Where Does Bob Kennedy's Career Rank?

Flagpole Willy wrote:

manfred ewald wrote:

Interesting how often he lost to other Americans in national meets on the track.

http://www.usatf.org/athletes/bios/Kennedy_Bob.asp

Yep. He ran a lot of races. Can't win them all, and he won plenty. Interesting too how freaking awesome of a runner he was and how many people want to look at his career and say it was shit. He just set his 10,000 PR in 2004! Dude was very good right up until the end.

I don't think anyone said it was shit.

I'll repeat....any discussion without Virgin and Pre and a few that you did name as the best Americans ever is a worthless list. Wottle should not even be in the discussion.

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This thread is not about runners over a mile my dear, but middle (800-1500) to long distant runners (3000-marathon).[/quote]

We shouldn't have to look too hard for the answer to this. How about if we go the FIRST POST IN THE THREAD!!

Since you fail to put forth any argument other than 'look it up' regarding Wottle I will assume you have no argument.

The guy won an Olympic title but otherwise had a very nice career and nothing more. He's not in the discussion. He's not even the best American 800m runner.

You too.

Just below mine adn just above yours!! How silly...

She must have cut off some of your brain because you can not spell "and"!!

I agree 100%

OK you are entitled to your opinions.

This is the way I see it:

1500m Medals in major champs:

Cacho: Olympics (non boycotted)1 gold (92); World Champs 2 silver (93 and 97); Europeans: 1 gold (94) 1 bronze (97).

Coe: Olympics (both boycotted) 2 golds (80,84); World champs 0; Europeans 1 silver (86).

Cacho: 5 medals in major Champs; Coe: 3 medals in major champs

Personal Bests: Cacho: 3 mins 28.95 seconds Coe: 3mins 29.77 seconds.

Cacho was faster over the distance and there was no big change in track surfaces from the 1980's to the 1990's, plus he won more major championship medals in a more competitive arena.

I am taking into account both the performaces at major champs and the fastest times of the ahtletes at 1500m.

With respect to 1500m, Cacho wins on both accounts.

I have been as objective as I can here.

sittin-on-a-ritz wrote:

Hey Jack

I didn't make the rules... That's the way it is and that's the way it will always will be... Cream always rises to the top..

History will show a 100 years from now who were our greatest runner...

And so far these are our greatest runners

Like it or lump it

Tell you what, why don't you ask Bob who are our grestest runners and hands-down his list will match mine.

Now why don't you suck on that for awhile

Winning an arguement on the internet is like the special olympics even if you win your still retarded.

Your forgettting Meb Keflezki and Abri Abrahaman. Thoes two are oviously two of the best American distance runners to ever live.

Coe v. Cacho

Add world records into your comparison. Coe held the world record in the 1500m and the mile.

Add mile performances to your comparison. Coe, being British, ran many fine mile races, including a world record.

Coe won two olympic 1500m races. He held the world record in the 1500m and the mile.

Olympic Golds and world records are the measure of greatness.

Advantage Coe!

C'mon... Cacho ran less than a second faster than Coe over 1500 meters in a career that was basically a decade later. There's no way you can give Cacho the advantage over Coe on time. That's ridiculous to compare them using a fraction of a second in a different decade. Again, Coe had the titles AND the records. Who was absent from the Oly Games that could have beat Coe in either '80 or '84?! If I'm not mistaken, Coe and Ovett were the co-favorites in '80, while Cram was the favorite in '84. The Brits were dominating the mile in the early/mid 80s and Coe was the best of the Brits. And one of the best all-time in my opinion.

Wasn't 1980'ish around the time that Steve Scott ran his PR's and also Sydney Maree? And what about John Walker, did he compete in 1980?

Billy Mills is the best at track from the U.S. B. Kennedy is a joke. He's a softee.

We shouldn't have to look too hard for the answer to this. How about if we go the FIRST POST IN THE THREAD!!

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If you would have looked back at the last 4-5 pages you can see the discussions were about Coe, Cacho and Lagat...

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As for Mr. Dave Wottle, he not only qualified for the 800 and 1500m Olympics in 72, but he also tied the world record in the 800m and beat the world's best for the 800m to win gold...

Now what has your boy Bob done to be consider the greatest in long distant running?

Has he won a Gold medal in the Oly? Nope.

Has he won a Silver medal in the Oly? Nope.

Has he won a Bronze medal in the Oly? Nope.

Has he won a Gold medall in the WC? Nope.

Has he won a Silver medal in the WC? Nope.

Has he won a Bronze medal in the WC? Nope.

o.k how about did he place in the top 3 at the

World's XC? Nope.

SO the only thing you can come up with is that he ran a 12:58 in the 5000m.

Well did he place first in that race? Nope

Well did he place second in that race? Nope

Well did he place third in that race? Nope

Well did he place fourth in that race? Nope

Yeah like I said Bob will never be one of the Giants in running... pretty freaking obvious

Bob was a "never was"...

meb

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kennedy

Craig Virgin is the greatest U.S. DISTANCE runner ever. Period, end of statement, and exclamation point!!! Bob Kennedy was a good U.S. runner but never dominated international running like Virgin did.

Had President Carter not boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics, not saying that he should have sent our team, Craig probably would have won the 10k gold medal and could have been marketed to the US non-running general public as an Illinois farm boy who took on the Soviet bloc/European and won!!! Similiar to what Bart Conners and Mary Lou Retton did in 1984!

Go Illini and Save the Chief!

Coe only had one WC at which he could have ever competed, while Chaco had several, and putting the Euro meet on par with the the Olympics is an exercise that demonstrates its own futility. For Coe, some the of special races (Golden Mile, or whatever) were more major events then the Euros. How do Chaco's World Rankings compare (or not)? Not only did Coe have WRs, but one of them stood for a very long time and he is still the second fastest performer. How far down the performer list will Cacho be in 2015?

This guy won the NCAA X-C champs, the national X-C champs, broke the American record in the 3k and 5k, is the only non-African transplant in America to have gone under 13:00 and would probably have broken 27:00 in his prime, and he was competitive internationally, making it to the Olympic finals (even if he didn't medal). Distance running got a hell of a lot more competitive in Kennedy's era than it was back in the 70s and 80s, so to compare him to the old-timers is a bit ludicrous. And, there is no more American name than BOB KENNEDY.

well he basically sucked when it came to international competition...

so...

that makes him subpar...

just a little footnote for trivia buffs...