Who is better, Busch or Bal?
Kim Busch leads with a GOAT score of 76.8 against 76.4 for Randall Bal — a gap of 0.4 points on GOAT Rank's weighted model.
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Busch vs Bal
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Quick answer
GOAT Rank currently ranks Kim Busch above Randall Bal: 76.8 vs 76.4. Kim Busch leads on Honours.
How the GOAT Score is calculated →GOAT verdictgoatrank.world
BuschWinner
76.8Busch wins: Honours
Bal
76.4Bal wins: no category outright
Candidates
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Time range
Showing full careers. Pick a window to recalculate the selected period.
Category radar
Verdict
Weighted GOAT score
🇳🇱 Kim Busch
76.8
Busch leads in 5 of 5 weighted categories.
1. Kim Busch
2. Randall Bal
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. 🇺🇸 Randall Bal5 seasons played · career day 2,556124.1 major golds
Setting the pace at this stage
2. 🇳🇱 Kim Busch5 seasons played · career day 2,19016 major golds
-87.1% vs Bal at the same stage
| Ghost race · career day | 30 | 100 | 365 | 1000 | 1825 | 3650 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇳🇱 Busch | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 29 |
| 🇺🇸 Bal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50.2 | 172.93 |
Careers are aligned from debut; the first 5 season periods are measured against the same career window.
| Metric | BuschActive | BalRetired |
|---|---|---|
| European golds | 2 | — |
| World Championship medals | 2 | — |
| Olympic appearances | 2 | — |
| Dutch national titles | 6 | — |
| 100 m freestyle best | 53.7 | — |
| World short-course golds | — | 2 |
| World records | — | 1 |
| 50 m backstroke best | — | 24.33 |
| Pan Pacific medals | — | 1 |
| NCAA titles | — | 2 |
| Dominance w25% | 68 | 68 |
| Peak w20% | 86 | 86 |
| Longevity w20% | 76 | 76 |
| Honours w20% | 74 | 72 |
| Statistics w15% | 84 | 84 |
Fan vote — data vs the people
GOAT Rank · the data
Busch76.8
Bal76.4
FAQ
Where does Bal beat Busch?
Bal does not lead any of the five categories; Busch is ahead or level on all of them.
How is the Busch vs Bal score calculated?
Both are scored on peak, dominance, honours, statistics, longevity within their sport. Busch: 76.8, Bal: 76.4.
What do you think?
0 commentsMake your case for Busch vs Bal. 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.