Top 10 women sprinters ever?

[michael lewis]

Not restricted to 100/200 but 400 credentials not necessary either. My picks:

Evelyn Ashford
Marita Koch
Marion Jones
Gwen Torrence
Merlene Ottey
Florence Griffith Joyner
Irena Szewinska
Wilma Rudolph
Irina Privalova
Marie Jo Perec

Re: Top 10 women sprinters ever?

1. Marion Jones (incredible hs athlete, amazing since 1997...and just my favorite athlete of all time)
2. Evelyn Ashford
3. Wilma Rudolph
4. Merlene Ottey
5. FloJo
6. Gail Devers
7. Heike Drechsler (she was a long jumper who did the sprints and had her GDR short sprint team members envy her)
8. Gwen Torrence
9. M. J. Perec
10. Cathy Freeman (tho I think she more looked like a mid-distance runner, rather than a 400-athlete while competing)

What?

That isn't in order, is it? Because I don't see who would even think of putting Flo Jo at nothing else but number 1. There is no question. No one has come even close

Re: What?

FloJo had only one stellar season. That´s why.
She ran those incredible times, and yes she deserves credit for em.
But the others dominated for years and ran showed real consistency. While FloJo´s only HUGE year was 1988. That´s all.

[michael lewis]

Re: What?

"That isn't in order, is it? Because I don't see who would even think of putting Flo Jo at nothing else but number 1. There is no question. No one has come even close"

Really? I happen to agree with the community of statisticians which is loathe to recognize Flojo's 10.49 since, as T&FN opined in the Sept 88 Olympic Trials issue "Everyone Knows It's Windy" (p.48). To quote the article, "the marks in those two quarterfinals don't jibe with reality, all the way down the line."

So what then really was Flojo's fastest time? Take the 10.61 she ran in the final at those same trials with a +1.2 tailwind, convert it using the accepted 0.04/m/s and you get 10.66. This, by the way, was one very consistent runner. In Seoul she virtually reproduced that time, not once, but twice: 10.62 quarterfinal, wind +1.0, = 10.66. Then, the final at Seoul, 10.54, wind +3.0 = ....10.66 again!!

Now let's look at Marion Jones' best times. Her 10.65 from Johannesburg with a +1.1 wind converts to 10.705, but altitude means it wasn't that fast. However, her 10.70 to win in the '99 World Championships in Seville with wind -0.1 comes out to 10.695.

Statisticians may need to make slight corrections to these calculations depending on the altitude at Seville and Seoul. Jones also has 10.71 (+0.1) in Chengdu and 10.72 (0.0) in Monaco, both of which are basically sea-level.

10.66 vs. 10.70. No question? Not even close? I'd say it's unquestionably close.

Peace.

[michael lewis]

Re: What?

Apologies to anyone who may think I tried to start a competing thread on this board, I started this thread, erroneously, on the Current Events board. Not sure what I was thinking.

Re: What?

Everyone has overlooked Wyomia Tyus who won the gold at Tokyo and Mexico City 100 meters. The double women sprint chamion.

[michael lewis]

Re: What?

"Everyone has overlooked Wyomia Tyus who won the gold at Tokyo and Mexico City 100 meters. The double women sprint chamion."

She was undoubtedly a fantastic 100m runner, but everyone I picked had range far beyond 100m and most are arguably better than she was even at 100 alone, IMHO.

Re: What?

Really? I happen to
>agree with the community of statisticians which
>is loathe to recognize Flojo's 10.49 since, as
>T&FN opined in the Sept 88 Olympic Trials issue
>"Everyone Knows It's Windy" (p.48). To quote
>the article, "the marks in those two
>quarterfinals don't jibe with reality, all the
>way down the line."

I was there that day in Indy when FloJo ran 10.49. Remember Carl Lewis ran 9.78 within an hour of FloJo and it was wind aided. That always made me wonder. I do think FloJo was a legitimate 10.65 for those three months of her short life.

Re: What?

Check my post. Tyus was on my list.

Bijan

Re: What?

I was there that day in Indy when FloJo ran 10.49. Remember Carl Lewis ran 9.78 within an hour of FloJo and it was wind aided.


Flo Jo ran 10.49 in the quarterfinals on Saturday and Lewis ran 9.78 in the finals on Sunday. However, it was windy as heck both days.

Re: What?

Chi Cheng?

Re: What?

Chi Cheng: Broke/Tied 3 World Records:
1970: 100m: 11.0
1970: 200m: 22.4
1970: 100mH: 12.8

1968 Olympic Bronze.

[michael lewis]

Re: What?

If I am not mistaken Chi was also T&FN's Athlete of the Year in 1970, or something like it. Her missing Munich really sucked, would have loved to see her go up against Stecher and Boyle at 200. Oh the things that might have been.

[gh]

Re: What?

Chi actually had a few more WRs than that.

Tied 100y record 10.3 twice in '69 and once in '70, although none were ratified, but her 10-flat shattering of the WR later in '70 was.

Over half-lap, she set 220 records of 22.7 and 22.6 before lowering the 200 record to 22.4 in '70. She also had a WR in the 200 hurdles.