What’s up y’all, it’s your boy Rankerchief.
For the purpose of this thread I am defining the “modern era” as being since the 2002 London Marathon. Khalid Khannouchi lowered his own WR to win in 2:05:38, and the 2nd and 3rd place finishers would later take the record to 2:04:xx and 2:03:xx, respectively. Haile made the WR chase the main focus of the marathoning world, and time will soon tell if Kipchoge’s run fast enough to effectively end the chase. It took almost 35 years for the record to drop 3:59 from 2:09:37 to 2:05:38, and only 16.5 years to drop another 3:59 to 2:01:39. Additionally, 2002 is about when some of our Old Guard (Kipchoge, Bekele, Ritz) began competing internationally. I imagine this era will close when Kipchoge retires or gets beaten, finally.
Without further ado, the ten “greatest” marathoners of the modern era:
1. Eliud Kipchoge
-I needn’t rationalize something so obvious
2. Wilson Kipsang
-Remarkable consistency at the highest level; ran 2:03:xx 4 times on 3 different courses over a span of 6 years; has won London, Berlin, and NYC
3. Samuel Wanjiru
-His “greatness” may benefit from his early death, as legends often have an element of mystery i.e. unfulfilled potential; won 5 of the 6 marathons he finished including his 2:06:32 Olympic record run, one for the ages, London and ChicagoX2.
4. Geoffrey Mutai
-Reached a remarkable level in 2011, running a shocking 2:03:02 CR in Boston and an equally impressive 2:05:05 CR in NYC, neither of which has been challenged; won 4 majors (3 cities) between ‘11 & ‘13.
5. Haile Gebrselassie
-I understand criticism of Haile’s marathon career as he did dodge competition at times in favor of time trials arranged for him, however, those events were must-see for elite running fans and he succeeded on a couple occasions—as the only man to break the world record twice since Khannouchi in ‘02. The one second that is 2:04:00 vs. first 2:03 also benefits his case.
6. Martin Lel
-An underrated or somewhat forgotten athlete. Won London 3 times (3 runner-up finishes as well) and NYC twice. All together 10 podium finishes at the now-WMMs spanning 2003-2012. His 2:05:15 PB makes him the 58th fastest performer now, but he was #4 AT in 2008.
7. Dennis Kimetto
-Came out of nowhere fast and declined just as quickly. Could likely have won Berlin and perhaps threatened the 2:03:38 WR in 2012 if he hadn’t deferred to G. Mutuai for financial reasons, before he won Chicago ‘13 in the CR 2:03:45 and ran the first 2:02 in Berlin ‘14 (14:09 from 30-35k!) He’s almost the Daniel Komen of the marathon, running amazing times and looking like the perfect natural before fading away quickly due to injury or who-knows-what.
8. Emmanuel Mutai
-Won London ‘11 in what was a CR 2:04:40, but beyond that he was “Mr. Silver,” placing 2nd in 6 WMMs and a world championships. After Berlin 2014 he had the 2nd and 7th fastest marathon performances all time.
9. Tsegaye Kebede
-8 podium finishes in WMMs, including 2 wins in London and one in Chicago, plus bronzes at the Olympics and WCs. Never was the fastest in the world but was a smart bet to win any race in ‘12-‘13 due to his consistency and tactical savvy.
10. Patrick Makau
-Unsurprisingly, the final spot was most difficult to select. While I would rather have the marathon careers of Jaoaud Gharib or Abel Kirui, the defining mission of the era has been knocking time off the WR, so I decided to honor this 21-second knocker who brought the record back to Kenya where it’s remained since. He was ranked #1 by T&F News in 2010 after going 2-0 against G. Mutai and then sent Geb home devastated at Berlin 2011 with a bold surge after 30k to steal the record. Save for a couple Fukuoka wins he’s largely faded since then, but he was a force for a couple years.
Honorable Mentions:
Jaoaud Gharib & Abel Kirui
-These 2 had quite similar resumes: fairly long marathon careers, 2 WC wins and an Olympic silver apiece, solid but not world-leading times. The WC marathon is less competitive than the majors, though, and neither athlete distinguished themselves enough in majors or by quick times to ever make them the favorite in, say, London.
Stephen Kiprotich
-Similar to the runners above, he has championship golds (Olympics ‘12, WCs ‘13) but could not regularly compete with the world’s best in majors, with only a 2:06 PR.
Paul Tergat & Kenenisa Bekele
-Both had at least one great marathon race, but were not consistent enough in the event and suffered enough disappointments to keep them off the list.
Lilesa Desisa
-Has won Boston twice and NYC once and finished on the podium 8 times between those two events, already. Was ranked #1 by T&F News for 2013. Would like to see him compete in a different (faster) major while he’s still a contender, but if he gets a couple more big wins he could make the list.
Discuss, or discus, whichever you prefer.