- 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 Athletics Long distance of all time
This ranking uses verified career records and GOAT Rank's published model. Every listed athlete clears the data eligibility threshold.
#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–— | 86.7 |
| 90 | Mo Farah | Athletics | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 2001–2023 | 86.3 |
| 129 | Selemon Barega | Athletics | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | 2016–— | 84.8 |
| 187 | Nadia Battocletti | Athletics | 🇮🇹 Italy | 2017–— | 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?
Only verified athletes with sufficient career history, metrics, honours and independent sources are eligible.
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