Category profile
- Dominance
- 82
- Peak
- 92
- Longevity
- 88
- Honours
- 86
- Statistics
- 90
Career timeline · Major golds per season
| Season | Major golds per season | Share of career |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 85.9 | |
| 1990 | 90.98 | |
| 1991 | 91.46 | |
| 1992 | 87.8 | |
| 1993 | 85.2 | |
| 1994 | 86.5 | |
| 1995 | 86.9 | |
| 1996 | 87.44 | |
| 1997 | 88.54 | |
| 1998 | 89 | |
| 1999 | 89.85 | |
| 2000 | 89.85 | |
| 2001 | 88.2 | |
| 2002 | 86.8 | |
| 2003 | 84.6 |
Data sources
- World Athletics
- Olympedia
- European Athletics
Figures come from public records and are normalised per sport. See the methodology for category weights. Method
Why Steve Backley ranks #57 in Athletics
Steve Backley ranks 57th among Athletics athletes on GOAT Rank and 336th of 2289 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 87.2 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 82, Peak 92, Longevity 88, Honours 86, Statistics 90. Those categories are normalised against the full Athletics reference universe of 313 records, not a shortlist, so the position reflects the whole sport rather than a handful of famous names.
The record covers 1988–2004 with 15 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 1991, which sets the Peak component at 92. Peak is the defining strength of the profile at 92 out of 100, and it carries 20% of the final score. The underlying career record includes european titles 3, olympic medals 3, world records 2, javelin best 91.46.
Immediately ahead sits Caster Semenya on 87.2, a gap of 0.0 points. Directly behind is Randy Barnes on 87.2. 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.
Steve Backley GOAT Score explained
- Dominance82/100 · weight 25%
- Measures how far Backley stood above the field while competing. Scored 82/100 against the full Athletics cohort.
- Peak92/100 · weight 20%
- Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 1991. Scored 92/100.
- Longevity88/100 · weight 20%
- Rewards staying at that level over time: 16 years of competition and 15 recorded seasons. Scored 88/100.
- Honours86/100 · weight 20%
- Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 86/100.
- Statistics90/100 · weight 15%
- Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 90/100.
Top Backley comparisons
Steve Backley — frequently asked
- Is Steve Backley the GOAT?
- Not on the current data. Steve Backley ranks 57th in Athletics with a GOAT Score of 87.2, behind Usain Bolt on 93.2.
- What is Steve Backley's GOAT Score?
- 87.2 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 82 (25%), Peak 92 (20%), Longevity 88 (20%), Honours 86 (20%), Statistics 90 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
- Where does Steve Backley rank all time?
- 336th of 2289 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 57th within Athletics.
- Steve Backley vs Caster Semenya: who ranks higher?
- Steve Backley, on 87.2 against Caster Semenya's 87.2 — a margin of 0.0 points.