Meanwhile Taoufik Makhloufi is out of Olympics :-)
Meanwhile Taoufik Makhloufi is out of Olympics :-)
Webb was smart/wealthy enough to have quality pacers.
no way kanye wrote:
Times are what people look for.
Wrong. Almost every US distance running fan knows who Dave Wottle is. Barely anyone remembers the great Johnny Gray.
Dan Marino or Tom Brady?
El G pre 2004. “Yeah he has the records but no Olympic gold”.
LetsRun. Where PRs and records are more important than championships.
Also LetsRun. Where your wins mean nothing because someone without the titles has a faster PR or National Record.
i pick iverson and webb all day. your comparison is very good too. curry and centro both mastered skills that helped them rack up wins tactically. skills that basically just take advantage of the weaknesses and mistakes of the competitors. i guess i can sort of respect it, but i certainly don't have to like it.
I'm not a big fan of either of these guys, although completely respect their talents... That being said it's really a question of if you'd prefer a world record or an Olympic gold. Would you rather run a 3:46 mile (I know it's not a world record), or win the Olympic 1500 in 3:50... which ever one you want determines who you like better.
I think Webb was clearly the bigger talent of the two and Centro has the more accomplished resume. With better pacing, Centro runs 3:47 high or 3:48... 54 first lap was suicide, but I don't think he had any real shot at the record.
Runner10287 wrote:
Dan Marino or Tom Brady?
El G pre 2004. “Yeah he has the records but no Olympic gold”.
Pre 2004, he was already a 4x World Champion and had an Olympic Silver to boot. I see what you're trying to say, but even without his double Olympic Gold, he'd still be in the GOAT conversation.
girl watcher wrote:
kansas.... wrote:
Nope, Jim Ryun most talented.
Agree about Centro.
But can you imagine Ryun and Keino in today's shoes and fast tracks? Imagine Ryun without his allergies/asthma/bad luck. He should've won gold in 1972.
Ryun never ran faster than he did on cinders despite having many opportunities to race on synthetic.
One was a choker, and one was clutch. Boy I wonder which is preferred.
Personality-wise, I don't care much for either of them.
1% of US population are track fans. Some part of that population would say that Webb is the best Americsn miler of all time. Some will say Centro. 99% are not track fans. Ask them who the top American miler is and give them 1 minute to answer. Nearly all will say Webb. So 95% of Americans would say it is Webb.
For American born Ryun>Scott; Centro and Scott about equal, nod to Centro for the gold medal. Webb ran a great high school mile, had two Diamond League win (Paris and Pre) and holds that American record.
Throw in the foreign born and Lagat is at least equal to Ryun and >> Webb. Maree ran a faster 1500, and ran a 3:48, and placed 5th in the Olympics. He's about on par with Webb. Manzano ran fast and has Olympic medal.
Rank as follows: Ryun, Lagat, Centro, Scott, Webb and Maree (tie), Manzano, Santee, Spivey
It makes more sense to give the competitor the nod.
We can see Webb excited people more with a higher ceiling of talent since this is such a simple sport.
You would (I think) have to be bat stuff crazy to rather have an AR over an Olympic Gold medal. That take is just nuts. There isn't a kid on earth who dreams of only running their country's fastest time. A WR is a better argument, but is irrelevant in this discussion.
seasoned ranker wrote:
One was a choker, and one was clutch. Boy I wonder which is preferred.
Personality-wise, I don't care much for either of them.
100% this.
I think this discussion would be different if Centro only had one championship medal (of any color). The comparison between Webb and, say, Mazano is a lot more even in my eyes. But Centrowitz has so many medals that it becomes hard to argue for "flukes" or forgettable blips. WC Bronze, WC Silver, WCI Gold, OG Gold. This is a career that runners dream of.
I think Webb's level of talent is overblown. He was very physically developed in HS and his AR equates to 3:30, so there were a number of US athletes at or better than that level (Maree, Lagat, Centro, Wheating, etc.). Centro ran within a few tenths of Webb's time converted and has the hardware.
khcglhc wrote:
By a large margin
Imagine Webb with super shoes
I thought that it would have been much closer
National HS title
NCAA title
USA title
World title
Olympic title
3:30
You’re right…not even close…
Webb > Centro
Webb is larger than Centro?
Not going to argue with that.
Lukas Verzbicas and German Fernandez come to mind