Fastest White Man Ever

[StarWars]

With track times improving not only because of drug use but because of faster tracks and better equipment, times do not determine the fastest men very well. In your opinion, who is the fastest white man ever, and why? I'll allow multiple votes if you like two people, but keep it honest please and explain your reasoning. The fastest white man also varies on one's definition of sprinting speed and the race distance that best measures it.

The fastest white distance runner is hands down Sebastian Coe.

 

[StarWars]

I voted for both Allen Wells and Valery Borzov. They are both gold medallists in the 100 meter and medallists in the 200 meter. They have times of 10.11 and 10.07, respectively, but would be much faster today.

 

[Observer]

How about Dave Sime or Bobby Morrow? One of the observers of Bobby Morrow at the 1956 Olympics said something like, "Honestly, I think he'd run an 8.6 on a modern track. He was throwing out dirt clods 10 yards in that race."

 

[albinosprint]

the 200m has always been the race to generate a humans top speed and for that reason, and his overall sprint versatility, I pick Mennea. most people think he broke 20.0 once at altitude, but he broke it a handful of time with a few at sea level. now doubt that if he was running in his prime now, he would be droping 19.5s and 9.9s

 

[StarWars]

How about Dave Sime or Bobby Morrow? One of the observers of Bobby Morrow at the 1956 Olympics said something like, "Honestly, I think he'd run an 8.6 on a modern track. He was throwing out dirt clods 10 yards in that race."

Thanks I did not know about either of them. I think Sime would be a great 200 runner today, probably in the mid 19s. Morrow seems like hed be an excellent 100 meter runner today.Edited by: StarWars

 

[StarWars]

the 200m has always been the race to generate a humans top speed and for that reason, and his overall sprint versatility, I pick Mennea. most people think he broke 20.0 once at altitude, but he broke it a handful of time with a few at sea level. now doubt that if he was running in his prime now, he would be droping 19.5s and 9.9s

One of the great 200 meter runners ever. Excellent choice. I like the top speed aspect of the fastest man, but personally prefer the 100 andd 60 meter. Although not the best mph, it measures strength and quickness better. I love Nagel, but cannot choose him because he never won big races and I also love how the 200 meter is set up. It is so much more intense than any other race. Here's a link that really captures the moment of the 200 meter : Kostas Kenteris

Here are some more of both Allen Wells and Valery Borzov winning some gold medals:

Allan Wells

Valery Borzov

And of course the one and only Pietro Mennea:Pietro Mennea

 

[StarWars]

Technically Woronin is the fastest, but he got his 9.992 with a 1.9 m/s tailwind, while Shirvo and Macrozonaris ran 10.03 into or with no wind. I would call being a good competitor being ranked much above times, and for that reason love Wells and Borzov. I have mostly Scotch Irish in me, so I like Wells for that reason a lot. I am also part German and Greek, so Borzov and Kenteris represent those countries. I identify mainly with Wells because of his ancestry, but probably run most like Nagel.

 

[mastermulti]

Borzov is Ukranian, but yes, he ,Wells and Menea could win big races which is why I put them ahead of Matt Shirvington. One would presume they would all go a little faster if running in their primes now (althuogh Mennea couldn't get away with blood supplementation now).
A better question would be "who are the BEST white sprinters of all time"

 

[white lightning]

I voted for Borzov. It's pretty hard to beat a double olympic champion. One of only 3 to ever accomplish this with Carl Lewis and Usain Bolt to be the other two guys.

I would put Shirvo 2nd from a pure 100 meters stand point. He had speed to burn in the shorter distance.

Overall though, I agree with Wells and Mennea. They both performed at their best when it counted!

 

[white lightning]

You know, Kenteris deserves some votes. He went sub 20 with a p.b. of 19.85! He also is a rare triple crown winner. This is super rare. He won the olympic gold medal, world championship gold medal and the european champs gold medal all in the 200 meters! Talk about dominance!

 

[greyghost]

dont forget about viktor bryzgin ussr 1986 ran 10.03 into a -2.5 headwindratified by the iaaf in2003when this is converted taking in wind and geographical factors his time iswait for it9.87!!!!!! yep he was a member of the 1988 4by100 in seoul

 

[StarWars]

dont forget about viktor bryzgin ussr 1986 ran 10.03 into a -2.5 headwindratified by the iaaf in2003when this is converted taking in wind and geographical factors his time iswait for it9.87!!!!!! yep he was a member of the 1988 4by100 in seoul

White athletes tend to peak for a very short period of time and usually young. Hmmm, I wonder why the black people run faster at the end of the season and run well even past thirty, even with a lower life expectancy? Curious...

 

[speedster]

I voted for Borzov. It's pretty hard to beat a double olympic champion. One of only 3 to ever accomplish this with Carl Lewis and Usain Bolt to be the other two guys.

I would put Shirvo 2nd from a pure 100 meters stand point. He had speed to burn in the shorter distance.

Overall though, I agree with Wells and Mennea. They both performed at their best when it counted!

Edited by: speedster

 

[speedster]

Bobby Morrow won the double at the 1956 Olympic games and anchored the relay team to gold.Morrow was the best of all time.

 

[white lightning]

Great point. Morrow won back in 1956 and he was probably the last great American 100/200 meter sprinter. What a legend. How could we forget him? The question is will we ever see another US Sprinter even close to the talent of Morrow? I sure hope so but I'm not holding my breath with how few whites even run track. I hope this changes some day.

 

[white lightning]

I had to give Bobby Morrow the respect he deserves. One of the greatest sprinters that ever lived. Here is the complete video from the 1956 Olympics showing him win all three of his medals. Man was he fast! Enjoy guys.

[url]http://speedendurance.com/2008/01/15/video-of-bobby-morrow-1 956-triple-olympic-gold-medalist/ [/url]

 

[mastermulti]

unfortunately Victor Bryzgin doesn't get a mention in the IAAF's top list, but my fave USSR sprinter of that era was Vitaliy Savin who didn't let Christie get past him in their 4 x 100 win in Seoul. Christie pulled a metre on him early but Savin heldon so strongly that Christie fell apart into overstride mode and actually lost ground in the final 5 metres.
He was a 10.08 runner in 1992.

Another favourite Euro sprinter was Geir Moen from Norway who ran 10.08 and 20.17 in 1996, He was 6'3", 85 kgs and had a shock of blond hair. He ran sub 20.68 for 10 years straight and 10.35 or under for the same 10 years(apart from one injury year where he ran 10.45). Maybe not top of world class for performance but world class longevity.Edited by: mastermulti

 

[j41181]

I had to give Bobby Morrow the respect he deserves. One of the greatest sprinters that ever lived. Here is the complete video from the 1956 Olympics showing him win all three of his medals. Man was he fast! Enjoy guys.

[url]http://speedendurance.com/2008/01/15/video-of-bobby-morrow-1 956-triple-olympic-gold-medalist/ [/url]

If another white American does that someday... I can die happy!

Edited by: j41181

 

[yuri malenkov]

from era to era i would begin with percy williams 1928 canada. he won the 100 and 200 and then barnstormed across the usa winning 59/59 100m races against all the best americans

next would be bobby morrow 1956 100/200m winner

then 1960 both armin hary germany, world record 100m and the greatest starter in history, and david sime usa.

next,1972 valeiry borzov ussr 100m/200m domination, fastest human all time.

next,1970's was manfred kokot east germany, dominated all olympic 100m men in the 50m indoor. held the world record for 23 years.

then 1986 viktor bryzgin ussr.similar to bob hayes and ben johnson in speed and power, also not a 200m man. the end of the ussr sports system did him in.

Sorry, no allan wells, menna or shirvo. no to woronin either.

kenteris, while not making my list, is the best story because he was born with a 4cm shortness in one of his legs and had to wear a lift in one shoe, still ran 19.85 in 200m.

as for 400m; alberto juantorena cuba (white european spanish with 70's style long hair and a tan) legit. world record in 1976.

finally jermey wariner usa 400m.(will go under 43 flat and get another gold yet)

 

[yuri malenkov]

my "common man" award has to go to mr. average from east germany and double olympic champion in the mens marathon; waldimir kerpinski. he liked running better than working in a factory and began by training for his factories club team, then his manager let him train instead of working during the day. was actually self coached in the gdr of all places

 

[white lightning]

Great list yuri. A couple of the names I was not aware of. Thank you for sharing that with us. You really have a vast knowledge of track and I enjoy reading your posts.

Of the current white sprinters, who do you think has the best chance of going sub 10?

Please give me a list of your top 5 and the reasons why. Thanks in advance.

 

[yuri malenkov]

to answere White Lightning's question;

i personally rank my top 5 sprinters;

1. lemaitre france- he is 18, 6-3 163. Has the ability to be the next usain bolt.

2. cerruti italy-he is 23, 6-2 155. Will break the 10 second barrier. i have him in the range of 9.74-9.78 if he can get to his very best.

2. blum germany. with his smooth and sound running style he is capable of running in the 9.7's as he keeps working hard. is 22 and needs serious strength development.

4. guliyev azerbijan. 6-2 155.18. the sky is the limit for him, can eventually be in the medal hunt in the 100m,too bad he is coming up at the same time as lemaitre. i may rank him second in the near future.

5. pickering england.5-10 175.22.he should be ranked 2. however he has a three-pronged problem that needs to be fixed.
he must have a top specialist to fix his biomechanics.some one like dan pfaff from the usa or the french canadian coach(his name escapes me) of bruni surin.
next he needs a top olympic weightlifting coach to teach and perfect the snatch lift with him.
and finally he needs a personal motivator( as funny as this may sound) someone like tony robbins.

the biomechanical fix will give him approx. 1.5% improvement in his his 100m time, the snatch lift will give him another 1.5% improvement and probably help him to win the next 60m indoor title.
someone like a tony robbins could put it all together mentally for him at competition time.
pickering is way more talented than ben johnson was when he won the bronze medal in 1984.pickering is way ahead actually and now needs to take it to the next level

 

[albinosprint]

yuri,

great list! is cerruti really that tall? also, guliyev azerbijan is new to me. what else can you tell us about him. I did a search on the internet, but didn't come up with anything.

 

[white lightning]

Here is his bio. He will be 19 in May and he has talent. Ramil has already run a 20.66 in the deuce at only 18 years of age. He will make huge strides this summer. This kid also made the finals of the Euro Indoor Championships in the 60 meters at only 18 years of age. Even Lemaitre didn't do that!

[url]http://www.theworlds.org/athletes/biographies/country=aze/at hcode=226874/index.html[/url]

 

[albinosprint]

very impressive!