greatest white runner? VIREN

PAavo, Zatopek, Coe

I think Viren was juiced!

timo wrote:

Viren in two Olympics 4 golds and a fifth place, show me another distance runner that has done that.

Ummm... you need a history lesson, son. Zatopek won four golds and a silver over two Olympics.

exactly. know what you're talking about before you post.

Viren- his championships tell the full tale. He could run and win with any strategy.

so could Zatopek.

so given that about Zatopek, Viren was faster.

thank you we need to give some credit to kennedy.Hes the only white guy to break 13

by the fastest standard the winner would be kennedy. count medals, world records, and general spectacularity of their feats. the double-double is nice, but no one will ever win the 5K, 10K and marathon in one olympics again.

aahhhhh, clarke very nice choice!

Kennedy was the first non african to break 13:00, but not the only. Dieter Bauman (sp?) also broke 13:00 (Not here to argue spiked toothpaste).

I've seen some names such as Kennedy and Pre. No doubt, very good runners. I'm surprised someone didn't name Virgin. He ran 27:20 for a long standing American record and more importantly won the World Cross Championships TWICE!!!

Dhing

Virgin yes 2 x WXC, but ran 27:29track; Marc Nenow ran 27:20Track & 27:22road; both ARs! Alsal ran 27:25? I believe.

herb elliot. undefeated. biggest winning margin 1500m olympics. world record of 3.36 (?).

Carlos Lopes

Steve Magness

All this crap talk about Pre,what did he ever win outside his own country? Was talking to Ian Steward from Scotland(one of a number of good British distance runners of the seventies and said he race Pre about 10 times and never lost once against him,said he never rated Pre at all.Also if your talking about the greatest white athlete I would rank Mark Carroll of Ireland ahead of Kennedy,he has ran quicker over 3K ie 7:30:21 than Kennedy and please,please don't mention Craig Virgin as a possiblity because he won the world CC twice,John Treacy of Ireland also won it twice and won silver in the LA olimpics in Marathon but i wouldn't even consider him in the top 20 white distance guys.

Best ever white guys are Steve Ovett,Carlos Lopes,Lasse Viren,Seb Coe,Zatopex,Peter Snell no one else can be put in the same league and i'll scream if i hear the name Pre,Virgin or Lingeren mentioned

i'd rate Jim Ryun up with Steve Cram both broke world records Ryun 3 and Cram 4 and both won silvers in olimpic although Cram won gold in Worlds in '83

If your definition of greatness is an athlete dominating his era, it's Nurmi.

Never beaten in the 10,000. 8-year unbeaten streak in the 5000. WR holder in every flat distance from 1500m to 20 km, plus a near-WR marathon time trial in '32. 21-time leader in annual world lists. And then there's all those Olympic golds and silvers. No one else comes even remotely close, black or white.

Define "white" for me.

Carlos Lopes my friends. He was clean.