Who is better, Bolt or Radcliffe?
Usain Bolt leads with a GOAT score of 93.2 against 86.2 for Paula Radcliffe — a gap of 7.0 points on GOAT Rank's weighted model.
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Quick answer
GOAT Rank currently ranks Usain Bolt above Paula Radcliffe: 93.2 vs 86.2. Usain Bolt leads on Honours, Dominance, Peak. Paula Radcliffe leads on Longevity.
How the GOAT Score is calculated →Bolt wins: Dominance, Peak, Honours, Statistics
Radcliffe wins: Longevity
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Showing full careers. Pick a window to recalculate the selected period.
Bolt leads in 4 of 5 weighted categories.
Cumulative output season by season — the shape of each career against the other.
Setting the pace at age 21
No verified birth date for Radcliffe — shown in the pro-debut view instead.
Every career is cut at the season the athlete turned 21, so a rookie today is measured against exactly what a legend had banked by the same birthday.
| Metric | BoltRetired | RadcliffeRetired |
|---|---|---|
| Olympic golds | 8 | — |
| World golds | 11 | — |
| World records | 3 | — |
| 100m best (s) | 9.58 | — |
| 200m best (s) | 19.19 | — |
| Global finals won | 19 | — |
| Marathon world records | — | 3 |
| World Championship golds | — | 1 |
| London Marathon wins | — | 3 |
| New York Marathon wins | — | 3 |
| Marathon best (min) | — | 135.42 |
| Dominance w25% | 98 | 86 |
| Peak w20% | 100 | 92 |
| Longevity w20% | 74 | 84 |
| Honours w20% | 98 | 80 |
| Statistics w15% | 95 | 90 |
Usain Bolt leads with a GOAT score of 93.2 against 86.2 for Paula Radcliffe — a gap of 7.0 points on GOAT Rank's weighted model.
Radcliffe scores higher on longevity. Bolt leads on peak, dominance, honours, statistics.
Both are scored on peak, dominance, honours, statistics, longevity within their sport. Bolt: 93.2, Radcliffe: 86.2.
Make your case for Bolt vs Radcliffe. The scoring is published in full — if you can point at the pillar or the weight you disagree with, we read it. Read the methodology paper.