Kuts ignored as usual. He led and won nearly every race he ran. Kuts v Rest of World = only 2 defeats and 2 Brits had to run world records to beat him after leeching off him all the race.
Kuts ignored as usual. He led and won nearly every race he ran. Kuts v Rest of World = only 2 defeats and 2 Brits had to run world records to beat him after leeching off him all the race.
sky wrote:
rfmaioral wrote:
No I am actually not high. And I said in my post that they were in my top 5 for different reasons. I'll try to explain the rational, just saying that after these 5 there would come Bikila, Bekele, El Guerrouj, Kipchoge, Komen, Elliot, Clarke, Farah, Shorter and Bannister. So I will actually extend it and make that my top 15. Maybe i'll review it as I could possibly be forgetting someone.
In my opinion "best" is something different than "most accomplished" as I had stated before. Best for me is less tangible than "most accomplished" and comprises unique features.
Kip Keino is in the list because he was a pioneer. He opened the doors for the Kenyans to be in the position they hold today in Athletics. He got medals in three different events in Olympics, is a double Olympic Champion, lowered a WR by a great margin. So he was a great accomplished runner with the unique feature of playing an immense influence in Kenya. He was the first in many ways.
Steve Prefontaine was not nearly that accomplished but there's a reason why he is still today quite possibly the most recognisable American runner nearly 50 years of his death. I am not American born and heard about Prefontaine before i would've heard about quite possibly any other runner. Read his book, seen his movie. The impact he's had in America and consequently in the world was unique. His bold front running strategy lives until today. A lot of marketing related to Nike, yes, but there's a reason why you still find runners today using a Stop Pre t-shirt whereas nobody cares about Galen Rupp or other american runners that are much faster and boring.
I don't think i need to explain why the other three made it to my list - Zátopek, Nurmi and Haile.
My final list would probably be.
1. Haile
2. Zátopek
3. Nurmi
4. Keino
5. Prefontaine
6. Bikila
7. Bekele
8. Kipchoge
9. Komen
10. El Guerrouj
11. Elliot
12. Clarke
13. Farah
14. Bannister
15. Shorter
Miruts Yifter... Aouita... Coe... Ovett are some that I can think of that would follow in the list. Maybe i forgot someone and would reorder some runners after reviewing their details but more or less that's what I think.
Pre, Bannister, and Shorter, among others, made your Top 15, but you don't list the first double-double 5000/10000m Olympic champ in Lasse Viren???
Yep, you're high.
Good point, but Viren does not make to my list for the same reason waldermar cierpinski doesn't.
Bannister broke the 4 min barrier which had been attempted for runners during the previous 50 years. The magic barrier. There's argument enough in there.
Pre is a legend and I mentioned about him in my previous post.
And Shorter, yes Shorter, I consider him the only double Olympic champion in the Marathon together with Bikila. That is per se already very impressive. But he also played a big role in the running boom of the 70s which has changed the world of running forever.
Again, i am not judging only accomplishment or talent, my "best" concept is closer to "most important".
Eliud Kipchoge /Thread
It’s Bolt, you nerds.
There are some weird selections here, but I have to say that outside the American college scene no one has heard of or gives a crap about someone called 'Pre'. No Olympic medals, no records - an also ran. Let's hear it for all those 4th placegetters, who should also be on the list of "greatest male runners of all time".
Ben Johnson
We all know it is Bekele so there is no need to go into details there. Look at Gunder Hagg. I think he should be up near the top of the list. People compare breaking 2 to Roger Bannister's paced time trial. Well if you go back nearly a decade before that when WW2 was going on, Gunder Hagg done what should really deserved be compared to breaking. He helped lower the WR 3 times in races(not stupid time trials). Before he lowered it, it was only 4:06.4, so well of sub 4. He managed to get it down another 5 seconds to 4:01.4. Do people not realise that he had the WR until Roger done his time trial(and disappeared afterwards). If anyone deserves credit it is Hagg. He should get the credit for making sub 4 look very possible in the first place. Not to mention he was the first ever sub 14 5,000m guy all the way back when my great granddaddy would of been a POW in Laos
Also give Gunder Hagg the pacers Bannister had and the WR would of gone to sub 4 nearly a decade earlier. His 4:01.4 was from not ideal pacing but a tactical battle.
oddgs wrote:
Who is the best male runner of all time?
Some male pronghorn antelope. Running at 30 mph for over 20 miles is just unreal and that is without 4% vapor carbon plated shoes:
https://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/nature-blows-mind-north-americas-fastest-land-animal-can-outrun-cheetah.htmlthe real fastest male wrote:
oddgs wrote:
Who is the best male runner of all time?
Some male pronghorn antelope. Running at 30 mph for over 20 miles is just unreal and that is without 4% vapor carbon plated shoes:
https://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/nature-blows-mind-north-americas-fastest-land-animal-can-outrun-cheetah.html
Sh1t
I couldn't reach 30mph for a second evan.
So, no Snell, who has been the only athlete in nearly a 100 years to win the 800/1500 Olympic double, as well as win back to back 800 Olympic titles, plus several world records; and no Coe, with his back to back 1500 Olympic titles and series of world records. And instead we get runners who won no championship titles or set no world records - like blowhard Prefontaine, among others. Clueless. It's a good thing winners are decided on the track and not by Planet Letsrun.
Banana Bread wrote:
We all know it is Bekele so there is no need to go into details there. Look at Gunder Hagg. I think he should be up near the top of the list. People compare breaking 2 to Roger Bannister's paced time trial. Well if you go back nearly a decade before that when WW2 was going on, Gunder Hagg done what should really deserved be compared to breaking. He helped lower the WR 3 times in races(not stupid time trials). Before he lowered it, it was only 4:06.4, so well of sub 4. He managed to get it down another 5 seconds to 4:01.4. Do people not realise that he had the WR until Roger done his time trial(and disappeared afterwards). If anyone deserves credit it is Hagg. He should get the credit for making sub 4 look very possible in the first place. Not to mention he was the first ever sub 14 5,000m guy all the way back when my great granddaddy would of been a POW in Laos
The thing with the Swedes of that generation is, you have to admit that they did benefit from having the rest of the world being busily engaged in slaughtering each other, including your great grandpa.
I mean it's just a fact that if Sweden hadn't been one of the very few countries in the world to remain neutral, that Hagg would have been fighting on the Eastern front or something instead of breaking the WR.
Maybe if it weren't for WW2, Rudolf Harbig (1:46 800m wr/2:21 1000m wr) would have moved up to the 1500/mile and broken 4 minutes?
Pretty sure anyway, that if it hadn't been for the War, that 4 minutes would have been broken before Bannister.
You make a good point about Bannister's attempt being a time trial, which was rare in those days, especially with three pacemakers that Bannister had. Having said that, surely the Swedes weren't setting their WRs in real races when they basically only had themselves to race against during the war?
I wonder if there is an all-time list of best times in non-paced races (ie. all championship finals)?