BEST KICKERS OF ALL TIME

-Haile, you've all seen it, you've all seen it a hundred times. He outkicked people in fast races and in world records and certainly in big races. He may be past his peak, maybe not, but he's on this list without a doubt.

-Miruts Yifter, watch the Moscow 10K, just insane, the Haile prototype.

-Morceli, talk about some wheels, how about that 51.9 at the end of a 13:03, could make fast guys look silly on the last lap.

-Alberto Cova, if you want a white guy then this guy deserves it, olympic champ in a kick, world champ, just a great sprinter.

-Christopher Koskei, the steeple is an event too, and this guy had insane closing speed, even in such a brutal event. Watch the 99 world champs.

-Jim Ryun, his kick would stack up well against the guys today in a tactical race. 11.6 down the backstretch, holy god.

-Chebeii and Bekele, will be added to this list later with a few more accompishments.

Mbwa Kali wrote:

Mr Potato Head must be a UTEP guy. Anyways, Ereng was a good kicker but that had to do with him being a quarter guy moving up to the 800m much like Borzakovsky.

I thought Paul Ereng ran for Virginia.

I am surprised that it took this long for Jim Ryun to be mentioned, he out kicked Snell in high school and only got better. He kick was legendary. Also what about Seb Coe, that man had so many gears it isn't even fair.

Has to be Yifter 'The Shifter', I watched tape of him absolutely crush Liquori in the finishing straight just last night. Liquori makes his move up to Yifter's shoulder with about 100m to go, Yifter just shifts gear and runs away from him, seemingly effortlessly! Amazing! At the shorter distances you have to consider Coe and Ovett, both had devasting speed off the turn.

A few comments/questions.

First, when was Haile outkicked by Sah in a 5,000 in France? (i.e. what year?)

Second, what is the deal with Chebii and Bekele "needing more accomplishments?" You only need to close a single race EVER in 50 seconds to be recognized as a great kicker.

Even if you only do it ONCE, you still prove you have a kick. And both guys have done it a few times this year already.

Finally, while it was obviously a joke, I doubt anyone will EVER close the last lap of a 12:40 5K in 50.2 seconds.

Borzakovsky is a very impressive athlete

however, he is more an 800m going to 400m for a year and then returning. I don't think has 400m time is faster than Coe ran, yet.

BUT .. a great kicker and proably the future of 800m running

Back in the day (70s) Harold Norpoth of (West) Germany was greatly respected (sometimes feared) for his kick, but I don't remember precisely what kind of times he racked up for the last 400 . . . and, of course, these weren't 12:50 ? 13:10 min. 5Ks. He was a willowy, gaunt-looking figure, moreso it seemed than the other runners.

Jim Ryan 11.6 down the back straight? Oh please. Try 12.6. Theres no way he was that fast or even that bigger a kicker. No way he was on 46.4 400m pace anywhere in anyone of his races. I used to have a race on tape where Ryan was outkicked by Emanual Puttimans-about as slower kicker as they come.

What about Seb Coe, i think people are forgetting how fast he was. Anyone who can run 1.41 and a decent 5000m has some serious wheels.

Sebastian Coe

U.S.--Jim Spivey

Both these guys had the smoothest stride ever in the last 200 meters--floated with long strides

Greatest kick of all time in one race: Cova in finals of 10k in L.A. 1984, Mills 2nd best kick of all time in a race in Tokyo (I've got it on the Tokyo Olympiad DVD--very cool, Robby Benson does a pretty copy of him in Running Brace actually)

White guys with a kick???

How come nobody has mentioned Henry Marsh yet?

white women? lynn jennings.

Steve Ovett

Another good one: James Robinson--I think that was his name--ALWAYS ran on the back of the pack through the 400 of his 800 meter races and then would come storming by everybody in the last 150 meters--used to wear these long socks up to his knees and had a striped singlet and big gold chain

Ryun. I believe he still has the fastest last lap in a WR mile (53-point?), and ran 50. or 51. at the Trials in an incredible slow race.

How many times did the infamous 'Coe Double Kick' win a race? Nearly every time. A great example of it is the LA Games where he first kicks down the back straight in respone to Cram's initial surge and then kicks again down the home straight when he pulls away. Awesome.

And talking of LA - how about John Treacy's incredible 66sec last lap in the marathon where he snatched silver from Charlie Spedding???

Great days :)

I second that ATL. Billy Mills in '64.

I think you guys are looking for individuals over their career, but I think of that finish whenever someone says "kick".

Alberto Cova was hell on wheels. Didn't he later admit to blood doping?

Maybe .. you haven't heard of Japan's Toshihiko Seko ..

No stories, he was acclaimed to cover the last 100m in 11 sec. Fukuoka

As said NO fanciful story

pretty awesome

Joep Advocate wrote:

KK kicks from several miles out. It's a proven kick, and in the marathon the last 3 miles is roughly the same as the last lap of a 5k.

The SEKO response was to this post