Results

The highest-ranked 25 men and women according to our normative scoring system are presented in Tables 2 and 3, respectively. In both groups, 22 of the 25 were Olympic Champion at least once; the exceptions in the men’s list were Paul Tergat, Bernard Lagat, and Moses Kiptanui, and in the women’s list the exceptions were Merlene Ottey, Grete Waitz, and Jarmila Kratochvílová. Amongst the men, Usain Bolt was determined to be the clear GOAT as of March 2026, having won six Olympic gold medals and seven WC gold medals and, since 2009, still holding the 100-m and 200-m WRs. Paavo Nurmi, who was fifth amongst the men, competed in an era before WC, and had more points in OG and WR categories than any of the runners above him. Faith Kipyegon was ranked the highest amongst women, having won three Olympic gold medals, five WC gold medals, is the current 1500-m WR holder, and previously held the 5000-m WR. The medals and WRs accumulated as of March 2026 by the top three men and women in their respective ranking lists are shown in Fig. 2.

Rank | Athlete | Event | OG score | WR score | WC score | XC score | WIC score | Total score
1 | Usain Bolt (JAM) | SP | 600 | 278 | 547 | 0 | 0 | 1425
2 | Kenenisa Bekele (ETH) | LD | 350 | 264 | 372 | 180 | 40 | 1206
3 | Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) | LD | 200 | 336 | 372 | 10 | 160 | 1078
4 | Michael Johnson (USA) | SP | 300 | 261 | 420 | 0 | 0 | 981
5 | Paavo Nurmi (FIN) | LD | 550 | 352 | 0 | 60 | 0 | 962
6 | Mohamed Farah (GBR) | LD | 400 | 0 | 490 | 0 | 0 | 890
7 | Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR) | MD | 250 | 154 | 350 | 0 | 120 | 874
8 | Joshua Cheptegei (UGA) | LD | 250 | 220 | 245 | 40 | 0 | 755
9 | Carl Lewis (USA) | SP | 350 | 117 | 232 | 0 | 0 | 699
10 | Emil Zátopek (TCH) | LD | 450 | 212 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 662
11 | Justin Gatlin (USA) | SP | 212 | 0 | 350 | 0 | 80 | 642
12 | Lasse Virén (FIN) | LD | 400 | 205 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 605
13 | Ezekiel Kemboi (KEN) | HU | 200 | 0 | 385 | 0 | 0 | 585
14 | Hannes Kolehmainen (FIN) | LD | 300 | 235 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 565
15 | Maurice Greene (USA) | SP | 131 | 110 | 280 | 0 | 40 | 561
16 | Paul Tergat (KEN) | LD | 100 | 208 | 92 | 160 | 0 | 560
17 | Noah Lyles (USA) | SP | 162 | 0 | 372 | 0 | 20 | 554
18 | Allen Johnson (USA) | HU | 100 | 0 | 302 | 0 | 140 | 542
19 | Sebastian Coe (GBR) | MD | 300 | 236 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 536
20 | Ville Ritola (FIN) | LD | 400 | 105 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 520
21 | Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR) | MD | 200 | 0 | 210 | 0 | 100 | 510
22 = | Bernard Lagat (KEN/USA) | LD | 81 | 0 | 267 | 0 | 160 | 508
22 = | Edwin Moses (USA) | HU | 231 | 137 | 140 | 0 | 0 | 508
24 | Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) | LD | 281 | 110 | 105 | 0 | 10 | 506
25 | Moses Kiptanui (KEN) | HU | 50 | 208 | 245 | 0 | 0 | 503

Rank | Athlete | Event | OG score | WR score | WC score | XC score | WIC score | Total score
1 | Faith Kipyegon (KEN) | MD | 350 | 204 | 455 | 0 | 0 | 1009
2 | Tirunesh Dibaba (ETH) | LD | 393 | 124 | 385 | 105 | 0 | 1007
3 | Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (JAM) | SP | 331 | 0 | 477 | 0 | 40 | 848
4 | Sifan Hassan (NED) | LD | 393 | 100 | 241 | 0 | 70 | 804
5 | Merlene Ottey (JAM/SLO) | SP | 255 | 0 | 355 | 0 | 180 | 790
6 | Meseret Defar (ETH) | LD | 250 | 104 | 219 | 0 | 210 | 783
7 | Gail Devers (USA) | SP | 200 | 0 | 350 | 0 | 200 | 750
8 | Maria Mutola (MOZ) | MD | 131 | 0 | 267 | 0 | 310 | 708
9 | Tatyana Kazankina (URS) | MD | 300 | 363 | 22 | 15 | 0 | 700
10 | Beatrice Chebet (KEN) | LD | 200 | 202 | 197 | 60 | 0 | 659
11 | Irena Szewińska (POL) | SP | 312 | 336 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 648
12 | Veronica Campbell-Brown (JAM) | SP | 262 | 0 | 302 | 0 | 80 | 644
13 | Allyson Felix (USA) | SP | 281 | 0 | 359 | 0 | 0 | 640
14 | Florence Griffith-Joyner (USA) | SP | 250 | 353 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 638
15 | Vivian Cheruiyot (KEN) | LD | 231 | 0 | 315 | 30 | 20 | 596
16 | Gabriela Szabo (ROU) | MD | 181 | 0 | 210 | 0 | 180 | 571
17 | Marita Koch (GDR) | SP | 100 | 306 | 105 | 0 | 40 | 551
18 | Fanny Blankers-Koen (NED) | SP | 300 | 226 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 526
19 | Shirley Strickland (AUS) | HU | 293 | 215 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 508
20 | Grete Waitz (NOR) | LD | 50 | 208 | 70 | 170 | 0 | 498
21 | Renate Stecher (GDR) | SP | 281 | 213 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 494
22 | Sydney McLaughlin (USA) | HU | 200 | 113 | 175 | 0 | 0 | 488
23 | Tetyana Samolenko (URS) | MD | 181 | 0 | 245 | 0 | 60 | 486
24 | Jarmila Kratochvílová (TCH) | MD | 50 | 288 | 140 | 0 | 0 | 478
25 | Elaine Thompson-Herah (JAM) | SP | 400 | 0 | 57 | 0 | 10 | 467

Fig. 2: Championship medals won and WRs set by the top three men and women in their respective ranking lists. An asterisk (*) indicates that the athlete lost and reclaimed the WR during this time

The results for each era are presented in Table 4. Amongst men, the early and interwar eras were dominated by US sprinters and Finnish distance runners, whereas middle-distance (Peter Snell) and long-distance runners (Emil Zátopek, Vladimir Kuts) were the highest ranked during the postwar amateur era. The top-ranked men in the most recent eras were predominantly sprinters (Carl Lewis and Bolt) or long-distance runners (Kenenisa Bekele, Haile Gebrselassie and Lasse Virén). Very few events were held for women in the interwar OG, meaning that few points were achieved, and the top three women from this era scored more from WR performances than from their medal haul. Whereas Irena Szewińska (née Kirszenstein) won Olympic medals across 100 m, 200 m, and 400 m in three separate Games across two eras, Fanny Blankers-Koen won all three available women’s running events in 1948 (100 m, 200 m and 80-m hurdles). In the early professional era, Gail Devers emulated Blankers-Koen in winning 100 m and short hurdles titles but over the course of two OGs and three WC. The second-highest ranked woman during the early professional era, Merlene Ottey, had the largest haul of individual medals: seven Olympic medals, ten WC medals, and seven WIC medals, spanning 1980–2003. The top two ranking spots in the contemporary era went to a predominantly middle-distance and long-distance athlete, respectively, with Kipyegon’s better WC and WR scores putting her ahead of Tirunesh Dibaba on total points.

Rank | Athlete | OG score | WR score | WC score | XC score | WIC score | Total score
Men
Early era (1896–1912)
1 | H. Hillman (USA) | 350 |  |  |  |  | 350
2 | W. Tewksbury (USA) | 331 |  |  |  |  | 331
3 | H. Kolehmainen (FIN) | 300 |  |  | 30 |  | 330
Interwar era (1920–1936)
1 | P. Nurmi (FIN) | 550 | 352 |  | 60 |  | 962
2 | V. Ritola (FIN) | 400 | 105 |  | 15 |  | 520
3 | V. Iso-Hollo (FIN) | 281 | 120 |  |  |  | 412
Postwar amateur era (1948–1968)
1 | E. Zátopek (TCH) | 450 | 212 |  |  |  | 662
2 | V. Kuts (URS) | 200 | 224 |  |  |  | 424
3 | P. Snell (NZL) | 300 | 112 |  |  |  | 412
Early professional era (1972–1992)
1 | C. Lewis (USA) | 350 | 117 | 232 |  |  | 699
2 | L. Virén (FIN) | 400 | 205 |  |  |  | 605
3 | S. Coe (GBR) | 300 | 236 |  |  |  | 536
Contemporary era (1996–2024)
1 | U. Bolt (JAM) | 600 | 278 | 547 |  |  | 1425
2 | K. Bekele (ETH) | 350 | 264 | 372 | 180 | 40 | 1206
3 | H. Gebrselassie (ETH) | 200 | 336 | 372 | 10 | 160 | 1078
Women
Interwar (1928–1936)
1 | S. Walasiewicz (POL) | 150 | 260 |  |  |  | 410
2 | L. Radke (GER) | 100 | 134 |  |  |  | 234
3 | B. Didrikson (USA) | 100 | 113 |  |  |  | 213
Postwar amateur (1948–1968)
1 | I. Szewińska (POL) | 312 | 336 |  |  |  | 648
2 | F. Blankers-Koen (NED) | 300 | 226 |  |  |  | 526
3 | S. Strickland (AUS) | 293 | 215 |  |  |  | 508
Early professional (1972–1992)
1 | M. Ottey (JAM/SLO) | 255 |  | 180 |  | 355 | 790
2 | G. Devers (USA) | 200 |  | 350 |  | 200 | 750
3 | T. Kazankina (URS) | 300 | 363 | 22 | 15 |  | 700
Contemporary era (1996–2024)
1 | F. Kipyegon (KEN) | 350 | 204 | 455 |  |  | 1009
2 | T. Dibaba (ETH) | 393 | 124 | 385 | 105 |  | 1007
3 | S.-A. Fraser-Pryce (JAM) | 331 |  | 477 |  | 40 | 848

The results for each event grouping are presented in Tables 5 (men) and 6 (women). The points do not always match because the event-specific table features points accumulated over those distances only. The number of doubles achieved for the most popular event pairings are presented in Table 7. There were also two doubles achieved in the women’s 1500 m and 3000 m (1983 and 1987 WCs), where the 3000-m WR mean speed was 94.2% and 103.7% of the 1500-m and 5000-m WR speeds, respectively, and in the women’s 1500 m and 10,000 m (Sifan Hassan in the 2019 WC).

Rank | Athlete | OG score | WR score | WC score | XC score | WIC score | Total score
 | Sprints (60 m–400 m)
1 | U. Bolt (JAM) | 600 | 278 | 547 |  |  | 1425
2 | M. Johnson (USA) | 300 | 261 | 420 |  |  | 981
3 | C. Lewis (USA) | 350 | 117 | 232 |  |  | 699
 | Hurdles (110 m–400 m)
1 | E. Moses (USA) | 231 | 137 | 140 |  |  | 508
2 | K. Warholm (NOR) | 150 | 113 | 210 |  |  | 473
3 | A. Johnson (USA) | 100 | 0 | 302 |  |  | 402
 | Middle-distance (800 m–1500 m)
1 | H. El Guerrouj (MAR) | 250 | 154 | 350 |  |  | 754
2 | S. Coe (GBR) | 300 | 236 | 0 |  |  | 536
3 | D. Rudisha (KEN) | 200 | 135 | 140 |  |  | 475
 | Steeplechase (2500 m–4000 m)
1 | E. Kemboi (KEN) | 200 | 0 | 385 |  |  | 585
2 | M. Kiptanui (KEN) | 50 | 208 | 245 |  |  | 503
3 | S. El Bakkali (MAR) | 200 | 0 | 232 |  |  | 432
 | Long-distance (5000 m–10,000 m)
1 | K. Bekele (ETH) | 350 | 264 | 372 |  |  | 986
2 | H. Gebrselassie (ETH) | 200 | 336 | 372 |  |  | 908
3 | M. Farah (GBR) | 400 | 0 | 490 |  |  | 890
 | Marathon
1 | A. Bikila (ETH) | 200 | 116 | 0 |  |  | 316
2 | E. Kipchoge (KEN) | 200 | 110 | 0 |  |  | 310
3 | W. Cierpinski (GDR) | 200 | 0 | 22 |  |  | 222
 | Cross country
1 | K. Bekele (ETH) |  |  |  | 180 |  | 180
2 | P. Tergat (KEN) |  |  |  | 160 |  | 160
3 | J. Ngugi (KEN) |  |  |  | 150 |  | 150
 | Indoors (60 m–3000 m)
= 1 | H. Gebreselassie (ETH) |  |  |  |  | 160 | 160
= 1 | B. Lagat (KEN/USA) |  |  |  |  | 160 | 160
3 | A. Johnson (USA) |  |  |  |  | 140 | 140

Rank | Athlete | OG score | WR score | WC score | XC score | WIC score | Total score
 | Sprints (100 m–400 m)
1 | S.-A. Fraser-Pryce (JAM) | 331 | 0 | 477 |  |  | 808
2 | A. Felix (USA) | 281 | 0 | 359 |  |  | 640
3 | F. Griffith-Joyner (USA) | 250 | 353 | 35 |  |  | 638
 | Hurdles (80 m–400 m)
1 | S. McLaughlin (USA) | 200 | 113 | 105 |  |  | 418
2 | D. Muhammad (USA) | 150 | 102 | 162 |  |  | 414
3 | S. Pearson (AUS) | 150 | 0 | 175 |  |  | 325
 | Middle-distance (800 m–1500 m)
1 | F. Kipyegon (KEN) | 350 | 204 | 455 |  |  | 1009
2 | T. Kazankina (URS) | 300 | 363 | 0 |  |  | 663
3 | C. Semenya (RSA) | 200 | 0 | 232 |  |  | 432
 | Steeplechase (3000 m)
1 | G. Galkina-Samitova (RUS) | 100 | 131 | 22 |  |  | 253
2 | B. Chepkoech (KEN) | 0 | 112 | 105 |  |  | 217
3 = | H. Ghribi (TUN) | 100 | 0 | 105 |  |  | 205
3 = | W. Yavi (BRN) | 100 | 0 | 105 |  |  | 205
 | Long-distance (3000 m–10,000 m)
1 | T. Dibaba (ETH) | 393 | 124 | 385 |  |  | 902
2 | B. Chebet (KEN) | 200 | 202 | 197 |  |  | 599
3 | M. Defar (ETH) | 250 | 104 | 219 |  |  | 573
 | Marathon
1 | C. Ndereba (KEN) | 100 | 102 | 175 |  |  | 377
2 | P. Jepchirchir (KEN) | 100 | 102 | 70 |  |  | 270
3 | G. Waitz (NOR) | 50 | 106 | 70 |  |  | 226
 | Cross country
1 | G. Waitz (NOR) |  |  |  | 170 |  | 170
2 | L. Jennings (USA) |  |  |  | 115 |  | 115
3 | G. Wami (ETH) |  |  |  | 110 |  | 110
 | Indoors (60 m–3000 m)
1 | M. Mutola (MOZ) |  |  |  |  | 310 | 310
2 | M. Defar (ETH) |  |  |  |  | 210 | 210
= 3 | G. Devers (USA) |  |  |  |  | 200 | 200
= 3 | G. Dibaba (ETH) |  |  |  |  | 200 | 200

Event double | Increase in WR duration from shorter to longer event (%) | WR speed of longer event relative to shorter event (%) | Difference in energy contribution through oxidative pathway (%) | Similar events currently available | Number of double victories in the last two eras
100 m/200 m | Men—100.3Women—103.4 | Men—99.8Women—98.3 | 100 | 60 m WIC | Men—OG: 6, WC: 7Women—OG: 4, WC: 4
200 m/400 m | Men—124.2Women—123.1 | Men—89.2Women—89.7 | 48.3 | 400 m WIC | Men—OG: 1, WC: 1Women—OG: 2, WC: 0
400 m/800 m | Men—134.5Women—138.0 | Men—85.3Women—84.0 | 53.5 | 400 m/800 m WIC | Men—OG: 1, WC: 0Women—OG: 0, WC: 1
800 m/1500 m | Men—114.1Women—102.2 | Men—91.9Women—92.9 | 27.3 | 800 m/1500 m WIC | Men—OG: 0, WC: 1Women—OG: 3, WC: 0
1500 m/5000 m | Men—249.7Women—267.4 | Men—90.9Women—90.7 | 12.1 | 1500 m/3000 m WIC | Men—OG: 1, WC: 1Women—OG: 0, WC: 1
5000 m/10,000 m | Men—108.0Women—106.4 | Men—96.2Women—96.9 | 4.9 | 3000 m WIC and WXC | Men—OG: 6, WC: 3Women—OG: 3, WC: 3
10,000 m/marathon | Men—360.5Women—370.0 | Men—91.6Women—89.8* | 3.0 | WXC | Men—OG: 0, WC: 0Women—OG: 0, WC: 0

The results of the sensitivity analysis (Table 8) showed that, regardless of which of the chosen scenarios were tested for the normative scoring system, Bolt and Kipyegon were always the respective male and female GOATs. Indeed, the rankings for the men were mostly the same regardless of which points system was used, with all top 10 athletes remaining in the list under all scenarios, but it was noticeable that Gebrselassie moved immediately above Bekele when no XC medals were included. By contrast, Gebrselassie’s position dropped two places when no WIC medals contributed to the overall score. Nurmi was not affected by the removal of XC points, despite winning two Olympic gold medals in the event, but did move up two places when the OG and WR were awarded more points. In women, the same increase in OG and WR points meant that Tatyana Kazankina moved up four places, but the top four places were very fixed in general. Several of the current top 10 women dropped from these positions when the WIC was excluded, as six of this group of women won 33 indoor medals between them.

Rank | Current | OG/WR = 140 | No OG + WR bonus | No WR duration | No XC | No WIC
Men
1 | Bolt | Bolt | Bolt | Bolt | Bolt | Bolt
2 | Bekele | Bekele | Bekele | Bekele | Gebrselassie | Bekele
3 | Gebrselassie | Nurmi | Gebrselassie | Gebrselassie | Bekele | Johnson
4 | Johnson | Gebrselassie | Johnson | Johnson | Johnson | Nurmi
5 | Nurmi | Johnson | Nurmi | Nurmi | Nurmi | Gebrselassie
6 | Farah | Farah | Farah | Farah | Farah | Farah
7 | El Guerrouj | El Guerrouj | El Guerrouj | El Guerrouj | El Guerrouj | Cheptegei
8 | Cheptegei | Cheptegei | Cheptegei | Cheptegei | Cheptegei | El Guerrouj
9 | Lewis | Zátopek | Lewis | Lewis | Lewis | Lewis
10 | Zátopek | Lewis | Zátopek | Zátopek | Zátopek | Zátopek
Women
1 | Kipyegon | Kipyegon | Kipyegon | Kipyegon | Kipyegon | Kipyegon
2 | Dibaba | Dibaba | Dibaba | Dibaba | Dibaba | Dibaba
3 | Fraser-Pryce | Hassan | Fraser-Pryce | Fraser-Pryce | Fraser-Pryce | Fraser-Pryce
4 | Hassan | Fraser-Pryce | Hassan | Hassan | Hassan | Hassan
5 | Ottey | Kazankina | Ottey | Ottey | Ottey | Kazankina
6 | Defar | Defar | Defar | Defar | Defar | Chebet
7 | Devers | Ottey | Devers | Devers | Devers | Kirszenstein
8 | Mutola | Kirszenstein | Mutola | Mutola | Mutola | Felix
9 | Kazankina | Devers | Kazankina | Kazankina | Kazankina | Griffith-Joyner
10 | Chebet | Chebet | Chebet | Chebet | Kirszenstein | Ottey