and then again, isnt it kind of unfair to compare paula to ndereba right now? ndereba's been running marathons since 1999 and has three years up on paula.
alot can happen in three years for paula to solidify her place in history and, possibly, surpass what catherine has already achieved. paula's clearly not done yet.
If Paula won the marathon in Helsinki this year, how could her record possibly be considered inferior to Catherine's?
Track Fan wrote:
Grete's WR in 1979 was 7 plus minutes faster than the next fastest woman EVER. Paula's 2:15 is just 3 minuts quicker than her next rival.
3 minutes today is ALOT more significant than 7 minutes back then. grete, great as she was, didnt have the entire world breathing down her neck--just another norwegian, an american, and a little portugese chick. japanese, chinese, and african women hadnt even entered the scene yet.
critics will always point to athens and unflattering photos of her peeing (pooing?) at london to discredit paula.
"four time winner of the boston marathon" has a nice lengendary ring to it. paula needs to pick the right races to win so it looks good on a resume--forget about the records.
I know this is kind of sitting on the fence, but I think Paula is the best "runner" given her records and her range (XC, track, roads), but I think Catherine is the best "racer". She always has a plan and sticks with it, even if it means falling behind early, but then again she is an incredible closer. Ndereba is also solid in championship-level races, too.
C. Ndereba
Ndereba, Waitz, Radcliffe, Samuelson, Mota.
I’m partial to blue collar athletes, so Ndereba is defiantly my favorite female marathoner.
In good conditions, on a fast course, there is little doubt Paula will win. BUT, this is not always the case.
scotth wrote:
Ndereba, Waitz, Radcliffe, Samuelson, Mota.
what, no japanese runners? if mota's on your list, surely you should have a japanese woman too, which include WR holders, olympic champs, and the first to break 2:20.
Madein_82 wrote:
I’m partial to blue collar athletes, so Ndereba is defiantly my favorite female marathoner.
and she works in a women's prison. there's something strangely sexy about that.
princess of wales wrote:
scotth wrote:Ndereba, Waitz, Radcliffe, Samuelson, Mota.
what, no japanese runners? if mota's on your list, surely you should have a japanese woman too, which include WR holders, olympic champs, and the first to break 2:20.
...and your list includes who? You see, the diff between you and I is a list. Put up my friend.
well it's the same as yours, minus mota and any japanese, a couple of which (whose names i cant spell or pronounce) accomplished as much, if not more, than mota.
Gotta go with Paula. 2:17 after loafing beats them all.
I'm actually shocked that there are people that would think it was anybody other than Paula!
Let's see, she stops to go to the bathroom and still wins by 5 minutes at a race that is now more prestigous than Boston.
She also has the world record by a lot. As far as I'm concerned, she's the most dominating female marathoner. She went for it all at the Olympics and it didn't work out that day, but you can't judge someone on one day.
Takahashi was the greatest of all time.
When she HAD to run fast, she did. When she didn't need to run fast, SHE DID anyway.
Her greatest run was definitely the 2:21 here in Bangkok at the Asian Games in 1998. She was 13 minutes ahead of 2nd place.
Only 3 women I can think of who have broken the world record and also won a world championship or olympics: Takahashi, Waitz and Nderba.
Takahashi was the best of these.
Ndereba wins big races, and is one tough lady...end of story. DNF in the Oly games DQs PR for me.
Obviously Paula wrote:
She went for it all at the Olympics and it didn't work out that day, but you can't judge someone on one day.
true, but history isnt gonna be sympathetic to that. unfortunately, people remember championships, not times. she needs one badly--not for anyone today or tomorrow, but for the runners 50 years from now.
the only other athletes who might compare with paula are dan marino and michelle kwan. great athletes, but they never won the big prize (superbowl or olympics). of course michelle kwan will be remembered b/c she was just so consistent and dominant for an insanely long career (olympics or no olympics)--paula cant physically last that long. she's still got time, though.
scotth wrote:
Ahhhh, and you were doing so well until the 'f' word.
Another straightforward defense of your choices. Lots of on topic shit in there. Roll out dem red herrings, boy! What a joke!
princess of wales wrote:
the only other athletes who might compare with paula are dan marino and michelle kwan.
Actually, I think that my comparison to Jim Peters was really good.
There are lots of great athletes who dominated their sport for a while, but never won the big one. Among runners, Ron Clarke, Bill Rodgers, and Jim Ryun arguably fit the bill.