Who's the better decathlete? Haile G. or Adam Nelson?

AZ Coach wrote:

This thread has been totally enjoyable and humorous.

Did you know that Brian Oldfield has high jumped 6-5?

And just curious. Who do you think is a better athlete, Tiger Woods or Roger Federer?

Well, we all know Tiger's late Dad thought that he could beat Michael Johnson over a furlong. :)

This is a good thread.

I don't think Haile would get past the long jump. At least one of his achilles would go. Walkover for Mr Nelson.

Robert Smith wrote:

I don't think Haile would get past the long jump. At least one of his achilles would go. Walkover for Mr Nelson.

Touché!

Although Adam Nelson is not the most injury-resilient guy in the world either - his calf might give out in the 400 - which comes before the LJ, right? I don't remember.

Regular decathlon or beer decathlon?

not this again wrote:

Although Adam Nelson is not the most injury-resilient guy in the world either - his calf might give out in the 400 - which comes before the LJ, right? I don't remember.

100m, LJ, SP, HJ, 400m

110H, DT, PV, JT, 1500m

huh? wrote:

a miler wrote:

SP: Geb struggles and records a 10.12m

You're quite delusional if you think a 50lb man can throw a 16lb shot 34'.

My best estimate is 20'. Tops.

LOL Your an idiot, you make the argument that Geb cant throw that far, which i totally agree with but 50 lb man?

Would it be safe to say that a sprinter, like a Mo Greene, would crush either the thrower and the distance guy? Why or why not? I say sprinters would dominate, 3 running events and three jumping events would be won by them. Better at throws than the runner. Anyone see this differently?

Here's how I got it:

100: Nelson 11.6 Geb 11.8

400: Nelson 65.0 Geb 50.0

1500: Nelson 6:00 Geb 3:40

110HH: Nelson 19.0 Geb 20.0 (too short)

HJ: Nelson 5'10" Geb 5'2"

LJ: Nelson 20'0" Geb 16'0"

Disc: Nelson 200'0" Geb 85'0"

Shot: Nelson 69'0" Geb 20'0"

Jav: Nelson 175'0" Geb 100'0"

PV: Nelson 7'0" Geb 7'6"

Nelson: 6045 Geb: 4936

Nelson is too powerful, quick, and agile. While Geb is in better aerobic shape, Nelson is the overall better athlete.

I don't think any of the people mentioned...Geb, Adam, and now Maurice....could pole vault 9' 6"....what's the lowest you can vault and still get points?

getting worried? wrote:Shot Putters are the most explosive athletes on the planet.

Yup. Just think of Werner Günthör, three time shot put world champion - he could high jump 2,00m

People really must think that throwers suck, that high jumping is really simple, and that pole vault is even easier.

There is no way that H.G would high jump higher than 5 feet may 5 feet 2 inches if all of the stars aligned.

So here is my guess on their times/ marks

100: H.G=11.7 A.N=11.5 these big guys can run for a short sprint and H.G, is getting old and has lost some of his speed.

110h: H.G.=17.0 A.N.=18.2 The running and jumping will be a little much for A.N but he will try to hold on because he won't want a skinny distance runner to beat him.

400:H.G.=50.1 A.N=59.9 Once again Haile has lost some of his speed and it would not be the first event of the day if im not mistaking, the other events will take a little bit of a toll on his speed. Adam has a great amount of speed but he has terrible endurance will struggle badly last 50 meters.

L.J.: H.G.=18 feet 9 in. A.M.=18 feet 7in. None of these guys will ever hit twenty feet.

H.J.; H.G.=5 ft. A.N.=5ft.6in. High jump is a lot about technique not just the vertical jump, they will have to get over the bar, adam wins on just hieght alone.

P.V.:H.G.=11ft. A.N=13ft. Haile can't bend the pole. Adam can bend the pole a little better, but a lot of you guys had them going way to high. Pole vault really really lies in the technique, and both of them will lack lots of it, even with coaching.

S.P.:H.G.=25ft. Adam=63ft. Haile will lack technique plus it will be really heavy for him. Adam a little tired from other events

Discus:H.G=75ft. A.N=185ft. Haile lacks techinque and strength and Adam is decent disc thrower as i would imagine.

Javelin=H.G.=145ft. A.N.=200ft. A little less technique is required, and brute strength isn't needed as much. 145 is probably a stretch but i will give haile something. Adam could probably throw what haile throws while adam is standing.

I know all of the event are not in order and i know that the measurements are in feet. I don't feel like converting everything so please bear with me. I saved the 1500 for last

1500m: After 5 all out sprints (100, 110h, 400, and l.j. and javelin) in the last two days his speed will be depleted some, Haile arms will be semitired from all of the work also. He would run 3:45 for the 1500, it is not like he is running this fresh so it will not be a great as all of you have through, plus he has been training for marathon before all of this fake decathalon training and some of his raw speed is gone.

Adam will be more tired than that of haile. He is stronger though so he will still be able to run closer to his best than we thought. His speed is probably depleted, and his strength will have to carry him, but there is just too much to carry. I would say he is able to run a 6:15 mile on a good day, but since this is a decathlon i will give him...........................................................7:00 for the 1500. The last lap will be a painfull jog for him.

You guys can score this if you want, but just from a guess i would have to say that Adam wins, even though he probably had one of the slowest 1500 times in decathlon history.

I really hope that they do something like this one day where people are out of their elements. I would like to see the best thrower (all throws combined) v.s. the best jumper (all jumps combined)v.s the best runner combined (probably a 400/800 guy) and a 1500/5k guy also just for the hell of it.

I would really like to see who was the closest to being right, maybe they should have a sweepstakes on letsrun for someone to win.

"Put it like this, Adam Nelson is an athlete, Geb is a runner."

Haha you make me laugh. You could just as easily say Haile is an athlete and Nelson a thrower.

Haile's main events are not even in a decathlon; Nelson's are. Add a 5k and 10k and lets see what happens.

ok then... wrote:

Would it be safe to say that a sprinter, like a Mo Greene, would crush either the thrower and the distance guy? Why or why not? I say sprinters would dominate, 3 running events and three jumping events would be won by them. Better at throws than the runner. Anyone see this differently?

I agree. There's a reason why most multi types began as sprinters, jumpers, or hurdlers (and not distance runners or throwers).

I also agree with the poster who pointed out that none of them would score any points in the PV (unless they got to train for it...then Geb and Mo might have a shot).

Guys, Adam Nelson would absolutely destroy Gebrselassie. As any solid NCAA Division I program does, there is a major testing pre-track season to determine strengths/weaknesses. Distance runners are ALWAYS at the bottom of these tests, many losing to more elite female sprinters and jumpers. These tests involve jumps, throws, etc.

Adam Nelson would crush Geb in all explosive events, including the 100m and LJ/HJ.

By the way, both would No-Height the Pole Vault. Geb wins in the the 400 & 1500M. That's it.

(10.94) #1 in the 100m - Jordan Aldredge

(57' 5")#1 in the shotput - Jordan Aldredge

(179') #1 in the discus - Jordan Aldredge

(186) #2 in the javelin - Jordan Aldredge

Just another example supporting the fact that throwers can move. Also a football player.

Why not have a middle distnce runner vs. a sprinter. Seb Coe vs. Mo Greene, both in their primes.

[quote]DI Coach wrote:

Distance runners are ALWAYS at the bottom of these tests, many losing to more elite female sprinters and jumpers. These tests involve jumps, throws, etc. quote]

That is bullshit. I was a distance runner and entered the high jump and long jump in a meet to mess around. I marked 5'6" and 18'x", and I was hurdling on the HJ. I'd like to see your female sprinters do that. I also threw the jav 126 (men's of course) with pretty horrible technique. And it wasn't scored, but I also did the 16lb shot over 29', sure that's not a great mark in the grand scheme of things, but your claim is ridiculous. If you can produce me just ONE of your female sprinters who can beat those (esp with no practice), I will concede you have a point. But enjoy your ride on the "distance runners aren't athletes" bandwagon...if you think elite distance runners couldn't whip out a quick 100m or long jump, you're mistaken. Kenenisa has closed 5k's in around 25.0, but I bet your female jumpers would kick his ass in an open 200, huh?

I think for all intents and purposes we're looking at a nine-event competition here, because neither of them would score any points in the pole vault. What's with the guy who said 13 feet for Adam and 11 for Geb in the vault? That's astonishingly optimistic.

Overall, Nelson wins easily. Some of us have a hard time acknowledging that for about 80 percent of distance runners, that's all they can do athletically.