T&FN Favourite Athletes THE RESULTS No1 Haile Gebrselassie

[Rog]

Marita Koch was number 2 on my list. To me there is no doubt that she is the greatest female athlete of all time.

Few athletes have ever revolutionised an event the way she did the 200 and 400. At one point she was half-a-second faster than the next fastest woman over 200m. Over 400m, she improved the world record by over 1 2/3 second. She broke the record in 5 consecutive 400 races in 78/79 (7 times in total, 4 times over 200). Her final record, 47.60, remains one of the greatest performances in the history of the sport. Her dominance was remarkable - just 4 losses at 200 between 78-86 (and one of those purely because of injury), and 2 at 400, despite competing in the golden era of women's sprinting and racing superstars like Gohr, Ashford, Wockel, Bryzgina and of course Kratochvilova. That rivalry spurred them both on to greater and greater performances. Their clash at the 82 Euros was a classic.

I have no doubt that she would have been the female star of the 84 Olympics, but she was robbed of the chance to compete by the pointless boycott. We now know how much this hurt her. She was still unbeaten in 84 at 200 and 400 despite facing everyone of consequence, and matched her bests at both 200 and 400, yet we also now know that she wasn't even training hard. Had she gone to the Games then a 400 record was pretty much guaranteed (she was that good), a 200 record was a possibility and she has said that she would have run both relays - the GDR squads would have been favourites, and both would have stood a good chance of breaking the WR. Four Golds and 3 or 4 WRs would have compared favourably even with Carl Lewis.

As a fan I loved the fact that her excellence was so consistent. Living in the UK I was used to seeing our heroes - Coe, Ovett, Cram etc - crash and burn in major competition. Our only counterpart was Daley Thompson - someone who would seemingly win every time out despite facing the best in the world. That takes a combination of talent and temperament that marks the very best athletes in history. Marita was a perfect example. Nevertheless she remained a down-to-earth, humble woman, unlike pretty much all of her Western contemporaries, and if there's one thing that turns me off it's an outsize ego.

As a sprinter she had one of the all-time great running actions - powerful yet graceful. It's almost more impressive weatching her run a 400 semi-final than the final itself, as she turns out a time just above 50 seconds with such composure and lack of effort that it seems easy. And as most of us know, the 400 is a killer of an event!

I suspect the reason Marita isn't higher on this list is that she competed for the GDR during the cold war. As an East German her success was just down to drugs, right? You'll say "my great favourite (insert name here) may have been/is x slower but at least she was/is clean, she would have won the gold medals in her era/now if everyone had been competing on the same terms. Well, the reality is that at the top everyone does broadly compete on the same terms, and in women's sprinting no-one did it better than her, period. She had profound ability - come on, even compared to her GDR colleagues she was nearly 1 2/3 second faster than the next best! At least you can now console yourself that we now know from interviews she was no communist!

[John G]

[b]51st (5 votes 38 points)

Mo Farah
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mo_Farah
http://www.sporting-heroes.net/athletic ... roID=10990


49th (5 votes 41 points)

Alberto Juanterena
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Juantorena
http://www.sporting-heroes.net/athletic ... eroID=8873

48th ( 5 votes 46 points)

Henry Rono
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Rono
http://www.sporting-heroes.net/athletic ... roID=10016

Three of mine.

I first noticed Mo when he gave Jon Mayock an all-mighty shove in a 1500m at Birmingham. I never liked Mayock and enjoyed seeing him getting a taste of his own medicine from this tiny kid with dreadlocks. For a while Mo worked in our local running shop and he served me when I bought my first Garmin. I was struck by what a nice guy he seemed and over the years I've heard lots of stories from fellow Teddington residents about how modest, unassuming, friendly and generous he is. I don't think Mo has the talent of a Dave Moorcroft, or even a Dave Bedford but no British athlete other than Paula has maximised his or her talent to the extent Mo has. I've no doubt he could have broken 12:50 last summer. I suspect he'll miss gold this summer but whoever beats him will know they've been in a race.

Juantorena was my idol when i was aged 10. At that age it was the long socks, hair, cool Cuba vest, great nickname (I preferred 'White Lightning') and unfeasibly long stride that won me over. He's still one of my all-time favs for a number of reasons:
The sheer audacity of the way he ran that Montreal 800 - a complete novice, who might have been expected to sit and kick (he had slightly more 400m speed that Wohlhuter et al!!) he took it on, at WR pace, from more than 300m out.
The race with Boit at the '77 WC is my favourite 800 of all time :the early cat and mouse, the negative splits, the neck and neck battle down the home straight.
I loved watching his 400s later in his career. Never a great starter, he seemed to have completely lost the ability to get out of the blocks. What followed was essentially a handicap race because he'd lost 5m in the first 50. Watching him unwind that ridiculous stride and chase the rest of the field down was always exhilerating.
He passed me in one of the walkways of the Atlanta stadium in 96. He didn't disappoint in real life - I'm 6' 5'' but he seemed a foot taller and walk with an air that was more Mafia Don than IAAF member!
Kuha's post on Rono was brilliant. I was 12 in '78, so for me Kip Keino and Ben Jipcho were mythical figures from a distant time (1972/3) that I barely remembered. Rono was my first Kenyan distance runner. I remember watching him run a 3000m on World of Sport. Adrian Metcalfe was commentating and couldn't believe the way he ran at such an uneven pace - with extravagant kicks down each backstraight. Others have already commented on his great style - if anything he seemed to overstride. What could he have achieved with consistent training, even paced record attempts and a summer off the booze?

[Tuariki]

[quote="mump boy"]

46th (5 votes 58 points)

Brian Olfield

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Oldfield


45th (5 votes 62 poiints)

Ron Clark

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Clarke

44th (5 votes 85 points)

Tommie Smith

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommie_Smith

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fML9GOfi ... re=related

43rd (5 votes 88 points)

I have 10 athletes left. None of these 3 were on my list but I will comment anyway.

Brian Oldfield

I got to know Brian quite well when I was on the ITA circuit with him. His best mate was Steve Smith and the two of them made for one crazy pairing. There are many stories and memories about Brian - I mean the guy was larger than life and always up to something. I recall after the ITA circus landed in Scotland after flying over from Boston we were taken to Edinburgh in a fleet of 2 or 3 buses and we stopped to get petrol. This little old lady, sitting in her little old English care was quietly and peacefully waiting her turn at the next pump. Brian ambled over and proceeded to pick up the back end of her car just about causing the old lady to have a heart attack. After we finished our competition the next night we were hosted to dinner at Holyrood Palace by the Lord Mayor (Lord somebody anyway). It was great. We got the works. Dinner served on Holyrood Palace dinnerware, gold/silver Palace cutlery (real gold/silver). We were all staying at what is now known as the MacDonald Marine Hotel in North Berwick. Later that evening when my wife and I arrived back at the hotel - about 2 in the morning - we came across one of the ITA sprinters (no names) forcibly pinning one of the Scottish housemaids against the wall explaining the great benefits to her if she came to his room. Unfortunately for him Brian then came round the corner and sorted the situation with typical Oldfield gusto - make that extreme gusto, to the regret of our would be Lothario. The next morning our buses departed for Glascow airport on the way to our next ITA stop in London. 30 minutes later on the motorway our buses were pulled over by a small convoy of 3 or 4 police cars. They stopped about a 100 metres up the road while a Police Inspector came back and talked to Mike O'Hara. The Inspector then walked back to his car and waited. Mike then went to each of the buses and explained that national heirlooms of Scotland had been "souvenired" at dinner last night; namely a number of the gold/silver cutlery items. The Inspector had told O'Hara that unless eavery piece was returned, the Police would make a comprehensive search and arrest anyone with one of the items in their possession. The items had been souveniered by 3 or 4 of the athletes and were all returned - surprise, surprise one of the souvenir collectors who just happened to be our enterprising Lothario. The other memory of Oldfield was lying down about 85 feet away taking photos of Brian thowing in 1975 at El Paso when all of a sudden his 75 footer was heading towards me through my camera lens.

Ron Clark

He was big news when I was growing up in New Zealand and he always seems to be in the newspaper for breaking another world record.

Tommie Smith

Did not make my list for favourites - not really sure why - but he would definitely be a strong contender for making the top of my hero list. His actions on the podium in 1968 will forever stand out as being the single greatest thing Tommie Smith did. In that single act he brought home to whole world the stark reality that in those days the USA was yet still not the land of the free. He was a catalyst for change.

[nbonaddio]

I was late to the vote, and I'm beginning to think that the only entry I sent in - it was too late for mump to count - will not get any other votes.

[deanouk]

Rog said:-

Marita Koch was number 2 on my list. To me there is no doubt that she is the greatest female athlete of all time.

I concur. She was my number 2 also. She's the only woman to go sub 11.0, 22.0 and 48.0. The female equivalent to Michael Johnson, only better. I know there will be a question mark over her performances, but she was very dominant in a period when most of the women sprinters were probably on something, and she was fabulous to look at in full stride.

I will take issue with the fact that she always won, though. All the greats have lost on occasions. She was beaten by Ashford over 200m in the 79 World Cup, the most important race of the year, and by Kratochvilova in the 81 version over 400m. And of course she got a silver medal behind Gohr in the 100m in 83; although obviously that wasn't her main distance. Still, she won more than she lost on the biggest stages and was always my favourite female athlete growing up.

[reggaeirie1234]

How often are rankings released?

[Flumpy]

Mump just moved house and doesn't have broadband yet.

He'll be posting the next lot tomorrow.

[mump boy]

How often are rankings released?

I know anticipation must be killing you

[mump boy]

42nd (6 votes 45 points)

Mary Slaney

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Slaney
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRSM7ER0q1M


41st (6 votes 54 points)

Allen Johnson

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Johnson

40th (6 votes 56 points)

Jonathon Edwards

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_E ... athlete%29
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFt9Yzp4 ... re=related


38 (6 votes 62 points)

Dan O'Brien

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_O%27Brien

Sergie Bubka

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Bubka
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJJIEyGHtBk

[donley2]

41st (6 votes 54 points)

Allen Johnson

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Johnson


38 (6 votes 62 points)

Dan O'Brien

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_O%27Brien

I had Johnson and Obrien (6th and 10th on my list). I was at the 92 US olympic trials in New Orleans and remember all the "Dan Vs Dave" buzz with t-shirts and paper fans (I think). Was really shocking when he no-heighted in the pole vault. That was one of those times when I thought to myself this "top 3 go" system is never going to get us the most possible medals, but we have already had that discussion a thousand times. Quite a good story getting to see him come back four years later and win the gold in Atlanta. I really like the mens hurdlers as a group for their willingness to line up and race each other week after week. So Allen is one of those guys with a long, highly successful, career that competes a lot that I really enjoyed watching.

[DecFan]

I had Edwards and Johnson on my list. As Donley said, Johnson always raced the top competition, and he was at his best in the biggest meets. A strong competitor and a gracious person. Yet it's not any of his races that come to mind when I think of him. Rather, one of my favorite memories is sitting right above the 110h starting line at Bislett some time in the late 90s, and watching the hurdlers warm up. AJ thoroughly impressed me with his quick leg drills, snapping his trail leg over the hurdles in the adjacent lane. I don't even remember if he won that race. Strange how the mind works.

Edwards seemed to get more out of his natural abilities than almost any other athlete. And the TJ is one of my favorite events. Again, he seems to be a very gracious person (which, looking over my list, played an important role in my selections - that could be said of all but 3 or 4 of my 20. I have a hard time rooting for someone who is obviously full of himself).

When I saw Mump's post, I thought, "There go three more of mine." I was surprised to look back at my list and see that O'Brien wasn't on it. Only 2 decathletes made it. I was more of a Dave Johnson fan - his book Aim High remains my favorite about/by decathletes. But I enjoyed O'Brien's career, and agree that his comeback win in Atlanta was a highlight of those Games.

[Daisy]

41st (6 votes 54 points)

Allen Johnson

I never had him in my top 20 and but on another day he could easily have made it. Amazing how he maintained such a high standard for so many year. And he really seemed to be enjoying himself. His post gold interactions with the crowd in Atlanta was impressive too. I remember seeing the commotion as he made his way through the stands.

[Marlow]

Allen Johnson
Jonathon Edwards
Dan O'Brien
Sergie Bubka

All mine . . . all gone . . .

I sorta get that AJ and DO would finish this low, but JE and SB ??!!

[DrJay]

I only had four pure field-eventers on my list, and the TJ has never fascinated me, but Edwards always looked so beautiful and smooth in flight that I had to include him, plus he seems like a true gentleman.

[26mi235]

I went back and fourth on Mary Decker. She had a questionable completion of her career and had a less-than-stellar personality(was a running buddy whose brother was a training partner of Ron Tabb). However, she was scintillating when I was young and was a clear favorite of mine then and for a number of years, which won out for 20th on my list.

Despite having six 'local' favorites I still have eleven (12?) left.

[Rog]

Anyone who thinks Jonathan Edwards is "gracious" and a "true gentleman" has obviously never heard the venom with which he commentates on Philips Idowu or Dwain Chambers.

I found Decker easier to admire than like. She was a brat in LA and a hypocrite over drugs - she once described her Soviet rivals as "persons" rather than women because she said she wasn't sure they were chemically female, but then went on to fail a drug test herself - but that ornery side of her character may have been the fuel for her determination to overcome so many injury setbacks throughout what was a very long career. She was perhaps lucky in the 83 Worlds to face a below-strength Soviet team - I don't think in her 83 form she could have beaten the top Soviet 1500 and 3000 runners of either 82 or 84 - but in 85 she showed real strength to come back from LA heartbreak to reach her career-best form and string together a series of great performances to defeat all-comers.

[mump boy]

Anyone who thinks Jonathan Edwards is "gracious" and a "true gentleman" has obviously never heard the venom with which he commentates on Philips Idowu or Dwain Chambers.

I found Decker easier to admire than like. She was a brat in LA and a hypocrite over drugs - she once described her Soviet rivals as "persons" rather than women because she said she wasn't sure they were chemically female, but then went on to fail a drug test herself - but that ornery side of her character may have been the fuel for her determination to overcome so many injury setbacks throughout what was a very long career. She was perhaps lucky in the 83 Worlds to face a below-strength Soviet team - I don't think in her 83 form she could have beaten the top Soviet 1500 and 3000 runners of either 82 or 84 - but in 85 she showed real strength to come back from LA heartbreak to reach her career-best form and string together a series of great performances to defeat all-comers.

Mary Decker was one of the most ungracious people to ever set foot on a track. What ever you think the reasons for the fall in LA or Zola Budds participation, she certainly did nothing on purpose and I would suggest she suffered more from it than Decker. While her initial reaction is understandable her subsequent actions where unforgivable as she fanned the flames while budd got death threats

There's an interview they did together, I think it was on Australian tv, years later and Mary Decker is just vile. I can't find it but will keep looking.

Having said all of that she was an amazing athlete and deffo deserves a place on this list

[John G]

Anyone who thinks Jonathan Edwards is "gracious" and a "true gentleman" has obviously never heard the venom with which he commentates on Philips Idowu or Dwain Chambers.

I had JE on my list but solely for his amazing athletic performances rather than his personality. I don't think he's a bad bloke but he is ungracious to put it mildly about Phillips. Remember MJ's reaction when he lost his WR to Usain Bolt - he was genuinely chuffed. I suspect JE will weep on air if he has to witness the loss of his WR!

Regarding his attitude to Dwain - I disagreed with his unforgiving line but at least his views had some integrity unlike the hypocrisy we heard from Colin Jackson (training partner and housemate of McCoy).

[John G]

My brother found himself crossing a road alongside JE a couple of years back. He said nothing but as they reach the other side, as a tribute, he did a little hop, step and jump. No words were exchanged but my brother felt that JE appreciated the gesture.

[Rog]

My brother found himself crossing a road alongside JE a couple of years back. He said nothing but as they reach the other side, as a tribute, he did a little hop, step and jump. No words were exchanged but my brother felt that JE appreciated the gesture.

Tell him if he ever crosses the road with Mary Decker to trip her up

[DrJay]

Note we have reached 1000 posts!

[Daisy]

My brother found himself crossing a road alongside JE a couple of years back. He said nothing but as they reach the other side, as a tribute, he did a little hop, step and jump. No words were exchanged but my brother felt that JE appreciated the gesture.

Tell him if he ever crosses the road with Mary Decker to trip her up

Would he carry Derek Redmond across the street?

[mump boy]

My brother found himself crossing a road alongside JE a couple of years back. He said nothing but as they reach the other side, as a tribute, he did a little hop, step and jump. No words were exchanged but my brother felt that JE appreciated the gesture.

Tell him if he ever crosses the road with Mary Decker to trip her up

Amazing

[mump boy]

My brother found himself crossing a road alongside JE a couple of years back. He said nothing but as they reach the other side, as a tribute, he did a little hop, step and jump. No words were exchanged but my brother felt that JE appreciated the gesture.

Tell him if he ever crosses the road with Mary Decker to trip her up

Would he carry Derek Redmond across the street?

Haha this couild run and run

[Fortius19]

My brother found himself crossing a road alongside JE a couple of years back. He said nothing but as they reach the other side, as a tribute, he did a little hop, step and jump. No words were exchanged but my brother felt that JE appreciated the gesture.

Tell him if he ever crosses the road with Mary Decker to trip her up

Would he carry Derek Redmond across the street?

Haha this couild run and run

Haha, yeah. Ask him to shove Merga for me!

[Daisy]

Tell him if he ever crosses the road with Mary Decker to trip her up

And take his shoes off before crossing with Zola Budd.

If he was crossing with Bolt he'd have to get a head start and cross before the white man started flashing.

[LopenUupunut]

We've just passed "You, A Desert Island & Your iPod"

[Tuariki]

Mary Decker was one of the most ungracious people to ever set foot on a track. What ever you think the reasons for the fall in LA or Zola Budds participation, she certainly did nothing on purpose and I would suggest she suffered more from it than Decker. While her initial reaction is understandable her subsequent actions where unforgivable as she fanned the flames while budd got death threats

There's an interview they did together, I think it was on Australian tv, years later and Mary Decker is just vile. I can't find it but will keep looking.

Having said all of that she was an amazing athlete and deffo deserves a place on this list

As this is a list of favourites then of course it is up to each individual to set their own criteria for determining what makes an athlete one of their favourites. I agree with mump boy that Decker was an amazing athlete . And I also agree that she was and continues to be apparently one of the most ungracious and unpleasant of athletes. Even if she had managed to win an Olympic Gold or two her personality would always stop her from being on my favourite list.

[DecFan]

Anyone who thinks Jonathan Edwards is "gracious" and a "true gentleman" has obviously never heard the venom with which he commentates on Philips Idowu or Dwain Chambers.

You're right, I've never heard Edwards speak of Idowu or Chambers. Perhaps it's easier to think of someone from a different country as gracious, in that after retirement we see little of them.

As for Mary D-S: Had I made this list in 1983 after Helsinki, she surely would have been high on it. She would have been off it after LA, and then sank lower and lower in later years.

[liuxuan]

[

41st (6 votes 54 points)

Allen Johnson

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Johnson

i met allen johnson as a Gb vs USA match in Glasgow in 1998 when I was only 12 and he made my day. despite certain british athletes not being bothered to smile or give much time to the fans, he gave me a big hug and signed my book and i told him i had his atlanta final on tape lol.

his 12.95 in atlanta was definanately worth 12.90 had he not clattered the last however many hurdles - obviously thats the name of the game but it was mighty impressive nonetheless!

[bushop]

Remember MJ's reaction when he lost his WR to Usain Bolt - he was genuinely chuffed.

1. chuffed. To be very pleased, proud or happy with yourself.

My brother found himself crossing a road alongside JE a couple of years back. He said nothing but as they reach the other side, as a tribute, he did a little hop, step and jump. No words were exchanged but my brother felt that JE appreciated the gesture.

Great story.

Tell him if he ever crosses the road with Mary Decker to trip her up.

Would he carry Derek Redmond across the street?

Ask him to shove Merga for me!

And take his shoes off before crossing with Zola Budd.

If he was crossing with Bolt he'd have to get a head start and cross before the white man started flashing.

Thank you.

[pakillo]

Allen Johnson was on my list too, Just wanna remind you of quarterfinal in Athens 2004 where he came as a big favourite for gold but final happened without him Of course we don't know what would have happened later but that was one of the saddest moment of athletics competition at Athens OG (for me), and Merlene Ottey's DNF in 200 semi...

[mump boy]

sorry i've been so slow with this, i've just moved house and have no broadband in the new flat and haven't been to the office much as i've been waiting in everyday for furniture delivery etc

i promise i will finish the countdown in the next week

[oldvaulter]

deleted

[mump boy]

sorry i've been so slow with this, i've just moved house and have no broadband in the new flat and haven't been to the office much as i've been waiting in everyday for furniture delivery etc

i promise i will finish the countdown in the next week

Good! At the rate things have been going, some of us oldtimers are in danger of dying of old age without ever knowing who the top favorite are!

Hang on in there