Runner #1 is posted at the link below. I am sure many will argue about his ranking but in mind, he is the runner that is the most influential in distance running history.
Runner #1 is posted at the link below. I am sure many will argue about his ranking but in mind, he is the runner that is the most influential in distance running history.
great choice. magnificent champion.
agreed, great choice
wonderful choice
couldn't have chose a better runner, great article
amazing
Great job Mr.Caruana, not only on the articles about the runners, but about the order you put them in. Zatopek is definitely on the top.
Rogers and Shorter probably did the most for the running movement. Rogers with his popularity and willingness to go anywhere to run and race. Shorter's Munich marathon win was bradcast in it's entirity and that was amazing. Then Shorter thumbed his nose at the IOC and AAU and made the first commercial by an Olympic athlete in 1975-1976 (I believe it was for Hilton Hotels) He was threatened by those organizations that he would lose his Oly. eligibility. He basically told them he would see them in court and they backed down. That opened the gates for Olympic athletes to be able to make money. There is a lot more to it but you can get the idea.Keep in mind that before this any potential Olympic Athlete could make ABSOLUTELY NO MONEY doing anything relating to sports. A runner would lose eligibility if he even made a dollar coaching elementary Basketball, which had absolutely nothing to do with running.
"Most influential" is a pretty fuzzy term, so there's a lot of latitude available.
No quarrel here about Zatopek as #1. For the #2 spot, Bannister is a defensible choice, based on the two most famous performances in Anglo-American running history -- the sub-4 paced time trial and the Commonwealth Games victory over Landy. Bannister is also one of the few outstanding runners from the distant past who, in my view, could have been very competitive with the best runners of today. (I can't say the same about Zatopek, but that doesn't diminish his stature in running history.)
All in all, I think you've come up with a very good list. (Although, to justify the exclusion of Jesse Owens, it perhaps should be clarified that "runners" isn't meant to include sprinters.)
Thank you very much. I appreciate the positive feedback.
Now back to the grinding stone. Next list will be more contemporary.