Who had the better career - Deena Kastor or Shalane Flanagan?

Deena Drossin

Deena. Easily Deena. And she rewrote many of the Masters Records

Deena Kastor had a better career and she is better than Shalane for sure. yea Shalane broke her 5k and 10k records but that was on a different time of Deena's.

Deena.

Deena and Shalane are very close. I'd call it a tie. A silver Olympic trumps a bronze, and Shalane track career trumps Deena, but Deena's marathon and XC career trumps Shalane.

Neither is close to Joanie in the marathon, though.

I know this is hard to judge properly, but one could devalue Kastor's XC medals and Major Marathon wins slightly given that the field of African women didn't seem as strong as the fields that Flanagan had to compete against. I'd say Flanagan had more difficult fields to go up against. Obviously this does nothing to diminish Kastor's far superior marathon PR.

Shalane - born in Colorado but raised in Marblehead Massachusetts.
Deena - born in Waltham, Massachusetts but raised in Agoura, California
(meanwhile Salazar was born in Cuba but raised in Wayland, Massachusetts).

Kind of a fun coincidence.

I think Deena overall had the more "successful" career but I think had they raced each other in their primes, Shalane was a better runner. When they competed in that XC race, Deena was at her absolute peak and I think Shalane was still on the rise.

Also, the marathons are difficult to judge. Shalane's win in New York was, to me harder fought than Deena in London or Chicago (where pacers lead you through the first 30K). But Deena also battled for bronze in Athens 04 in a race that must have been the definition of suffering. And, a sub-220 is spectacular and the best hope anyone breaks that in the near future is with Jordan Hasay, who similar to Ritz, is a phenom when in shape and healthy, but is rarely both of those things.

Shalane! Much better athlete and MUCH better person.

There coming to get you Barbara

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Rubic’s cube wrote:

Shalane! Much better athlete and MUCH better person.

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I'm just glad that within the past 20 years the U.S. has had enough great women runners to make this a hard question to answer. Kudos to them both (and them all).

Joan Benoit, then Deena

Correct -- Benoit's Olympic gold in the first women's marathon and multiple Boston wins = American GOAT

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LetsRun.com wrote:

Their careers are very similar in many ways - both won 5 US Outdoor titles, an Olympic medal, a world xc medal (Kastor won 2), a ton of US xc titles (Kastor 8, Flanagan 6), a world marathon major (Kastor won 2) and set numerous American records.

I think I line towards Kastor given her two world xc medals and her two major wins and the fact that her 2:19 AR still stands, but I'm willing to be corrected.

https://www.letsrun.com/news/2019/10/who-is-the-goat-of-us-womens-distance-running-shalane-flanagan-or-deena-kastor-or-someone-else/

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Please stop. Shalane had a great career. But she is not GOAT. Not even in the conversation.

Deena. Joanie. Decker

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Not in the convo wrote:

Please stop. Shalane had a great career. But she is not GOAT. Not even in the conversation.

Deena. Joanie. Decker

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LetsRun.com wrote:

Their careers are very similar in many ways - both won 5 US Outdoor titles, an Olympic medal, a world xc medal (Kastor won 2), a ton of US xc titles (Kastor 8, Flanagan 6), a world marathon major (Kastor won 2) and set numerous American records.

I think I line towards Kastor given her two world xc medals and her two major wins and the fact that her 2:19 AR still stands, but I'm willing to be corrected.

https://www.letsrun.com/news/2019/10/who-is-the-goat-of-us-womens-distance-running-shalane-flanagan-or-deena-kastor-or-someone-else/

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Deena. Go Hogs.

Deena

ASICS > Nike