- Sport
- Athletics
- Career
- 1920–1934
- Country
- 🇫🇮 Finland
- Peak
- 95.0
- Dominance
- 93.0
- Statistics
- 92.0
- Honours
- 94.0
- Longevity
- 86.0
GOAT Rank · 10
Greatest Long distances of all time
This ranking is led by Paavo Nurmi, Haile Gebrselassie and Kenenisa Bekele. GOAT Rank currently ranks 10 eligible Athletics long distances using verified career records across dominance, peak, longevity, honours and statistics.
Quick answer
According to GOAT Rank's current model, Paavo Nurmi ranks #1 on this list with a GOAT Score of 92.1.
How the GOAT Score is calculated →#AthleteGOAT Score
- Sport
- Athletics
- Career
- 1992–2015
- Country
- 🇪🇹 Ethiopia
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 90.0
- Statistics
- 93.0
- Honours
- 91.0
- Longevity
- 94.0
- Sport
- Athletics
- Career
- 2001–2023
- Country
- 🇪🇹 Ethiopia
- Peak
- 93.0
- Dominance
- 89.0
- Statistics
- 92.0
- Honours
- 90.0
- Longevity
- 88.0
- Sport
- Athletics
- Career
- 1944–1958
- Country
- 🇨🇿 Czechia
- Peak
- 95.0
- Dominance
- 90.0
- Statistics
- 90.0
- Honours
- 90.0
- Longevity
- 82.0
- Sport
- Athletics
- Career
- 2001–2019
- Country
- 🇪🇹 Ethiopia
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 86.0
- Statistics
- 88.0
- Honours
- 88.0
- Longevity
- 84.0
- Sport
- Athletics
- Career
- 2013–active
- Country
- 🇳🇱 Netherlands
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 86.0
- Statistics
- 88.0
- Honours
- 88.0
- Longevity
- 80.0
- Sport
- Athletics
- Career
- 2001–2023
- Country
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- Peak
- 90.0
- Dominance
- 84.0
- Statistics
- 86.0
- Honours
- 88.0
- Longevity
- 84.0
- Sport
- Athletics
- Career
- 2016–active
- Country
- 🇪🇹 Ethiopia
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 82.0
- Statistics
- 90.0
- Honours
- 86.0
- Longevity
- 76.0
- Sport
- Athletics
- Career
- 2017–active
- Country
- 🇮🇹 Italy
- Peak
- 90.0
- Dominance
- 80.0
- Statistics
- 88.0
- Honours
- 84.0
- Longevity
- 72.0
- Sport
- Athletics
- Career
- 1993–2002
- Country
- 🇰🇪 Kenya
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 78.0
- Statistics
- 86.0
- Honours
- 80.0
- Longevity
- 74.0
| # | Athlete | Sport | Country | Career | GOAT Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Paavo Nurmi | Athletics | 🇫🇮 Finland | 1920–1934 | 92.1 |
| 7 | Haile Gebrselassie | Athletics | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | 1992–2015 | 91.9 |
| 21 | Kenenisa Bekele | Athletics | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | 2001–2023 | 90.3 |
| 31 | Emil Zátopek | Athletics | 🇨🇿 Czechia | 1944–1958 | 89.4 |
| 61 | Tirunesh Dibaba | Athletics | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | 2001–2019 | 87.5 |
| 83 | Sifan Hassan | Athletics | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | 2013–active | 86.7 |
| 90 | Mo Farah | Athletics | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 2001–2023 | 86.3 |
| 129 | Selemon Barega | Athletics | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | 2016–active | 84.8 |
| 187 | Nadia Battocletti | Athletics | 🇮🇹 Italy | 2017–active | 82.4 |
| 209 | Sally Barsosio | Athletics | 🇰🇪 Kenya | 1993–2002 | 81.6 |
Compare the leaders
Paavo Nurmi vs Haile GebrselassieRead 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 methodologyFrequently 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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