Rank the best milers of all time...

There is only one correct answer to this thread:

ALAN MF WEBB!!!!

•Tooo many marathons

• RE: Rank the best milers of all time... 1/3/2017 5:03AM - in reply to lkjy

Tooo many marathons

Yours is without a doubt the best top five I have seen.

Let's go with that:

1. Hicham El Guerrouj WR in mile for 9 years now

2. Sebastian Coe 2 X Olympic Champ

3. Kip Keino African Pioneer

4. Jim Ryun Mainly for what might have been as he peaked at 21

5. Herb Elliott Never beaten over 1500/Mile and retired at 23

Perhaps the only thing bad about this list is we missed out on anyone before

1960. There were a lot of great milers from those eras.

_____________________________________________________________Another great miler no one has mentioned is Noah Ngeny who was 2nd to Hicham El Guerrouj in that great WR race 10 years ago. Ngeny ran a 3:43.40 which was second to EG's 3:43.13, but topped the existin Nouredine Morceli mark of 3:44.39. Many LRCers would say all were juiced to the gills but there is no proof of that.

Fogrunr wrote:

#4 is Roger

1. Henry Miller - American writer

2. Harry Miller - British jazz musician

3. Cheryl Miller - American basketball player

4. Roger Miller - country musician

Alan Webb was good but he had all the advantages of modern facilities, uniforms, medical, and training advantages and still did not get it done.

Young n Bald wrote:

There is only one correct answer to this thread:

ALAN WEBB!!!!

Retiring Runner wrote:

1. Glenn Cunningham - because no one ever had more guts

2. Hicham El Guerrouj

3. Herb Elliot

4. Sir Roger Bannister

5. Hicham El Guerrouj

Let's replace the first Hicham El Guerrouj with Jack Lovelock.

Here's why:

From his early days at school he participated and excelled in fields beyond athletics. At Fairlie School (1919–23) he was the top student (dux) of the primary school, represented the school in rugby, competed in swimming and athletics, and was a prefect. At Timaru Boys' High School, which he attended as a boarder from 1924, he set school athletics records but was also involved in nearly every area of school life. In 1928, his final year, Lovelock was school dux, head prefect, and won the school's boxing championship cup. The following year he went to University of Otago to study medicine. Lovelock showed a talent for sports while at the university, and competed for the university team in the New Zealand 1-mile (1.6 km) championships. In 1931 he became a Rhodes Scholar at Exeter College, Oxford from 1931 to 1934. He graduated as a medical practitioner. A prefect is a senior student authorized to enforce discipline!

The highlight of Lovelock's career came in 1936, when he won the gold medal in the 1500 m at the Berlin Olympics, setting a world record in the final (3:47.8). In the final, Lovelock beat Glenn Cunningham, who came in second, by making the unprecedented break from 300 m out. Lovelock had been regarded as a sprinter in the home straight but cleverly disguised his plan and caught his opponents napping with a brilliantly-timed move. Cunningham, who also broke the world record in the race, was considered by many to be the greatest American miler of all time. Beccali was third.

He later retired and became a medical doctor. It's doubtful if there was a better athlete-student-citizen than Lovelock.

1. Jonathan Gault

2. Rojo

3. Wejo

4. Jamin

5. El g

lkjy wrote:

1. Hicham El Guerrouj (Oly Gold, Silver / 4 x WC Gold, 1 Silver / 2 x WC Gold Indoors) ~ World Record Holder 1500/Mile/In/Out. Most Top 25 Performances. As Lord Coe himself stated, "El G is the only complete package we've seen over the mile, speed and strength." 5000m Olympic Gold, Indoor 3000m WC. Passes the eyeball test in that he would beat all previous Milers in history in any type of race.

2. Sebastian Coe

3. Kip Keino

4. Jim Ryun

5. Herb Elliott

A good answer:

1. El Guerrouj- just look at his speed, who he faced, wins against other greats, titles, longevity

2. Coe

3. Morceli

4. It's tight after those; Ovett, Legat, Nyeny, Ryan, Walker, Auoita, Elliot, Cram, Scott...

El G was the most blatant doper in the history of the sport.

If he could beat all the greatest milers in history in any type of race, then how come Ngeny beat him in Sydney and Lagat in Europe in 2014.

Most of the Moroccan's big championship wins came in races where his fellow countrymen paced him in the final.

If the pace drifted to 3:35 or slower there were several milers who had the wheels to outkick him ~ Morceli, Coe, Ovett, Ryun.

And I seriously doubt he'd have run much faster than 3:30 without the EPO.

Credit Limit wrote:

El G was the most blatant doper in the history of the sport.

If he could beat all the greatest milers in history in any type of race, then how come Ngeny beat him in Sydney and Lagat in Europe in 2014.

Most of the Moroccan's big championship wins came in races where his fellow countrymen paced him in the final.

If the pace drifted to 3:35 or slower there were several milers who had the wheels to outkick him ~ Morceli, Coe, Ovett, Ryun.

And I seriously doubt he'd have run much faster than 3:30 without the EPO.

Well, you don't know that he was on EPO? If so what about his rivals?

Let's imagine that he did not use EPO, would you accept that he was the best miler/1500 performer?

I'm going to have to say Steve Scott needs to be in there.

137 times under 4! Who else is even remotely close to that

16 years straight under 4! Once again, who is even close?

3:47 for mile and 3:31 for 1500 are still world class today. His 1:45.01 ain't too shabby either.

I don't know who I'd bump out, though.

Maybe goes like this.

1. Bannister (for historical significance)

2. El G (because he still owns the record, although very likely doped) and had a pretty long career

3. Scott

After that, it's tough to say. So many factors at play that make it difficult to compare athlets from long ago. At least going back to the 80s, the tracks and shoes are pretty comparable.

50s ('50-'59)

1. Roger Bannister

2. John Landy

3. Herb Elliott

4. Stanislav Jungwirth

5. Ron Delaney

60s

1. Peter Snell

2. Kip Keino

3. Jim Ryun

4. Herb Elliott (based on one race and then not losing ;) the rest of the decade)

5. Michel Jazy

70s

1. John Walker

2. Filbert Bayi

3. Steve Ovett

4. Seb Coe

5. Kip Keino

80s

1. Seb Coe

2. Steve Cram

3. Said Aouita

4. Steve Scott

5. Steve Ovett

90s

1. Noureddine Morceli

2. Hicham El Guerrouj

3. Fermin Cacho

4. Venuste Niyongabo

5. Noah Ngeny

00s

1. Hicham El Gurrouj

2. Bernard Lagat

3. Daniel K. Komen

4. Mehdi Baala

5. Asbel Kiprop

This decade so far

1. Asbel Kiprop

2. Silas Kiplagat

3. Taoufik Makhloufi

4. Matt Centrowitz

5. Ayanleh Souleiman

Tooo many marathons wrote:

It's no fair to just use times. Please consider the time they ran.

My top five milers

1. Herb Elliott, Australia

2. Jim Ryun, USA

3. Peter Snell, New Zealand

4. John Bannister, Great Britain

5. Hicham Elguerrouj, Morocco

Centro would GOLD in the OLYMPICS. He's gotta be number 1 on these rankings. GOAT.

1. Jules Ladoumègue (broke 2 big barriers in mile and 1500m also had WR in 5000m and WRs from 1000m through to mile would have easily won LA 1500m if not unfairly banned).

2. Paavo Nurmi.

3. Murray Halberg (3 57 with one arm= just way faster with 2 good arms!).

4. Peter Snell (another Lydiard Legend).

5. Pre (damn exciting miler to watch even though a 5k specialist).

6. Landy (ran way faster than Bannister and won OG medal yet for some reason Bannister is mentioned first).

7. Herb Eliott (undefeated but retired too early to be ranked higher).

8. Filbert Bayi (can't think of anyone else who broke 1500 WR in a champ final post 1970 or of many mile WR holders who won OG steeple medals).

9. István Rózsavölgyi (had to train alone in his country under brutal military occupation to win 1960 OG 1500m medal )

10. Glenn Cunningham (had his legs practically burnt off his body aged 8 and then blasted to a 1500m silver in 1936 - if that is not bad ass then what is?)

Pretty much everyone else mentioned so far on this thread was using PEDs (EPO North Africans, Brits Jenkins steroid supply in 1980s etc ...) with exception of maybe Bannister.

Halberg maybe the greatest cripple in history only FDR and Richard III come close.

1. El Guerrouj

2. Morceli

3. Coe

4. Ngeny

5. A. Kiprop

Honorable mention: Cram, Ovett, Cacho, Lagat, Ryun

Tooo many marathons wrote:

Ryun definitely had the two best times in the world as of 1967 as he ran 3:51.3 in 1966 and 3:51.1 in 1967. (On cinder tracks.)

Consider that he was 21 in 1967!

Ryun was 20 in 1967. He was born April 29, 1947.

Tooo many marathons wrote:

Jim Ryun Mainly for what might have been as he peaked at 21.

Ryun was over the hill at 21 (in 1968). At the age of 20, he had already run his fastest times at the mile and the half mile (and their metric equivalents).

Cracks were showing in his armor when he was 21, like the fact that he dropped out of the 800 meters final in the Olympic trials. That was tragic for his legacy, as he had a far better chance of winning a gold medal in the 800 meters at Mexico City than in the 1,500 meters.

RUMAN wrote:

This decade so far

1. Asbel Kiprop

2. Silas Kiplagat

3. Taoufik Makhloufi

4. Matt Centrowitz

5. Ayanleh Souleiman

Bahahahahahaha

Tooo many marathons wrote:

Jim Ryun (Training program that drove him to peak at 21).

Admittedly Ryun is a sentimental favorite on what he could have done. He taught us what NOT TO DO in training!

You mean to peak at 20.

Why do you blame this premature peak on Ryun instead of on his two coaches, particularly Bob Timmons?