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Who was the Greatest Miler ?
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Dan
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 06, 2000 7:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'll give you "Most Momentous" or "Biggest Breakthrough," but I have a hard time with the greatest title largely for the very reason you said -- the record did fall so fast after he broke it. To me, that means it was ready to happen, he was just the first to do it...

I guess it depends on whether or not you equate "first" and "greatest" to mean the same thing in certain situations.

Dan
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 11, 2000 9:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My vote goes to Herb Elliot. Unbeaten over 1500m or the mile as junior or senior. Ran opponents to the ground in Olympic final in Rome in 1960 in world record time of 3:35.6. His decision to retire at the venerable age of 22 deprived us of the most intriguing clash of all.....Snell-Elliot. Now that would have been a race to watch!!

[Anonymously Posted by: 'Manuel Mangani']
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maniacmilerdude
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PostPosted: Thu May 22, 2003 7:21 am    Post subject: Great Milers Reply with quote

Laughing Well I know El G is the greatest now but a lot of young guns are coming.......James Thie is one i can think off and a lot of younger Americans.....but i don't know if they can get close to El G i hope Webb can get close to Steve Scotts 3:47 but we shall see. The again the African nations always have very young phenoms.... oh and El G never won the olympics....I think the future of the Mile is going to be a good one!!! Thumbs Up
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Dan
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PostPosted: Thu May 22, 2003 7:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

ElG is best on the clock and probably most well known, but as you sort of mentioned, he's not a clear cut choice for best currently. He's proven to be a great time trialer but a not so great racer, which has to factor in somehow.

Dan
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nick tyerman
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 28, 2003 1:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Steve Scott ran 136 sub four minute miles. And lets remember he didn't get a chance at 1980 Olympics and he says that was his year when he was on top.
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Dan
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 28, 2003 1:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Tough to beat Scott for Most Consistent Miler, but he was never much more than a solid contendor, as I recall. He ran against some of the best ever and posted some very good times in the process, but the Brits that regularly beat him have to knock him down a peg or two in Best Ever considerations.

Dan
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Conway
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 28, 2003 11:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Don't know how I missed this thread ... Seb Coe for the greatest ... He had the greatest set of comptetitors in Ovett, Cram, Aouita and yet was still a double Olympic gold medallist and a multiple record setter ... Coe was a racer ... As opposed to ElG now who is a paced runner ...

I might put Morcelli next in line before ElG ...
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Micah Ward
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 29, 2003 3:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I like that distinction between Coe as a racer and ElG as a paced runner.
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Conway
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 29, 2003 6:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Coe was a gutsy competitor ... As was Ovett ... I'd have to find a place in my top 5 for Ovett ... For those who have mentioned Ryun, I never found him to be a tough competitor ... Maybe top 10, but with guys like Elliott and Aouita and Keino to go with Coe, Ovett, Morcelli, and even Elg at that point not sure Ryun would be top 10 ... As for Scott he was prolific but never a winner ...
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graeme
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 29, 2003 11:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

ElG dominates the 1500, and aside from his olympic races almost never loses despite the fact he's not much of a racer. IMO that shows that he's so good he doesn't even need to be a racer to win. With today's depth I think that's quite an accomplishment. Maybe not number one, but somewhere near the top at least.

How about John Landy? I know that being the second one to break four minutes is infinitely different than being the first, but he did beat Bannister's 3:59 by two whole seconds almost right away and eventualy lowered it even further. Then again, when the two raced each other in Vancouver, Bannister won. I'll give Landy an honorable mention at least Smile

I agree with Conway that Ovett should be in the top five, he was a winner.

It's tough to pick a number one though...
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