Most of us agree Bekele is the GOAT, right?

Bekele is the greatest no doubt about it, Haile Gebresselassie is the second.

Bekele was ultra dominant in cross

Bekele was ultra dominant on track and set two world records who are still lasting todays when they lasted a few years before him

Bekele has proved that even out of his athletic prime and after so much injuries he was great as well on the road.

Everything about Bekele scream greatness, his palmares, his victories, his perfect running, his records.

I'm a big fan of Bekele

EthiopiaToDiWorld wrote:

Not in terms of broader Track and Field. That title goes clearly to Usain Bolt. But with respect to distance running, Bekele is:

The world record holder in 5000m.

The world record holder in 10000m.

Two seconds away from the world record in the marathon.

Had Bekele broken the world record, Bekele would have held three world records at once. It's disgusting how awesome that might have been. There remains a possibility that Bekele might yet do that, however unlikely. Make no mistake, I'm not arguing Bekele was the greatest middle-distance runner ever. His short stature is ill-suited to cruising over distances of 800m and 1500m. But at anything over 3 miles? His endurance and stride are the greatest the world have ever seen. Can anyone make a compelling argument towards the contrary?

Yes of course Bekele is the greatest ever. By quite a margin, even.

The real question would be how a running fan could not be a fan of Bekele?

You would have to be very nationalistic and dislike him because he beat your national athlete. I can't see a single another reason.

EssosLindi wrote:

The real question would be how a running fan could not be a fan of Bekele?

You would have to be very nationalistic and dislike him because he beat your national athlete. I can't see a single another reason.

+1

Only a moran would think otherwise.

father time wrote:

Geb's a little over rated in my opinion. My top 5 would be

1. Bekele

2. Kipchoge

3. El Guerrouj

4. Gebrselassie

5. Komen

Top 4 are all close with a bit of gap to Komen. At 6 I'd put maybe Lagat or Farah.

Were you around in the nineties?

When Gebrselassie first broke the 5000m world record, only one man had broken 13:00. He took off a second a half, to take it under 12:57.

By the time he was done with the WR, we were under 12:40.

Nearly 19 seconds off the 5000m world record. He ended the 20th century of distance running and brought in the modern era.

(And yes, three WRs and nearly 30s off the WR at 10,000m, 27 world records in total, consecutive Olympic golds, ten global titles - including a 1500m! - and the first man under 2:04.)

I think Bekele is/was an even better runner than Gebrselassie. But with no marathon WR or Olympic title for KB, it's not clear who the "greatest" is.

Depends on which goat. 5000m and 10000m goat, yes. Marathon goat - that title belongs solely to Kipchoge.

father time wrote:

John Wesley Harding wrote:

Yes, at least from 1500-marathon in the past 30 years or so, Bekele’s #1.

1. Bekele

2. Gebrsellassie

3. Kipchoge

4. El Guerrouj

5. Farah

Geb's a little over rated in my opinion. My top 5 would be

1. Bekele

2. Kipchoge

3. El Guerrouj

4. Gebrselassie

5. Komen

Top 4 are all close with a bit of gap to Komen. At 6 I'd put maybe Lagat or Farah.

Geb has held world records for the 5k, 10k, and marathon. I don’t know how that is overrated. Along with multiple Olympic gold medals. How many golds does Kipchoge have?

1. Bekele

2. Geb

3. Kipchoge

A quick reminder that Gebrselassie broke 27 world records.

Markmiles wrote:

A quick reminder that Gebrselassie broke 27 world records.

I never said Geb wasn't great, but I'm comparing him to BEKELE, EL GUERROUJ, and KIPCHOGE.

You realize how dominant El Guerrouj was, and that his world records from the 90s STILL stand? Nobody's even really come close despite the 1500 being run much more often than 5k and 10k.

Kipchoge's completely changed the marathon in the same way that Geb changed the 5k and 10k. Kipchoge can't break the wr 27 times because you can only run a marathon twice per year compared to every other week for the 5k. It's very difficult deciding between these two.

The thing is we’re talking about very different physiological events. The 1500 is very different than the 5k/10k which is very different than the marathon. It’s really quite simple if you break the goat down according to those areas...

1500 - El G

5k/10k - Bekele

Marathon - Kipchoge

I think I'm finally ready to pass the mantle from Gebreselassie to Bekele.

Geb had a great number of years of world class times and I needed to see Bekele do something fast at an older age.

A 2:01 marathon did that for me.

Geb was world champion at 10,000m in 1993, ran the first sub 2:04 marathon in 2008 and still put up a 27:20 10,000 and 2:08 marathon in 2012.

That's a 20 year range.

His PR when he won the 10K title in 1993 was 27:30. He ran 26:51 in 2008. Who's faster 15 years after winning a world title?

He brought distance running to a whole new level all by himself.

He smashed records and had a fierce kick in slow races.

I take it back. Geb's the best.

Bekele has to win gold next year or run faster than Kipchoge.

Bekele is faster 5k , 10k, and marathon and has more titles on the track, including more Olympic titles (not even including his cross country resume). Bekele is the best.

I used to think Bekele would end up as the GOAT but for me Kipchoge owns that title for now. Next year they are both going to line up against each other at the OG marathon and Kipchoge will son him.

John Wesley Harding wrote:

Yes, at least from 1500-marathon in the past 30 years or so, Bekele’s #1.

1. Bekele

2. Gebrsellassie

3. Kipchoge

4. El Guerrouj

5. Farah

This list is pretty solid.

Doesn’t Berkeley have the world record also in the indoor 2000?

Bekele

Where does Paul Tergat fit in here? He did hold the Marathon world record and has 2 Olympic medals...Numerous world XC titles.

1. Bekele

2. Gebreselassie

3. Kipchoge

4. Tergat

5. Hicham