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Železný vs Oerter

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GOAT verdictgoatrank.world
ŽeleznýWinner
90.5

Železný wins: Peak, Statistics

Oerter
89.7

Oerter wins: no category outright

Candidates
Locked to Athletics

Shareable URL · /compare/jan-zelezny-vs-al-oerter

Time range

Showing full careers. Pick a window to recalculate the selected period.

Category radar

Verdict

Weighted GOAT score
🇨🇿 Jan Železný
90.5

Železný leads in 5 of 5 weighted categories. Three Olympic javelin golds and the 98.48 m world record.

1. Jan Železný
90.5
2. Al Oerter
89.7

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

Career stage · GOAT pace

Through season 5 · Major golds per season
1. 🇨🇿 Jan Železný5 seasons played · career day 2,921448.4 major golds
Setting the pace at this stage
2. 🇺🇸 Al Oerter5 seasons played · career day 2,556293.3 major golds
-34.6% vs Železný at the same stage
Ghost race · career day30100365100018253650
🇨🇿 Železný000087.66543.98
🇺🇸 Oerter0000173.06416.79

Careers are aligned at debut, so a rookie's first 5 seasons are measured against the same window in a legend's career — Yamal against Messi at the same age-stage, a tour rookie against Tiger Woods in 1996.

MetricŽeleznýRetiredOerterRetired
Olympic golds34
World Championship golds3
World records54
Javelin world record (m)98.48
Olympic medals4
Throws over 90 m34
Olympic records4
Discus best (m)69.46
US titles6
Consecutive Games won4
Dominance w25%9090
Peak w20%9392
Longevity w20%8888
Honours w20%9090
Statistics w15%9288

Fan vote — data vs the people

GOAT Rank · the data
Železný90.5
Oerter89.7
The people
Železný
Oerter

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Make your case for Železný vs Oerter. 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.

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