Category profile
- Dominance
- 88
- Peak
- 96
- Longevity
- 74
- Honours
- 88
- Statistics
- 92
Career timeline · Major golds per season
| Season | Major golds per season | Share of career |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 40 | |
| 1992 | 52 | |
| 1993 | 64 | |
| 1994 | 75 | |
| 1995 | 87 | |
| 1996 | 99 | |
| 1997 | 85 | |
| 1998 | 71 | |
| 1999 | 58 | |
| 2000 | 44 | |
| 2001 | 30 |
Data sources
- World Athletics records
- Olympedia
- Track and Field Statistics
Figures come from public records and are normalised per sport. See the methodology for category weights. Method
Why Donovan Bailey ranks #58 in Athletics
Donovan Bailey ranks 58th among Athletics athletes on GOAT Rank and 572nd of 4013 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 87.4 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 88, Peak 96, Longevity 74, Honours 88, Statistics 92. Those categories are normalised against the full Athletics reference universe of 308 records, not a shortlist, so the position reflects the whole sport rather than a handful of famous names.
The record covers 1991–2001 with 11 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 1996, which sets the Peak component at 96. Peak is the defining strength of the profile at 96 out of 100, and it carries 20% of the final score. The underlying career record includes olympic gold medals 2, world championship titles 2, 100 metres world record 984, world relay titles 1.
Immediately ahead sits Jonathan Edwards on 87.4, a gap of 0.0 points. Directly behind is Hicham El Guerrouj on 89.1. 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.
Donovan Bailey GOAT Score explained
- Dominance88/100 · weight 25%
- Measures how far Bailey stood above the field while competing. Scored 88/100 against the full Athletics cohort.
- Peak96/100 · weight 20%
- Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 1996. Scored 96/100.
- Longevity74/100 · weight 20%
- Rewards staying at that level over time: 10 years of competition and 11 recorded seasons. Scored 74/100.
- Honours88/100 · weight 20%
- Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 88/100.
- Statistics92/100 · weight 15%
- Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 92/100.
Top Bailey comparisons
Donovan Bailey — frequently asked
- Is Donovan Bailey the GOAT?
- Not on the current data. Donovan Bailey ranks 58th in Athletics with a GOAT Score of 87.4, behind Usain Bolt on 93.2.
- What is Donovan Bailey's GOAT Score?
- 87.4 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 88 (25%), Peak 96 (20%), Longevity 74 (20%), Honours 88 (20%), Statistics 92 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
- Where does Donovan Bailey rank all time?
- 572nd of 4013 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 58th within Athletics.
- Donovan Bailey vs Jonathan Edwards: who ranks higher?
- Donovan Bailey, on 87.4 against Jonathan Edwards's 87.4 — a margin of 0.0 points.