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Johnson vs Adams

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GOAT verdictgoatrank.world
JohnsonWinner
88.5

Johnson wins: Dominance, Peak, Honours, Statistics

Adams
88.3

Adams wins: Longevity

Candidates
Locked to Athletics

Shareable URL · /compare/michael-johnson-vs-valerie-adams

Time range

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

Category radar

Verdict

Weighted GOAT score
🇺🇸 Michael Johnson
88.5

Johnson leads in 4 of 5 weighted categories. The 200/400 double in Atlanta and a 200 m world record that stood 12 years.

1. Michael Johnson
88.5
2. Valerie Adams
88.3

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. 🇺🇸 Michael Johnson5 seasons played · career day 2,556219.5 major golds
Setting the pace at this stage
2. 🇳🇿 Valerie Adams5 seasons played · career day 3,286101.7 major golds
-53.7% vs Johnson at the same stage
Ghost race · career day30100365100018253650
🇺🇸 Johnson000088.38306.33
🇳🇿 Adams000019.62101.7

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.

MetricJohnsonRetiredAdamsRetired
Olympic golds42
World Championship golds84
World records2
400 m personal best43.18
200 m personal best19.32
Undefeated 400 m finals54
Olympic medals4
Win streak56
Shot put best (m)21.24
World indoor golds3
Dominance w25%8886
Peak w20%9390
Longevity w20%8290
Honours w20%9088
Statistics w15%9088

Fan vote — data vs the people

GOAT Rank · the data
Johnson88.5
Adams88.3
The people
Johnson
Adams

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