Olympic golds
4
World records
18
European golds
5
Olympic medals
5
Marathon golds
1
10,000 m unbeaten run
38
Category profile
- Dominance
- 90
- Peak
- 95
- Longevity
- 82
- Honours
- 90
- Statistics
- 90
Career timeline · Form index per season
Editorial season form index (0–100), not raw goals or points. Raw season-by-season statistics are shown only where fully verified.
| Season | Form index per season | Share of career |
|---|---|---|
| 1948 | 1770 | |
| 1949 | 1755 | |
| 1950 | 1748 | |
| 1951 | 1740 | |
| 1952 | 1735 | |
| 1953 | 1730 | |
| 1954 | 1727 | |
| 1955 | 1740 | |
| 1956 | 1755 | |
| 1957 | 1780 |
Data sources
- World Athletics
- Olympedia
- Olympics.com
Last verified: 2026-09-14
Figures come from public records and are normalised per sport. See the methodology for category weights. Method
Why Emil Zátopek ranks #31 in Athletics
Emil Zátopek ranks #31 in Athletics and #606 of 5087 across all sports. The verified GOAT Score is 89.4/100.
The verified career covers 1944–1958 and 10 documented seasons. Peak is 95/100, with Peak the strongest category at 95/100 (20% weight). Key metrics: Olympic golds 4, World records 18, European golds 5, Olympic medals 5.
Nearest context: ahead Faith Kipyegon (89.5); behind Virgilijus Alekna (89.1). Rankings update whenever verified records change.
Emil Zátopek GOAT Score explained
- Dominance90/100 · weight 25%
- Dominance: 90/100, based on the verified career record.
- Peak95/100 · weight 20%
- Peak: 95/100, based on the verified career record.
- Longevity82/100 · weight 20%
- Longevity: 82/100, based on the verified career record.
- Honours90/100 · weight 20%
- Honours: 90/100, based on the verified career record.
- Statistics90/100 · weight 15%
- Statistics: 90/100, based on the verified career record.
Top Zátopek comparisons
Emil Zátopek — frequently asked
- Is Emil Zátopek the GOAT?
- According to GOAT Rank's current data model, Emil Zátopek ranks #31 in Athletics with a GOAT Score of 89.4/100, behind Usain Bolt (93.2).
- What is Emil Zátopek's GOAT Score?
- 89.4/100, calculated from the verified career record: Dominance 90 (25%), Peak 95 (20%), Longevity 82 (20%), Honours 90 (20%), Statistics 90 (15%).
- Where does Emil Zátopek rank all time?
- #606 of 5087 eligible athletes across all sports and #31 in Athletics.
- Emil Zátopek vs Faith Kipyegon: who ranks higher?
- Faith Kipyegon ranks higher at 89.5 versus Emil Zátopek at 89.4, a margin of 0.1 points.