Hello friends. I have been noodling over life’s big questions, such as who are the top 100 men’s middle and long distance (800-marathon) runners of the last 75 years. Here’s what I’ve come up with so far.
First, one honorable mention (there could be so many, but here’s one):
Nick Willis ?? + Owns Olympic silver (‘08) and bronze (‘16) for 1500 meters, and is the Oceanic record holder at that distance (3:29.66). He’s had a lengthy elite career, running 3:32 in ‘04 and his 3:29 PB in ‘15. Five time winner of the 5th Avenue Mile. - Apart from his more memorable Olympic successes, he’s had several championships at which he went out in the semis or finished near-last in the final. He’s never been much of a force on the circuit, and has only been ranked top-10 in the world 3 times (‘08, ‘15-‘16).
As above, each athlete will have their positive attributes and noteworthy achievements listed after a “+,” followed by their shortcomings or the counterpoints to their greatness after a “-.”
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100. Ismael Kirui ?? + World champ at 5k in ‘93 and ‘95, making him one of only 3 men (with Edris and Farah) to win multiple 5k golds at the WCs. His front-running 13:02 win at the ‘93 WCs was a championship record and made him #6 all-time at that point. He had two 3rd place finishes at World XC and was successful in top class road races (wins at Carlsbad, Cherry Blossom, Bay to Breakers). - Besides the 2 WC golds, his international track successes were pretty scarce, and he was completely out of the game by the time he was 26 years old. After repeating as 5k champ in ‘95, he was still ranked 3rd in that event behind sub-13 performers Gebrsellassie and M. Kiptanui, who both won golds in their chosen events.
99. Steve Scott ?? + ‘83 WC 1500 silver medalist behind Cram, ahead of Aouita and Ovett. His 3:47.69 mile PB was #2 all-time behind Coe when he ran it in ‘82. He had a long and prolific career, running 3:56 or better for the mile every year from ‘77 through ‘91 and amassing a record 136 career sub-4 miles. - His highest Olympic finish was 5th in ‘88; he was denied his best shots a medal by the U.S. boycott in 1980. He was decidedly only the 3rd best miler named Steve of his era.
98. Paul Kipsiele Koech ?? + His 7:54.31 steeple PB in 2012 makes him 3rd fastest all-time and nobody has run faster since. He’s accrued fifteen top-10 world rankings from ‘02-‘16 including four number ones, as well as 16 Golden/Diamond League victories. Took Olympic bronze in ‘04 and twice placed 4th at WCs. He owns impressive indoor PBs at flat distances, including an 8:06 2-mile. - Has a very poor championship record for someone with his times and rankings—and did not even compete in the ‘08 or ‘12 Olympics or several WCs during his prime.
97. Alberto Cova ?? + World and Olympic champ at 10k in ‘83 and ‘84. He was ranked world #1 at that distance in ‘84 and #2 in ‘83/‘85. Was the ‘82 European 10k champ and 2nd in ‘86–part of an Italian medal-sweep that year. His 13:10 5k PB made him #10 all-time when he ran it in ‘85. - Had a 5 year window (‘82-‘86) of peak performance but was nowhere near as competitive outside of that timeframe. His PB of 27:37 only made him the 21st fastest man at 10,000 when he ran it in ‘83. When he ran his 13:10 5k best he was soundly beaten by Aouita who finished in a 13:00 WR.
96. Hagos Gebrhiwet ?? + Won Olympic 5k bronze in ‘16 and WC 5k silver and bronze in ‘13/‘15, respectively. He is one of 4 athletes (with Bekele, Gebrselassie and Komen) to run under 12:49 more than once. His 12:45.82 PB makes him the #6 fastest performer all-time. He has been ranked in the top-3 at 5k 3 times (‘13, ‘15-‘16). He added a very respectable 26:48 10k PB in 2019. - Was not the winner in either of his sub-12:50 5ks, finishing 2nd to Dejen Gebremeskel and Selemon Barega respectively. He’s never won a major senior title or been ranked #1 in the world.
95. Arthur Wint ?? + Won two Olympic silvers at 800 (‘48 and ‘52), making him one of eight men to win multiple Olympic 800 medals in the last 75 years. Ranked top-5 at 800 for six straight seasons from ‘47-‘52, including first in ‘51. Was even stronger over 400m, winning Olympic gold in that event in ‘48. - His 1:48.9 PB for 880 yards was significantly slower than the 800 WR at the time, Rudolf Harbig’s 1:46.6 from 1939. “Marvelous Mal” Whitfield more or less owned him over 800. Being born in 1920, he missed much of his prime 800 years due to WWII.
94. Muktar Edris ?? + Two-time defending world champion at 5,000m, including scalping the seemingly unbeatable Farah in 2017. He has recorded sub-13 5ks in five seasons and counting, with a 12:54 PB in ‘14. He placed 3rd at the World XC champs in 2015. - He has struggled with injuries and inconsistency; both of his WC wins were surprises, especially the second one. Despite winning WC gold, he was only ranked 7th at 5k at season’s end for 2019. His 12:54 PB is slower than several of his Ethiopian contemporaries.
93. John Landy ?? + Famously the second man to run sub-4 for the mile, breaking Bannister’s six week old WR with a 3:58.0 in June, 1954. Landy’s mile WR survived for over 3 years. Unlike Bannister, Landy owned an Olympic 1500 medal, taking the bronze in 1956. He was ranked #1 at 1500/mile for ‘53, plus 2nd in ‘54 and ‘56. - Before his breakout season in 1953 he was definitively an also-ran, not making it out of the first round at the ‘52 games. He was a better time-trialer than racer, lacking the sprint finish to beat Bannister or Ron Delaney at major championships.
92. Geoffrey Mutai ?? + Had a superlative year of marathoning in 2011, practically “breaking” the event with a 2:03:02 wind-aided CR at Boston which was the fastest marathon ever at that point, and running a dominant 2:05:06 CR at NYC—both CRs still stand. 2:04:15 for the win at Berlin in ‘12 made him #4 all-time officially. - Had a 3-year period (‘10-‘12) in which he was a 2:03-2:04 performer, but otherwise was a 2:07+ runner, and he finished his last marathon in 2015 when just 33 years old. He was strong but not a world-beater at 10,000 and cross country (27:27 PB, 5th at World XC 2011).
91. Alberto Salazar ?? + Ranked world #1 in the marathon for ‘81 and ‘82, winning NYC 3 times (80-‘82) and Boston ‘82 with CRs at both. He ran 21 seconds under Derek Clayton’s WR in NYC ‘81 on a course that proved ~148 meters short. He set area-records at 5,000 (13:11) and 10,000 (27:25) in 1982. He took silver at the 1982 World XC champs. - Due to overtraining, overthinking or a chemical imbalance, his career turned sharply downward beginning in 1983, and by the 1984 Olympics he only managed 15th place in the marathon. Except for a win at the Comrades ultra in 1994, his competitive career was effectively over at age 26.
90. Lelisa Desisa ?? + 2019 world champion in the marathon, upgrading his silver from ‘13. He has eight podium finishes (3 wins) and counting between Boston & NYC. He was ranked #1 at the marathon in ‘13, the year he ran his 2:04:45 PB in Dubai. - He’s had some injury troubles, like the one that put him miles behind Kipchoge in the first Breaking 2 Project, and has four DNFs between Boston and NYC. One wonders if he prefers the American coastal majors to London or Berlin because he knows he can’t survive sub-2:03 pace.
89. Sándor Iharos ?? + Set WRs at 1500, 5000 and 10000 in ‘55-‘56–the only man in the last 75 years to set all three records in their career. This achievement alone separates him historically from his fellow Mihály Iglói-coached Hungarians, László Tábori and István Rózsavölgyi. Ranked number one at 5,000 in ‘55, and second at 1500/10k in ‘55/‘56 respectively. - His peak lasted only two seasons, and due either to an ankle injury or sociopolitical turmoil he did not compete in the ‘56 games. Went out in the heats of the 1500 in ‘52 and placed only 10th at 5000 in ‘60.
88. Steve Jones ?? + Absolutely crushed his first 3 marathon finishes: 2:08:05 WR at Chicago ‘84, 2:08:16 win (with toilet stop) at London ‘85, 2:07:13 (one second off Lopes’ new WR) win at Chicago ‘85. Memorably split 61:42 for the first half of the Chicago ‘85 race. Won NYC in ‘88 in a short-lived CR of 2:08:20. Picked up bronze at the ‘84 World XC Championships behind Lopes and Tim Hutchings. - Found less success in his track career, placing 8th at 10k at the ‘84 games and never ranking higher than 9th at 5k/10k. After his legendary 1985 season he had difficulty staying in top form and laid more eggs than he had top-notch performances.
87. Brendan Foster ?? + Set WRs at 2 miles (8:13) and 3k (7:35) in ‘73/‘74 respectively. Placed top-5 at the Olympics in the 1500 (‘72), 5k and 10k (both ‘76). Be ran 13:14.6 for silver behind Ben Jipcho at the ‘74 Commonwealth Games, making him the 3rd fastest 5k performer to that date. Earned a commanding win in the ‘74 European 5k champs breaking Lasse Viren mid-race. Took bronze in the ‘76 Olympic 10k behind Viren and Carlos Lopes. - Despite his 1500m background he seemed to lack the kick to win the big one, his only strategy being to force a time trial from the front. He had entire seasons in which he barely raced outside the U.K. Was never a convincing pick for the best in the world at any distance, the closest being 3k/5k in ‘74, where one has to favor Jipcho.
86. Eamonn Coghlan ?? + Won 5,000m gold at the 1983 WCs. Set the WR for the indoor mile three times, ultimately running 3:49.78i in ‘83. Ran to silver behind Ovett in the 1500 at the ‘78 European champs, and ranked #2 at 1500 for that season. Had a lengthy elite career in which he raced in three Olympics (‘76-‘80, ‘88) and became the first man over forty to break the 4 minute mile. - Finished in the dreaded 4th position at the Olympics in both ‘76 and ‘80. His outdoor PBs never quite matched his indoor performances. Even at his 5k peak in ‘81/‘83, he likely would have been dropped in a fast race by several men of the era.
85. Tom Courtney ?? + The 1956 Olympic 800 champion was ranked 1st at that distance in ‘56 & 2nd in ‘57 and ‘58. He set an 880y WR (1:46.8) in ‘57 and ran his 1:45.8 800m PB in ‘58, which was then second best all-time, just .1 behind Roger Moens’ WR. He was also a national champ at 400 and picked up a 4x400 Olympic gold. - Not unusually for his era, he retired from racing early and did not attempt to defend his Olympic title in Rome, where he would have been just 27. His career might be comparable to Donavan Brazier’s if Brazier retired today—but Courtney has the more coveted gold.
84. Dick Quax ?? + Olympic silver medalist behind Virén at 5k in ‘76. Briefly owned both the WR (13:12.87) and the #3 mark all time in ‘77. He ranked world number two at 5000 three times (‘73, ‘76-‘77). - He did not find the same success at a range of distances as his contemporary countryman, Rod Dixon. He only competed in one Olympic final and was unable to knock off Viren.
83. Billy Konchellah ?? - Two-time World Championship 800 gold, in ‘87 & ‘91, plus WC bronze in ‘93. Ranked #1 in ‘87 and #2 in ‘91. His 1:43.06 WC win in ‘87 made him the 6th fastest performer at that point. He finished 4th over 800 at the ‘96 Olympics. Had a lengthy career, running 1:46.x in 1980 and again in 1997. - Completely disappeared for seasons at a time, including the three seasons between his world championship victories. He never medaled at the Olympics.
82. Mamo Wolde ?? + A four-time Olympian (‘56, ‘64-‘72) who won gold in the marathon in ‘68 after taking 10k silver one week prior—with Emil Zátopek, he’s one of two men to medal in both events at the same Olympics. He won marathon bronze in ‘72 at age 40, one of four marathon champions to medal in the event at a different Olympics. He finished .4 seconds behind Abebe Bikila at the ‘64 Ethiopian Trials, running 2:16 at 8,000 feet of altitude, but DNF’d in that event at the games. - He almost completely disappeared between Olympics, only ranking top-10 in the world once in non-Olympic years (#7 at 10k in ‘62). He probably benefitted from the high altitude of Mexico City. His strongest run against the clock was his 28:31 for 4th in the ‘64 10k, and his marathon PB was 2:15:09 from the ‘72 games. He could never hope to match the achievements of Bikila before him.
81. Toshihiko Seko ?? + Seven top-5 marathon rankings from ‘78-‘87. He won Fukuoka 4 times, Boston twice (setting a CR in ‘83), London, Chicago & Tokyo. A 2:08:38 clocking made him third fastest all-time in ‘83 (2:08:27 PB in ‘86). He was also strong at 10,000, with a 27:42 PB and ranking 4th in that event in ‘80 and ‘85. - Missed out on the 1980 Olympics due to the Japanese boycott and only finished 14th in the marathon in ‘84 and 9th in ‘88. Despite his sterling record at big city marathons, he was never ranked world #1, often overshadowed by WR-setters like De Castella, Lopes and Jones.
80. Salah Hissou ?? + World champion at 5,000m in 1999 in a since-beaten 12:58 championship record. Lowered the 10,000 WR with his 26:38 PB in ‘96, and won Olympic 10k bronze behind Gebrselassie and Tergat that year. His 12:50 5k PB made him second fastest all-time when he ran it in ‘96. Twice runner-up behind Tergat at the world XC champs, in ‘96 and ‘97. - Missed the 2000 Olympics, presumably due to early season injury. As impressive as his resume at 5k/10k may be, only his mother would consider him in the same class as others of his era like Gebrselassie, Tergat or Komen.
79. Ben Jipcho ?? + Set 3 steeplechase WRs in ‘73 bringing the mark from 8:20.8 to 8:13.9, and was ranked world #1 at steeple that year. Won Olympic steeple silver in ‘72 behind Kip Keino. At a point in 1974 stood at 1st/2nd/4th fastest all-time at steeple/5k/1500, respectively. He had a remarkable showing at the ‘74 Commonwealth Games, taking golds at steeple and 5k and bronze in a historic 1500. - For all his individual success in ‘73-‘74, he may be better known for rabbiting Keino in the ‘68 Olympic 1500 before fading to 10th. He joined a professional track league in ‘75 and quickly sputtered out, posting no results after that year.
78. Khalid Skah ?? + He won the 1992 Olympic 10000. He was a two-time world XC champion, in ‘90 and ‘91. He set a short-lived 2-mile WR in ‘93 (8:12.17). Won a silver and a bronze at the WCs over 10k in ‘95/‘91, respectively. Won the 1994 world half marathon champs. - Declined markedly after 1995; he was 7th in the ‘96 Olympic 10k. His 5k/10k PBs don’t compare well with those his countryman Salah Hissou would run a few years later, though admittedly EPO could play into that.
77. Mbulaeni Mulaudzi ?? + 2009 world champion at 800 m, plus WC bronze in ‘03 and Olympic silver behind Borzakovskiy in ‘04. He won World Indoor gold in ‘04 plus silvers in ‘06 and ‘08. He earned nine top-10 world rankings including five top-3s and #1 in ‘06. He broke 1:43 in ‘03 and ‘09, when he ran his 1:42.86 PB. - Had a couple poor championship outings, being eliminated in the semis in ‘05 and ‘08. He was a consistent 1:43.x performer, but never ran quite as fast as some of his contemporaries like Sepeng, Bungei or Borzakovskiy.
76. Johnny Gray ?? + Garnered a record eleven top-10 rankings at 800 from ‘84-‘96. He made 4 Olympic 800 finals, earning bronze in ‘92. Broke 1:43 in 4 seasons, 1:44 in 11 seasons and ran 1:45.50 or better in 18 straight seasons. His 1:42.60 PB made him #4 all-time in 1985. He still owns the 600m world’s best of 1:12.81 which he ran in ‘86. - Had one strategy—to force the pace from the front—and it never really worked for him in international championships. He finished second-to-last in two of his four Olympic finals, and only made the WC final once in three WC appearances.
75. Rod Dixon ?? + Displayed impressive range across distances and surfaces over his career, taking Olympic bronze at 1500 in ‘72 and winning the NYC Marathon in 1983. Ranked #1 in the world at 5k in 1975. He picked up a bronze at World XC in 1982. - Placed a disappointing 4th in the 5k at the ‘76 games, missed the 1980 Olympics due to the New Zealand boycott and was only 10th in the marathon in ‘84. He never ran as fast at 1500 as fellow New Zealander John Walker, nor as fast at 5000 as fellow Kiwi Dick Quax.
74. Jim Peters ?? + Before he got his hands on the marathon WR it stood at 2:25:39–he would lower it four times, first running 2:20:42 in ‘52 and finally 2:17:39 in 1954. Ranked #1 in the marathon in 1953. He won bronze over 6 miles at the 1954 Commonwealth Games. - He’s often remembered for telling Emil Zátopek that their pace was “too slow” when they were on WR-schedule in the 1952 Olympic marathon—Zátopek accelerated and won the race while Peters would DNF. He retired in 1954, just a year after his last marathon WR, with limited international success.
73. Matt Centrowitz, Jr. ?? + 2016 Olympic 1500 gold medalist. Won WC silver and bronze at 1500 in ‘13 and ‘11 respectively, and on both occasions was beaten by the since-disgraced PED user Asbel Kiprop. Won World Indoor 1500 gold in 2016. Has solid off-distance PBs at 800 (1:44.6) and 5000 (13:00). - He’s been less successful on the Diamond League circuit than in championship races, with just one DL win against an exceptionally weak field. His highest world ranking has been 5th, in both 2012 and 2016. He never got his sub-3:30 in Monaco, and his 3:30.4 PB (44th fastest performer all-time) will likely remain his lifetime best.
72. Gordon Pirie ?? + Set WRs at 3,000 (twice) and 5,000 in 1956. Took the silver behind Kuts over 5k at the 1956 Olympics. He ranked as high as 2nd in the 5000 (‘56 and ‘57) as well as the 10,000 (‘53). Competed in three Olympics (‘52-‘60), somewhat unusual for a British runner in the 50s. - Vladimir Kuts dominated him at the ‘56 Olympics, breaking him in the 10,000 (Pirie lost 1:15 in the last mile, finishing 8th) and beating him by eleven seconds at 5k. Though he finished 4th at 5k in ‘52, he was not in contention for a medal, and he went out in the 5k heats in 1960. He never won a European or Commonwealth title.
71. Brimin Kipruto ?? - Steeplechase specialist who won 2008 Olympic gold, plus silver in ‘04 (5th in ‘12 and 6th in ‘16). He was a four-time WC medalist including gold in ‘07. His 7:53.64 PB from 2011 is just .01 (!) off Shaheen’s WR. - He’s been ranked 2nd in the world four times, but never #1. His steeple PB is phenomenal, but it’s the only sub-8 effort in his career. His best PB in flat events is a modest 7:39 indoor 3k.
70. Mike Boit ?? + Won Olympic bronze at 800m in ‘72. He was ranked top-5 in the world at 800 eight times from ‘72-‘81 including #1 in 1975. He came within .1 seconds of the 800 WR in ‘75 (1:43.79) and again in ‘76 (1:43.57, PB). He was also competitive at the 1500/mile, ranking top-4 in the world in ‘72, ‘75 and ‘81. Ran 3:49.45 for the mile in 1981, making him the 4th fastest all-time at that point. - Missed Olympic opportunities due to the African boycotts in ‘76 and ‘80. He may be the composite top 800 runner of the 70s, but he never set the world record and was beaten in a few key competitions.
69. Roger Moens ?? + Broke Rudolf Harbig’s long-standing 800 WR by almost a full second, running 1:45.7 in 1955. He took the silver medal at 800 in 1960, finishing .07 behind Peter Snell. Accrued 7 top-5 rankings from ‘53-‘60, including #1 in ‘55 & ‘57. Ran a 3:58.9 mile in 1957, 1.7 seconds off the WR at that time. - Missed his best chance at Olympic gold in 1956 due to injury. Despite being arguably the preeminent 800 runner of the 50s, history does not remember him strongly—his listing on Britannica.com merely links to an article about Snell.
68. Pyotr Bolotnikov ?? + Won Olympic 10k gold in September 1960 and lowered Vladimir Kuts’ 10k WR a month later. He further lowered his WR by 0.6 seconds to 28:18.2 in ‘62, two weeks before winning the European 10k title. Ran 13:38 for 5k when the WR was 13:35. He was ranked #1 at 10k three times (‘59-‘60, ‘62), plus second in ‘57 and ‘58. - Sort of lives in the shadow of his Soviet predecessor Kuts, who did more damage to the record books and added 5k golds. He competed at the ‘56 and ‘64 games but was not in medal contention, including finishing 25th of 29 10k finishers in ‘64.
67. Waldemar Cierpinski ?? + Joins Abebe Bikila as one of only two men to win two Olympic marathon golds (‘76 and ‘80). He ran his 2:09:55 lifetime best at the ‘76 games, a new Olympic record which beat Frank Shorter by 50 seconds. He took bronze in the ’83 WC marathon. He was ranked number one in the world in ‘76 and ‘80. - He is strongly suspected of benefiting from East German state-sponsored doping. Apart from his Olympic years, his highest world ranking was 8th in ‘83. He was not nearly as competitive on the track as other marathon champions like Shorter or Lopes.
66. Venuste Niyongabo ?? + Won Olympic 5k gold at the ‘96 Olympics. Ranked in the top-3 in the world at 1500/mile four years straight from ‘94 to ‘97. He is the sixth fastest man all-time at the mile (3:46.70) and number 4 at 2000m (4:48.69). He picked up a WC 1500 bronze in ‘95 behind Morceli and El Guerrouj. - His peak only lasted four years, outside of which he was not a global contender, that coincided with the careers of dominating WR-setters Morceli and El G. His 5k gold was a surprise and came against a comparatively weak Olympic field. He only broke 13:30 for 5k in one season in his career.
65. Derek Clayton ?? + Lowered the marathon WR twice by a total of 3:26 in ‘67 (2:09:37) and ‘69 (2:08:34) and held the record for 14 years, longer than anyone else in history. He was ranked #1 in the world in ‘67 and made the top-5 three more times (‘69, ‘71, ‘73). - Though his elite career spanned through the early 70s and he contested two Olympic marathons, his career is remembered by his two record runs and little else. He finished 7th at the ‘68 games and 13th in ‘72. He was never ranked at 5k or 10k, with modest 13:45/28:45 PBs.
64. Abdi Bile ?? + 1987 world champion at 1500, splitting 1:46.0 for the final 800 of that race—the fastest final 800 ever recorded in a competitive 1500. Put together a dominating season in 1989, running his 1:43/2:14/3:30 PBs and ranking 1st in the world at 1500–he also ranked top-3 in ‘87, ‘93 and ‘94. Won 1500 bronze at the ‘93 WCs. Broke 3:34 in 10 different seasons. - His career was hampered by injuries, which kept him out of the ‘88 and ‘92 Olympics. ‘84 was too early and he was eliminated in the semis, and ‘96 was too late and he did well to place 6th. He never joined the sub-3:30 club, which was already 4 strong by his peak 1989 season.
63. Rob De Castella ?? + Lowered the marathon world record to 2:08:18 in 1981, finally besting Derek Clayton’s 12 year old mark. He won golds in the marathon at the 1983 world championships and the ‘82 and ‘86 Commonwealth Games. He won Boston in ‘86 in a lifetime best 2:07:51, which was a course record and remains the Oceanic record 34 years later. - He raced at the World XC championship several times during his peak and never placed higher than 6th. He never broke 13:30 or 28:00 on the track. He competed in four Olympic marathons (‘80-‘92), but failed to deliver when he entered as the favorite in ‘84, placing 5th (his highest Olympic finish) that year.
62. Gaston Roelants ?? + The clear choice for best steeplechaser of the 60s, setting WRs in ‘63 & ‘65 (8:26.4 PB), winning Olympic gold in ‘64 and scoring five #1 world rankings from ‘62-‘67. He won four golds at the International XC championships (‘62, ‘67, ‘69, ‘72) and was the runner-up three times. He set WRs in the hour-run in ‘66 and ‘72 (20,878 m). He earned medals in the marathon at the ‘69 and ‘74 European champs. - He seems to fit the profile of someone who opted for Olympic steeple gold over a lesser chance at a medal in the flat events. His International XC wins came against weaker fields than World XC would draw in later years. He placed 3rd in the ‘66 Euro Champs steeple behind the largely forgotten Viktor Kudinskiy, who finished just .2 seconds outside Roelants’ WR. His WR times look weak compared with the 8:08 that Anders Gärderud posted a decade later.
61. Dieter Baumann ?? + Had great success in Olympic 5ks, winning gold in ‘92, silver in ‘88 and placing 4th in ‘96. Accrued top-10 world rankings at 1500, 5k and 10k over the course of his career, including #1 at 5k in ‘92. Ran his 12:54.7 lifetime best in ‘97, becoming the first European to break 13:00. - Tested positive for Nandrolone in ‘99 and was suspended for two years—this has been disputed, but at least calls his PB into question. He missed multiple key seasons during his prime (‘90, ‘93) due to injury. He failed to medal in the WC 5k in three starts.
60. Wilfred Bungei ?? + Won 2008 Olympic gold at 800, controlling the race from the front and negative splitting 53.35/51.30. He took WC 800 silver in ‘01 and was world indoor 800 champ in ‘06. He was ranked top-5 in the world seven times, including #1 in ‘03 and ‘05. His 1:42.34 PB made him the #5 performer all-time when he ran it in ‘02. - Finished 5th in the ‘04 800 final after entering as one of the gold medal favorites. He performed consistently well against the world’s best but never appeared like a dominant force, instead being arguably the most successful 800 man to bridge the gap between the Kipketer and Rudisha eras. His career was effectively over after his 2008 Olympic win, though he was just 28 years old at that time.
59. Conseslus Kipruto ?? + Steeplechase specialist who won 2016 Olympic gold and World Championship golds in ‘17 and ‘19 (plus silvers behind Ezekiel Kemboi in ‘13 and ‘15). He has a running streak of eight top-5 world rankings including four number ones. - His 8:00.12 PB from 2016 is respectable but not commensurate with his championship record. His best PB in flat events is a modest 7:44 3k. He is only 25 years old, so time will tell if he has staying power.
58. Michel Jazy ?? + Lowered Peter Snell’s mile world record to 3:53.6 when that distance was very much in vogue. He also set WRs at 2000m, 3k and 2 miles. He was the silver medalist behind Herb Elliott’s WR in the 1960 Olympic 1500. He was ranked #1 at 5,000 in ‘65 after defeating Keino, Clarke and Schul in his 13:27.6 PB, which made him the #2 performer all-time, 1.8 seconds behind Clarke’s WR. - Faded to 4th in the ‘64 Olympic 5k after leading into the homestretch. None of his WRs survived for very long, and Jim Ryun lopped 2.3 seconds off his mile record after only one year.
57. Sileshi Sihine ?? + Mr. Silver behind Kenenisa Bekele for most of the ‘00s: two Olympic (‘04-‘08) and two WC (‘05-‘07) silvers at 10k all behind the great man. Added the 5k silver behind Benjamin Limo at the ‘05 WCs. He was ranked #1 in the world at 5k in ‘07 and picked up four #2 rankings (behind guess who) from ‘04-‘08. Placed 2nd and 3rd (again, behind Bekele) at World XC in ‘06 and ‘04, respectively. - Obviously, he never had his day as a true world beater. Even at the ‘02 World Jr. champs he was beaten into silver by his countryman Gebremariam—even when he ran 12:47 to become the fifth fastest all time he was beaten by Kipchoge. Although he’s the same age as Bekele and Farah, his career was totally over after 2012.
56. Timothy Cheruiyot ?? + Won 1500 gold with an impressive front-running performance at the 2019 WCs, upgrading his silver from 2017. He joins El Guerrouj as only the second non-drug-busted runner to record sub-3:30 1500s in four straight seasons. He ranks third among non-drug-busted runners for fastest combined 800 (1:43.11) and 1500 (3:28.41) times, behind only Makhloufi and Coe. He’s ranked 1st at 1500 the past two years, and inevitably will be for 2020 as well. - At just 24 years old, his durability and longevity remains to be seen. Many athletes have risen to the top of their events for 2-3 seasons, but it takes a decade of great form or revolutionary WRs to join the all time greats. He has not proven that he can win in a sprint finish in a tactical race.
55. Nijel Amos ?? + Olympic 800 silver in 2012 behind Rudisha’s WR in 1:41.73, which remains his lifetime best and makes him tied for 3rd fastest performer all-time. He’s earned five top-3 rankings including #1 in ‘14 and ‘17. He has run 1:42.66 or better in 5 seasons, and is the only man to break 1:42 in non consecutive seasons. He defeated Rudisha to win 2014 Commonwealth Games gold. - Apart from his silver in 2012 he’s been a consistent failure at the Olympics and WCs due to injuries and pure underperforming. He has a reputation for running himself into a lactic death, calling his tactical savvy into question.
54. Bill Rodgers ?? + Won the Boston and NYC marathons four times each between 1975 and ‘80. He was ranked #1 in the world in ‘75, ‘77 & ‘79. He collected wins in Amsterdam, Fukuoka, Toronto, Houston, Stockholm, etc. His 2:09:27 PB in Boston ‘79 made him the 4th fastest marathoner to that point (he had also run 2:08:23 in ‘76 on a course that proved 200m short). Placed 3rd at the 1975 World XC championships. - Laid an egg in the ‘76 Olympic marathon, finishing 40th, and missed out on 1980 due to the U.S. boycott. By the 1984 U.S. Trials he was 36 and finished 8th. He did not have great under-distance range; finishing 4th in the ‘76 Trials 10k may be his finest track accomplishment.
53. Khalid Khannouchi ?? + Held the two fastest marathon performances all-time after lowering his WR to 2:05:38 in defeating Tergat & Gebrselassie in London ‘02. He won Chicago 4 times between ‘97 & ‘02. He was ranked world #1 in ‘02, as well as top-3 in ‘99 and 2000. He was a force on the late 90s road circuit at anything 5k and up. - Although he defeated the aforementioned track studs in that classic London duel, they would go on to reset his WR by close to a minute apiece. The marathon has progressed so much that his 2:05:38 PB would make him the 30th fastest man for 2019 alone (though Vaporflys have something to do with that). He struggled with injuries after ‘02 and retired after placing 4th at the ‘08 Olympic Trials, never meeting his goal of representing the U.S. at the games.
52. Filbert Bayi ?? + Broke Jim Ryun’s 1500 world record by nearly a second (3:32.2) in a historic front-running effort to win at the ‘74 Commonwealth Games over John Walker and Ben Jipcho, and added the mile WR the following year, running 3:51.0. He won Olympic steeplechase silver behind Malinowski in 1980. He earned top-10 rankings in four events (800/1500/steeple/5k) in his career, including three #2 rankings at 1500 from ‘73-‘75. - Missed out on a clash with Walker at the ‘76 Olympics due to the African boycott; he had suffered from malaria before the games, anyway. While he remained a formidable opponent through 1980, he never quite matched his form of 20-22 years old. For all intents and purposes his career was over after 1980, when he was just 27.
51. Roger Bannister ?? + Being the first man to break the much-hyped four minute mile gives him a greater legacy in popular culture than perhaps anyone else on this list—and he was, in fact, the best miler of the first half of the 50s. Ranked world number one in 1951, he finished a disappointing 4th in the ‘52 Olympic 1500 before turning his focus to the 4 minute barrier as a consolation. He succeeded, as we all know, on May 6th, 1954, but truly confirmed his class with wins at the Commonwealth Games (3:58.8 PB) and European Championships later that year. - If he had not retired at age 25 but instead gone on to Olympic glory in 1956, he may not be remembered so totally for breaking 4 but for being one of the 4-6 all-time great milers. The facts that John Landy broke his WR after just 46 days and that now everyone and their mother has broken 4 do nothing to help him in this ranking.
50. Gaston Reiff ?? + Won ‘48 Olympic gold at 5k, gapping Emil Zátopek mid race. He was ranked top-10 in the world at 5k for 6 straight years from ‘48-‘53, including #1 in ‘48 and ‘51–and top-10 at 1500 on five occasions, including first in 1950. He became the first man under 8:00 for 3k, setting a 7:58.8 WR in ‘49 that stood for six years. He also set WRs at 2000m (5:07) and 2 miles (8:40). - His 14:10.8 5k PB puts him significantly behind Gunder Hagg’s and Emil Zátopek’s sub-14 clockings. He DNF’d in the 1952 Olympic 5k at age 31, while Zátopek won his second of three golds on his way to a legendary triple. Born in 1921, he may have missed out on early successes due to WWII.
49. Fermin Cacho ?? + An ace in championship 1500 races, he won Olympic gold in ‘92 with a 50.6 final 400m split, and added silver four years later. He won WC silvers in ‘93 and ‘97 behind Morceli and El G, respectively. He was ranked #2 in the world in ‘93. He ran his 3:28.95 PB in ‘97, finishing .04 behind El G to move to #3 all time at that point. - Like Matt Centrowitz and Nick Willis, he was markedly stronger in championships than on the circuit. He did not break 3:32 until ‘97, in the back half of his career. He lacked either the speed endurance to be world class at 800 or the aerobic strength for the 5k. Spanish athletics in the 90s was notoriously dirty—suspicions are just that, but inevitably cast some doubt on his legacy.
48. Yuriy Borzakovskiy ?? + Russia’s finest middle distance man was an 800 specialist who won Olympic gold in 2004. He was twice the WC silver medalist (‘03, ‘05) and twice took home the bronze (‘07, ‘11). He was the world indoor champ in ‘01. He recorded 1:44.65 or better in 12 seasons; his 1:42.47 PB in ‘01 made him #5 all-time at that point and holds up as 3rd among Europeans behind Kipketer and Coe. - He was in the running for gold for a decade but never reached the level of global dominance achieved by a Wilson Kipketer or a Joaquim Cruz. He was at the top of his game in ‘01 but “decided not to participate” in the WCs that year, a puzzling decision. He became less consistent in his late twenties, losing out in the semis at the ‘08 Olympics and missing the ‘10 international season due to injury.
47. Zersenay Tadese ?? + He’s a five-time World Half Marathon champion (‘06-‘09, ‘12) and former WR-holder in that event (58:23 in ‘10, still second best all-time). He outlasted Kenenisa Bekele in the heat of Mombasa to take gold at the World XC championships in 2007–his highest of 4 podium finishes in that event. He won bronze over 10k at the ‘04 Olympics and silver at the ‘09 WCs. - He is often used as evidence that great half marathon performances don’t guarantee marathon success, with a relatively modest 2:08:46 PB after many attempts. His lactate threshold was outstanding, but he lacked the turnover to win in a sprint finish and “only” ran 12:59 for 5k.
46. Bronislaw Malinowski ?? + Olympic steeplechase gold in ‘80 plus silver in ‘76, running 8:09 in both finals (until 1984 only 3 men—Rono, Garderud & Malinowski—had broken 8:10). He also placed 4th in the ‘72 Olympic steeple when he was 21. He was ranked #1 in the world in ‘74/‘79/‘80 and second three times as well. He ran 13:17 for 5k in ‘76, only four seconds off the WR at the time. He was runner-up behind John Treacy at the ‘79 World XC Champs. - Personally, I cannot rank him above his rival Anders Gärderud, who beat him at the ‘76 games when they were both in their primes, setting a WR Malinowski would never match. In fact when Malinowski ran his 5k career best, Gärderud was a tenth of a second ahead. Sadly he died in a car crash in 1981, when he was 30 years old.
45. Anders Garderud ?? + Won ‘76 Olympic steeplechase gold in an 8:08.02 WR, his 4th WR at the distance (his first WR was 8:20.8 in ‘72). He was ranked world #1 in ‘75 and ‘76, and #2 in ‘73 and ‘74. Made the world top-10 rankings at 1500/mile in ‘67-‘68, and in ‘74 when he ran his 3:36/3:54 PBs. Ran 13:17 for 5k when the WR was 13:13. Recorded 8:20.x for 2 miles in three different seasons when the WR was 8:14. - He competed in the 1500 at the ‘68 games and the steeple/5k in ‘72, but failed to make it out of the heats. Bronislaw Malinowski beat him in the ‘74 European Championship steeple (and concomitantly the ‘74 world rankings). When he ran his 5k PB he was beaten into 4th by Quax, Hildenbrand and Dixon. He retired after a lackluster ‘77 season in which he never approached his gold medal form.
44. Taoufik Makhloufi ?? + Won 1500 gold at the 2012 Olympics with a dominant final 300m sprint. Took the silvers in the 800 and 1500 in 2016, making him the first man to win Olympic medals in both events since Seb Coe in ‘84. His combined 800 (1:42.61) and 1500 (3:28.75) PBs are faster than anyone in history except for the confirmed PED user Asbel Kiprop. His 2:13.08 1000m makes him the 4th fastest performer all-time. He came back from a 2 year period of no results to earn bronze in the 2019 WC 1500 at age 31. - He has disappeared for seasons at a time (‘13, ‘17-‘18) and only placed 4th in the 2015 WC 1500. He was ranked 2nd in the world at 800 in 2016, but his highest ranking at 1500 is 4th (‘12, ‘15-‘16); he has not been as impressive on the circuit as his Olympic medal runs, which some feel are too good to be true.
43. Geoffrey Kamworor ?? + He is the 3-time reigning World Half Marathon champion and current WR-holder at that distance with his 58:01 from 2019. He won golds at World XC in ‘15 and ‘17 and managed the bronze in ‘19. He took silver behind Farah over 10k at the 2015 WCs. He has won the NYC Marathon twice (‘17 and ‘19) and had six podium finishes between NYC and Berlin since 2012. - Never made good on his threat to take down Farah at 10k on the track, and all told his countryman Paul Tanui has outperformed him in that event without much acclaim. He’s raced in 2:03-2:04 marathons before and fallen off badly after 35k, leaving doubts as to his ability to win time-trial style 42.2K races. He was injured in a car-accident this year—let’s hope he recovers fully, as he’s still just 27.
42. Noah Ngeny ?? + Defeated El Guerrouj in his superlative prime to win Olympic 1500 gold in 2000; his time of 3:32.07 from that race remains the Olympic Record. He took silver behind El G at the ‘99 WCs. He has held the WR for 1,000m (2:11.96) for 21 years, and nobody’s come within a second of his mark in that time. He ran the second fastest mile ever in finishing .27 behind El G in his WR effort. - His peak lasted only two seasons (‘99-‘00) before his career was effectively ended by injuries sustained in a car accident in late 2001, when he was still 23 years old (he did compete through 2005, but was not the same athlete). Even after he beat El G when it mattered most, few would have said he was the superior 1500m man, and his legacy revolves largely around disrupting the Moroccan’s dominance.
41. Joshua Cheptegei ?? + Six weeks ago he blew the minds of many track aficionados by running 12:35.36 for 5k to break Bekele’s 16 year old WR. He won the World Championship title over 10k and the World XC crown in 2019. He has set WRs on the roads at 5k, 10k and 15k in the past two years (the 10k has since been bettered). He finished 2nd to Mo Farah in the ‘17 WC 10k. He won the 5k/10k double at the ‘18 Commonwealth Games - Going into his 5k WR run many believed he lacked the speed for 5k, and it still remains to be seen if he has the gears to win a tactical world championship at that distance. He was 19 years old at the ‘16 Olympics and finished 6th and 8th at 10k and 5k respectively. He’s announced his intention to attack the 10k WR on Oct. 7th 2020, and if he succeeds in that and wins an Olympic gold next year, he’ll have checked all the boxes and enter the discussion of true all-time 5k/10k greats.
40. Sammy Wanjiru ?? + Won the ‘08 Olympic marathon with what has been called the greatest marathon performance ever, aggressively surging and running faster than anyone thought was possible in such hot conditions (2:06:32 Olympic Record). Set 3 WRs at half marathon from ‘05-‘07 with a 58:33 best and remains the 3rd fastest all time at that distance. Won the London and Chicago Marathons in ‘09 with CRs at both. Ran 26:41 for 10k when he was 18 years old, finishing 3rd in Bekele’s WR run. - He died in 2011, at just 24 years old, after falling from his home balcony—it is unclear whether it was accidental, suicide or murder. Prior to his death, he had lost some of his ‘08-‘09 fitness and acquired a reputation for hard drinking and a chaotic personal life. Since 2011 marathon times have progressed dramatically, and while we remember Wanjiru as a legend, most of his primary opponents (Martin Lel, Tsegaye Kebede, Jaouad Gharib) do not make this list.
39. John Ngugi ?? + Won 5 World XC titles (‘86-‘89, ‘92), a feat only matched by Tergat (5) and Bekele (6 wins). He confirmed his stature by winning Olympic 5k gold in ‘88, surging hard in the 2nd kilometer to gap the field and never looking back. He ran 27:11 for 10k in ‘91, 3rd fastest ever and 3 seconds off the WR at that point. - He never ran faster than 13:11 for 5k, when Saïd Aouita had already set the bar below 13 minutes. He was great at creating a gap and maintaining his advantage but lacked the speed to win in a sprint. He’s best remembered for his World XC wins, but it’s often forgotten that he finished 20th in ‘90 and DNF’d in ‘91. He retired at age 30 after failing to make the Olympic team in ‘92.
38. Jim Ryun ?? + Took 2.5 seconds off both the 1500 and mile world records in ‘66 and ‘67, and was ranked number one in the world for both of those seasons. His 1:44.9 880 yard WR in ‘66 equaled Peter Snell’s 800m WR, and he was ranked #1 in that year for 800m as well. As of early 1973 he held the three fastest mile performances in history and nobody had come within 2 seconds of his best. He settled for Olympic 1500 silver behind Keino at altitude in ‘68. - He struggled relative to his ‘66-‘67 standard after the ‘68 games, never again ranking higher than 6th in the world, and losing mile clashes with Marty Liquori in ‘69 and ‘71. In the ‘72 games, after Ryun had posted his best result in years earlier that summer, he was tripped and fell in the heats and did not make the final. His career is remembered almost equally for Olympic disappointments as for his mid-60s world-beating form.
37. Murray Halberg ?? + The 1960 Olympic 5k champ was ranked number one in the world at that event 5 times (‘58, ‘60-‘63). He won 3 mile titles at the ‘58 and ‘62 Commonwealth Games. He set the 2 mile WR in ‘61 (8:30.0). When he clocked his 13:35.2 5k PB in ‘61 it was the 2nd fastest 5k all-time and just two-tenths off Vladimir Kuts’ WR. He ran 3:57.5 for the mile in 1958, in the race in which Herb Elliott lowered the WR from 3:57.2 to 3:54.5. He had good range up to 10k, running within 20 seconds of the WR multiple times in his career. - He struggled at his first Olympics, finishing 11th in the 1500 in ‘56, and placed 7th in the 10k in ‘64, 46 seconds behind winner Billy Mills. His stock as an all time great 5k runner would be considerably higher if he’d lowered the WR. Within a few years of his retirement, Keino, Jazy and especially Clarke had made his times seem obsolete.
36. Mohammed Gammoudi ?? + He won Olympic medals in three Olympics: silver at 10k in ‘64, gold at 5k and bronze at 10k in ‘68, and silver at 5k in ‘72. He was ranked as high as world #2 at both distances—for 10k in ‘64 and 5k in ‘68. He won the International XC Championships title in ‘68. - Outside of his excellent Olympic record, his career is difficult to assess, as he did very limited racing on the European circuit. He won 5k/10k doubles at the ‘63 and ‘67 Mediterranean Games, but his competition was virtually nonexistent. His 5k PB was 13:27 from the ‘72 Olympic final, but surely he was capable of faster given how that race played out; his 10k PB was 27:54 from the prelims of those games—he was tripped and DNF’d in the final.
35. Alberto Juantorena ?? + Won the ‘76 Olympic 800 in world record time (1:43.5), becoming the only man in history to win both 400 and 800 Olympic golds. The next year he lowered his own WR to 1:43.4. He was ranked #1 in the world at 800 for both of those seasons, as well as 2nd in ‘82 in a resurgent year. At his peak, “El Caballo” was clearly capable of beating all-comers in any kind of 800 race. - He struggled with injuries after ‘77, never achieving the same form. He placed 4th in the 400 at the ‘80 Olympics but did not contest the 800. He qualified from the first round of the 800 at the inaugural ‘83 WCs, but broke his foot and was unable to advance. His ‘84 Olympic aspirations were spoiled by the Cuban boycott, and it seems improbable he would have challenged for a medal.
34. Saif Saeed Shaheen ?? + The steeplechase WR-holder for 16 years and counting (7:53.63) racked up five straight number one rankings from ‘02 to ‘06. He won steeple golds at the ‘03 and ‘05 WCs, defeating the great Ezekiel Kemboi on both occasions. He took silver over the flat 3k at the ‘06 World Indoor Champs, splitting Bekele and Kipchoge. He out-sprinted El Guerrouj to run 12:48 for 5k in ‘03, making him the 3rd fastest 5k runner in history at that point. - He was unable to compete at the 2004 Olympics because of issues related to his change of allegiance (in ‘03, the Kenyan-born athlete controversially changed his name from Stephen Cherono and accepted a deal to represent Qatar). He missed the ‘07-‘08 seasons with injuries and never returned to his world-beating form, retiring after ‘10 at age 28.
33. Moses Kiptanui ?? + Lowered the steeplechase WR twice, becoming the first man under 8 minutes in ‘95, and set WRs at 3k and 5k too before Komen and Gebrselassie blew them out of the water. He won 3 straight WC steeple golds from ‘91-‘95, and added silvers in ‘97 and at the ‘96 Olympics. He was ranked number one in the world in the steeple six times from ‘91-‘97 and added two more times in the top-3. - He’s missing the critical Olympic gold from his resume—failing to qualify from the Kenyan trials in ‘92, being upset by his countryman Joseph Keter in ‘96, and being past his prime by 2000. He only held the 5k WR for 10 weeks before Gebrselassie lowered it by a staggering 11 seconds, and his 7:27 3k WR did not survive much longer.
32. Henry Rono ?? + Set the distance running world on fire during the spring and summer of ‘78, setting WRs at 3k, steeplechase, 5k and 10k; cumulatively, he would hold those 4 records for more than 32 years. He completed dominant gold medal doubles at both the Commonwealth and African games that year. He remained at an elite level over the following four seasons, ranking in the top-10 at 5k or 10k each year and lowering his own 5k WR in ‘81. - His absolute peak lasted for only one season, after which he became more beatable; it’s widely understood that he struggled with training focus and alcohol consumption during these later competitive years. He was relevant on the world stage for six seasons and retired at age 30. He never competed at the Olympics or WCs, as Kenya boycotted in ‘76 and ‘80 and he was out of action by the inaugural WCs in ‘83.
31. Frank Shorter ?? + Won Olympic marathon gold in ‘72 and took silver in ‘76 behind the questionable Waldemar Cierpinski (see #67). He won Fukuoka (the unofficial marathon world championship at the time) annually from ‘71-‘74. He was ranked world #1 three times, plus twice #2. His 2:10:30 PB in ‘72 put him third on the all-time marathon toplist. He added a 5th place 10k finish at the ‘72 Olympics, running a 27:51 Area Record behind Virén’s 27:38 WR; he lowered his PB to 27:45 in ‘75. - The fact that he barely came within two minutes of Derek Clayton’s 2:08:33 WR limits his potential as an all-time marathon great, holding him behind Kipchoge, Bikila and perhaps even Lopes—men who both won Olympic golds and set WRs at the distance. Though he was a capable track runner, he lacked the speed to truly challenge for global titles at 5k/10k.
30. Miruts Yifter ?? + Winner of the 5k/10k double at the 1980 Olympics, blasting away with 300m to run and pioneering the modern necessity of 52-54 second last laps in championship distance races. He won the bronze medal at 10k in ‘72, finishing 2.6 seconds behind Lasse Virén’s new WR. The 13:13 5k he ran in ‘77 was less than a second off the WR at the time. He won IAAF World Cup distance-doubles in ‘77 and ‘79. - He was late to the start of the ‘72 Olympic 5k and thus did not compete, and missed out on the ‘76 games due to the African boycott. He put up at least a couple respectable outings most years, but his career could be trimmed to 4 seasons (‘72, ‘77, ‘79-‘80) and you wouldn’t miss much.
29. Alain Mimoun ?? + Won distance medals at three Olympics: silver at 10k in ‘48, silvers at 5k and 10k in ‘52, and finally gold in the marathon in 1956. He was a 4-time winner and twice runner-up at the International XC Champs from ‘49-‘58. He was the silver medalist behind Emil Zátopek in the 5k and 10k at the ‘50 European Champs. He ran well into his forties, placing 18th at the ‘64 International XC Champs when he was 43 years old. - He could not beat Zátopek on the track, repeatedly finishing second to the Czech Locomotive in major championships. When he won 10k silver in ‘48 he finished 48 seconds behind Zátopek, and failed to qualify for the 5k final at those Olympics. His International XC wins came against considerably weaker fields than those Ngugi or Tergat would face. He never seriously approached any major WRs.
28. Mal Whitfield ?? + He won Olympic 800 golds in ‘48 and ‘52, one of three men (with Snell and Rudisha) to repeat as Olympic 800 champ in the last 75 years. He accrued five world #1 rankings from ‘48-‘53. He won 66 of 69 races at 800/880y from June ‘48 through ‘54, earning an air of invincibility and the nickname “Marvelous Mal.” He had outstanding speed, taking bronze in the open 400 and running on the gold medal winning 4x400 in ‘48, and no shortage of endurance, setting a WR for 1000m in ‘53. - His 1:47.9 PB set in ‘53 was well behind Rudolf Harbig’s 1:46.6 WR from 1939. The year after his retirement, in ‘55, Roger Moens and Audun Boysen would run 2+ seconds faster than Whitfield ever had.
27. Daniel Komen ?? + In September of ‘96 he threw down a legendary performance, running an unthinkable 7:20.67 for 3000m—4.5 seconds inside Morceli’s former WR and still 2.4 seconds faster than anybody else has run. The following year he won the World Championship gold at 5k and set a WR at that distance, becoming the first man under 12:40. He is the only man to run sub-8:00 for 2-miles, clocking 7:58.x in both ‘97 and ‘98. He holds the WR for 3000m indoors at 7:24.9. He is the 5th fastest miler of all time and was ranked 2nd in the world behind El Guerrouj at 1500/mile in ‘97. - His world class career lasted only six years, and his true peak for less than three, before he faded into obscurity in his mid-20s. He failed to qualify for the Olympics at the Kenyan Trials in both ‘96 and ‘00. Gebrselassie reclaimed his 5k WR after less than a year and kept Komen from ever being the clear world’s #1 in that event.
26. Joaquim Cruz ?? + Won Olympic 800 gold over Coe in ‘84 and settled for silver in ‘88. After the games in ‘84 he blitzed a 1:41.77, just .04 off of Coe’s WR, which still makes him the #5 performer all-time. He took bronze over 800 at the ‘83 WCs. He was ranked world #1 in ‘84 and ‘85. He held 5 of the 8 fastest 800 times ever run at the end of ‘85. He holds the South American record for 1000m at 2:14.09. He was a world class 1500 runner as well, winning Pan American and NCAA titles at that distance and ranking 10th in the world in ‘88. - He missed much of the ‘86 and ‘87 seasons with injury, and never regained quite the form of his ‘84-‘85 campaigns. Though he competed sporadically until ‘97, including in the 1500 heats at the ‘96 Olympics, he never ranked top-10 in the world after ‘88, when he was still 25 years old. He is undoubtedly among the 800m greats, but his failure to break the WR or defend his Olympic crown keeps him out of the running for G.O.A.T.
25. Ezekiel Kemboi ?? + The greatest championship steeplechaser we’ve ever seen won Olympic golds in ‘04 and ‘12, and four straight WC golds from ‘09-‘15. He earned Olympic bronze in 2016 at age 34, but was disqualified for stepping once on the rail after the medal order was virtually determined. Before becoming solid gold, he took three WC silvers from ‘03-‘07. He posted sub-8:10 clockings in 13 different seasons, and his 7:55.76 PB makes him sixth fastest in history, 2 seconds outside Shaheen’s WR. - We can’t all be world record holders, but that distinction is noticeably missing from his claim as the greatest steepler of all time. He has next to no achievements in flat events; his best flat PB is a modest 7:44 3k. He lost to Shaheen at the WCs in ‘03 and ‘05, and one wonders if that trend would have continued had Shaheen stayed healthy.
24. Ron Clarke ?? + He did serious damage to the record books between ‘63 and ‘68, bringing the 5k mark from 13:35 to 13:16, the 10k from 28:18 to 27:39, and setting new standards for the 2 mile and hour run as well. As of ‘71 he owned the three fastest marks at 5k and five of the twelve best 10k times. He was consistently ranked top-3 in the world at both events, including seven number ones between the two. - His best Olympic finish was 3rd at 10k in ‘64 behind Mohammed Gammoudi and surprise winner Billy Mills. He placed 5th in the 5k and 6th at 10k in at the ‘68 games. He won four Commonwealth Games silvers from ‘62-‘70 but never the gold, and lost soundly to Keino at 3-miles and 6-miles at his peak in ‘66.
23. Bernard Lagat ?? + His finest hour was winning the 1500/5k double at the ‘07 World Championships, the only such double by a man in the history of the event. He competed in five Olympics, winning bronze and silver at 1500 in ‘00 and ‘04, respectively, and placing 5th at 5k in ‘16 at the age of 41. He is the second fastest 1500 performer in history, running 3:26.34 behind El Guerrouj in ‘01. He is a 3-time World Indoor champion at 3k (‘04, ‘10-‘12). With a 3:37.7 1500 in ‘96 and a 2:12 marathon in ‘19, his world class career spanned almost a quarter century. - Whether it was El G at 1500 or Bekele in the 5k, there was always someone crimping his plans for world domination. He never set a world record (besides as a master) nor won an Olympic gold. His 5k PB is a relatively modest (American Record) 12:53, and it was generally thought that he could not match the world’s best at that distance in a truly fast race.
22. Steve Cram ?? + He set WRs at 1500, 2k and the mile in ‘85, becoming the first man under 3:30 for 1500 in a historic duel with Saïd Aouita. He won 1500 gold at the ‘83 inaugural WCs over Steve Scott and Aouita, and took Olympic silver behind Coe the following year. He was ranked number one in the world at 1500 five times from ‘82 to ‘88. He handed prime-Joaquim-Cruz a rare loss at 800 in running his 1:42.88 PB in ‘85. He is still the 3rd fastest performer at 1000m and #4 at the mile. - He has a relatively shoddy championship record: he placed 8th at the ‘87 WCs and 4th at the ‘88 games after entering as the favorite both times. After struggling with injuries for 2-3 seasons, he finished 7th in the 1500 heats at the ‘91 WCs. He retired after finishing last in the semis 2 years later, though his career had been over for several years.
21. John Walker ?? + He was at the top of the mid-distance world in the mid-70s, running history’s first sub-3:50 mile in ‘75 and winning Olympic 1500 gold in ‘76 as the heavy favorite. He set the 2k WR in ‘76 as well. He earned ten top-10 world rankings at 1500/mile from ‘74 to ‘86, including 3 number ones in ‘74-‘76. Over the course of a nearly twenty year elite career he recorded 135 sub-4 mile races. - He lost most of the ‘78 season to injury and never again reached the top of the pile, unable to compete with the British triumvirate at their best. He ran his 3:49.08 mile PB in ‘82 but placed a clear second behind Steve Scott’s 3:47–speaking of Scott, he would go on to eclipse Walker’s record for most career sub-4 miles. He was denied the chance to defend his Olympic title in ‘80 due to the New Zealand boycott. He attempted a move up to 5k but was not wholly successful, placing 8th in that event at the ‘84 Olympics.
20. Carlos Lopes ?? + He won the ‘84 Olympic marathon at age 37, the oldest champion in the event’s history. The following spring he improved the WR by almost a minute by clocking 2:07:12 in Rotterdam. He found international success in ‘76 when he won his first World XC crown and took silver behind Virén in the Olympic 10k. He recaptured the World XC title in ‘84 and ‘85, after finishing runner-up in ‘77 and ‘83. In ‘84 he ran five seconds under Henry Rono’s 10k WR but finished second to his countryman Fernando Mamede. - He had a series of injuries in the late 70s which prevented him from qualifying for the ‘80 Olympics, and he was more or less forgotten during that time. He had a remarkable lactate threshold but lacked the speed to win championships on the track; he was only 6th in the ‘83 WC 10k despite running the world leading time that year. He retired after setting the marathon WR in ‘85, capping his period of true greatness at a year and a half.
19. Herb Elliott ?? + During his brief career he dominated the 1500/mile like nobody has before or since, going undefeated at those events from ‘57-‘61 and cutting 2.5+ seconds off of both WRs. He won the ‘60 Olympic 1500 by nearly 20 meters over Michel Jazy, setting his second WR and lifetime best of 3:35.6. He won the mile/880yd double at the ‘58 Commonwealth Games—and was ranked world #1 for both 800 and 1500 that year. - He retired at 23 years old, partly a condition of the amateur era, partly because he did not enjoy the rigors of continuous hard training, and partly because he was bored by his own dominance—one wonders how he would have fared against the next great milers of the 60s like Peter Snell and Jim Ryun. He was known to let his fitness slide in the offseason and between goal competitions. He never ran record times at 800, 1k, 2k or above like many great milers have since.
18. Steve Ovett ?? + Lowered the 1500 WR 3 times in the early 80s; by the end of ‘83, he held three of the four fastest performances and six of the top thirteen. He set two 1-mile WRs in a memorable back-and-forth with Seb Coe, and broke the 2-mile record in beating Henry Rono in Rono’s legendary ‘78 season. At the ‘80 Olympics he won gold at 800 over the favorited Coe and added bronze at 1500. He had excellent range, making 3 Olympic 800 finals from ‘76-‘84 and winning Commonwealth Games gold at 5k in ‘86. - Most would agree that Coe got the better of their rivalry, finishing with faster PBs at 1500 and the mile and running 2.4 seconds quicker over 800. He was injured in early ‘82 and never recaptured the magic of the previous five seasons. He attempted to race through severe respiratory sickness at the ‘84 games, finishing last in the 800 final and DNF’ing in the 1500 heats. He failed to qualify for the Olympics in ‘88.
17. Paul Tergat ?? + He won five consecutive World XC titles from ‘95-‘99, a feat only exceeded by Bekele’s six wins in seven years. He lowered the 10k WR in ‘97 and remains one of three men sub-26:30 on the track. He won Olympic silvers at 10k in ‘96 and ‘00, coming one tenth of a second from dethroning Gebrselassie in ‘00, and added two silvers and a bronze in the event at WCs. He was the the World Half Marathon champion in ‘99 and ‘00 and set two WRs at the distance. He set the marathon WR in Berlin in ‘03 and won in NYC in ‘05, his last major achievement. - His career is remembered as much for his inability to beat Geb on the track as for any of his triumphs. In time, Haile bettered each of his WRs as well. His marathon career had several disappointments, not least of which were a 10th place finish at the ‘04 Olympics and being passed over for the Kenyan team in ‘08.
16. Vladimir Kuts ?? + He beat Zátopek in the 5k at the ‘54 European Champs, setting his first of four WRs in that event. Two years later he added the 10k WR and won the Olympic 5k/10k double with significant margins of victory. His final 5k WR, 13:35, was 22.2 seconds faster than Zátopek’s record three years prior and would stand for more than seven years. He scored three #1 rankings in both the 5k and 10k from ‘54-‘57. - His peak lasted only 4-5 seasons. Pyotr Bolotnikov surprisingly defeated him over 10k at the ‘57 Soviet champs, and soon took the mantle as the world’s top distance runner, besting Kuts’ 10k WR in 1960. Kuts suffered from chronic pain in his final competitive seasons and retired in ‘59 at age 32.
15. Kip Keino ?? + He won the ‘68 Olympic 1500 gold in 3:34.9, the second fastest time ever run, at the 7300-foot altitude of Mexico City; he also took the 5k silver behind Gammoudi at those games. At the ‘72 Olympics he had to settle for silver at 1500, but won gold in the Steeplechase over Ben Jipcho in Olympic record time. He was ranked top-2 in the world at 1500/mile for eight straight seasons from ‘65-‘72. He lowered the WRs at 3k and 5k in ‘65. He won 3 Commonwealth Games golds between the ‘66 and ‘70 editions including a 3 mile triumph over Ron Clarke in ‘66. - He held the 5k WR for less than a year and had been relegated to 14th fastest in that event by the end of ‘72. He never came within 1.5 seconds of Jim Ryun’s best times at 1500 or the mile. He was a bit of a late bloomer, placing 5th at 5k and 10th at 10k at the ‘64 Olympics when he was 24.
14. Lasse Virén ?? + He won the 5k/10k double at the ‘72 Olympics and defended both titles four years later, a feat matched only by Mo Farah in Olympic history. In a classic race in the ‘72 Olympic 10k, he tripped and fell but still won in world record time of 27:38; he also lowered WRs at 2 miles and 5k on either side of the games that season. He finished fifth in the marathon the day after completing his second Olympic double in a lifetime best of 2:13. - He did not find success at the ‘80 Olympics, placing 5th in the 10k behind Miruts Yifter—who was at least 5 years his senior—and DNFing the marathon. He was not the same athlete between Olympic years; he broke 28:00 for 10k in all three Olympic seasons but never outside of them. His best showing at the European championships was 3rd at 5k in ‘74, soundly beaten by Brendan Foster. His Finnish teammate Kaarlo Maaninka, who won medals at 5k/10k in 1980, later admitted that he used blood transfusions prior to the games—it is widely speculated that Virén did as well.
13. Abebe Bikila ?? + Became the first Olympic champion from Africa by winning the 1960 marathon, running barefoot on the hot asphalt of Rome to a new WR. Four years later, this time wearing shoes, he became the first two-time winner of the Olympic marathon by running another WR—his 2:12:11 lifetime best. He won that race by over 4 minutes, and his time took 1:44 off the previous WR—even more astounding considering he had an appendectomy 5 weeks before the race. He won in 12 of his 14 career marathon finishes. He was ranked world #1 three times. - His Olympic performances were groundbreaking and legendary, but they are the two pillars around which his entire legacy is built. His best 10k time was 29:00 at a time when the WR was 28:18. He faded to 5th place at the ‘63 Boston Marathon. He developed a chronic hamstring injury in ‘67 and dropped out of the ‘68 Olympic marathon with a fractured fibula. Sadly, he was paralyzed in a car accident in early ‘69 and would never walk again.
12. Wilson Kipketer ?? + Three-time world champion (‘95-‘99) and two-time Olympic medalist (‘00-‘04) at 800. He tied Coe’s 16 year old WR and then lowered the mark twice all in ‘97, and held the WR (1:41.11) for 13 years. He was the World Indoor champ in ‘97 in 1:42.67, which remains the indoor WR. He scored 6 world #1 rankings, second most in the history of the event behind Rudisha’s 7. At the turn of the millennium he held 7 of the 10 fastest 800 marks all time. - Olympic victory eluded him: he missed out in ‘96 because the IOC barred him from competing while switching citizenship from Kenya to Denmark; he ran a tactically embarrassing race in ‘00 to lose to Nils Schumann; at 31 years old in ‘04, he was a bit old to be at the top of the world at 800 and had to settle for bronze. His lack of Olympic gold is the one serious blight on his career as an 800 specialist.
11. Noureddine Morceli ?? + Won 3 straight WC 1500 golds in dominating fashion from ‘91-‘95 and added the Olympic title in ‘96. He set WRs at 1500, 2k, 3k and the mile. He showed world class ability at 5k, running 13:03 and ranking world #1 in that event in ‘94. He was ranked #1 at 1500 for seven (consecutive) years, tied with El Guerrouj for most in history. - The magic started drying up in ‘97, when he finished 4th at the WCs and was ranked 5th for the year. By ‘99, El Guerrouj had completely superseded him as the world’s premier miler, and after he DNF’d in the WC final his career was practically over and he was only 29. His legacy is somewhat overshadowed by El G, who did everything that Morceli did, only better.
10. Saïd Aouita ?? + The ‘84 Olympic champ at 5k and first man under 13:00 could have been a dominant specialist in that event, but instead exhibited unparalleled range from 800 to 10k. He was ranked world #1 at 5k five times from ‘84-‘89 and by ‘88 held 6 of the top 8 marks at that distance. He won WC 5k gold in ‘87. He won Olympic bronze at 800 in ‘88 and was ranked #1 in the world for 800 that season. He tried his hand at 10k in ‘86 and easily beat that season’s world-leader, Mark Nenow, and was awarded the #1 world ranking for 10k that season. He lowered WRs at 1500, 2k, 3k and 5k from ‘85-‘89. - He had a reputation for avoiding his strongest competition, namely Coe and Cram at 1500m. He placed 3rd behind Cram and Steve Scott in the ‘83 WC 1500, and never again contested that distance at a major championship in his prime. His WRs, particularly at 5k, would seem much less impressive 10-15 years later (as of now he’s the 83rd fastest 5k performer). Struggling with injuries, he placed 11th in the ‘91 WC 1500 and sputtered out of athletics in the following few years.
9. Mo Farah ?? + Won 10 straight Olympic or World Championship golds at 5k/10k, bookended by silvers at 10k in ‘11 and 5k in ‘17. He picked up five #1 world rankings in each event. In 2015, he owned the 2 fastest 1500 times ever run by Europeans. He is the WR-holder in the indoor 2 mile at 8:03.4, a time that would rank him third outdoors behind Komen and Gebrselassie. He won the bronze at the 2016 World Half Marathon Champs. He won the 2018 Chicago Marathon and was ranked 2nd in the world at the marathon for that year. - He never targeted fast 5k and 10k times—his PBs rank him 38th and 16th respectively—and the records he does hold (indoor 2 mile, hour run) seem cherry-picked. His transformation from an also-ran on the world stage to an unbeatable force at age 27-28, combined with his associations with disgraced coaches Jama Aden and Alberto Salazar, has led some to question the legitimacy of his results.
8. Sebastian Coe ?? + Won Olympic gold at 1500 and silver at 800 in both ‘80 and ‘84; he is the only man in history to win two Olympic 1500 titles. He set eight WRs between 800, 1k, 1500 and the mile from ‘79-‘81. His 1:41.73 800 in ‘81 was 2.7 seconds faster than anyone else had ever run, and still ties him for 3rd fastest performer all time. His world class career spanned over a decade; he first broke 1:44 in ‘78 and ran 1:43.38 in ‘89. - He suffered some notable defeats early in his career, namely over 800 at the ‘78 European Champs and the ‘80 Olympics after entering both races as the favorite. He struggled with injuries and illness in ‘82 and ‘83, including severe toxoplasmosis for which he was hospitalized. He recovered in time to repeat his Olympic glory, but the rest of his career was plagued with injuries and the highlights became more sporadic. He failed to qualify for the ‘88 Olympics, beaten in the heats of the British Trials. Because of Britain’s embarrassment of mid-distance riches in the 80s, he was not a dominant world #1 outside of ‘81.
7. Peter Snell ?? + The only man in the last 100 years to win Olympic golds at both 800 and 1500, which he did in the same Olympics in 1964. He had won a surprise gold over 800 in ‘60, upsetting the WR-holder Roger Moens. In ‘62, he smashed Moens’ WR by 1.4 seconds, running 1:44.3 on a grass track—a time that would not be beaten for 11 years. He set two mile WRs in ‘62 and ‘64, and added the 1000m record in ‘64 as well. He picked up four #1 rankings at 800 and three at 1500/mile from ‘60-‘64. - He never broke Herb Elliott’s 1500 record nor recorded a mile time of equal value. He treated non-championship years (‘61, ‘63) as down years and did not reach the same heights in those seasons. After the ‘64 Olympics he put together a halfhearted final season in which he was beaten by a number of lesser athletes and an 18 year old Jim Ryun.
6. Emil Zátopek ?? + Won an unmatched Olympic triple in ‘52–upgrading his silver from ‘48 in the 5k, defending his title at 10k and dominating the marathon in his debut at the distance. He lowered the 10k world record five times from ‘49 to ‘54 and added the 5k WR in ‘54, as well as setting various WRs from 20k-30k. He won the 10k at the ‘50 European Championships by 1:09 over Alain Mimoun; four years later he won the same event by 27 seconds in a time faster than anyone but he had ever run. - He finished a distant 3rd in the ‘54 European Champs 5k, while Vladimir Kuts broke his WR. By the end of ‘57, Kuts had run more than 20 seconds faster at both 5k and 10k than Zátopek ever managed. Zátopek attempted to defend his Olympic marathon title in ‘56 but only finished 6th. Athletics in the first 10-20 years after WWII were less competitive than the past 40 years—yes, you can only run against the competition available to you, but the level of competition, or what some might call a “recency bias,” will always creep into the rankings.
5. Haile Gebrselassie ?? + He rewrote the distance world records between ‘94 and ‘08, improving the 5k mark four times (from 12:58 to 12:39), the 10k best three times (26:52 to 26:22), and the marathon on two occasions (2:04:55 to 2:03:59). He won 6 straight global championships at 10k from ‘93 to ‘00. Accrued twelve number #1 world rankings in his career: five at 5k, six at 10k and one in the marathon. He won 4 World Indoor golds—3 at 3k and 1 stepping down to 1500. - Unlike predecessors such as Zátopek or Virén and successors like Bekele and Farah, Geb never won a global 5k/10k double, not even attempting the feat after ‘93. He laid down and surrendered to Bekele as soon as he arrived on the scene. He did not find great success in XC, finishing 3rd in ‘94 and only 5th in ‘96, 44 seconds behind Tergat. His marathon resume was impressive but included some stinkers: four DNFs, particularly late in the game, and a 9th place finish at London ‘06–furthermore, he developed a reputation as a marathon time trialer, not a racer.
4. Eliud Kipchoge ?? + Kipchoge’s unprecedented marathon record over the past seven years would be enough to earn him a top-15 spot on this list by itself, never mind that he was the 2nd best 5k runner of his era. He’s the marathon WR-holder at 2:01:39 and has run a futuristic 1:59:40 with the benefits of illegal shoes and pacing. He has won 12 of 13 career marathons, including 2016 Olympic gold and 8 majors—his one loss was a 2nd place finish behind Wilson Kipsang’s former WR in ‘13. At 18 years old he out-sprinted El Guerrouj and Bekele to win the ‘03 WC 5k gold. He picked up Olympic bronze in that event in ‘04 and took the silver in ‘08. His 12:46 5k PB in ‘04 was the made him the 4th fastest performer all-time. - With the exception of his surprise WC win in ‘03, Bekele owned him on the track and XC course during the first 8 years of his career. When considering his place among G.O.A.T.s, it’s hard to forget him challenging Bekele at World XC ‘05 and fading to a distant 5th, or being decisively dropped with 400 to go at the ‘08 Olympic 5k. His mind-boggling marathon times inevitably lead to a discussion about shoe technology.
3. David Rudisha ?? + The greatest 800 runner in history won Olympic golds in 2012 and ‘16. In ‘12, he ran what’s often considered the greatest 800 race ever, breaking his own WR from the front and recording the first and thus far only sub-1:41 clocking. He dominates the all-time list, with the 3 fastest marks and 11 of the top 21. He scored 7 world #1 rankings in a ten year span from ‘07-‘16. He won WC golds in ‘11 and ‘15. - Injury caused him to miss the ‘08 Olympics and with them his shot at becoming the only man to win 3 Olympic 800 titles. He was knocked out in the semis at the ‘09 WCs before running a 1:42.01 world lead. He missed most of ‘13 with injury and took a year or two to approach his prior form, being scalped by Nijel Amos at the ‘14 Commonwealth Games and a couple Diamond League meets in ‘15. In spite of his intentions to return to competition, his career has effectively been over since 2017 when he was 28 years old.
2. Hicham El Guerrouj ?? + Provided the evidence, El G is the greatest 1500m man of all time. His world records at 1500, mile and 2000m have all survived more than 21 years and, except for maybe the since-busted Asbel Kiprop’s 3:26.69, have not even been scared. He was ranked #1 in the world at 1500 for 7 straight seasons from ‘97-‘03–plus second in ‘96 and ‘04–and won four straight WC 1500 golds in that span. In 2004, he won both 1500 and 5k Olympic golds, the only man to do so since Nurmi in 1924. - His career was so good that his “failures” are remembered by 4 or 5 losses (his trip and fall in the ‘96 final, losing to Ngeny in the ‘00 Olympic final, losing to Shaheen in his 5k PB race, losing to an 18 year old Kipchoge in the ‘03 WC 5k, losing to Lagat in Zurich ‘04) and missing Komen’s 3k WR in his one serious attempt. Even with his first two Olympic disappointments, he was as close to perfect from ‘96 through his retirement after ‘04 as anyone has ever been... That said, I would prefer he had not run his final elite race at age 29, and suspicions loom strong with this one.
1. Kenenisa Bekele ?? + Dethroned King Haile in the ‘03 WC 10k when he was just 21 years old, and took his 5k/10k WRs and the Olympic crown the following year. Matched Haile’s run of 6 straight global champs 10k wins, but was able to add the 5k gold in ‘08/‘09 as well. Won six World XC long course titles, one more than Tergat or Ngugi, plus completed 5 doubles with the since-abandoned 4k short course. Has had two stirring near-WR wins at the Berlin marathon in ‘16 and ‘19, achieving by now an exemplary Living Legend status. - His 5k WR was just broken by Cheptegei and his 10k mark is under threat—losing those will be a major blow to his case for G.O.A.T. He’s struggled with injuries and only occasionally found peak form since 2010, though when he does he tends to prove he’s the most talented distance runner in the world. The marathon WR has thus far eluded (Eliud’ed) him—I wish him Godspeed on his quest for one more goat-clinching performance.
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