Powell vs van Niekerk
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Powell wins: Dominance, Peak, Longevity, Honours, Statistics
van Niekerk wins: no category outright
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Showing full careers. Pick a window to recalculate the selected period.
Category radar
Verdict
Powell leads in 5 of 5 weighted categories. Holder of the long jump world record of 8.95 m set in Tokyo in 1991.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸 Powell | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 🇿🇦 van Niekerk | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44.38 | 219.09 |
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 | PowellRetired | van NiekerkActive |
|---|---|---|
| World record in metres | 8.95 | — |
| World Championship golds | 2 | 2 |
| Olympic silver medals | 2 | — |
| Years the world record has stood | 34 | — |
| US national titles | 4 | — |
| Olympic golds | — | 1 |
| 400 m world record (s) | — | 43.03 |
| World records | — | 1 |
| Sub-44 races | — | 7 |
| 200 m best (s) | — | 19.84 |
| Dominance w25% | 86 | 82 |
| Peak w20% | 96 | 92 |
| Longevity w20% | 78 | 72 |
| Honours w20% | 84 | 82 |
| Statistics w15% | 90 | 88 |
Fan vote — data vs the people
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