Sifan Hassan beating the current world record holder in the marathon in a sprint finish after having medaled in the 5k and 10k in the previous couple of days is definitely up there for me. So is Zatopeks three gold medals at Helsinki, but I have to rank Hassan higher considering the sport was completely different in the 50s compared to today.
My first instincts would say Jakob's 7:17, Bekeles 5000m olympic gold in 2008, Kipchoge running under 2hrs (even if not legal).
If we include factors like age, Bernard Lagat getting 5th in the 5000m in Rio at almost age 42 is pretty insane to me (and him winning the olympic trials the same year with final lap of 52.)
Bekele's 5k gold in 2008 or Geoffrey Mutai's 2:05 in New York pre-super shoes.
These are two fantastic ones. Bekele put in so many amazing races. There has absolutely been no one else close to his peak. The third performance I'd add in Wanjiru's Marathon in 08. That was a race that absolutely changed the event and moved it to just the next extension of the track races.
i would say this or Yuki Kawauchi winning Boston... neither were a remote threat for the podium in the publics eye before the event
If we're going to take unexpectedness as an important factor, Meb's Boston win was even better. Gutsy and courageous win in a PB at age 38 (nearly 39)!
Wave lights + pacemakers brings the performance way down for me. I'd have to say Mo Farah 10k in London - home games, fell early, massive favourite, field covered his every move, olympics, great field, iconic stadium
Fell early? He did not fall in that race, i've watched it 100 times
My personal list based on when I started following the sport closely (roughly 2000 on). Criteria is how frenzied the reaction was in the moment + lasting historical impact. I have a little bit of a bias of not valuing recent WRs as much because the impact of the shoes is so extreme.
1. Wanjiru at Beijing. Totally jaw dropping in the moment, and had a permanent impact on how the marathon is run. This is one race I watched live that I’m certain had historical import like Abebe Bikele or Bannister.
2. Rudisha at London. Sad to me that this record will soon fall. In the moment everyone knew a human being could never perform better.
3. Paula Radcliffe 2:15. Surprised by how little it’s been mentioned here. It seemed almost fake at the time.
4. Bekele 5k at Beijing. I’m sure this will fade with time. Probably already has. I think the one thing about it that will endure is that Bekele turned the soon-to-be philosopher king Kipchoge, who reached supernatural status as a runner, into a staggering mess.
5. Bekele 10k in 2003. Anyone who is saying this is overrated is crazy.
There was a race his freshman year in college where Ryan ran 3:53 and change, just missing Jazy's world record for the mile. I think that's what he's referring to and he just got mixed up.
Whoever voted this down is heartless. Imagine running a marathon a day--totaling 1000s of miles--on just one leg and with lung metastases. And a prosthetic so bad that you have to do this hopping, not really running.
Just remember--no one defined what "greatest" meant in this discussion.
He was twice voted Canada's top national sportsperson and, in 1980, Canada's top overall newsmaker. There are statutes, buildings, etc. still named after him today, clearly attesting to his impact.
I hate to burst yer bubble, but Steve Fonyo actually finished the whole thing on one leg a few years later. Mr. Fonyo may not have been the media darling Terry Fox was, but athletically speaking, his run trumps Terry Fox.
El Guerrouj's 3:43:13 and Ngeny's 3:34:40. Those 2 captured lightning in a bottle on July 7, 1999. They will forever be paired because if Ngeny doesn't run, I don't think El G gets the record. They pushed each other to greatness and their 1/2 record has stood for 26 years. No lightwave, no super shoes, no super track. Just pure athleticism.
There was a race his freshman year in college where Ryan ran 3:53 and change, just missing Jazy's world record for the mile. I think that's what he's referring to and he just got mixed up.
Thanks. It was a long time ago and I was not as much of a fan with memory issues after a bad bike accident it's hard to get everything straight.
The first guy who completed 26.2 miles as a messenger over TWO THOUSAND years ago and died upon delivering the message. He was and always will be the purest and toughest marathoner EVER.
My first instincts would say Jakob's 7:17, Bekeles 5000m olympic gold in 2008, Kipchoge running under 2hrs (even if not legal).
If we include factors like age, Bernard Lagat getting 5th in the 5000m in Rio at almost age 42 is pretty insane to me (and him winning the olympic trials the same year with final lap of 52.)
I'm amazed that no one's mentioned Henry Rono's four world records in 81 days in 1978:
--5,000 meters: 13:08.4 in Berkeley, California 8 April
--3,000-meter steeplechase: 8:05.4 in Seattle 13 May --10,000 meters: 27:22.47 in Vienna, Austria 11 June (this was a week after the NCAA championships in Eugene, where he set meet records in the semis and finals {8:18.63 and 8:12.39} of the steeple, and set a meet record in the 5000 of 13:21.79 in the semis)
As great as that accomplishment was I think the day he ran the heats at the NCAA'S that year in the steeple and 5k. 8:12 steeple and 13:21 5k, may have been better. That 5k was something else. He sprinted the straights and eased off on the turns. That was so incredible. A 13:21 was very world class in 1978. He ran that time after an 8:12 steeple while doing basically a work out in the 5k. Still a wow.
Kipchoge sub 2. Broke a previously-thought human limit. Even if it can't be considered as a world record, he still did it. He still ran a marathon in under 2 hours.
Kipchoge Keino on the 1968 Olympics running 3:34 at altitude and winning by the biggest margin in the history of the event in the Olympics. He did this with a severe gallbladder infection and having also competed in the 5000m and 10,000m.
For me the sub 4 attempt just highlights how impressive Kipchoge's first breaking 2 attempt was. Without him, the attempt would have been a disaster as the other two fell dramatically short. We saw him at his limit that day, the actual breaking 2 wasn't as impressive for me.
