Zátopek had a soft spot for grand gestures of sportsmanship. Eight years into retirement, he invited a melancholic Clarke to Prague. The four-time Olympic gold medalist guided the young Australian through the city. Imparting wisdom like a zen master, Zátopek told Clarke that sometimes running is about purposelessness, hoping it would free Clarke from his own mind. Their bond grew strong, and as they bid farewell at the airport, Zátopek quietly handed Clarke a small package wrapped in brown paper and string. Lost in thoughts, Clarke only remembered to open the parcel once he was on the plane. Inside, he discovered an Olympic gold medal. Zátopek, already owning four Olympic gold medals, gave one to a man he believed truly deserved it.
There's no mention of it being distance runners, and there's only been a couple of mentions of Bolt, and on page 2. He's the obvious answer if we're talking about the global population rather than this board.
As said, no-one outside America has heard of most the American runners mentioned. People like Meb. Bill Rodgers. Not a chance.
These people have a magical quality to them in person. you don't forget. Today, there are very few that make sparks in person. That is the biggest difference of today.
Met Al Sal, who is non magical in person. by comparison.
Walker in a group of Olympians, was somehow picked as the unofficial leader, but it is easy to see by charisma and figure as kind of greek god,, and acted the part, as in no acting at all.
Plus Walker was a charitable stoic guy, who stands out from all the others by a very wide margin.
Coe was crazy handsome and charismatic and an unbelievable quality physical specimen, certainly the eye needs to be on athletic perfection and form. That said, Coe didn't have that immediate greek god leader presence, though he certainly developed that quality later on.
Maybe not of all time, but surely he is the most liked athlete right now and of the post-Bolt/Kipchoge era?
Sure, 1 out of 50 people hate him (and that person will likely destroy this thread now that I have mentioned Jakob's name), but the numbers that like him are vastly in his favour.
Your post is wild! You lead with some good bait, but then you hop in and out of troll mode!
Yes, Geb is beloved and has that charming smile... you aren't a troll?
But then you go to Farah who is hated by many for his idiotic Mo-bot and sus-as-hell improvement under Alberto. Trolling us for sure!
Then you go back to the GOAT Bekele, who is insane but awesome.
Then Rupp? Rupp who has only ever been hated by this board? Mega-trolling.
And you finish up with Kipchoge, who decided to hang around too long and watch his reputation for winning 9 of his first 10 marathons get tarnished by five straight defeats? Not beloved. Plus people know the "You can do anything you set your mind to" crap is BS. You can't run a 1:55 marathon, even if you set your mind to it. We all hate that sort of pablum.
Geb, greatest runner ever, all round d good guy and personable
Mo became an absolute legend in the UK in 2012 with the double at London, a hero
Bekele, second greatest of all time
Rupp, greatest recent American runner. Great marathoner. Could have been on PEDs but no more than Fisher, Hocker, Ritzenhien etc
Kipchoge, marathon God and chill guy. Hugely liked. So, he's not at his best but will come back
Nobody's even heard of Zatopek who isn't old. Most of the Americans named in this thread have never been heard of outside the US.
Geb: Good person, likable.
Mo: As soon as AlSal was scrutinized he shoved all blame on his coach and best friend/training partner. Despite the fact that his name was on the suspicious list.
Bekele: Nice, humble. Personable
Rupp: Kind of avoided responsibility when the NOP stuff happened but fair enough.
Kipchoge: Sub 2. I never bought the "No human is limited" crap but I can respect it.
Zatopek: Saying he is unknown is insulting. Zatopek is respected enough where there is a fairly well known race in Australia called the Zatopek10. No one has ever equaled or beaten his 5k/10k/mara triple. Charismatic, nice, hard working(training was crazy). Remember Ron Clarke praising Zatopek to the moon and back after he gave him his gold medal. He also refused to support communist oppression in the Czech republic(after massive protests) and so was sent to a Uranium mine.
Zátopek had a soft spot for grand gestures of sportsmanship. Eight years into retirement, he invited a melancholic Clarke to Prague. The four-time Olympic gold medalist guided the young Australian through the city. Imparting wisdom like a zen master, Zátopek told Clarke that sometimes running is about purposelessness, hoping it would free Clarke from his own mind. Their bond grew strong, and as they bid farewell at the airport, Zátopek quietly handed Clarke a small package wrapped in brown paper and string. Lost in thoughts, Clarke only remembered to open the parcel once he was on the plane. Inside, he discovered an Olympic gold medal. Zátopek, already owning four Olympic gold medals, gave one to a man he believed truly deserved it.
Maybe not of all time, but surely he is the most liked athlete right now and of the post-Bolt/Kipchoge era?
Sure, 1 out of 50 people hate him (and that person will likely destroy this thread now that I have mentioned Jakob's name), but the numbers that like him are vastly in his favour.
The wifi at Armstrong's retirement home is out so we still have some time before the thread gets derailed.
I disagree about Jakob because there are plenty of people who don't like trash talking. Not hatred just dislike. People like Geb, Bolt, Bekele and others are better because they were charismatic and nice. Athletics got lucky with Bolt because he was the fastest ever but also extremely charismatic. Putting our sport on the map in a way it had not been since the 60s-70s.
Bill Rodgers. He is an incredibly nice guy. I wrote him a letter in 1978 whe I was 12 years old with drawings of running shoe designs and he wrote me back a nice letter complimenting them with suggestions on how to get get into the business of shoe design.
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