Category profile
- Dominance
- 78
- Peak
- 88
- Longevity
- 72
- Honours
- 76
- Statistics
- 80
Career timeline · Major golds per season
| Season | Major golds per season | Share of career |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | 78 | |
| 1984 | 92 | |
| 1985 | 96 | |
| 1986 | 94 | |
| 1987 | 76 | |
| 1988 | 66 | |
| 1989 | 60 | |
| 1990 | 58 | |
| 1991 | 62 | |
| 1992 | 60 | |
| 1993 | 55 |
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 Zola Budd ranks #241 in Athletics
Zola Budd ranks 241st among Athletics athletes on GOAT Rank and 2232nd of 4013 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 78.7 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 78, Peak 88, Longevity 72, Honours 76, Statistics 80. 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 1983–1993 with 11 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 1985, which sets the Peak component at 88. Peak is the defining strength of the profile at 88 out of 100, and it carries 20% of the final score. The underlying career record includes world cross country golds 2, world records set 2, world record 5000 m 14.4813, olympic games contested 2.
Immediately ahead sits Timothy Beck on 79.0, a gap of 0.3 points. Directly behind is Ainsley Bennett on 78.7. 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.
Zola Budd GOAT Score explained
- Dominance78/100 · weight 25%
- Measures how far Budd stood above the field while competing. Scored 78/100 against the full Athletics cohort.
- Peak88/100 · weight 20%
- Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 1985. Scored 88/100.
- Longevity72/100 · weight 20%
- Rewards staying at that level over time: 10 years of competition and 11 recorded seasons. Scored 72/100.
- Honours76/100 · weight 20%
- Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 76/100.
- Statistics80/100 · weight 15%
- Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 80/100.
Top Budd comparisons
Zola Budd — frequently asked
- Is Zola Budd the GOAT?
- Not on the current data. Zola Budd ranks 241st in Athletics with a GOAT Score of 78.7, behind Usain Bolt on 93.2.
- What is Zola Budd's GOAT Score?
- 78.7 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 78 (25%), Peak 88 (20%), Longevity 72 (20%), Honours 76 (20%), Statistics 80 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
- Where does Zola Budd rank all time?
- 2232nd of 4013 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 241st within Athletics.
- Zola Budd vs Timothy Beck: who ranks higher?
- Timothy Beck, on 79.0 against Zola Budd's 78.7 — a margin of 0.3 points.