Talent is trash wrote:
Coevett wrote:
In that case, my top 3 runners of all time would be :
1 - Marita Koch - nobody has gotten within a second of her 400m WR in the last 20 years (on faster tracks).
2 - Jarmila Kratochvílová - Another incredible WR that only an intrasex athlete can get near.
3 - Ben Johnson - 9.79 on an inferior track, probably would have ran sub 9.7 if he had been allowed to continue doping.
Neither Koch nor Jarmila would be considered overall GOAT. Even with their records, and even with their hardware.
The OP also explicitly said we’re not taking potential into account. So your argument for Johnson is irrelevant.
Why is Marita Koch's performances any less impressive than El G's? Her WR is by far the greatest of any runner, male or female in athletics history. She set her first WR in 1977 and her last in 1985. She certainly would have won Gold at two olympics if it wasn't for the boycott in 84, and perhaps also in 1976 as a 19 year old where she was injured after beating the woman who won gold in her heat.
Or is it just doped up Africans who qualify for the list?