GOAT Rank · 53

Greatest Athletes who debuted in the 1980s

This ranking is led by Sergey Bubka, Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Maria Mutola. GOAT Rank currently ranks 53 eligible athletes who debuted in the 1980s using verified career records across dominance, peak, longevity, honours and statistics.

Quick answer

According to GOAT Rank's current model, Sergey Bubka ranks #1 on this list with a GOAT Score of 93.2.

How the GOAT Score is calculated →

#AthleteGOAT Score

Sergey Bubka

93.2

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1983–2001
Country: 🇺🇦 Ukraine

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 96.0
Statistics: 93.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Sergey Bubka

Jackie Joyner-Kersee

92.1

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1980–2001
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 95.0
Dominance: 92.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 92.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Jackie Joyner-Kersee

Maria Mutola

91.4

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1988–2008
Country: 🇲🇿 Mozambique

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 94.0

Athlete: Maria Mutola

Mike Conley Sr.

90.9

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1984–1996
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 95.0
Dominance: 90.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 92.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Mike Conley Sr.

Jan Železný

90.5

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1984–2006
Country: 🇨🇿 Czechia

Peak: 93.0
Dominance: 90.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Jan Železný

Javier Sotomayor

89.9

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1984–2001
Country: 🇨🇺 Cuba

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 90.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Javier Sotomayor

Stefka Kostadinova

89.9

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1982–1999
Country: 🇧🇬 Bulgaria

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 90.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Stefka Kostadinova

Saïd Aouita

89.9

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1983–1993
Country: 🇲🇦 Morocco

Peak: 96.0
Dominance: 92.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Saïd Aouita

Robert Korzeniowski

89.7

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1988–2004
Country: 🇵🇱 Poland

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 90.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 92.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Robert Korzeniowski

Michael Johnson

88.5

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1988–2001
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 93.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Michael Johnson

Lars Riedel

88.4

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1988–2006
Country: 🇩🇪 Germany

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Lars Riedel

Derartu Tulu

88.3

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1989–2013
Country: 🇪🇹 Ethiopia

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Derartu Tulu

Colin Jackson

87.5

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1986–2003
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Colin Jackson

Jonathan Edwards

87.4

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1988–2003
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Jonathan Edwards

Igor Astapkovich

87.3

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1987–2004
Country: 🇧🇾 Belarus

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Igor Astapkovich

Heike Drechsler

87.2

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1980–2004
Country: 🇩🇪 Germany

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Heike Drechsler

Steve Backley

87.2

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1988–2004
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Steve Backley

Randy Barnes

87.2

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1986–1998
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 96.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Randy Barnes

Linford Christie

87.1

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1986–1997
Country: 🇬🇧 Great Britain

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Linford Christie

Andrey Abduvaliyev

87.0

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1988–1999
Country: 🇹🇯 Tajikistan

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Andrey Abduvaliyev

Mike Powell

86.6

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1984–1996
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 96.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Mike Powell

Inha Babakova

86.4

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1986–2004
Country: 🇺🇦 Ukraine

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Inha Babakova

Sally Gunnell

86.0

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1984–1997
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Sally Gunnell

108

Florence Griffith Joyner

85.5

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1983–1989
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 99.0
Dominance: 92.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 58.0

Athlete: Florence Griffith Joyner

109

Gail Devers

85.5

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1987–2007
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Gail Devers

113

Werner Günthör

85.5

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1982–1993
Country: 🇨🇭 Switzerland

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Werner Günthör

114

Patrik Sjöberg

85.4

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1981–1997
Country: 🇸🇪 Sweden

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Patrik Sjöberg

117

Roger Black

85.4

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1986–1998
Country: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Roger Black

118

Abel Antón

85.4

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1985–2002
Country: 🇪🇸 Spain

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Abel Antón

121

Ludmila Engquist

85.1

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1987–1999
Country: 🇸🇪 Sweden

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Ludmila Engquist

123

Dan O'Brien

85.1

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1988–2000
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Dan O'Brien

128

Oleksandr Bagach

84.8

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1988–2004
Country: 🇺🇦 Ukraine

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Oleksandr Bagach

130

Marie-José Pérec

84.7

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1988–1999
Country: 🇫🇷 France

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 70.0

Athlete: Marie-José Pérec

144

Tegla Loroupe

84.1

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1988–2008
Country: 🇰🇪 Kenya

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Tegla Loroupe

159

Hennadiy Avdyeyenko

83.5

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1983–1992
Country: 🇺🇦 Ukraine

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 72.0

Athlete: Hennadiy Avdyeyenko

162

Josia Thugwane

83.5

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1989–2004
Country: 🇿🇦 South Africa

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Josia Thugwane

167

Irina Belova

83.3

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1989–2000
Country: 🇷🇺 Russia

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Irina Belova

173

Kriss Akabusi

83.1

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1983–1993
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Kriss Akabusi

178

Yelena Belevskaya

82.9

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1982–1992
Country: 🇧🇾 Belarus

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Yelena Belevskaya

182

Sunday Bada

82.7

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1989–2004
Country: 🇳🇬 Nigeria

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Sunday Bada

192

Derek Redmond

82.2

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1985–1993
Country: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Derek Redmond

193

Marina Azyabina

82.2

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1988–1996
Country: 🇷🇺 Russia

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Marina Azyabina

195

Ajayi Agbebaku

82.1

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1980–1988
Country: 🇳🇬 Nigeria

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Ajayi Agbebaku

202

José Luíz Barbosa

81.9

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1983–1998
Country: 🇧🇷 Brazil

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: José Luíz Barbosa

225

Kerstin Behrendt

80.9

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1986–1992
Country: 🇩🇪 Germany

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 72.0

Athlete: Kerstin Behrendt

228

Larysa Berezhna

80.8

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1985–1996
Country: 🇺🇦 Ukraine

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Larysa Berezhna

240

Ben Johnson

80.1

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1980–1993
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 70.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Ben Johnson

244

Todd Bennett

79.7

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1980–1990
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 72.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Todd Bennett

253

Alina Astafei

79.3

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1987–2003
Country: 🇩🇪 Germany

Peak: 84.0
Dominance: 72.0
Statistics: 78.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Alina Astafei

256

Zola Budd

78.7

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1983–1993
Country: 🇿🇦 South Africa

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 80.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 72.0

Athlete: Zola Budd

#	Athlete	Sport	Country	Career	GOAT Score
2	Sergey Bubka	Athletics	🇺🇦 Ukraine	1983–2001	93.2
4	Jackie Joyner-Kersee	Athletics	🇺🇸 United States	1980–2001	92.1
9	Maria Mutola	Athletics	🇲🇿 Mozambique	1988–2008	91.4
14	Mike Conley Sr.	Athletics	🇺🇸 United States	1984–1996	90.9
17	Jan Železný	Athletics	🇨🇿 Czechia	1984–2006	90.5
23	Javier Sotomayor	Athletics	🇨🇺 Cuba	1984–2001	89.9
25	Stefka Kostadinova	Athletics	🇧🇬 Bulgaria	1982–1999	89.9
26	Saïd Aouita	Athletics	🇲🇦 Morocco	1983–1993	89.9
28	Robert Korzeniowski	Athletics	🇵🇱 Poland	1988–2004	89.7
41	Michael Johnson	Athletics	🇺🇸 United States	1988–2001	88.5
42	Lars Riedel	Athletics	🇩🇪 Germany	1988–2006	88.4
48	Derartu Tulu	Athletics	🇪🇹 Ethiopia	1989–2013	88.3
59	Colin Jackson	Athletics	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1986–2003	87.5
65	Jonathan Edwards	Athletics	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1988–2003	87.4
68	Igor Astapkovich	Athletics	🇧🇾 Belarus	1987–2004	87.3
69	Heike Drechsler	Athletics	🇩🇪 Germany	1980–2004	87.2
71	Steve Backley	Athletics	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1988–2004	87.2
72	Randy Barnes	Athletics	🇺🇸 United States	1986–1998	87.2
74	Linford Christie	Athletics	🇬🇧 Great Britain	1986–1997	87.1
77	Andrey Abduvaliyev	Athletics	🇹🇯 Tajikistan	1988–1999	87.0
84	Mike Powell	Athletics	🇺🇸 United States	1984–1996	86.6
85	Inha Babakova	Athletics	🇺🇦 Ukraine	1986–2004	86.4
98	Sally Gunnell	Athletics	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1984–1997	86.0
108	Florence Griffith Joyner	Athletics	🇺🇸 United States	1983–1989	85.5
109	Gail Devers	Athletics	🇺🇸 United States	1987–2007	85.5
113	Werner Günthör	Athletics	🇨🇭 Switzerland	1982–1993	85.5
114	Patrik Sjöberg	Athletics	🇸🇪 Sweden	1981–1997	85.4
117	Roger Black	Athletics	🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England	1986–1998	85.4
118	Abel Antón	Athletics	🇪🇸 Spain	1985–2002	85.4
121	Ludmila Engquist	Athletics	🇸🇪 Sweden	1987–1999	85.1
123	Dan O'Brien	Athletics	🇺🇸 United States	1988–2000	85.1
128	Oleksandr Bagach	Athletics	🇺🇦 Ukraine	1988–2004	84.8
130	Marie-José Pérec	Athletics	🇫🇷 France	1988–1999	84.7
144	Tegla Loroupe	Athletics	🇰🇪 Kenya	1988–2008	84.1
159	Hennadiy Avdyeyenko	Athletics	🇺🇦 Ukraine	1983–1992	83.5
162	Josia Thugwane	Athletics	🇿🇦 South Africa	1989–2004	83.5
167	Irina Belova	Athletics	🇷🇺 Russia	1989–2000	83.3
173	Kriss Akabusi	Athletics	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1983–1993	83.1
178	Yelena Belevskaya	Athletics	🇧🇾 Belarus	1982–1992	82.9
182	Sunday Bada	Athletics	🇳🇬 Nigeria	1989–2004	82.7
192	Derek Redmond	Athletics	🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England	1985–1993	82.2
193	Marina Azyabina	Athletics	🇷🇺 Russia	1988–1996	82.2
195	Ajayi Agbebaku	Athletics	🇳🇬 Nigeria	1980–1988	82.1
202	José Luíz Barbosa	Athletics	🇧🇷 Brazil	1983–1998	81.9
225	Kerstin Behrendt	Athletics	🇩🇪 Germany	1986–1992	80.9
228	Larysa Berezhna	Athletics	🇺🇦 Ukraine	1985–1996	80.8
240	Ben Johnson	Athletics	🇨🇦 Canada	1980–1993	80.1
244	Todd Bennett	Athletics	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1980–1990	79.7
253	Alina Astafei	Athletics	🇩🇪 Germany	1987–2003	79.3
256	Zola Budd	Athletics	🇿🇦 South Africa	1983–1993	78.7

Compare the leaders

Sergey Bubka vs Jackie Joyner-Kersee

Read the full methodology

Sport lists use the raw In-Sport GOAT Score. Cross-sport lists use the official competition-depth adjustment. No scores are recalculated for this page.

Read the full methodology

Frequently asked questions

How is this ranking calculated?

Five verified components are weighted consistently: dominance, peak, longevity, honours and statistics.

Who is included?

According to GOAT Rank's current data model, only verified athletes with sufficient career history, metrics, honours and independent sources are eligible. Rank and score are read live.

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