Has LetsRun nation lost its mind? Jenny Simpson is currently beating Joan Benoit in the voting for Greatest American Ever.

Thanks for the video runnerdave. Watching her entering the coliseum now is still incredible.

Molera wrote:

Just added my vote for Joanie. The big reason: OLYMPIC GOLD, BABY! Another important thing is that she was on television inspiring the first mass wave of American high school distance girls.

agree-I was 12 years old when she won in LA, and she had an undeniable influence on young female athletes--the 1st running boom of the 70s was primarily male, and she helped make distance running a lot more inclusive...

This website continues to mystify me. One of the founders starts a thread like this that basically puts down one of our best runners.

Simpson has been super consistent for a decade at the 1500. That's incredibly tough to do. 4 global medals. A number of US titles. Joanie had a fantastic marathon career. They seem pretty similar. I have no problem with folks choosing either great. I do have a problem with this thread being started in the first place.

The real injustice is Ryun beating Lagat.

I like Lagat and on paper his achievements are obviously better. But Lagat competed for Kenya after he got US citizenship. I understand people not wanting to let that go. I'm OK with having a rule that states competing at the highest level should bar you from competing for another nation or have some sort of standards if it's the case. Say if you medal at the Olympics or WC you cannot switch allegiance, or have some sort of standards for how long out of the year you have to live in that country which Lagat of course would qualify. This puts some in a bind as a guy like Cheserek is clearly an american in my opinion as he grew up here yet he's being forced to try to compete for Kenya.

Sprintgeezer wrote:

JBS was a little TOO good. Give her modern training, new shoes, super-picky race selection, race support, and better competition (all applicable today), and there is a legit argument that she is the WR-holder.

I like your ideas and opinions on these topics. More than 7 minutes from these influences?

I can buy 2-3m shoes, 1-2m race support, so 3-5m total.

She ran with Ingrid until 20 miles; split 69:33 through half, holding sub-2:20 pace through 16; good weather and a course within a few seconds of the fastest ones.

How much more can you squeeze out of this in better conditions?

I can buy it comes close to the women's only WR.

im gonna get it for this.... but the only global gold that counts is Olympic. I would say WC medal is equal to a diamond league win.

Go to 5:08 and watch the cowardice...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tUUcYraRkw&t=9s

lagat over ryan. imagine a guy racing bekele to a 5000m finish in berlin and losing by a couple 100s of a second and ryan usually folding on the international stage. rupp over shorter (there is not a single distance where shorter would have come close to rupp even if you consider the period in which they raced. benoit way over simpson.

Rupp fan wrote:.

Also, I may break my phone if Shorter beats Rupp. Rupp has routinely faced GOAT candidates like Bekele, Lagat, and Farah. Shorter faced... lol

Let's start with your second paragraph. Do you know what Rupp's record is against Lagat and Farah?

In races they've both finished , Rupp is 4-21 against Lagat. For Farah its 1-20. For Bekele it's 2-4.

Rupp fan wrote:

Jenny Simpson's collective resume is just otherworldly. She is my pick to win in the final as well.

Here's why I think you are wrong.

... and Frank Shorter is 6-12 vs. Bill Rodgers and 0-4 vs. Alberto Salazar and 0-8 vs. Steve Prefontaine.

I love, love, love Jenny, and think she has an all-time great career, but Joanie is in a different class. There were plenty of trailblazers ahead of her, including from the US, but the impact she had on women's running generally and U.S. women's running in particular is just incalculable. It's hard for me to imagine anyone who followed running in the 1970's/80's wouldn't vote for her...and that may be the problem -- too many people who lack the historical view.

One other thing about Simpson that I dind't put in the article. She's only been US #1 in the 1500 during 3 years of her career (2013-2014-2017).

Maybe I'll add that to the article

https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/05-w1500RankUS.pdf

Rowbury has a better 1500 pr than Simpson. And Rowbury was US #1 for more years than Simpson. They are both great. Head to head I might choose Rowbury, but it's close.

Joan above both.

Don't think it's unfair of you to push so hard against Simpson during the voting? First with this thread, and now openly on the front page?

What has she ever done to you?

1955 wrote:

I love, love, love Jenny, and think she has an all-time great career, but Joanie is in a different class. There were plenty of trailblazers ahead of her, including from the US, but the impact she had on women's running generally and U.S. women's running in particular is just incalculable. It's hard for me to imagine anyone who followed running in the 1970's/80's wouldn't vote for her...and that may be the problem -- too many people who lack the historical view.

I said it before and I'll say it again. Boomers are hated on this site.

I came late to this but I seem to remember JBS's accomplishments in X-C weren't too shabby.