Michael Johnson gets my vote 10.09, 19.32, and 43.18 puts him on another level.
this is an impossible pole…
all i can say is who ISNT the greatest sprinter ever.
Ato isnt…he’s an elite sprinter, not the best ever.
Tim isnt (yet). he maybe world record holder, but the greatest is about more than just the number.
frankie…like ato, elite sprinter, greatest stayer in the game.
bob hayes i cant comment on cuz i dont know anything about him
ben wouldve been the greatest if he’d had a longer career - as it was he was so far ahead of the game at that time.
donovan bailey’s career was stopped short as well with the achilles tendon injury…
carl would have to come close…his records and time at the top speak for itself…
michael johnson was at the top of his game for so long, and those world records are really something…but in terms of world championships, i think its been mentioned on this forum, he was so good that other people stopped competing in those distance because they knew he was unbeatable. dunno if thats true or not, but regardless he would have to be one of the greatest easily. and all with that running style!
but if u want greatest SPRINTER, at 100 metres, i would would opine that mo greene has been the greatest. maybe not the most famous or best known, those years he has had at the top, when he ran how many (?) 100s under 10…now thats something…
my 20c…proceed to rip my uninformed OPINION to pieces 
I like the logic and the points DW.
It’s easier to start with ‘who wasn’t’ alright.
I think it’s really down to either Ben or Mo
I kind of agree with DW, Maurice Greene would have been my second pick. He has more races under 9.90 than most sprinters have under 10. He’s the only guy who’s averaged under 9.90 for the entire season. But to be the greatest sprinter wouldn’t you have to be able to have a larger range than anyone else? Michael Johnson ran a world class time in his 3rd event. That’s like a 100m man testing himself in the 400m, and 44.90. Like DW said, he made guys not want to run in the events because there was no point. He destroyed the 200m scale, and had it been warmer in Sydney he might done the same to the 400m scale. I saw a performance calculator that said that 19.32 is equal to running 9.54 in the 100m, 1:38.35 in the 800, 3:39.85 in the mile, 12:39.35 over 5K, a 2:03:07.98 marathon. Frank Fredricks ran the second fastest time ever and wasn’t even in the picture.
Who is the greatest sprinter? This is subjective.
My opinion post 1983:
All round performance in terms of times. Clearly, Michael Johnson 10.09, 19.32, and 43.18
All round performance in terms of gold medals
Again Michael Johnson, having won 9 individual gold medals at WC and OG level. 1991 200m, 1993 400m, 1995 & 1996 200m, 400m, 1997 400m, 1999 400m 2000 400m.
100m M. Greene, C. Lewis, B.Johnson
200m M. Johnson, Kenteris, Fredericks
400m M. Johnson, S. Lewis, Q. Watts
Most impressive performance in relation to existing standard.
Ben Johnson 9.83 1987 when world record was 9.93.
Michael Johnson 19.32 when 19.66
Greatest track and field athlete ever, probably Carl Lewis in tems of medals, durability, and versatility over three events. 100m, 200m, long jump.
longevity and dominance of the sport= carl lewis
best all around, if we all agree the 400 is a sprint= michael johnson
time in the 100meter= tim mongomery
I would have to go with michael johnson though, best ever, way to versatile, way to dominant, no one has ever dominated the 200 and 400 the way he did, I don’t know if anyone ever will again.
On the womens side its easy FLO-JO by far.
With all the speculations aside.
Ben johnson. He had the most talent out of any human being living. If ben were allowed to run through his peak years he would have hit 9.3-9.6 legally. Which would have been the single greatest feat ever acheived in athetics in my opinion. Im tired of people hyping up 400m runners. Well I think 48.21 and a 1:52 800m (FAT) is better then 10.72 (FAT) in the 100m. IT ISNT!!! Yeah I said 1:52!!!WHY CANT PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THIS. But the distance is further it must be. This should be the first thing they teach in those USTAF schools which are a bunch of hype as far as i’m concerned. (Ill never be certified just to be hardcore). Stop hyping these oxygen freaks up. I swear the 100m is the least respected event as far as times go. No one respects it unless you have hit a 10 flat. Im tired of these know it all coaches hyping up the 400m. Check those ic4a standards again coach billybob. Look in some countries under 11.10 your in the nationals. Only in the USA you get guys talking trash. "oh you only run 6.3 or 6.4 for 55 meters. Sorry I have to vent…No forget that no apologies… Why can’t we understand the relation as far as the 100m compared to other events. I had guys on my team talking trash to my friend that was ranked top 50 in the world cuz they thought they were the bomb cuz they ran 1:49 in the 800m. I remeber him oneday saying to me I can run 21.5 easy mon. Knee lift mon thats all. Yet he struggle to run under 13 seconds for the 100m. And his 300m time was slow. Listen up geek if your 300m is slower then mine you aint gonna beat me in the 200m. Even if your an division 1 all-american in the USA in the 800m on up…(which he wasnt) your still slow compared to the rest of the world. So what are you ranked geek. Anyways back to ben. (My main point is most people dont know how to gauge performances in other events compared to the 100m.) I think 9.3-9.6 is what ben would have run. If allowed to continue. But again so many variables, imagine ben on an atlanta track with a 1.9+ wind. It would have been silly. He might have run 9.0 at atlanta and everyone would have be calling him the greatest thing since sliced bread. You think that atlanta track wasnt fast. Those times are hyped. I dont care what anyone says. They are as legit as a race with a wind greater then 2.0. Why not say obadele thompson was the greatest sprinter ever. With his 9.6 in a hurricane. MJ would have run at least .3 slower on any other track. What would MJ run at your local track.Not to mention that He got punked by donovan bailey in the 150m showdown. Go donovan! Also MJ struggled his whole career to break the 400 meter world record while ben broke the 100m record fairly early in his career. Also look at bens consistent improvement. And from that we can almost make a guess of what he was capable of. He would have dusted maurice greene. Anyways Carl im innocent lewis got whooped by ben also. And michael. Tag team style. Sorry Carl. Look clowns how could any of these guys be considered better then ben. Ben is the greatest sprinter ever to live.
http://ic4a.ecac.org/championships/Outdoor_Track_and_Field/standards03
Remeber that the 800m runners are slow in the USA. So in reality the 800m time should be much faster based on a world standard of what 10.85 is equilvelent to in the world for 800m. I would say under 1:50. Look at what they say is equivelant to 10.85 in the 100m here!!! Also a few years back it was only 10.92 to qualify in the 100m. Also look at world lists and compare. Especially if your a sprint coach. Be fair to the 100m sprinter.
Sure there might be faults here in this arguement I dont have all day to fix it. I know some distance runners must be muttering my name under there breath. But so be it. Also bob hayes only one vote.LOL. I think we need a recall on these votes.
I’d like to see Linford at least in the pole - others may have been faster but there wern’t many more consistant competitors .
His presence and focus were awesome - not to mention his speed
As for who’s the best - I dunno - but Seol '88 was the best sprint moment for me .
9.0 to 9.6 is a pretty large margin to try to guess within. Any way, how do you arrive atthese figures? To even speculate such times without ANY evidence is just rediculous. Because Ben was so rediculously talented and you know everything about him, could you tell me what the last time he ran before having a life ban imposed was?
ATL was a fast track, but not .3 or .7 of a second quicker. BTW the composition of the Seoul track is now rated as to hard, along with tracks such as Tokyo, so don’t try to say that the 19.32 was a result of a super fast track - it hasn’t been banned (neither has the athlete).
I think that a 10.72 100m would equate roughly to a 1:52-3 or so 800m on a world wide scale. And although only a statistical model, the mercier scoring tables seem to agree with this figure. as fo the 400m WR, ask your self how many Athletes have run under 44 seconds, and then take a look at how many times MJ has done it.Thats consistancy.
lol dazed.
Tim, u really are something else … I’m not sure what … but you’re something else lol
testing 123
yup i know dazed alright im going to give you an approve on reputation. See what happens.