I personally value his 6th place finish at Atlanta against that field one of the best showing by American in Olympic history. He had the ability to become one of the best ever but I don't his tactics were always the best against the field that he was running against.
He tried to turn it into a guts race, and believed that if he did, he was the only one who could win.
"But those were the greatest years of my career — body, heart and soul. I didn't take a second of it for granted. When I'm 50 years old, that time will mean more to me than any record." - Bob Kennedy
Agree with the NOT FAT posters here. To say that Kennedy was fat is insane.
Also, to put Billy Mills above Kennedy is also insane. Mills had a better single moment than Kennedy ever had, but to put his accomplishments above Kennedy based on that one performance isn't right.
I also like the talk of putting Marsh much higher. I think he gets a bad rap because the steeple is seen as an oddity. Croghan was also a stud (another OHIO product) who would be talked about much more highly had he run just a few tenths of a second faster that day when he ran 8:09. His top 10 times come out to a faster average than Marsh's top 10 times.
All the negative talk about Kennedy sure seems like a good reason to NOT attempt to be an elite runner (NOT saying me, I mean anyone who has a chance to become one). Dude ran 12:58 and people here call him fat with no kick. That's insanity.
I definitely have to put Kennedy in the top 5, and maybe even top 2. I'll have to think about it a bit. For me, I think Steve Scott has to be first -- super fast and consistent over a long period of time.
Others that compete for top 5 status are Virgin, Shorter, Rogers, Maree, and Marsh.
Mills not only had an Olympic Gold, but a co-share (with Lindgren) of a world-record.
Objectively I don't see how BK can be top US distance runner considering lack of global hardware.
Frank Shorter probably, considering his Olympic title, should have been two because Cierpinski acknowledged PED use later.
But BK carried a torch when whitey was soft. He was the only one with balls at the time and he channeled PRE. The crowd roar as he took the lead in the 1996 OG 5k was PRE.
His epic quote about an allout 5k "It hurts. It hurts real bad" showed he was PRE. His mile of 3:56 did not predict his 12:58 or 7:30, so he really maxed it out. Like, you know...
It's also great he can look back with satisfaction knowing he gave all. I think a great role model for young distance runners. So, respect to BK.
Bob is unquestionably the best runner of his era. He was the first & still the only (American born)3K-10K runner who believed he could compete with the Africans. He was also competitive over a long period of time. It is likely the best Americans of this generation look up to Kennedy as the example they wish to follow.
As to the question of where Bob's career ranks compared to other Americans it is difficult to compare runners of other eras. Shorter has to rank #1. Two Olympic medals speak for themselves. Mills & Schul have Oly Gold & thats hard to argue with. As a runner coming of age in the Prefontaine era I have to make a case for Steve as the best purely US runner competing against other US runners.
I know, I know, many of you are tired of hearing about Prefontaine. However, his dominance against other US runners was thorough. First,look at his number of NCAA CC & Track championships. I did not have Pre's competitive history in making this post, but did Pre ever lose to an American in his Collegiate career over 3M/5K, 6M/10K or CC? Second, at the time of his death he held every American record from 3K to 10K. He also had a 3:54 mile. i can't think of an American who beat him. The guy was a supreme competitior. His 10K AR of 27:43 was a solo effort in terrible conditions without being pushed. Finally, the reason he did not medal in Munich was because he was willing to risk finishing out of the medals to win a gold medal. He had a Bronze locked up, but went for the win instead. If Steve were running today, he'd be a player Internationally, just like he was in the 70's.
I read all posts on this topic & Virgin, Marsh, Liquori, Salazar & others were excellent runners, but none had Prefontaines competitive record against other Americans.
In closing many runners of Pre's era are still waiting for the next Pre. Bob Kennedy came close & that is the finest compliment I can pay him.
Are we only discussing retired runners? How are Rupp and Fisher not in the argument of best Americans ever. Each have two (!!) Olympic medals, numerous American records, and high world rankings, along with being extremely competitive against the world.
He's a nice runner but I don't think he even sniffs top 10. He's like a poor mans Prefontaine during the 90s. Prefontaine was closer to medalling, set more American records, and had an incomplete career.
There are several active guys right now that are better than Kennedy or on equal footing.
In the 96 Olympic Trials he farltleked the 5. He would run hard for 200 and float for 200.... Did it the entire race and won easily..... He was a man against boys.
The argument was that although Kennedy never got a medal, the guys who did competed when the sport was far from a global sport so their accomplishments are not as impressive.
No offense, but that's a rather short-sighted perspective. Just because our elite distance runners from the previous generation(s) didn't compete against an entire armada of Kenyans & Ethiopians doesn't mean that their medals should be considered "tarnished."
Uhhh....I'm not sure what European races you were looking at back in the late 80's and 90's, but it sure looked liked an "armada" of Kenyans, Moroccans, and Ethiopians in most if not all the Diamond League races (aka Grand Prix). Also, this time period was the coming out party for EPO use. Most of the elite Europeans and a few select Africans were juiced to the gills. It's safe to say many of the elite American runners were not, thus the slower times. BK was the first American to embrace the breakneck training methods of the Kenyans. He actually trained predominately with a Kenyan group coached by Kim McDonald, who was a British coach/agent for elite Kenyans. BK would spend his winter in Australia with the group and then the summer with them outside of London racing the Grand Prix circuit. I can honestly say, that if there were elite training groups like Nike Swoosh, On, BTC, etc... the elite American distance runners of that era would've run a lot faster.
Gotta give credit where credit is due...BK was the OG of American distance running on the European circuit.
No offense, but that's a rather short-sighted perspective. Just because our elite distance runners from the previous generation(s) didn't compete against an entire armada of Kenyans & Ethiopians doesn't mean that their medals should be considered "tarnished."
Uhhh....I'm not sure what European races you were looking at back in the late 80's and 90's, but it sure looked liked an "armada" of Kenyans, Moroccans, and Ethiopians in most if not all the Diamond League races (aka Grand Prix). Also, this time period was the coming out party for EPO use. Most of the elite Europeans and a few select Africans were juiced to the gills. It's safe to say many of the elite American runners were not, thus the slower times. BK was the first American to embrace the breakneck training methods of the Kenyans. He actually trained predominately with a Kenyan group coached by Kim McDonald, who was a British coach/agent for elite Kenyans. BK would spend his winter in Australia with the group and then the summer with them outside of London racing the Grand Prix circuit. I can honestly say, that if there were elite training groups like Nike Swoosh, On, BTC, etc... the elite American distance runners of that era would've run a lot faster.
Gotta give credit where credit is due...BK was the OG of American distance running on the European circuit.
You are showing a selection bias. You have no idea that Kennedy did not dope. If anything the odds that he doped are greater since you admitted this was the era of EPO coming out and not many athletes were being tested. He is just as much of a suspect as anybody during that era, including El G, Geb, and Komen. Just because he was worse than the best therefore he is clean is a bad argument. For all we know when his Nike spike was released, he was laughing all the way to the bank.
He's a nice runner but I don't think he even sniffs top 10. He's like a poor mans Prefontaine during the 90s. Prefontaine was closer to medalling, set more American records, and had an incomplete career.
There are several active guys right now that are better than Kennedy or on equal footing.
Hocker Nuguse Brazier Fisher Rupp Chelimo
Not so fast, those guys benefit immensely from much better anti-doping protocols of the current day. Kennedy was hosed by an African horde on EPO. We cannot know whether Kennedy would have medaled against a field that was not using EPO, which is the most unfortunate part.