Waitz vs Bolt
Shareable comparison — send this exact matchup to anyone.
Bolt wins: Dominance, Peak, Honours, Statistics
Waitz wins: Longevity
Shareable URL · /compare/grete-waitz-vs-bolt
Showing full careers. Pick a window to recalculate the selected period.
Category radar
Verdict
Bolt leads in 4 of 5 weighted categories. The fastest man ever: 9.58 and 19.19 still stand untouched.
Category breakdown
Season form · Major golds per season
Career timeline · Major golds per season
Cumulative output season by season — the shape of each career against the other.
GOAT pace tracker
Setting the pace at age 21
No verified birth date for Waitz — 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 | WaitzRetired | BoltRetired |
|---|---|---|
| New York Marathon wins | 9 | — |
| World Championship golds | 1 | — |
| Olympic medals | 1 | — |
| World cross country titles | 5 | — |
| Marathon world records | 4 | — |
| Olympic golds | — | 8 |
| World golds | — | 11 |
| World records | — | 3 |
| 100m best (s) | — | 9.58 |
| 200m best (s) | — | 19.19 |
| Global finals won | — | 19 |
| Dominance w25% | 88 | 98 |
| Peak w20% | 92 | 100 |
| Longevity w20% | 86 | 74 |
| Honours w20% | 86 | 98 |
| Statistics w15% | 90 | 95 |
Fan vote — data vs the people
What do you think?
0 commentsMake your case for Waitz vs Bolt. 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.