Greatest Running Athlete from each country?

Czechoslovakia -
Jarmila Kratochvílová

Bahamas - Shaunae Miller UIbo.

She is not Dutch, got a Dutch passport

Gerard Neiboer, probably fastest at the marathon WR, still dispute. Old WR on shorter course. Olympic silver, European champion on marathon, Dutch champion marathon and 25 km. Made running popular in the Netherlands.

There are way better options than that tbh.

By results and impact, I'd go Seko (M) and Takahashi (F) IMHO.

Cheptegei definitely over Kiplimo.

Cheptegei is a 5-time global champion on the track, 1-time XC and current WR holder for the track 5k and 10k.

Kiplimo is a 0-time champion on the track and 3-time XC champion and WR holder in half.

considering track should be valued more than XC or halfs, I think it’s pretty clear

Hungary- Sándor Iharos

Emil Zátopek would like to have a word.

NEW ZEALAND ... easily BEN RUTHE

Germany - Sam Parsons

lol

Mujinga Kambundji is definitely a strong contender for the honorific title of best Swiss runner ever, having been among the very best sprinters for over a decade, with numerous global outdoor (WC & OG) finals and multiple medals.

WC outdoor: 1x bronze

WC indoor: 2x gold 1x bronze

EC outdoor: 2x gold 1x silver 1x bronze

EC indoors 1x gold 1x silver 1x bronze

Unlike a few other Swiss runners, she doesn’t have however an outdoor WC title or OG medal, so those athletes might also be considered as potential candidates:

Markus Ryffel, Swiss legend in distance running and 5000m OG silver medalist in 1984 behind Said Aouita

Andre Boucher, 800m World Champion 2001 in Edmonton

and potentially also Mujinga’s younger sister Ditaji Kambundji, 100mh World Champion in 2025, European record holder over 60mH and already multiple medalist at Wold/European championships.

Measured by the aura they have had in Switzerland, Mujinga Kambundji and Markus Ryffel would be the top two. But including field events, triple outdoor shot put WC Werner Günthör (1987, 1991, 1993) remains unrivalled. Günthör is also certainly the only 22m shot putter who could high jump over 2m…

Ethiopia - KB

Finland : Lasse Viren over Nurmi

True in Norway, but I think we may have other athletes who could have become just as good runners. During world championship top three triathletes were all Norwegian. Atleast one of them could be a great runner. Also i think Norwegian cross country skiier Therese Johaug could have become the greatest female Norwegian runner of all time. And I am sure Norwegian skier Klæbo is a better hill runner than Jakob