and humid, having to run alone for most of the race, running elbow to elbow until late in the race, WR, longevity, global medals. Checks every box.
Don't give me Boston/NY....winning those will be cool no doubt, but let's face it, he could have showed up at those courses any time in his career and won them MUCH easier than London or Berlin in a given year.
And don't give me Bekele getting close to his WR. Setting the WR, being the one to lower it WAY down there, being in no man's land - far more legendary than just scaring it.
I mean, he's Babe Ruth, Wayne Gretzky, Michael Jordan.
So you’re saying that record in an obscure sport is all that matters? How about a single A high school basketball team that won 450 straight games? The best ever HS basketball team? No, not even in the realm of reality.
Karelin was good but lost the biggest match of his career to an unknown American.
Wrestling an obscure sport but marathoning not?? What the??
And no that was not Karelins biggest match, that was America's biggest match ever. The single most despicable and controversial "win" in the sport ever. They changed the oil slathering rule after this one.
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