Bib #1 wrote:
Mary Decker has 2 global golds, shoulda had an Oly gold no thanks to Zola, and a slew of world records. Also much better range than JB, from 800m to 10k. It was not unusual for Decker to race multiple events at one meet, whereas JB is a strict specialist
If a prime MD and a prime JB lined up for a race, no question I would pick MD.
Doper
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bjb19 wrote:
Jenny has twice as many medals in the 1500 than the two of them combined.
To be fair to Ryun, Worlds didn't exist when he was competing. He only had the Olympics every four years. You have to compare their Olympic performances (can't cherry pick her best global performances).
He has an Olympic silver. She has a bronze. Advantage Ryun. I recognize that she has Worlds medals which merit recognition, but you could argue he has world records which merit recognition.
The truth is this:
- It is easier to medal at Worlds than the Olympics (due to the frequency and also because athletes gear their 4-year cycles around the Olympics, NOT Worlds - you'll notice there are always a few medal contenders who miss Worlds)
- It's a lot harder to fluke your way to a world record than a Worlds medal
It's close but Ryun is better than Simpson.
we jammin wrote:
bjb19 wrote:Jenny has twice as many medals in the 1500 than the two of them combined.
To be fair to Ryun, Worlds didn't exist when he was competing. He only had the Olympics every four years. You have to compare their Olympic performances (can't cherry pick her best global performances).
He has an Olympic silver. She has a bronze. Advantage Ryun. I recognize that she has Worlds medals which merit recognition, but you could argue he has world records which merit recognition.
The truth is this:
- It is easier to medal at Worlds than the Olympics (due to the frequency and also because athletes gear their 4-year cycles around the Olympics, NOT Worlds - you'll notice there are always a few medal contenders who miss Worlds)
- It's a lot harder to fluke your way to a world record than a Worlds medal
It's close but Ryun is better than Simpson.
I don't think this is correct. Obviously you have to factor in that the WCs didn't exist, but the WC field is generally the same as the Olympic field. I think it is fair to compare Jenny's WC gold to Ryun's Oly silver as both of their best finish. The fact that Jenny has way more medals overall you can toss out, but the fact that she won during a odd year as opposed to an Oly year isn't too relevant IMO.
Good chance Ryun has like 3x WC gold if they had existed, though, and he was a WR holder. So he definitely has a good argument along with her and Centro.
After Centro today - advantage Simpson.
It;s Ryun. Don't pretend it isn't Ryun.