Who is the second best sprinter of all-time...after bolt

Mo Greene still has the indoor 60m WR. Bolt might crush everyone for 100m , Greene still would beat him for the first half. He has to be in the discussion for that. Michael Johnson has to be in the discussion for being best 200 & 400 sprinter. Wayde Van Niekerk has to be in the discussion for that amazing 43.03. Agree Bolt is the best. Terrence Trammel best 100& 110hh.

Ichiro got wheels

Niekerk is definitely top 3.

Sub 10

Sub 20

43.03

Forgot about Asafa Powell, most sub 10s all time.

this is tough

Blake and Gay and Johnson are the next three best. Maybe you discount Johnson because he was purely a long sprinter and wasn't a 100m guy at all (similar to Allyson Felix, though Felix was better at 100, but not as good at 200/400).

Blake and Gay had the misfortune of having their careers line up with Bolt.

I would add Powell but quite frankly he just couldn't get it done at WC/Olys and hardly ever actually medaled.

Van Niekerk will probably make the list but he's only been on the world stage for a couple years now, so even though he's got sub 10,20, and the ridiculous 400 WR I wouldn't put him on the list just yet.

As someone said Gay gets put on the list for the same reasons as Blake, except Blake had a much faster 200, so Blake should get the node, though so far Blake was really only at the top of the world (behind Bolt) for what like 2 or three years... not really second best sprinter of all time type of stuff.

hmmm, for now i'm gonna say Michael Johnson. Though in a few years it may very well be Van Niekerk if he knocks a few tenths off his 200 time.

onceinabluemoon wrote:

Screw you with your sexist rules.

Marita Koch

They're not sexist. Every athlete mentioned is faster than Marita Koch.

Bob Hayes.

I think Blake is the second best.

His double in London is the greatest double timewise 9.75, 19.44, of any sprinter in an Olympics minus Bolt's doubles in the Olympics in China and London and possibly after Rio. Blake's only "crime" is losing to the fastest runner in history. No shame there.

He won a world title in the 100m 2011. While Bolt was not in the race, it shows Blake can get the job done in a major. Everyone else blew the chance. So if there's a question of him only running when theres no pressure to win beccause Bolt is expected to?" the answer is no, he can step up and stand out when the full pressure is on him.

Hes run 19.26 also. That is staggeringly quick. It's Bolt-esque.

I believe he's 26. He might have a chance at the next games since Bolt is going to retire. He'll be 30 so it's going to be tough. Glad he at least got a gold in a relay though.

Based on time's, it's gotta be Blake. No one else can run sub 19.3 outside of Bolt

Moses

Peyton Manning

have to agree with your 3 sprinters there-Lewis had a lengthy career but no WR's to his credit and though Ben was doping, Lewis was too and Ben slapped him around in the 100m final in Seoul...

docpj72 wrote:

have to agree with your 3 sprinters there-Lewis had a lengthy career but no WR's to his credit and though Ben was doping, Lewis was too and Ben slapped him around in the 100m final in Seoul...

well that makes no sense. Gay and Blake didn't have WRs either, and neither of them have the championship record of Lewis. Combined, his record still beats them. Had he not been unwell in 92 OT, he'd have won the OG that year as well. He came within a whisker of winning the OG 100m/200m double.

He was the World Champion over 100m in 1983, 1987 and 1991. That's huge.

Kansas city comet wrote:

Mo Greene still has the indoor 60m WR. Bolt might crush everyone for 100m , Greene still would beat him for the first half. He has to be in the discussion for that. Michael Johnson has to be in the discussion for being best 200 & 400 sprinter. Wayde Van Niekerk has to be in the discussion for that amazing 43.03. Agree Bolt is the best. Terrence Trammel best 100& 110hh.

Boat's first 60m during his 100m was what, .15 faster than Mo's world record?

Bolt might not be a great starter, but the reason he doesn't have the indoor 60m record is because he never runs indoors.

Personally I think he never runs indoors because it means he is only subjected to Jamaica's extremely insufficient out of competition drug testing during the winter, but that is beside the point of this thread.