Joyner-Kersee vs Gebrselassie
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Joyner-Kersee wins: Dominance, Peak, Honours, Statistics
Gebrselassie wins: Longevity
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Showing full careers. Pick a window to recalculate the selected period.
Category radar
Verdict
Joyner-Kersee leads in 4 of 5 weighted categories. The heptathlon world record from 1988 has never been approached.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸 Joyner-Kersee | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35,027 |
| 🇪🇹 Gebrselassie | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,589 | 4,740 | 12,582.11 |
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 | Joyner-KerseeRetired | GebrselassieRetired |
|---|---|---|
| Olympic golds | 3 | 2 |
| Olympic medals | 6 | — |
| World Championship golds | 4 | 4 |
| Heptathlon world record | 7,291 | — |
| Long jump best (m) | 7.49 | — |
| World records | 2 | 27 |
| 10,000 m best (s) | — | 1,565.11 |
| Marathon best (s) | — | 7,439 |
| Major marathon wins | — | 8 |
| Dominance w25% | 92 | 90 |
| Peak w20% | 95 | 92 |
| Longevity w20% | 88 | 94 |
| Honours w20% | 92 | 91 |
| Statistics w15% | 94 | 93 |
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