formerbosox9yo wrote:
Not Even Close wrote:
Clearly you have never raced on a cinder track. In addition, you don't know your history. Herb was one of the greatest competitors of all time. The fact that he is not in the conversation (not to mention Jim Ryun) tells you all you need to know about the idiotic mind of the OP.
Who says Elliott wasn't in the conversations. He simply didn't make the finals. The finals in the 1500m is only 12 runners, so it's a VERY ELITE group. Holding some WRs and winnign some medals doesn't necessarily guarantee to make such an elite group when EVERYTHING is considered. Runners from all time are evaluated for speed, endurance, heart, balls, possible PED usage, era, tracks, conditions, etc etc. No shame for not being one of the 12 best EVER.
There was a separate thread to determine team USA for this meet. Ryun was definitely discussed, but it ended up being Lagat, Maree, and Centro. That's who would win in an all-time USA meet most often. Only 3 from each country could compete, so its VERY hard to make the meet in the 1500 from team USA. Only the top 3 americans ever could be included. Ryun could still be considered one of the best ever, certainly from his era, but the meet is so elite that sometimes even that doesn't make the cut.