Nobody (or not many people) question that Michael Johnson may be the greatest 200m
sprinter ever, as
the statistics shown below indeed support.
but...
SO WHAT? !!!
Carl Lewis MIGHT be considered the greatest 100m sprinter ever, using similar
statistical support.
He was still active in '96 in a related event (LJ gold medalist that year). Does that
mean he was
the #1 100m sprinter in '96? Of course not.
Same for MJ this year. No doubt he's the greatest 400m sprinter this year, and will
probably
win Olympic gold, but it doesn't mean he's this year's greatest 200m sprinter.
He has to prove it, both in clock-times and in honors won and head-to-head meetings.
He's
'excellent' but not 'super' on the first count, and fails the last two.
RT
On Wed, 26 Jul 2000 17:43:45 -0400 (EDT), you wrote:
>This message is to the T&F select list and particularly to the astonishingly
>ignorant, blythering idiots CC'd in this mail.
>
>May I remind all of you naysayers out there, that MJ has PROVED himself to be the
>greatest 200m and 400m sprinter of all-time. This is not opinion, but FACT! All
>this is based on his longevity at elite levels, his multiple world #1 rankings, his
>accomplishments at championship meets, and depth of quality of his performances. The
>following is a short statistical compilation demonstrating these FACTS. All of the
>facts listed below are easily confirmed through IAAF and Track & Field News sources.
>
>FROM THE INFORMATION BELOW, IT CAN BE REASONABLY ESTABLISHED THAT MICHAEL JOHNSON IS
>THE GREATEST SPRINTER EVER AS HE HAS SURPASSED EVEN THE GREAT CARL LEWIS IN HONORS
>WON AND WORLD RANKINGS WITHIN THE SPRINTING DISCIPLINES.
>
>
>
>HONORS WON
>
>WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS WINS
>200M - 1991, 1995 (did not compete in event in 1993, 1997, or 1999 championships)
>
>400M - 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999 (did not compete in event in 1991 championships)
>
>4x400M - 1993 (2:54.29 WR - anchored with 42.93 sec split (fastest ever), 1995, 1999
>
>TOTAL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MEDALS - 9 GOLD MEDALS
>
>OLYMPIC GAMES
>1992 Barcelona - 4x400m GOLD
> 200m - did not qualify to finals (virus
> picked up in Europe prior to Olympics
> eliminated his chances for earn gold
> after winning US Trials in 19.79 sec)
>1996 Atlanta - 200m - GOLD - WR 19.32 sec
> 400m - GOLD - 43.49 sec, Olympic Record (#3
> performance all-time as of 1996)
>
>TOTAL OLYMPIC CHAMPIONSHIP MEDALS - 3 GOLD MEDALS
>
>TOTAL WORLD & OLYMPIC CHAMPIONSHIP GOLD MEDALS - 12 ( 8 INDIVIDUAL, 4 RELAY) -
> next best sprinter - 11 - Carl Lewis (6 Individual, 5 Relay)
>
>WORLD RANKED #1
>
>200M - 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996 (most #1's ever (5), #4 on all-time points
>leader with 78pts (Mennea is #1 with 87))
>400M - 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 (most #1's ever (9),
>all-time point leader with 97 points (next is Reynolds with 67))
>
>Johson's 14 total #1 rankings is the all-time leader among sprinters (100m-200m-400m)
> next best = 8 - Carl Lewis
>
>Johnson's 175 total points ranks #2 among all sprinters, trailing only Carl Lewis'
>184 points (100m, 200m) AND WILL SURPASS CARL LEWIS AS THE GREATEST SPRINTER (TOTAL
>WORLD RANKING POINTS ACCUMULATED) WITH A WIN IN THE 2000 OLYMPIC GAMES 400M!!!!
>
>
>DEPTH/QUALITY OF PERFORMANCES
>
>200M
> sub 20 sec. performances - 23 times
> next best = 23 times (Frank Fredericks)
>
> top 10 average time = 19.745 sec (includes WR 19.32)
> next best = 19.863 sec (Frank Fredericks, Namibia)
>
> top 10 average time = 19.801 sec (minus WR)
> for those of you who considered it a "fluke" - if you
> subtract this performance, then you've have to subtract
> Frederick's 19.66 and Boldon's 19.80, just to be fair!
>
>400M
> sub 44 sec. performances - 21 times
> next best = 4 times (Reynolds & Watts)
>
> top 10 average time = 43.557 sec (includes WR)
> next best = 43.976 sec (Reynolds)
>
>
>
