I don’t know about the greatest, but my favorite sprinter is Andre Cason.
Ben would have shattered the record in 88’. If he went through the finish with out sticking it to Carl, you would be talking about him shattering the record by a more impressive margin than Johnson beat the 200 mark by. It would be by far the standard for 100m runners. You also forget that he was not given the opportunity to fully tap his potential. Controversy or not, I vote Ben. He was a scapegoat of the politics of olympic sport. I am American and I say if Carl got caught, we would not have heard about it. Carl at his best could not beat Ben at his best.
Great question, but how can you compare athletes from different eras.
I’d say Jesse Owens - for how he run and when he did it.
Bob Hayes - I have never seen him run (footage - that is) but he was quick
What about Wells and Borzov. Putting interest in a sport which has been dominate by african american’s.
Carl Lewis - Longevity
Ben Johnson - speed and brillance
Maurice Greene
Tim Montogomery.
What about Flo Jo does she count.
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Carl Lewis
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Carl Lewis
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Carl Lewis
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Carl lLewis
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Ben Johnson! (Even though “track & Field” wrote Carl as still ranked number one (because the U.S. magazine is totally biassed and could not get over the fact that in 85" Superman was having an OFF year. The fact is that Carl didn’t do sh*t in 85!)
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Ben
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Ben
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Ben
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Ray stewart was winning the races.
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Leroy Burrell
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Carl Lewis & Burrell
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LINFORD
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Linford
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Linford. (yes, he was kicking the Americans arses this year aswell.)
Point: The only reason Lewis ran his fastest relay split in 92 was becuase he was reasonably fresh for the relay this time round cuase of course he did not have to do the 100m rounds. Stop giving this American biased crp about Lewis being at his best in 92 and supposedly being able to beat Christie. By the time Christie was in the relay he was in an emotional comedown, he did not give a toss about the relay. Plus, he had been sleeping on to small a bed for two weaks, did not get enough sleep, while carl was resting up in a luxery hotell.)
Oh yeah, and when Lewis did 9.86 in 91" he had a higher following wind behind him than when Christie did 9.87 at the world champs in 93!!!) The Americans usually win, I Love the Americans, the only thing I don’t like about them is they cannot except the few occassions when they get Royally beaten. Like when Lennox battered the crp out of every ranked American boxer for the previous 11 years, (Riddick Bowe was to scared to face him) but it wasn’t untill that draw against Holyfeild that even the Americans were embarrased and ashamed about that they finally admitted Lewis was n.o 1)
like when Donovan Bailey kicked the Americans arses in their own backyard and U.S.A did not even medal in the 100meters, and all the American interviewer could ask Bailey after the race was a suspicous; “why have you lost about 10 pounds of weight in the last month or so?” The Americans needed a sprint hero so they started calling Michael Johnson the worlds fastest man. Did he reach 12.1 m per sec for even 1 sec? No.
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Bailey.
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Bailey.
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Mo green
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Montgommery, Green & Chambers.
As far as I’m concerned, Both Lewis and Mo Green have been N.o. 1 in 5 differant years each.
Ben Johnson would of carried on being n.o. 1 for a while if he had not been banned.
I don’t know about greatest sprinter ever, a toss up between;
Lewis, Ben, Bob Hayes, Mo Green, Michael Johnson.
But fastest ever?
BEN JOHNSON.
Greatest performance ever?
Ben Johnson by far. 9.79 with his finger in the air, easing off well before the line.
Why does Lewis get so much more credit in the 100m than Mo Green? Green has as many years at the top rank and has many faster times.
Originally posted by Charlie Francis
Why does Lewis get so much more credit in the 100m than Mo Green? Green has as many years at the top rank and has many faster times.
I’ve noticed that to. I even ranked lewis and Green on same leval even though Green is faster. I remnember John Regis, Michael johnson, Steve Cram having a heated argument about this at BBC studios. Perhaps because lewis also dominated long jump, and occasionally 200meters, and was thus far, around for longer, that people missinterprit his all round greatness as his 100meters greatness.
Originally posted by zoom100
charlie i would give C lewis more recognision than greene.the fact is that lewis was a great 100/200,long jumper and anchor man since 80/83.i think he is also the only sprinter to reatin the 100m in 2 consecutive olympics -84/88.
as far the crap about lewis been fresher that LC in barcelona-lewis had to come down from his win in the long jump also my friend.*******if carl lewis was british he would be a legend,we would never hear the last about him.ok carl was brash at times but give the guy credit
I must admit, I’d rather hear about Carl lewis than David Beckam all year, and I do think lewis is the greatest Track & Feild athlete of all time but i’m tired of hearing some people say he was better than Christie in 92. It’s like when “track & feild” ranked Dennis mitchell as n.o.1 over Christie becuase he racked up more points in the grand prix one year. It’s becuase he entered more grand prix races that year than Christie! I could go on, but in a nutshell I think Christie never got the credit he deserved. like he got “lucky” or something. Well, for 3 years Christie was putting the fear up every other sprinter in the world.
In any case, coming down from the long jump is not as much as coming down from 4 x 100m rounds and a few 200m rounds, whilst camping it out in the Olympic village
on too short a bed, queing up for low nutrition food, and getting mobbed & interviewed every time you walk out your shallet. (Whilst Carl was resting up in a luxery hotell.)
We’re comparing “fastest” meaning 100m here. Carl’s versatility isn’t in question.
Originally posted by Charlie Francis
Why does Lewis get so much more credit in the 100m than Mo Green? Green has as many years at the top rank and has many faster times.
I think he gets a lot of credit because of the way he did it. I know sprinting is not figure skating and there is no points for presentation, but Carl was the smoothest athlete to run the hundred. I think that image and his name is stuck in the minds of most Americans. Every time a rapper or comedian make a reference to being fast the name Carl Lewis come up, sometimes Flojo is thrown in there.
Fastest - Tim M he is the world revord holder
Greatest - Jesse Owens
It’s too early to judge Tim. He’s capable of much faster.
Bob Hayes
He would not have touched Ben. The only reason he pulled his world record performance is Charlie. Otherwise he would still be underachieving. Like I said, 9.79 in 1988(with potential to hit 9.6’s) impresses me a hell of alot more than a guy shaving a hundreth off that time 14 years later. Ben’s performance was absolutely amazing. Plus he was a better person than King Carl. Carl was such a pompous ass, I don’t know how anyone could like him! He was very versatile and gifted but what legacy did he leave behind. I feel he could have set the long jump record for certain, but then he was to busy being Carl the singer, Carl the actor. I check out on Ben#1, Michael Johnson #2. Great athletes, good people. Kept their ego’s in check. Something Carl could have stood to learn.
By definition, Tom Tellez is no ordinary coach! At the top level, any coach involved must have an ability to read the needs of the individual athlete and adjust to the specific needs. Once you operate at the world record level there is NO standard approach, nor is there any resource to go to for help, as you are now dealing with a subset of one.
I have often found that the “geniuses” in any endeavor have a way of making the complex simple while the pretenders tend to make the simple things complex.
xlr8
Fastest is not a popularity contest.
but Carl was not the fastest. I agree with CHarlie. Lets see what Tim can do over the next couple of years. Lewis was a great, versatile athlete but not the fastest. He even got beat in his best event. No way powell should be out jumping Carl. Iagree he was highly decorated, but that alone does not imply greatness. That comes from beating your competition when both of you are doing your absolute best. As it stands, Ben’s best was still quite a bit better than Carl’s in the 100m.
Yes I agree that Tim has to prove himself - but my point is he has the world record, Ben could of run faster but didn’t. In that case 9.78 is better 9.79
By fastest do we mean the record holder or the fastest split or is it some other means.
Carl was a great athlete, but I lost respect for him when he wasn’t selected for the relay and felt he should of.
How do you recognise the speed of Jesse Owens, Bob Hayes and others when they raced on different tracks.
Originally posted by DMA
How do you recognise the speed of Jesse Owens, Bob Hayes and others when they raced on different tracks.
Unfortunately we can’t. That’s the reason any comparison between athletes (of any sport) of different eras comes down to a matter of opinion, and never a true comparison of particular ability.