Železný vs Nurmi
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Nurmi wins: Dominance, Peak, Honours
Železný wins: Longevity
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Showing full careers. Pick a window to recalculate the selected period.
Category radar
Verdict
Nurmi leads in 4 of 5 weighted categories. The Flying Finn: nine Olympic golds and 22 official world records.
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| Ghost race · career day | 30 | 100 | 365 | 1000 | 1825 | 3650 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇨🇿 Železný | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 87.66 | 543.98 |
| 🇫🇮 Nurmi | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 16 | 37 |
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.
| Metric | ŽeleznýRetired | NurmiRetired |
|---|---|---|
| Olympic golds | 3 | 9 |
| World Championship golds | 3 | — |
| World records | 5 | 22 |
| Javelin world record (m) | 98.48 | — |
| Olympic medals | 4 | 12 |
| Throws over 90 m | 34 | — |
| Golds at one Games | — | 5 |
| Unbeaten run (races) | — | 121 |
| Distances held records at | — | 8 |
| Dominance w25% | 90 | 93 |
| Peak w20% | 93 | 95 |
| Longevity w20% | 88 | 86 |
| Honours w20% | 90 | 94 |
| Statistics w15% | 92 | 92 |
Fan vote — data vs the people
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