Ryun VS Scott (best US miler ever)

I'm really surprised that so many people are voting for Scott. Although I'm not wild about comparisons between runners of different eras, Ryun was truly extraordinary. It's difficult for me to imagine that Scott would have fared very well against Ryun. Moreover, for some of us who grew up in the 1960s, Ryun was the one bona fide superstar of the sport at the time. Scott, by contrast, was "just" a solid world-class runner who could be counted on to make a good race in the Coe-Ovett era.

Splits for the 3:51.1 (near as I can tell from the tape):

58.9

1:58.8 (59.9)

2:57.3 (58.5)

3:51.1 (53.8)

Led every step of the race.

No one close after 880.

Was on pace for only 3:56 at 1320.

On dirt.

No $$$.

World Record

Same race + mondo track = 3:48

Same race + mondo track + rabbits = 3:45

Ryun + mondo tracks + more development = faster than EL G

i say ryun was the better of the 2. he was faster(near, if not at, world class) at a young age & set his first world record at 19. i agree w/ those who've said that if he had better training & faster surfaces, he'd have run faster, prob. in the 3:45 range. in my opinion, no miler has worked harder than ryun.

Scott was one of the first US milers to really get into high tech training. You could say Ryuns performances were from the heart, while Scotts performances were from the lab.

Both were remarkable athletes. Scott I believe is the only miler ever to run back to back sub 3:50 miles. I think they were two weeks apart.

Can you imagine how this board would light up if there was a US miler running like Scott today. Could Webb be that type of runner whose posts two sub 3:50 miles in one season. We have been so used to 3:54+ performance from US milers lately that this kind of performance would come as a shock.

Heck, Jim Ryun (aka 1968) would be a full 3 seconds ahead of Jason Lunn today.

Steve Scott ran for so long and accumulated so many races that you pick up many new things in his statistics, even after twenty years.

Ryun without a doubt.I don't know if he would have really run 3:45.But really he was amazing.It was/is tough for Webb to take that record and all that pressure that comes with it.

Yeah, Scott's own book "Miler," written with Marc Bloom, lists all of his sub-4:00s on the track, and there are 136 of them, the last in 1993.

The facts. wrote:

"That list includes three milers who have broken four

minutes 100 or more times: the American Steve Scott (147),

John Walker of New Zealand (137), and the Irishman Marcus

O'Sullivan (100), who is the track coach at Villanova

University."

speaking as someone who raced Scott the first year he came onto the scene (heck I even worked out with him once), and as someone who followed the sport I've never heard of the 147 number. This link provides "facts" that are in line with what I've heard for quite awhile.

I think Ryun was a biomechanical marvel. For a tall, lanky type, he had an awfully light, quick stride.

Watch him against Snell in the video below. Ryun seems to float. By comparison, Snell looks like a lumbering oaf. Ryun looks a model for the Pose Method. Maybe that's one reason he could run WRs from 880 to 2 miles.

I can't recall anybody since who was that smooth and relaxed while closing in 53. Even Coe.

My vote goes to Ryun.

Here is the link where you can order the book.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0028616774/103-5489295-6545414?v=glance

I found another unknown scott record. He was ranked in the US top ten for ten consecutive years. No other US miler can touch that kind of consistency.

If Scott got that Olympic medal he would be considered America's greatest miler.

No American miler has really come close to Scotts 3:47 mile record. The more years that record stands the larger the Steve Scott myth gets. It is just like Roger Maris's old 61 homer record. It is looked in awe until it is broken.

Scott and Ryun make todays US milers looks like pretenders.

ryun is still the man

Although I, like drewr, am extremely biased, I say Scott. Scott raced in perhaps the most competitive era of miling we have ever seen. So many guys so close in ability and racing at such a high level -- I can't imagine when we'd see something like that ever again.

Scott was supremely consistent. 136 sub4s, 8 times sub3:50. TaFNews ranks Scott (as of 2001) as #5 all-time in world 1500m ranking points:

1. Morceli

2. Keino

3. Cram

3. el Guerrouj (has moved up since)

5. Scott

6. Aouita

7. Walker

8. Ovett

9. Coe

10. Wessinghage

He has the most ever world rankings (11):

1977 #9

1978 #7

1979 #3

1980 #4

1981 #4

1982 #2

1983 #2

1984 #8

1985 #7

1986 #3

1988 #6

He was world ranked for almost 12 years in a row (1987 was his only non-ranking year, battling a hamstring injury). He was a machine -- willing to race anyone anywhere.

Scott was better than I thought.

Ryun edges Scott wrote:

Ryun ran that last lap in the trials in 50.8 - running half that lap in the 3rd and 4th lanes.

Ryun held WR's in the 880/1500/mile. Scott never did. Scott was never considered the best. He ran a few seconds faster, on much better tracks, better training, faster competition and who knows what else? Ryun and Elliot are two of the very few runners from way back when who would have been competitive today. Ryun's improvement curve mimics that of Cram's until Ryun made his premature retirement. He was never the same when he came back because he had a lot of other things to worry about besides running. Unlike Scott who was a running bum for a decade.

Ryun vs Scott:

I agree with picking Jim Ryun ahead of Steve Scott. After reading Scott's book The Miler wherein he (without remorse!) describes his affairs in Europe (his wife is home with the kids), he lost a lot of my respect. Then to top it off, he cheats on his wife AGAIN during a subsequent tour and he can't figure out why his wife is so steamed. A running "BUM" to be sure.

Indiana

i wondered if this would come up in this thread. i agree with you. i have met both jim and steve. both are nice. jim, by far, is the person i would rather spend time with. and i will always believe he is the best US miler ever. it is a simple case of jim having the most talent but less opportunity to showcase it.

3:47

I would like to point out that the topic is their running and not their personality. And do not make comments on someones personal life in such a biased and rash opinonated outburst as you have done. It is plain wrong. An athlete's personal life is just that personal and none of your business. You all shall feel lucky enough that an athlete such as him was willing to write his book as he did. He didnt with hold a thing and let hang all out just as he raced. Steve Scott was the greatest miler ever in the United States because he hung it all out there everytime. I am not saying Jim Ryun didnt but do not go into personal attacks when they have nothing to do with this topic.

I am personally sick of hearing about Jim Ryun and how he is the greatest and would have run faster with better track surfaces and better training. Okay if that is so true what is the excuse for those U.S. Milers today who arent even close to running as fast as Steve. If you must make excuses for someone then there is no way they are the best miler. Steve may not have an Olympic medal but in our sport is that truly what matters. The best race I believe Steve ever ran was his 1988 Olympic Games final when he took the lead and tried his hardest to win and ended up just coming short. When everyone was saying how he is over the hill and wont be much of a contender. That to me shows how tough and amazing of a runner he truly was.

Why does talent matter? Who did the most with their talent? I'm not knocking Ryun but was more consistent over a longer period of time.

Favorite Championship Scott Race: probably '88 1500m final. He was in his 12th year of international miling, his third Olympic team and he placed 5th, 7/10ths of a second from a bronze medal, and I think he ran as he was going to.

Favorite non-Championship Race: Records aside, I loved the 1983 AAA Mile in London. Williamson shoved Scott and Coe out the way with 420m to go, and Scott stayed in hot pursuit. Coe hung right behind Scott as they shadowed Williamson down the backstraight and then Scott just tore into him, destroying Williamson in the last 200m, with Coe unable to hang. On his lap of honour, someone handed him a paster that read "STEVE SCOTT USA #1"

Scott=Dirty

Ryun=Clean

End of discussion.