I'm a big fan of both Geb & Bekele, and I acknowledge the historical significance of Nurmi,. but I'd have to vote for Zatapek. Not only the 3 Olympic golds in Helinski (plus gold & silver in London), not just the wonderful personality, but because he revolutionized training -- more miles, harder.
Why did you put quotation marks around your question? Anyway, Zatopek is always my answer to this question. On top of all the Olympic hardware he opened the door to modern training. No, he certainly didn't nail all of it but he showed that it was both possible and beneficial to run much more than people once believed you could.
That inspired Cerutty, Lydiard, van Aaken, and probably many more that I'm not thinking of. It's hard to know what distance training would look like now if he'd never gotten into the sport and entirely possible that someone else would have run as much as he did and had comparable success. But it was Zatopek who made it happen.
You think when Geb first set the record at 12:56 everyone reasonably expected someone to drop it to 12:39 in just a few short years? Of course not. Bekele didn’t need to run 12:19, but he essentially took a piece of sand paper and smoothed off the top layer of the WR. Geb took a sledgehammer to it.
And if you’re arguing that Bekele didn’t have peers in his era, it was only because his competition was slower than Geb’s. Looking at the fastest times by year leading up to Bekele’s 12:37 shows that no one ran sub 12:48. Geb had to compete against guys like Komen and Tergat, and he bested them all. Bekele essentially time trialed or sat and kicked his entire track career.
You probably want to avoid bringing up super shoes given what Bekele has been running marathons in and his magical improvement post-super shoes.
You make a good point about Komen and Tergat. But Bekele had plenty of tough competition in Kipchoge, Lagat, Shaheen, Sihine, Tadese, and others.
I love Geb, but it’s difficult to argue he’s better than Bekele when Bekele ran faster in the same era, won more championships, and had the cross country dominance that Geb never had.
Bill Rogers certainly had a nice run, I was a huge fan in the last 70's, 4 Boston's, 3 or 4 NY Marathons. He's also a really nice guy, but what held him back was his performance in championship races. zero wins in those races. Now he was at his peak in 79/80 so who knows how he would have done in the Moscow Olympics the US boycotted, but 80 NY he also lost to a very young Salazar. Rogers no where near the best ever, but he was a tough marathoner at his best and I moved hid book Marathoning, and also one of the early entrepreneurs of running. In an interviews with runners world he revealed that he earned $250,000 in 1979 or 80, totally unheard of back then.
I think of Roger bannister just due to the fact he broke the 4 minute barrier when it was thought impossible. It opened the door in the running world, and raised the level of not only performances, but of the mindset among endurance athletes.
Although I understand the argument of the mile not being “distance”, since distance and middle distance are two entirely different categories.
It’s easy to say Eliud Kipchoge because we are living in his era.
Heck, how about the messenger guy who invented the marathon event back in the Roman days!?!? He’s the GOAT!!
You mean Pheidippides? Yeah. That "Roman" was actually Greek because the battle of Marathon was in Greece.
Do any of you read?
This thread started out with great potential…then people like you, the “know it all, messageboard warrior” shows up and makes it an argument…good lord! “No Bernard Lagat finished his last lap in 52.49638463 to beat so and so at this championship and he had a fever two days before!!!!”.
agreed until you mentioned farah, he wasnt ever competitive when he was up against true threats in those events
Actually, Farah's era was far more competitive than Haile's and Kenny's respective eras. Go watch the 2017 WC 10,000... winning time well under 27 minutes and had five other athletes with him at the bell... was literally getting tripped from behind multiple times with 300m to go. That was typical of Farah's era.
Haile had a great rivalry with Tergat but the championship races were always slower.
Kenny usually only had his set-up guy (Sihine) with him with 400m to go, and his last 400m was usually just him taking a victory lap and even a few times waving at the crowd. Kenny's winning times were often just outside of 27 minutes or slower.... not because he couldn't have won a faster race, but because no one else in his era was able to push him.
Go back and review both Haile's and Kenny's WC and Olympic finals and there is not a single one where you can credibly say Farah would have been dropped. And we all know what happens when Farah is there with 100m left to go. Neither Kenny nor Haile could've run the final 100m as fast as Farah could in his prime.
Andy yes, Kenny and Haile had the WRs. But WRs are just glorified time trials that are one (important) element to becoming a champion - becoming a champion is what was important to Farah and he did dominated the most competitive era in distance running winning gold 10 times in a row. Neither Kenny nor Haile can claim that... neither had a dominant streak quite that long even in less competitive eras.
I'd still give Kenny the edge in the debate because you still can't deny he was very dominant, and also has all the hardware from cross country. But you can't claim that his championship golds came in a tougher era.
Go ahead and down vote. But you know it's all true.
You are stupid. Who cares that he ran 13:41 at some older age? Or that he made a weak US Olympic team? He got owned regularly by the other greats of his generation. Has only 2 golds. No WR’s.
Yes. I made my assertion and I stand by it. You didn't list any athlete.. you just called names. I would say you're far more stupid. I wish a hex on you and yours.
Was about to downvote but then saw the hex not just on “you,” but “you and yours.” I credit effort.
Overall? Easily Bekele. Held 5K, 10K WR's for almost 20 years without pace lights or supershoes. 2004 Olympic 10K gold and 5k silver, double 5k/10k champ in 2008 (destroying Kipchoge along the way and running a sub 4 mile to finish the race in very difficult, hot conditions in Beijing). Dominated when 5K/10K on the track was still competitive.. compared to Mo who was racing in by far the easiest track distance era ever. GOAT of World XC (both long course and short course) by a massive margin, and despite having a lackluster road career for his standards, still won Berlin twice in a super competitive marathon era and has a PR of 2:01:41 (still 3rd fastest marathoner ever).
Had great tactics - can control pace and also won sit and kicks with his ridiculous low 50 second last laps off fast paces. Basically set the standard for long distance running for 15-20 years, and regularly embarrassed other all time greats like Kipchoge and Lagat for most of their careers. Kipchoge definitely the marathon goat but Kenenisa Bekele is the greatest distance runner of all time.
Overall? Easily Bekele. Held 5K, 10K WR's for almost 20 years without pace lights or supershoes. 2004 Olympic 10K gold and 5k silver, double 5k/10k champ in 2008 (destroying Kipchoge along the way and running a sub 4 mile to finish the race in very difficult, hot conditions in Beijing). Dominated when 5K/10K on the track was still competitive.. compared to Mo who was racing in by far the easiest track distance era ever. GOAT of World XC (both long course and short course) by a massive margin, and despite having a lackluster road career for his standards, still won Berlin twice in a super competitive marathon era and has a PR of 2:01:41 (still 3rd fastest marathoner ever).
Had great tactics - can control pace and also won sit and kicks with his ridiculous low 50 second last laps off fast paces. Basically set the standard for long distance running for 15-20 years, and regularly embarrassed other all time greats like Kipchoge and Lagat for most of their careers. Kipchoge definitely the marathon goat but Kenenisa Bekele is the greatest distance runner of all time.
The answer is unequivocally kenenisa bekele. If you don’t know this or don’t agree with this you are a casual.
3:32, 7:25, 12:37, 26:17, 2:01:41. In the old spikes with shoddy pacing and no wave lights. In 2019 was 2 seconds away from simultaneously holding 5k 10k marathon WR
Has the hardware, double Olympic and world 5k/10k champ
Winning record against every runner he ever raced
Dominated the golden league in the deepest era of distance running
5 time double short and long course world XC champion back when that actually meant something. Made kipchoge look like mincemeat regularly.
Yes ^
And it's the cross country stuff which are his most underrated achievements and at the same time almost his most incredible achievements.
their domination across multiple distances and surfaces in the modern era is unparalleled
3.) Said Aouita and Eliud Kipchoge
First man to run sub 7:30, first to run sub 13 minutes, debut at 10000m less than 10 seconds of WR, next year medaled in Olympic 800m. ONLY ATHLETE to medal in both 800m and 5000m in any Olympics in their career in the modern era
E. Kipchoge's record speaks for itself
WOMEN'S
1 ) Tirunesh Dibaba multiple World X Golds in short and long course, double Olympic and World Olympic Gold, sub 2:20 marathon without super shoes, 3 time Olympic 10000m medalists
2. Faith Kipyegon her record speaks for itself
3.) Ingrid Kristenson she was the first modern runner to show versatility. Holding WR in the 5000, 10000m, and marathon at the same time. World X Country Champion and track World Champion
I've been pondering the age-old question in distance running: Who deserves the title of the greatest distance runner of all time? With so many incredible athletes to choose from across different eras and disciplines, it's a topic that can ignite some passionate debates. Whether it's the legendary dominance of athletes like Haile Gebrselassie, the enduring legacy of Emil Zátopek, or the modern-day marvels like Eliud Kipchoge, there's no shortage of candidates. But who, in your opinion, truly stands out as the greatest and why? Is it their world records, their Olympic performances, their impact on the sport, or a combination of factors that sets them apart? I'd love to hear your thoughts and insights on this topic. Let's dive into this debate and celebrate the incredible achievements of distance runners from around the world. Share your pick for the greatest distance runner and the reasons behind your choice. It's bound to be an exciting discussion!
Who are you quoting? I thought this was from an interview
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