If we are talking overall long distance, has to be Kenenisa Bekele. Undisputed GOAT of XC, 5k and 10k WR holder for over a decade with records that were only taken down with wave lights and super shoes, 3x Olympic gold, 5x world championship gold, major marathon victories with 2 near misses of the marathon WR and multiple masters WR. No one else has had that level of success across all surfaces. Haile Gebrselassie is close, and you could make a compelling argument just from the sheer number of WRs he set on the track and roads. However, I give the edge to Bekele, as Geb never was able to win a world XC title, whereas Bekele struggled in the marathon but still saw substantial success there
If we are talking overall long distance, has to be Kenenisa Bekele. Undisputed GOAT of XC, 5k and 10k WR holder for over a decade with records that were only taken down with wave lights and super shoes, 3x Olympic gold, 5x world championship gold, major marathon victories with 2 near misses of the marathon WR and multiple masters WR. No one else has had that level of success across all surfaces. Haile Gebrselassie is close, and you could make a compelling argument just from the sheer number of WRs he set on the track and roads. However, I give the edge to Bekele, as Geb never was able to win a world XC title, whereas Bekele struggled in the marathon but still saw substantial success there
I actually would have put Kipchoge second, largely because of his completely ridiculous success in the marathon. Is it Geb's track medals that put him over in your mind?
If we are talking overall long distance, has to be Kenenisa Bekele. Undisputed GOAT of XC, 5k and 10k WR holder for over a decade with records that were only taken down with wave lights and super shoes, 3x Olympic gold, 5x world championship gold, major marathon victories with 2 near misses of the marathon WR and multiple masters WR. No one else has had that level of success across all surfaces. Haile Gebrselassie is close, and you could make a compelling argument just from the sheer number of WRs he set on the track and roads. However, I give the edge to Bekele, as Geb never was able to win a world XC title, whereas Bekele struggled in the marathon but still saw substantial success there
I actually would have put Kipchoge second, largely because of his completely ridiculous success in the marathon. Is it Geb's track medals that put him over in your mind?
It's definitely true that Kipchoge is the marathon GOAT by a bigger margin than the GOAT of any other running event. As has often been said, you could split his career in half (say after 2017), and the two halves might very well be #1 and #2 all time.
On the other hand, the overall list of marathon GOATs just doesn't have the same quality as the list of 5k/10k GOATs. Plus, Geb was the better runner at pretty much everything outside the marathon (1500m, 5000m, 10000m, half marathon), and was himself a two-time world record setter in the marathon.
Adding to the discussion, El Guerrouj is the only one of the "big four" who still holds a world record. And despite all the talent in the 1500m the past few years, there haven't been a lot of serious attempts at 3:26.00.