The Final Is Here: Deena Kastor or Jim Ryun - Who is the American GOAT?

Letsrunners must hate winning.

Managed to eliminate anyone who actually won gold medals, and we're left with a choke artist and a overachiever. Voting for Deena since she at least could race up to her ability sometimes when it counted.

Two people who never won a global title. Shame.

Now that the primaries are over, can we be given the option of write-in votes? I'll take Mary Decker Slaney (who was completely excluded from consideration) or Bernard Lagat (whose American record in the 1500 was excluded from consideration) over either of these choices.

Yep!!!

I agree with both. Ryun was an absolute animal and running such fast times throughout his entire career. He would have been an Olympic Champion had he not been beaten by one of the greatest runners of all-time. Deena was just awesome and displayed an amazing range over a long period of time.

Voted Deena because I don't believe Ryun should've beat Lagat

Mary Decker

zoomx83 wrote:

Mary Decker

This.

Hotcheetos wrote:

Voted Deena because I don't believe Ryun should've beat Lagat

That doesn't make sense.

ricroll wrote:

Letsrunners must hate winning.

Managed to eliminate anyone who actually won gold medals, and we're left with a choke artist and a overachiever. Voting for Deena since she at least could race up to her ability sometimes when it counted.

I love it. someone wouldn't finish withing 3 mins of Ryun talking smack.

It’s quite difficult to compare a male miler from the 60s to a female marathoner of the 21st century..can’t they both be winners? Men and women compete separately

Avocado's Number wrote:

Now that the primaries are over, can we be given the option of write-in votes? I'll take Mary Decker Slaney (who was completely excluded from consideration) or Bernard Lagat (whose American record in the 1500 was excluded from consideration) over either of these choices.

Agreed. You cannot find anyone greater on the men's side than Bernard Lagat, nor greater on the women's side (yet) than Mary Decker Slaney. Mary Decker at 14 competed against the Soviets, and though she missed Olympics because of injury (1976) and boycott (1980), only to be tripped and knocked out of the 1984 Olympics, she still won double golds at World's and beat the Eastern Bloc athletes, FROM THE FRONT, in just a brazen display against the most doped up athletes in the history of the world. Now she was banned for a high ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone when coached by Salazar in the mid 1990s, and her weight thrower husband or Athletics West steroid doctor may have doped her up earlier, but she was great with American records at 800 (1:56), 1500 (3:57), mile, 3000m (an incredible 8:25 or so), and I think 5000m. She wasn't being paced in those races. She would typically lead the whole way. Shelby Houlihan might some day surpass her, as she has already run incredible American records of 3:54/14:34 and come close indoors in around 8:26-28, as well as something like 1:58 indoors, plus many American titles but she's not there yet. Jenny Simpson was a very worthy competitor for all her medals in this era as well.

Lagat as a Kenyan ran 3:26 and medaled on multiple occasions, but he was an American when he ran 3:27, now the U.S. record, and was an American even according to Brojos when he ran the other American record of 3:29.3. He was double gold medal winner at World's, like Slaney, and won golds at World indoors and multiple other medals. In fact, he was even in line briefly for a medal at World's again at, I think, age 40 when he ran 13:06 and a bunch were dq'd for stepping on the infield before he himself said they shouldn't be dq'd because they didn't gain any advantage. His American records and age group records are remarkable, as was his consistency.

dont care what yall think wrote:

zoomx83 wrote:

Mary Decker

This.

This.

zxcvxczv wrote:

Regardless of what times they ran and medals, or medal, they won, you are not going to find anyone beating 1:39/3:24, Jim Ryun's potential fast track-pacers-proper splits times in 1967 shape, so I'm predicting he wins.

Ryun was good for

~44/1’39”/3’24”/3’41”

with proper pacing on a modern synthetic track. Undisputed GOAT!

zxcvxczv wrote:

Regardless of what times they ran and medals, or medal, they won, you are not going to find anyone beating 1:39/3:24, Jim Ryun's potential fast track-pacers-proper splits times in 1967 shape, so I'm predicting he wins.

Where do you get these times? Ryun is an amazing talent and runner but 1:39 and 4:24 are sooooo fast

Everyone knows thay Lagat is the American distance GOAT and everyone also knew he wasn't going to win this contest. Unlike the two in the finals, he actually won more than a popularity contest.

zxcvxczv wrote:

American records at 800 (1:56), 1500 (3:57), mile, 3000m (an incredible 8:25 or so), and I think 5000m.

And, in 1982 alone, world records at one mile (indoor and outdoor), 5000m, and 10,000m.

Disappointing this is what we have to choose from. I really think Letsrun's write ups and posts swayed the vote as they were extremely biased.

This final GOAT matchup is like the coming November election.

Like it or not, RUPP & JENNY are the GOATS.

no voting cause neither deserve it IMO

Jerry Maguire wrote:

Disappointing this is what we have to choose from. I really think Letsrun's write ups and posts swayed the vote as they were extremely biased.

This final GOAT matchup is like the coming November election.

Like it or not, RUPP & JENNY are the GOATS.

Agree with this, although I would have also been fine with Lagat or Centro. Jenny is the female winner.