Top FIVE American Middle & Long Distance Runners of All-TIme

No one mentions Bob Kennedy or Craig Virgin!!!????

[quote]IMO wrote:

# 1. Frank Shorter

1972 Olympic Marathon GOLD and 5th in the Olympic 10000m

1976 Olympic Marathon Silver

2. Bob Schul

the only American to every medal at Olympic 5000m and he won GOLD

3. Joan Benoit

ran away from heavy Olympic favorite Grete Waitz and Ingrid Kristansen in LA and posted an incredible time in her solo run to Olympic Gold. Winner of numerous marathons after and still 2nd fastest American 20 plus years later.

4. Billy Mills

huge underdog and ran an unbelieveable personal best to win Olympic 10000m GOLD

5. Dave Wottle

winner of the only 800m Olympic GOLD medal with even spilts, dead last at 500m but walked everyone down for the GOLD. 2-time NCAA 1500m champion USA Olympian at 1500m.

You have to have won Olympic Gold to make my list. Most athletes would trade all their other accomplishments to have an individual Olympic Gold!

I agree with your list as you stated they all won Olympic Gold but then you stated five individuals who could make your list- they Olympic and World medals but none of them have an Olympic Gold. Then on your next post you added Jenny Barringer who don't even have an Olympic or World medal.

You should have just stopped with your all-time top five IMO.

Benoit

Meb

Shorter

Ritz

Barringer

Ryun 60's

Shorter 70's

Salazar 80's

Kennedy 90's

Lagat 00's

coincidence that they all represent a different decade. I believe these to be the top 5 US runners of all-time. They all broke barriers, and were all clearly the best at what they did during their respective eras.

Everyone that put Lagat on their list makes me sick. What has he done since becoming an American? He had a good WC in 2007. Nothing besides that. He couldn't even make the finals in the Olympics with our jersey on.

Bernard Lagat won two World Outdoor Championship titles- 1500m and 5000m- while wearing the USA singlet. Something no other American has come close to doing and he was overcoming an injury in 2008.

By the way could you even run two blocks or would you trip and hurt yourself on your beer cans and moldy week old donuts before you get out your front door?

My All-Time top 5

Frank Shorter

Craig Virgin

Joan Benoit

Bernard Lagat

Lynn Jennings

1. Bill Rodgers

2. Alberto Salazar

3. Bob Kennedy

4. Frank Shorter

5. Jim Ryun

in no particular order...

That is a very limited view. Would you rather have Bill Rodgers career (4x boston, NYC and so on) or Peter Rono (one great race)? There is a lot of luck in getting a gold medal. If the US competed in 1980, Rodgers would have had a shot at medalling. If Mexico was held at sea level, I liked Ryuns chances. If the olympics were in 1971, Liquori might have a medal, and so on.

IMO wrote:

You have to have won Olympic Gold to make my list. Most athletes would trade all their other accomplishments to have an individual Olympic Gold!

Montesquieu wrote:

No one mentions Bob Kennedy or Craig Virgin!!!????

I had the exact same sentiment. Virgin is still the only American to ever win the deepest, hardest distance race to win of all in world cross, and twice at that. Yes, depth of competition has increased measurably since then, but, that's true of every Olympic distance. He would've been a medal contender and possibly a gold medal in the 10,000 in 1980 but for the boycott as well.

Usain Bolt is the greatest.

ryan shorter rodgers jbs slaney jennings,larrieu my top group asof 2000.

Would have to add Jim Beatty in the 60's over Ryun.

1st man to go Sub 4 Indoors

3 WR

11AR

AR 1500, 3000, 5000, 1 Mi and 3 Mi simultaneously

wineturtle wrote:

ryun shorter rodgers jbs slaney jennings,larrieu my top group asof 2000.

oops

Gulag wrote:

Would have to add Jim Beatty in the 60's over Ryun.

1st man to go Sub 4 Indoors

3 WR

11AR

AR 1500, 3000, 5000, 1 Mi and 3 Mi simultaneously

Beatty over Ryun?? You're high. Ok, you are correct that Beatty is very underrated, and his range is better than I had remembered. I an all-time great american runner. But over Ryun?? No way. Ryun's LOONG lasting records, including 880y, 1500m, and mile trump Beatty's times. Ryun's times were far superior, and he was only a few years after Beatty came along. And Ryun at least has a silver in the Olympics (no medal for Beatty, correct?).

And even Ryun's 8:25 2 mile, run when he was 19, is certainly superior to Beatty's best 2 mile and 3000 times

So Ryun was easily better from 800-2 mile. Beatty better at 5k. And Ryun has the medal.

Ryun was better.

1998 wrote:

Ryun 60's

Shorter 70's

Salazar 80's

Kennedy 90's

Lagat 00's

coincidence that they all represent a different decade. I believe these to be the top 5 US runners of all-time. They all broke barriers, and were all clearly the best at what they did during their respective eras.

Um.... No way did Kennedy accomplish half of what Johny Grey did on the World Stage, plus Grey was competitive for 3 straight Oly games, Kennedy only showed up competitive once. Grey actually competed and score medals, Kennedy took 5th at Oly. Both has AR's, but Grey was mathamatically much closer to the WR then Kennedy.

Mine in no particular order, based on ability to compete at the world level.

Shorter

Ryun

Grey

Lagat

Salazar/virgin/liquori/Lindgren/Pre. It's a toss up for 5th best.

I'm sure it's not a perfect list, but this is what comes to mind.

1) you gotta separate out men and women

2) you gotta separate middle distance (800, 1500/mile and 3000) from distance (>3000).

yogi wrote:

It's amazing how little respect Rick Wohlhuter gets. Look at the T&FN top lists for all events. Who's still there from the 70's? He is for both the 800m and, oh yeah, the still standing 1000m AR.

And he got an Olympic medal with two major studs ahead of him. Wottle got gold but he didn't have to run against those guys.

Next to Ryun, I'd rank RW the best American middle distance runner, and in the top five for middle and long.

I'd put Rick ahead of Wottle myself however Wottle did beat Boit in '72 and Rick did not have to run against Boit in '76.

Bernard Lagat

Meb Klefezighi

Frank Shorter

Alberto Salazar

Johnny Gray

Can't argue much with this one ... perhaps Steve Scott should get a high honorable mention somewhere.