Who is better, Joyner-Kersee or Nurmi?
Jackie Joyner-Kersee leads with a GOAT score of 92.1 against 92.1 for Paavo Nurmi — a gap of 0.0 points on GOAT Rank's weighted model.
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Joyner-Kersee vs Nurmi
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Quick answer
GOAT Rank currently scores Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Paavo Nurmi level at 92.1. Jackie Joyner-Kersee leads on Longevity, Statistics. Paavo Nurmi leads on Honours, Dominance.
How the GOAT Score is calculated →GOAT verdictgoatrank.world
Joyner-KerseeWinner
92.1Joyner-Kersee wins: Longevity, Statistics
Nurmi
92.1Nurmi wins: Dominance, Honours
Candidates
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Time range
Showing full careers. Pick a window to recalculate the selected period.
Category radar
Verdict
Weighted GOAT score
🇺🇸 Jackie Joyner-Kersee
92.1
Joyner-Kersee leads in 3 of 5 weighted categories.
1. Jackie Joyner-Kersee
2. Paavo Nurmi
Category breakdown
Season form · Form index per season
Career timeline · Form index 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 · Form index per season1. 🇺🇸 Jackie Joyner-Kersee5 seasons played · career day 3,28735,027 major golds
Setting the pace at this stage
2. 🇫🇮 Paavo Nurmi5 seasons played · career day 1,82621 major golds
-99.9% vs Joyner-Kersee at the same stage
| Ghost race · career day | 30 | 100 | 365 | 1000 | 1825 | 3650 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸 Joyner-Kersee | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35,027 |
| 🇫🇮 Nurmi | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 16 | 37 |
Careers are aligned from debut; the first 5 season periods are measured against the same career window.
| Metric | Joyner-KerseeRetired | NurmiRetired |
|---|---|---|
| Olympic golds | 3 | 9 |
| Olympic medals | 6 | 12 |
| World Championship golds | 4 | — |
| Heptathlon world record | 7,291 | — |
| Long jump best (m) | 7.49 | — |
| World records | 2 | 22 |
| Golds at one Games | — | 5 |
| Unbeaten run (races) | — | 121 |
| Distances held records at | — | 8 |
| Dominance w25% | 92 | 93 |
| Peak w20% | 95 | 95 |
| Longevity w20% | 88 | 86 |
| Honours w20% | 92 | 94 |
| Statistics w15% | 94 | 92 |
Fan vote — data vs the people
GOAT Rank · the data
Joyner-Kersee92.1
Nurmi92.1
FAQ
Where does Nurmi beat Joyner-Kersee?
Nurmi scores higher on dominance, honours. Joyner-Kersee leads on statistics, longevity.
How is the Joyner-Kersee vs Nurmi score calculated?
Both are scored on peak, dominance, honours, statistics, longevity within their sport. Joyner-Kersee: 92.1, Nurmi: 92.1.
What do you think?
0 commentsMake your case for Joyner-Kersee vs Nurmi. 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.