Category profile
- Dominance
- 90
- Peak
- 94
- Longevity
- 70
- Honours
- 88
- Statistics
- 86
Career timeline · Major golds per season
| Season | Major golds per season | Share of career |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 1 | |
| 1961 | 2 | |
| 1962 | 1 | |
| 1963 | 1 | |
| 1964 | 1 | |
| 1965 | 2 | |
| 1966 | 1 | |
| 1967 | 0 | |
| 1968 | 0 |
Data sources
- World Athletics
- Olympedia
- IOC
Figures come from public records and are normalised per sport. See the methodology for category weights. Method
Why Abebe Bikila ranks #69 in Athletics
Abebe Bikila ranks 69th among Athletics athletes on GOAT Rank and 570th of 1063 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 85.8 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 90, Peak 94, Longevity 70, Honours 88, Statistics 86. Those categories are normalised against the full Athletics reference universe of 309 records, not a shortlist, so the position reflects the whole sport rather than a handful of famous names.
The record covers 1956–1969 with 9 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 1961, which sets the Peak component at 94. Peak is the defining strength of the profile at 94 out of 100, and it carries 20% of the final score. The underlying career record includes olympic golds 2, marathon world bests 2, olympic marathon titles in a row 2, career marathon wins 12.
Immediately ahead sits Alberto Juantorena on 85.6, a gap of -0.2 points. Directly behind is Steve Ovett on 83.4. The position moves whenever the verified record moves: new titles, new seasons or a corrected source all feed straight back into the same formula, and every change is dated on this profile.
Abebe Bikila GOAT Score explained
- Dominance90/100 · weight 25%
- Measures how far Bikila stood above the field while competing. Scored 90/100 against the full Athletics cohort.
- Peak94/100 · weight 20%
- Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 1961. Scored 94/100.
- Longevity70/100 · weight 20%
- Rewards staying at that level over time: 13 years of competition and 9 recorded seasons. Scored 70/100.
- Honours88/100 · weight 20%
- Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 88/100.
- Statistics86/100 · weight 15%
- Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 86/100.
Top Bikila comparisons
Abebe Bikila — frequently asked
- Is Abebe Bikila the GOAT?
- Not on the current data. Abebe Bikila ranks 69th in Athletics with a GOAT Score of 85.8, behind Carl Lewis on 93.1.
- What is Abebe Bikila's GOAT Score?
- 85.8 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 90 (25%), Peak 94 (20%), Longevity 70 (20%), Honours 88 (20%), Statistics 86 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
- Where does Abebe Bikila rank all time?
- 570th of 1063 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 69th within Athletics.
- Abebe Bikila vs Alberto Juantorena: who ranks higher?
- Abebe Bikila, on 85.8 against Alberto Juantorena's 85.6 — a margin of 0.2 points.