Who's the best??

Ok. I'll play:

Best in the World:

1500 - El G.

Mile - El G.

3000 - Komen

2 miles - Komen

5000 - Geb

10,000 - Geb

Marathon - KK (will be Geb)

Best in the U.S.:

1500 - Scott

mile - Scott

2000 - Spivey

3000 - Broe

2 miles - Kennedy

5000 - Kennedy (will be Ritz)

10000 - Have no opinion (will be Ritz)

Marathon - KK

Of all time:

800 - Kipketer

1500 - Coe

3000 - El G

5000 - Geb

10000 - Geb

Marathon - Deek

Did you know that Track and Field existed before 1996? Prior to that year, some great races were run, but it wouldn't show by looking at your picks.

800m- Peter Snell (??), Wilson Kipketer (Den)

1500- Sebastin Coe (GB), Noureddine Morceli (Alg)

3000/5000-Henry Rono (Ken), Said Aoutia (Mor)

10000- tie- Haile Gbreselassie (Eth) & Lasse Viren

800m- Jarmila Kratavolia (Cze), Maria Mutola (Moz)

1500- Tatyana Kazankina (SU) double gold Oly (76 & 80)

Paula Ivan (Rom) 5 sec victory in 88 Oly

3000m Tatyana Dorovskikh (SU)

5000/ 10000m Ingrid Kristiansen (Nor), Paula Radcliffe (GB)

I know it seems like alot of old names; however, research them and marvel at their accomplishments! As a Sports Psychology major I'm also a athletic history buff! I'll check back to read other's picks!!

Vipam

Hmmm...some of these are really close

800m: Snell : two gold medals, WRs and such

1500m: Morceli : gold medal, long time on top, WRs over many distances- tied with Elliot : undefeated need I say more, but had a short career

3000m: not a normal event but Komen was so fast, you can't say El G was better, he ran slower in the same era. I'll say Komen for his sick string of times, 7:20 and 7:24 indoors

5000m: The toughest call I say, between Geb and Auoita, both were just about invincible, Said has a gold medal though and both took the event to a new level. Flip a coin.

10000m: Geb, undefeated for like 8 years, 3 WRs, two gold medals. Won even with the whole Kenyan team trying to beat him down. Viren not even close in my book, two golds yeah, and a over a minute slower and not nearly as unbeatable.

Steeplechase: Kiptanui, he himself brought this event to the point where sub 8 was even a dream, on top for so long, no other option I think.

Marathon: To up and down Bikila maybe, started the african boom really. Maybe Deek he was really good and was around for awhile.

No more time gotta go, I'll post my thoughts on the women later.

'Best in the U.S.:

3000 - Broe'

No offense but this is comical. Broe is good but best American at any distance? Give me a break.

I've noticed a lot of 'pro Broe' stuff on here generally, he's a great runner but not fit to lace Kennedys boots!

1500. Steve Cram (in 1985 beat Coe and Aouita) had he been pushed think he could have ran close to what El G is running now.

3k Komen, he had that two year spell where he was running on another planet, i remember him running up the straight coughing and wiping his nose on route to his 7.20.

5k Komen, simply for that one race where he booted Gebs ass and he was reduced to jogging around the last 200 and Komen ran about 12.40

10k Viren, fell down, got up, won the gold and broke the wr, enough?

marathon Lopez, 37, Olympic Gold, amazing.

In his day: Emil Zatopek...3 golds, 5k, 10k, marathon.

Ron Clarke was pretty darn good at 5 & 10k in off O Games years. Viren was very good also in O Games years.

Zatopek definitely was the most dominant runner of that era but his best event was the 10K. Between 1948 and 1954, Zatopek won 38 10K races back to back, setting 18 world records in the process. One of the most dominant streaks in that event though Geb was close. I'd rate Zatopek over Geb though it's probably just a coin toss.

Hmmmm The ultimate pub-night discussion:

800 -- Love Kipketer, but it's gotta be snell (Such a shame that Kipketer was muscled out of Atlanta after having competed for Denmark in Gothenberg - a gold would have solidified his place in 800 history)

1500 -- Coe - back to back Oly golds, mate. The one and only. Didn't race enough to really take a bite out of records as much as he could. (Did you know his dad predicted 3:29 for 1500 when Coe was 18! That's prescience.)

Mile -- Since it's not a championship event, I'd have to go with Cram, both for hte 3:46 and the fact that he beat both Coe. Aouita, Scott and Cruz head-to-head.

3000 -- Komen's time is "Michael Johnsonesque" in that his 7:20 might not be bested until MJs 19.32 is.

5000/10000 -- Geb has the head-to-head wins, the championship medals and the world records to claim both of these events as his own. Toujours Sourit!

Marathon -- So hard to compare, but Lopes ran 2:09 in the LA heat and smog to win 84 gold, as well as running under 2:10 4 times in the pre-EPO 80s.

Martin

I agree with the thoughts on Zatopek. Its very hard to rate people of another era with today, but still I think Emil and Haile are in a toss-up. Viren did NOTHING between the Olympics. I'd also say that Elliott is still the man at the 1500/Mile. He never lost in his competitive career, running a ton of races in admittedly a short time period (he was done, and the world record holder by multiple seconds, at age 22 I believe). The marathon and steeplchase are very tough because its so hard to stay on top. I mean, Bill Rodgers won both Boston and New York 3+ times, so why not (I'm not casting my vote for him, just making a comment). I should check my sources, but I believe the only person to go back to back for golds in the steeple in the Flying Finn Volmari Iso-Hollo, who dominated steeplechasing in the 1930's.

800 Snell (His times for back in the day we're insane. Plus he could handle Lydiard's long runs!)

1500 El G (The Kenyans have to gang up on him and box him in in championship races in order to barely beat him, in fast races they can't come close.)

mile Ryun (Sentimental choice, but he put the U.S. close to 3:50 about 30 years ago. No american today could handle him. Plus he trained like a beast.)

3000ST Rono (One of the first members of the Kenyan steeple/distance dynasty.)

3000 Komen (7:20 !!!!??? So what if he ingested a Starbucks franchise beforehand.)

5000 Aouita (made 13:00 seem not so fast, ushered in North African dominance.)

10000 Geb (He is the all-time master of this event.)

mar KK (He broke his own excellent record, proof that

he's no one-shot fluke.)

I thought the "Flying Finn" was Paavo Nurmi?

Anyway, this discussion is not complete w/o mentioning Nurmi.

"In addition to his nine Olympic victories, he set a total of 31 world records. The records have been surpassed many times in the meantime, but no one has ever been able to better Nurmi's sheer superiority and the indomitable confidence that he demonstrated at meet after meet, year-in year-out. Indeed, it was always said that Nurmi was racing the clock, not the other competitors.

Paavo Nurmi's range of mastery was unequalled in his time. For many years he was unbeatable over any distance between 1,500 and 10,000 metres. If his time in the only marathon that he ran is anything to go by, he can also be regarded as the best of his era over that distance as well."

-Clay

800- No question Peter Snell. Two Olympic golds and never lost an important 800. He was such a combination of speed and endurance and unbelievable acceleration.

1500/mile- Herb Elliot. As a another said he never lost and he won the Olympics in world record time and did retire at age 22. There wasn't money in running then.

5k- Tough one but I like Aouita for his tremedous combination of speed and endurance.

10k- Geb has to be number one but I would give Zatopek a close second.

Marathon- I am surprised that nobody so far has mentioned Abebe Bikila who won two Olympic gold medals in record time and won the second shortly after having his appendix removed.

The best of the U.S.

800- Rick Wolhuter. American record and virtually unbeatable by Americans from 73 to 76.

1500/mile- Jim Ryun. World and American records that were just unreal when you consider the lousy dirt tracks he ran on and no rabbits in his 3:51.1 in the 1967 US Championships. Nobody in the world could touch him from 1965 to 67. Only altitude and being tripped kept him from a gold medal.

5k- Bob Kennedy with Pre clos behind.

10k- Billy Mills. World six mile record and an Olympic gold medal in record time. His career was short though.

Marathon- Frank Shorter. He invented marathoning in this country and he would have had two gold medals except for a drug cheat in 76. By bringing his 5 and 10k ability to the race he proved that the marathon was speed event.

Yes, but there are very good reasons to pick those that I did pick. Look at my U.S. picks, and there are a few pre 1996 dudes there. Didn't really think those picks of mine deserved a slam. Perhaps you're just having a bad day. I wish you peace in your corner of the world brother.

I think the best way to compare eras is by comparing general dominance of their events for long periods. I don't think we can call Khannouchi the best martathoner simply because he has run the fastest time twice. He's a very hot/cold runner who either competes spectacularly or not at all. Marathoners should be the toughest of distance runners and I think he's a bit soft when it comes to adversity. He's still competing, though, and I think he could become the best ever. James Peters (GBR) set four marathon records between 1952 and 1954 and Abebe Bikila, the barefoot Ethiopian, set world records four years apart while winning the Olympic Marathons in 1960 and 1964. Derek Clayton (AUS)dropped the record substantially in both 1967 and 1969 and held the record for 14 years, something no one else can match.

Ok, I guess I could rethink the Broe one for 3000. Just didn't want to put Kennedy down for everything. Guess that indoor 3000 AR for Broe was in my head. Perhaps it shouldn't have been.

Stepay wrote:

Yes, but there are very good reasons to pick those that I did pick. Look at my U.S. picks, and there are a few pre 1996 dudes there. Didn't really think those picks of mine deserved a slam. Perhaps you're just having a bad day. I wish you peace in your corner of the world brother.

Broe?