Athletics Legends
Track and field legends who rewrote human limits.
The All-Time Greatest Athletics Athletes
Ranked by career honours, records and our FSP GOAT Score.
All Athletics Athletes
Browse 103 of the greatest athletics athletes of all time.
American
Allyson Felix
Sprinter (200m, 400m)
American sprinter who became the most decorated woman in Olympic track and field history with 11 Oly…
Ethiopian
Almaz Ayana
Distance (10,000m)
Ethiopian long-distance runner who set the world record in the women's 10,000m at the 2016 Olympics …
Grenadian
Anderson Peters
Javelin
Grenadian javelin thrower and three-time World Athletics Championships gold medalist, regarded as on…
Canadian
Andre De Grasse
Sprinter (100m/200m)
Canadian sprinter who became Olympic 200m champion in 2021 and World 200m champion in 2022, speciali…
Swedish
Armand Duplantis
Pole Vaulter
Mondo — the greatest pole vaulter in history who has broken the world record nine times, currently s…
Jamaican
Asafa Powell
Sprinter (100m)
Jamaican sprinter who held the 100m world record twice and set the record for most sub-10 second 100…
American
Athing Mu
Middle Distance (800m)
American middle-distance runner who became the youngest woman to win Olympic 800m gold since 1968, s…
Kenyan
Brigid Kosgei
Marathon
Kenyan long-distance runner who holds the women's marathon world record of 2:14:04, set at the 2019 …
American
Carl Lewis
Sprinter / Long Jumper
Nine-time Olympic gold medallist and winner of four consecutive long jump titles at the Games — wide…
Australian
Cathy Freeman
Sprinter
Australian sprinter who became the first Aboriginal Australian Olympic champion, winning 400m gold a…
American
Christian Coleman
Sprinter (100m)
American sprinter who holds the world indoor 60m record and won gold medals at the 2019 World Champi…
Welsh
Colin Jackson
Hurdler 110m
Welsh former sprint hurdler who held the 110m hurdles world record for over a decade and won three E…
Dutch
Dafne Schippers
Sprinter (100m, 200m)
Dutch sprinter who dominated women's 200m from 2015-2018, winning two World Championship titles and …
British
Daley Thompson
Decathlete
British decathlete who dominated the event in the 1980s, winning two consecutive Olympic gold medals…
British
Dame Kelly Holmes
Middle Distance Runner
British middle-distance runner who achieved the rare double of Olympic gold medals in both 800m and …
Kenyan
David Rudisha
Middle Distance
Kenyan middle-distance runner and double Olympic 800m champion, widely regarded as the greatest 800m…
British
Dina Asher-Smith
Sprinter
British sprinter who became the first British woman to win a world sprint championship gold medal, w…
Canadian
Donovan Bailey
Sprinter
Canadian sprinter who dominated the 100m in the mid-1990s, setting world record of 9.84s at 1996 Oly…
American
Ed Moses
Sprinter (400m H)
American 400m hurdles legend who went 122 races without a defeat across ten years between 1977 and 1…
Jamaican
Elaine Thompson-Herah
Sprinter (100m, 200m)
Jamaican sprinter and double Olympic champion, first woman to win 100m-200m double at consecutive Ol…
Kenyan
Eliud Kipchoge
Marathon Runner
Kenyan long-distance runner widely regarded as the greatest marathoner of all time, first person to …
American
Erriyon Knighton
Sprinter (200m)
American sprinter who became the youngest male to make a US Olympic track team since 1964 and holds …
Kenyan
Faith Kipyegon
Middle Distance
Kenyan middle-distance runner, three-time Olympic 1500m champion and world record holder, widely con…
British
Fatima Whitbread
Javelin Thrower
British javelin thrower who held the world record at 77.44m and won Olympic silver and bronze medals…
Dutch
Femke Bol
Hurdler/Sprinter
Dutch sprinter and hurdler, world record holder in 400m hurdles (50.95s) and multiple European and W…
American
Florence Griffith-Joyner
Sprinter
Flo-Jo — the fastest woman in history whose world records of 10.49s (100m) and 21.34s (200m) have st…
American
Fred Kerley
Sprinter (100m)
American sprinter who won 2022 World Championships 100m gold and 2021 Olympic 100m silver, transitio…
American
Gabby Thomas
Sprinter (200m)
American sprinter specializing in 200m and 400m events, Olympic champion and world record holder in …
American
Gail Devers
Sprinter (100m H)
American sprinter and hurdler who won three Olympic gold medals and five World Championship titles, …
Ethiopian
Genzebe Dibaba
Middle/Long Distance (1500m)
Ethiopian middle-distance runner, world record holder in 1500m and mile, multiple world champion and…
American
Grant Holloway
Hurdler
American track and field athlete specializing in hurdles, three-time world champion and world record…
Ethiopian
Haile Gebrselassie
Long Distance Runner
Ethiopian long-distance runner widely regarded as one of the greatest distance runners in history, h…
Moroccan
Hicham El Guerrouj
Middle Distance Runner
Moroccan middle-distance runner widely regarded as the greatest miler of all time, holding world rec…
American
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Heptathlon
American track and field athlete widely considered the greatest female multi-event athlete of all ti…
Ugandan
Jacob Kiplimo
Distance (Half Marathon)
Ugandan long-distance runner specializing in 10,000m, cross country, and half marathon. Olympic and …
Norwegian
Jakob Ingebrigtsen
Middle Distance
Norwegian middle-distance runner who became Olympic 1500m champion at age 20 and holds multiple worl…
Cuban
Javier Sotomayor
High Jump
Cuban high jumper who holds the world record of 2.45m set in 1993, won Olympic gold in 1992 and two …
American
Jesse Owens
Sprinter / Long Jumper
The hero of the 1936 Berlin Olympics — won four gold medals in front of Adolf Hitler, directly chall…
British
Jessica Ennis-Hill
Heptathlete
British heptathlete who became one of athletics' biggest stars, winning Olympic gold at London 2012 …
American
Joe Kovacs
Shot Put
American shot putter and three-time World Champion known for his powerful technique and consistency …
British
Jonathan Edwards
Triple Jumper
British triple jumper who held the world record of 18.29m for over 25 years and won Olympic gold at …
Ugandan
Joshua Cheptegei
Distance (10,000m)
Ugandan long-distance runner and world record holder in both 5000m and 10000m, Olympic champion and …
Saint Lucian
Julien Alfred
Sprinter (100m)
Saint Lucian sprinter who became her nation's first Olympic gold medallist, winning the 100m at Pari…
American
JuVaughn Harrison
High Jump / Long Jump
American track and field athlete specializing in high jump and long jump, first person to qualify fo…
Norwegian
Karsten Warholm
Hurdles
Norwegian track and field athlete who holds the world record in 400m hurdles at 45.94 seconds and is…
British
Keely Hodgkinson
Middle Distance (800m)
British middle-distance runner specializing in 800m, Olympic champion, world champion, and holder of…
Kenyan
Kelvin Kiptum
Marathon Runner
Kenyan marathon runner who set the world record of 2:00:35 at the 2023 Chicago Marathon, becoming th…
Ethiopian
Kenenisa Bekele
Distance Runner
Ethiopia's most decorated male athlete — world record holder at 5,000m and 10,000m and marathon runn…
American
Kevin Young
Sprinter (400m H)
American track and field athlete who holds the world record in 400m hurdles with a time of 46.78 sec…
Jamaican
Kishane Thompson
Sprinter (100m/200m)
Jamaican sprinter who emerged as one of the world's fastest men in the 100m, reaching the 2024 Olymp…
Ethiopian
Letesenbet Gidey
Distance (10,000m)
Ethiopian long-distance runner who holds world records in the 5000m, 10000m and half marathon, and i…
Botswanan
Letsile Tebogo
Sprinter (200m)
Botswanan sprinter who became the first African to break 20 seconds in the 200m and won Olympic gold…
British
Linford Christie
Sprinter 100m
British-Jamaican sprinter who became the first Briton to break 10 seconds in the 100m and won Olympi…
Italian
Marcell Jacobs
Sprints
Italian sprinter who became the first Italian to win Olympic 100m gold, claiming the title at Tokyo …
American
Marion Jones
Sprinter (100m/200m)
American sprinter and long jumper who won five medals at 2000 Olympics before being stripped due to …
Kenyan
Mary Moraa
Middle Distance (800m)
Kenyan middle-distance runner specializing in 800m, world champion in 2023 and one of the most promi…
American
Mary Slaney
Middle Distance Runner
American middle-distance runner who dominated the 1980s, setting multiple world records and winning …
British
Matthew Hudson-Smith
Sprinter (400m)
British sprinter who became one of the world's leading 400m runners, winning Olympic silver and mult…
American
Maurice Greene
Sprinter
American sprinter who dominated 100m from 1997-2001, held world record at 9.79 seconds, won two Olym…
American
Melissa Jefferson
Sprinter (100m)
American sprinter specializing in 100m and 4x100m relay, known for her World Championships medals an…
Jamaican
Merlene Ottey
Sprinter (100m, 200m)
Jamaican-Slovenian sprinter who competed in seven Olympic Games and won nine Olympic medals, making …
American
Michael Johnson
Sprinter 200m/400m
The most dominant 200m and 400m runner in history — the unprecedented 200m/400m Olympic double at At…
Greek
Miltiadis Tentoglou
Long Jump
Greek long jumper who became one of the world's most dominant athletes in his event, winning consecu…
Swedish
Mondo Duplantis
Pole Vaulter
Swedish-American pole vaulter who holds the world record at 6.26m and is a two-time Olympic champion…
Kenyan
Moses Kiptanui
Steeplechase/Middle Distance
Kenyan middle-distance runner who dominated the 3000m steeplechase in the 1990s, becoming the first …
Qatari
Mutaz Essa Barshim
High Jumper
Qatari high jumper who holds the world record of 2.43m and won Olympic gold in Tokyo 2020, sharing t…
Indian
Neeraj Chopra
Javelin
India's golden boy — Olympic champion, world record holder and the man who gave India its first trac…
American
Noah Lyles
Sprinter
American sprinter and world record holder in the 200m, known for his charismatic personality and dom…
Algerian
Noureddine Morceli
Middle Distance (1,500m)
Algerian middle-distance runner who dominated the 1500m in the 1990s, winning Olympic gold in 1996 a…
Jamaican
Oblique Seville
Sprinter (100m)
Jamaican hurdler who became world record holder in 110m hurdles with 12.82 seconds in 2023, winning …
British
Paula Radcliffe
Marathon Runner
British long-distance runner who holds the women's world marathon record of 2:15:25 set in London 20…
American
Quincy Hall
Sprinter (400m)
American sprinter and 400m specialist, 2024 Olympic champion who set the American record of 43.40 se…
American
Rai Benjamin
Sprinter (400m H)
American track and field athlete specializing in 400m hurdles, world champion and Olympic silver med…
French
Renaud Lavillenie
Pole Vault
French pole vaulter who held the outdoor world record from 2014-2020 and won Olympic gold in 2012, k…
Polish
Robert Korzeniowski
Race Walking
Polish race walker who dominated 50km walking events in the 1990s and 2000s, winning four Olympic go…
Kenyan
Ruth Chepngetich
Marathon
Kenyan marathon runner who holds the women's marathon world record of 2:09:56 set at the 2024 Chicag…
American
Ryan Crouser
Shot Put
American shot put athlete and world record holder, two-time Olympic champion and multiple World Cham…
Moroccan
Said Aouita
Middle Distance (1,500m)
Moroccan middle and long-distance runner who dominated the 1980s, setting multiple world records and…
Croatian
Sandra Perković
Discus
Croatian discus thrower and two-time Olympic champion, widely regarded as one of the greatest female…
British
Sebastian Coe
Middle Distance Runner
British middle-distance runner who dominated 800m and 1500m events in the 1980s, winning four Olympi…
Ethiopian
Selemon Barega
Distance (10,000m)
Ethiopian long-distance runner who won Olympic 10,000m gold in Tokyo 2021 and set world record of 26…
American
Sha'Carri Richardson
Sprinter
American sprinter who became Olympic champion and world champion in the 100m, known for her explosiv…
Jamaican
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce
Sprints
Jamaican sprinter widely regarded as one of the greatest female 100m runners of all time, with 5 Wor…
Jamaican
Shericka Jackson
Sprinter (100m/200m)
Jamaican sprinter who became world champion in 200m (2022, 2023) and Olympic gold medalist in 4x100m…
Dutch
Sifan Hassan
Distance/Marathon
Dutch middle and long-distance runner, Olympic champion and world record holder in multiple events, …
British
Sir Mo Farah
Distance Runner
British-Somali long-distance runner, four-time Olympic champion and six-time World Champion in 5000m…
British
Steve Ovett
Middle Distance Runner
Half of the greatest rivalry in British athletics — his decade-long battle with Sebastian Coe produc…
American
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone
Hurdles/Sprints
American track and field athlete who holds the world record in 400m hurdles and is a two-time Olympi…
Kenyan
Tegla Loroupe
Marathon/Long Distance
Kenyan long-distance runner who broke barriers as first African woman to win major marathon, setting…
Brazilian
Thiago Braz
Pole Vault
Brazilian pole vaulter who won Olympic gold at Rio 2016 with an Olympic record of 6.03m, also claimi…
Ethiopian
Tigst Assefa
Marathon
Ethiopian marathon world record holder whose stunning Berlin performance in 2023 smashed the women's…
Kenyan
Timothy Cheruiyot
Middle Distance (1,500m)
Kenyan middle-distance runner specializing in 1500m, world champion in 2019 and Olympic silver medal…
Ethiopian
Tirunesh Dibaba
Distance Runner (5000m, 10000m)
Ethiopian long-distance runner, three-time Olympic champion and multiple world record holder in 5000…
New Zealander
Tom Walsh
Shot Put
New Zealand shot putter, two-time world champion and Olympic bronze medallist, known for his consist…
American
Tommie Smith
Sprinter
American sprinter who won Olympic gold in 200m at 1968 Mexico City Olympics with world record, famou…
American
Trayvon Bromell
Sprinter (200m)
American sprinter and one of the fastest men in history, known for his explosive speed in the 100m a…
Jamaican
Usain Bolt
Sprinter (100m, 200m)
The fastest human in recorded history — world record holder at 100m (9.58s) and 200m (19.19s) and ei…
American
Valarie Allman
Discus
American discus thrower who became Olympic champion in 2021 and two-time World champion, known for h…
South African
Wayde van Niekerk
Sprinter (400m)
South African sprinter who holds the 400m world record of 43.03 seconds set at the 2016 Rio Olympics…
Kenyan
Wilson Kipketer
Middle Distance (800m)
Kenyan-born Danish middle-distance runner who dominated the 800m in the 1990s, setting three world r…
Ukrainian
Yaroslava Mahuchikh
High Jumper
Ukrainian high jumper who became world champion and Olympic gold medalist, setting a world record of…
Ethiopian
Yomif Kejelcha
Distance (5,000m)
Ethiopian middle-distance runner who holds the indoor mile world record and has won multiple world c…
Venezuelan
Yulimar Rojas
Triple Jump
Venezuelan triple jumper and world record holder, Olympic champion at Tokyo 2020 with a jump of 15.6…
Athletics Nations
American
30
athletes
British
14
athletes
Kenyan
11
athletes
Ethiopian
9
athletes
Jamaican
8
athletes
Dutch
3
athletes
Canadian
2
athletes
Swedish
2
athletes