Ever wonder who the overall best performers have been in our authoritative World Rankings for women? Stats Editor Jim Rorick has pulled together all kinds of numbers for you, scoring the annual Top 10s on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 system starting with the ’56 season.
First, compilations on a by-event basis, where you’ll find the leaders in the categories of Most Points, Most Rankings, Most No. 1s and The Top U.S. Scorers (in the World Rankings, not the U.S. Rankings). Following that are the stats on an all-events basis.
Event-By-Event Tabulations
100 METERS
Most Points
1. Merlene Ottey 140; 2. Marlies Göhr 99; 3. Evelyn Ashford 98; 4. Veronica Campbell-Brown 94; 5. Irena Szewińska 82; 6. Renate Stecher 67; 7. Zhanna Block 66; 8. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce 62; 9. Gwen Torrence 60; 10. Annegret Richter 56
Most Rankings
1. Ottey 19; 2. tie, Ashford, Campbell-Brown & Göhr 13; 5. Szewińska 12
Consecutive—Ottey 18
Most No. 1s
1. Göhr 6; 2. tie, Ashford, Fraser-Pryce, Ottey & Stecher 4
Consecutive—Carmelita Jeter, Marion Jones, Ottey & Stecher 3
Top U.S. Scorers
1. Ashford 98; 2. Torrence 60; 3. Jeter 54; 4. Gail Devers 49; 5. Chryste Gaines 43; 6. Wyomia Tyus 41; 7. Tori Bowie 35; 8. tie, Iris Davis & Inger Miller 33; 10. tie, Torri Edwards & Barbara Ferrell 31
200 METERS
Most Points
1. Merlene Ottey 147; 2. Irena Szewińska 131; 3. Allyson Felix 121; 4. Veronica Campbell-Brown 78; 5. Marita Koch 75; 6. tie, Debbie Ferguson McKenzie & Renate Stecher 72; 8. Gwen Torrence 58; 9. Bärbel Wöckel 56; 10. Evelyn Ashford 54
Most Rankings
1. Ottey 18; 2. Szewińska 15; 3. Felix 14; 4. Ferguson McKenzie 11; 5. Campbell-Brown 10
Consecutive—Ottey 18
Most No. 1s
1. tie, Felix & Szewińska 7; 3. Koch 5; 4. Stecher 4; 5. tie, Campbell-Brown, Marion Jones, Ottey & Torrence 3
Consecutive—Szewińska 4
Top U.S. Scorers
1. Felix 121; 2. Torrence 58; 3. Ashford 54; 4. Florence Griffith Joyner 40; 5. tie, Inger Miller & Sanya Richards-Ross 33; 7. Jones 30; 8. Dannette Young-Stone 29; 9. Edith McGuire 26; 10. tie, Valerie Brisco & Barbara Ferrell 25
400 METERS
Most Points
1. Marita Koch 96; 2. Sanya Richards-Ross 86; 3. Maria Itkina 79; 4. Novlene Williams-Mills 68; 5. tie, Allyson Felix & Jearl Miles Clark 66; 7. Shin Geum Dan 64; 8. Cathy Freeman 61; 9. Olga Bryzgina 59; 10. Ana Guevara 56
Most Rankings
1. Miles Clark 12; 2. Richards-Ross & Williams-Mills 11; 4. tie, Itkina & Koch 10
Consecutive—Itkina, Miles Clark & Williams-Mills 10
Most No. 1s
1. Koch 7; 2. Richards-Ross 6; 3. tie, Dan & Marie-José Pérec 5; 5. Irena Szewińska 4
Consecutive—Dan & Richards-Ross 5
Top U.S. Scorers
1. Richards-Ross 86; 2. tie, Felix & Miles Clark 66; 4. Francena McCorory 43; 5. Kathy Hammond 32; 6. tie, Valerie Brisco & Natasha Hastings 30; 8. Dee Dee Trotter 28; 9. Phyllis Francis 23; 10. Lillie Leatherwood 20
800 METERS
Most Points
1. Maria Mutola 145; 2. Ana Quirot 82; 3. Lyubov Gurina 62; 4. Kelly Holmes 61; 5. tie, Janeth Jepkosgei & Nadezhda Olizarenko 58; 7. Hasna Benhassi 56; 8. Caster Semenya 55; 9. Vera Nikolić 54; 10. Gunhild Hoffmeister 51
Most Rankings
1. Mutola 18; 2. tie, Gurina, Holmes, Jepkosgei & Quirot 9
Consecutive—Mutola 18
Most No. 1s
1. Mutola 9; 2. tie, Quirot & Semenya 4; 4. tie, 6 with 3
Consecutive—Mutola 6
Top U.S. Scorers
1. Manning 43; 2. Ajee’ Wilson 33; 3. tie, Joetta Clark-Diggs & Jearl Miles Clark 27; 5. Alysia Montaño 25; 6. tie, Brenda Martinez & Meredith Valmon 15; 8. Anna Willard 12; 9. tie, Charlette Cooke, Doris Heritage, Mary Slaney & Nicole Teter 9
1500 METERS
Most Points
1. Maryam Jamal 67; 2. Doina Melinte 63; 3. Gunhild Hoffmeister 55; 4. Tatyana Kazankina 54; 5. Carla Sacramento 49; 6. tie, Shannon Rowbury & Jenny Simpson 47; 8. tie, Lyudmila Bragina & Yekaterina Podkopayeva 44; 10. tie, Ulrike Bruns, Gabi Szabo & Tatyana Tomashova 43
Most Rankings
1. Melinte 10; 2. tie, Bruns & Podkopayeva 9; 4. tie, Maricica Puică, Rowbury, Sacramento & Simpson 8
Consecutive—Melinte 10
Most No. 1s
1. Jamal 5; 2. tie, Kazankina & Svetlana Masterkova 3; 4. tie, 7 with 2
Consecutive—Jamal 5
Top U.S. Scorers
1. tie, Rowbury & Simpson 47; 3. Mary Slaney 35; 4. Regina Jacobs 29; 5. Suzy Hamilton 22; 6. Francie Larrieu Smith 16; 7. Morgan Uceny 13; 8. Shelby Houlihan 10; 9. Christin Wurth-Thomas 9; 10. Doris Heritage 8
STEEPLECHASE
Most Points
1. Sofia Assefa 53; 2. Hyvin Jepkemoi 45; 3. Milcah Chemos 44; 4. Habiba Ghribi 38; 5. Yuliya Zaripova 37; 6. tie, Emma Coburn & Gulnara Galkina 36; 8. Hiwot Ayalew 33; 9. Yekaterina Volkova 28; 10. Beatrice Chepkoech 27
Most Rankings
1. Assefa 9; 2. Cristina Casandra & Jepkemoi 7; 4. Chemos 6; 5. tie, 5 with 5
Consecutive—Assefa 9
Most No. 1s
1. Galkina 3; 2. tie, Chemos, Chepkoech, Alesya Turova & Zaripova 2.
Consecutive—Chepkoech, Galkina & Zaripova 2
Only U.S. Scorers
1. Coburn 36; 2. Courtney Frerichs 9; 3. Jenny Simpson 6; 4. Elizabeth Jackson 2; 5. Stephanie Garcia 1
5000 METERS
Most Points
1. Meseret Defar 96; 2. Tirunesh Dibaba 90; 3. Maricica Puică 72; 4. Gabi Szabo 68; 5. Vivian Cheruiyot 64; 6. Sonia O’Sullivan 59; 7. Grete Waitz 58; 8. Svetlana Ulmasova 55; 9. Yvonne Murray 54; 10. Paula Radcliffe 48
Most Rankings
1. Defar 11; 2. Dibaba 10; 3. tie, Murray, Puică, Radcliffe & Szabo 9
Consecutive—Defar 11
Most No. 1s
1. tie, Defar & Dibaba 5; 3. tie, Tatyana Dorovskikh, Szabo & Ulmasova 3
Consecutive—Almaz Ayana, Defar, Dibaba, Dorovskikh, Hellen Obiri, O’Sullivan, Szabo & Ulmasova 2
Top U.S. Scorers
1. Mary Slaney 34; 2. PattiSue Plumer 25; 3. Jan Merrill 14; 4. Francie Larrieu Smith 13; 5. Lynn Jennings 7; 6. tie, Vicki Huber & Annette Peters 5; 8. tie, Molly Huddle & Shelly Steely 4; 10. tie, Shelby Houlihan & Shannon Rowbury 3
10,000 METERS
Most Points
1. Tirunesh Dibaba 77; 2. Olga Bondarenko 62; 3. Derartu Tulu 57; 4. Fernanda Ribeiro 54; 5. tie, Ingrid Kristiansen & Paula Radcliffe 49; 7. Kathrin Wessel 47; 8. Liz McColgan 39; 9. Vivian Cheruiyot 37; 10. Berhane Adere 36
Most Rankings
1. Dibaba 8; 2. tie, Bondarenko, Radcliffe, Ribeiro, Tulu & Wessel 7
Consecutive—Bondarenko, Ribeiro & Wessel 6
Most No. 1s
1. Dibaba 6; 2. tie, Kristiansen & Tulu 3; 4. tie, Almaz Ayana, Bondarenko, Cheruiyot, Ribeiro & Junxia Wang 2
Consecutive—Kristiansen 3
Top U.S. Scorers
1. Lynn Jennings 31; 2. tie, Shalane Flanagan & Molly Huddle 20; 4. Francie Larrieu Smith 11; 5. tie, Emily Infeld, Deena Kastor & Mary Slaney 10; 8. Kara Goucher 8; 9. Joan Samuelson 7; 10. tie, Amy Begley & Mary Knisely 5
100 HURDLES
Most Points
1. tie, Gail Devers & Pam Ryan 95; 3. Karin Balzer 87; 4. Dawn Harper Nelson 74; 5. Grazyna Rabsztyn 69; 6. Yordanka Donkova 68; 7. tie, Ludmila Engquist & Sally Pearson 66; 9. Cornelia Oschkenat 56; 10. tie, Annelie Ehrhardt & Irina Press 55
Most Rankings
1. tie, Balzer, Devers & Ryan 11; 4. Rabsztyn 10; 5. tie, Donkova, Harper Nelson & Pearson 9
Consecutive—Rabsztyn & Ryan 10
Most No. 1s
1. Devers 8; 2. Balzer 4; 3. tie, 7 with 3
Consecutive—Devers 5
Top U.S. Scorers
1. Devers 95; 2. Harper-Nelson 74; 3. Lolo Jones 46; 4. Brianna McNeal 40; 5. Melissa Morrison-Howard 39; 6. tie, Keni Harrison, Queen Harrison & Michelle Perry 33; 9. Ginnie Crawford 29; 10. tie, Jenny Adams & Sharika Nelvis 25
400 HURDLES
Most Points
1. Deon Hemmings 74; 2. Lashinda Demus 68; 3. tie, Kim Batten & Sandra Farmer-Patrick 66; 5. Kaliese Spencer 59; 6. tie, Zuzana Hejnová, Yuliya Pechonkina & Tatyana Tereshchuk 56; 9. Sally Gunnell 53; 10. Sandra Glover 50
Most Rankings
1. Tereshchuk 11; 2. tie, Demus & Hemmings 10; 4. Batten 9; 5. tie, 6 with 8
Consecutive—Hemmings 10
Most No. 1s
1. tie, Demus, Farmer-Patrick, Hemmings & Marina Stepanova 3; 4. tie, 8 with 2
Consecutive—Demus, Farmer-Patrick, Gunnell, Hemmings & Melaine Walker 2
Top U.S. Scorers
1. Demus 68; 2. Batten 66; 3. Farmer-Patrick 59; 4. Glover 50; 5. Tonja Buford-Bailey 40; 6. Dalilah Muhammad 35; 7. Georganne Moline 31; 8. Tiffany Williams 29; 9. Shamier Little 26; 10. Janeene Vickers 21
MARATHON
Most Points
1. Grete Waitz 79; 2. Rosa Mota 76; 3. tie, Katrin Dörre-Heinig & Catherine Ndereba 69; 5. Ingrid Kristiansen 68; 6. Joan Samuelson 53; 7. Paula Radcliffe 49; 8. Mary Keitany 48; 9. tie, Edna Kiplagat & Tegla Loroupe 44
Most Rankings
1. Dörre-Heinig 12; 2. Kristiansen 10; 3. tie, Mota, Ndereba & Waitz 9
Consecutive—Ndereba 9
Most No. 1s
1. Waitz 6; 2. tie, Mota & Radcliffe 3; 4. tie, Irina Mikitenko, Uta Pippig, Samuelson, Liliya Shobukhova & Christa Vahlensieck 2
Consecutive—Waitz 3
Top U.S. Scorers
1. Samuelson 53; 2. Patti Catalano 28; 3. Deena Kastor 26; 4. Kim Merritt 21; 5. tie, Gayle Barron & Julie Brown 20; 7. Miki Gorman; 17; 8. Kim Jones 14; 9. Lisa Weidenbach 12; 10. Francie Larrieu Smith 11
20K WALK
Most Points
1. Yelena Nikolayeva 91; 2. Hong Liu 73; 3. Olimpiada Ivanova 69; 4. Olga Kaniskina 67; 5. Kerry Saxby-Junna 66; 6. María Vasco 53; 7. Anisya Kirdyapkina 46; 8. Annarita Sidoti 45; 9. Elisa Rigaudo 43; 10. Elisabetta Perrone 42
Most Rankings
1. Nikolayeva 13; 2. Saxby-Junna 12; 3. tie, Rigaudo & Vasco 10; 5. tie, Ivanova & Liu 9
Consecutive—Saxby-Junna 8
Most No. 1s
1. Kaniskina 5; 2. tie, Ivanova & Saxby-Junna 3; 4. tie, Sari Essayah, Yelena Lashmanova, Liu, Nikolayeva & Sidoti 2
Consecutive—Kaniskina 5
Top U.S. Scorers
None
50K WALK
Most Points
1. Rui Liang 5; Hang Yin 4; 3. Claire Tallent 3; 4. Inês Henriques 2; 5. Paola Pérez 1
Most Rankings
1. Henriques, Liang, Pérez, Rui & Tallent 1
Consecutive—Henriques, Liang, Pérez & Tallent & Yin 1
Most No. 1s
1. Liang
Consecutive—Liang 1
Top U.S. Scorers
None
HIGH JUMP
Most Points
1. Stefka Kostadinova 114; 2. Iolanda Balaș 107; 3. Blanka Vlašić 97; 4. Inga Babakova 92; 5. Taisia Chenchik 85; 6. Sara Simeoni 81; 7. Rosi Ackermann 79; 8. tie, Tamara Bykova & Anna Chicherova 78; 10. tie, Kajsa Bergqvist & Debbie Brill 66
Most Rankings
1. Vlašić 14; 2. tie, Babakova & Kostadinova 13; 4. tie, Ruth Beitia, Brill & Bykova 12
Consecutive—Bykova 12
Most No. 1s
1. Balaș 9; 2. Kostadinova 6; 3. tie, Ackermann, Bergqvist, Mariya Lasitskene & Vlašić 4
Consecutive—Balaș 9
Top U.S. Scorers
1. tie, Chaunté Lowe & Louise Ritter 50; 3. Amy Acuff 29; 4. Eleanor Montgomery 20; 5. tie, Vashti Cunningham & Tisha Waller 16; 7. Brigetta Barrett 15; 8. Joni Huntley 14; 89 tie, Coleen Sommer & Jan Wohlschlag 11
POLE VAULT
Most Points
1. Yelena Isinbaeva 106; 2. Svetlana Feofanova 91; 3. Jenn Suhr 78; 4. Fabiana Murer 68; 5. Monika Pyrek 67; 6. Stacy Dragila 66; 7. Yarisley Silva 56; 8. Silke Spiegelburg 46; 9. Anna Rogowska 45; 10. Katerína Stefanídi 40
Most Rankings
1. Isinbaeva 13; 2. tie, Feofanova, Murer & Suhr 11; 5. Spiegelburg 10
Consecutive—Isinbaeva 13
Most No. 1s
1. Isinbaeva 7; 2. tie, Dragila & Emma George 3; 4. tie, Feofanova, Sandi Morris, Murer & Suhr 2
Consecutive—Isinbaeva 6
Only U.S. Scorers
1. Suhr 78; 2. Dragila 66; 3. Morris 33; 4. Katie Nageotte 10; 5. Kellie Suttle 9; 6. Lacy Janson 6; 7. Mel Mueller 3; 8. tie, Chelsea Johnson, Mary Saxer & Mary Vincent 2
LONG JUMP
Most Points
1. Heike Drechsler 168; 2. Brittney Reese 89; 3. Jackie Joyner-Kersee 88; 4. Tatyana Kotova 76; 5. Fiona May 74; 6. Mary Rand 67; 7. Viorica Viscopoleanu 62; 8. Irena Szewińska 61; 9. Inessa Kravets 59; 10. Galina Chistyakova 58
Most Rankings
1. Drechsler 21; 2. Joyner-Kersee 12; 3. tie, May & Reese 11; 5. tie, Kotova & Viscopoleanu 10
Consecutive—Drechsler 13
Most No. 1s
1. Drechsler 10; 2. Reese 7; 3. Rand 4; 4. tie, Joyner-Kersee, Kotova, Tatyana Shchelkanova & Szewińska 3
Consecutive—Reese 5
Top U.S. Scorers
1. Reese 89; 2. Joyner-Kersee 88; 3. Tianna Bartoletta 43; 4. Willye White 38; 5. Martha Watson 25; 6. Kathy McMillan 24; 7. Janay DeLoach 23; 8. tie, Jodi Anderson & Carol Lewis 22; 10. Grace Upshaw 19
TRIPLE JUMP
Most Points
1. Tatyana Lebedeva 97; 2. Caterine Ibargüen 75; 3. tie, Yamilé Aldama & Yargelis Savigne 63; 5. Anna Pyatykh 61; 6. Olha Saladukha 58; 7. Olga Rypakova 57; 8. Ashia Hansen 49; 9. Françoise Mbango 44; 10. Kim Williams 45
Most Rankings
1. Lebedeva 12; 2. tie, Aldama & Pyatykh 11; 4. Saladukha 10; 5. tie, Yelena Govorova, Ibargüen, Rypakova & Savigne 8
Consecutive—Pyatykh 9
Most No. 1s
1. Ibargüen & Lebedeva 5; 2. 3. tie, Anna Biryukova, Šárka Kašpárková, Inna Lasovskaya, Rypakova & Savigne 2
Consecutive—Ibargüen 4
Only U.S. Scorers
1. Keturah Orji 13; 2. Sheila Hudson 8; 3. Tori Franklin 6
SHOT
Most Points
1. Helena Fibingerová 123; 2. Valerie Adams 120; 3. Astrid Kumbernuss 110; 4. Nadezhda Chizova 103; 5. Tamara Press 92; 6. Ilona Briesenick 91; 7. Lijiao Gong 89; 8. Nadine Kleinert 88; 9. Natalya Lisovskaya 84; 10. Margitta Gummel 83
Most Rankings
1. Fibingerová 16; 2. tie, Adams & Kleinert 15; 4. Kumbernuss 14; 5. tie, Briesenick & Gong 12
Consecutive—Fibingerová 16
Most No. 1s
1. Adams 9; 2. tie, Chizova & Press 7; 4. Briesenick 6. Kumbernuss 5
Consecutive—Chizova 6
U.S. Scorers
1. Michelle Carter 52; 2. tie, Earlene Brown & Connie Price-Smith 28; 4. Jill Camarena-Williams 22; 5. Raven Saunders 16; 6. Tia Brooks 12; 7. Teri Steer 7; 8. tie, Dani Hill & Brittany Smith 6; 10. Maggie Ewen & Felisha Johnson 3
DISCUS
Most Points
1. Faina Melnik 103; 2. Franka Dietzsch 100; 3. Nicoleta Grasu 99; 4. Ellina Zvereva 97; 5. Ilke Wyludda 95; 6. tie, Tamara Press & Natalya Sadova 90; 8. Sandra Perković 80; 9. Liesel Westermann 74; 10. Maria Petkova 72
Most Rankings
1. tie, Grasu & Zvereva 16; 3. Dietzsch 15; 4. tie, Melnik, Sadova & Wyludda 12
Consecutive—Melnik 12
Most No. 1s
1. tie, Melnik & Perković 7; 2. tie, Dietzsch & Wyludda 6; 5. Nina Ponomaryeva 5
Consecutive—Melnik & Perković 7
Only U.S. Scorers
1. Aretha Thurmond 26; 2. Stephanie Brown Trafton 22; 3. Gia Lewis-Smallwood 18; 4. Seilala Sua 10; 5. Earlene Brown 9; 6. Kris Kuehl 8; 7. Suzy Powell 6; 8. tie, Becky Breisch & Olga Connolly 4; 10. Whitney Ashley 3
HAMMER
Most Points
1. Betty Heidler 102; 2. Yipsi Moreno 100; 3. Anita Włodarczyk 98; 4. Olga Kuzenkova 92; 5. Wenxiu Zhang 79; 6. Tatyana Lysenko 58; 7. Kamila Skolimowska 51; 8. Mihaela Melinte 44; 9. Manuèla Montebrun 40; 10. Kathrin Klaas 37
Most Rankings
1. tie, Heidler & Moreno 13; 3. tie, Kuzenkova & Zhang 12; 5. Włodarczyk 11
Consecutive—Heidler 13
Most No. 1s
1. Włodarczyk 7; 2. Kuzenkova 5; 3. tie, Melinte & Moreno 4; 5. Heidler 3
Consecutive—Włodarczyk 6
U.S. Scorers
1. Dawn Ellerbe 12; 2. DeAnna Price 11; 3. Amy Palmer 10; 4. tie, Gwen Berry & Anna Mahon 9; 6. Amber Campbell 7; 7. Amanda Bingson 6; 8. Jessica Cosby Toruga 3; 9. Jeneva Stevens 2; 10. Erin Gilreath 1
JAVELIN
Most Points
1. Barbora Špotáková 112; 2. Ruth Fuchs 110; 3. Trine Hattestad 107; 4. Petra Meier-Felke 98; 5. Steffi Nerius 94; 6. Osleidys Menéndez 84; 7. Christina Obergföll 82; 8. Tessa Sanderson 78; 9. Elvira Ozolina 66; 10. tie, Karen Forkel, Kate Schmidt & Tatyana Shikolenko 56
Most Rankings
1. tie, Hattestad & Nerius 14; 3. tie, Fuchs, Meier-Felke, Menéndez, Sanderson & Špotáková 12
Consecutive—Meier-Felke 12
Most No. 1s
1. Špotáková 9; 2. Fuchs 8; 3. Meier-Felke 6; 4. tie, Hattestad & Menéndez 4
Consecutive—Fuchs 8
Only U.S. Scorers
1. Schmidt 56; 2. RaNae Bair 21; 3. Barbara Friedrich 12; 4. Karin Smith 10; 5. Kara Winger 8; 6. Sherry Calvert 3; 7. Karen Oldham 1
HEPTATHLON
Most Points
1. Sabine Braun 102; 2. Jackie Joyner-Kersee 96; 3. Irina Press 71; 4. Burglinde Pollak 70; 5. Nadezhda Tkachenko 69; 6. Jane Frederick 68; 7. Jessica Ennis-Hill 66; 8. Galina Bystrova 65; 9. tie, Anke Behmer & Carolina Klüft 60
Most Rankings
1. Braun 15; 2. tie, Frederick & Joyner-Kersee 11; 4. tie, Pollak & Urszula Włodarczyk 9
Consecutive—Braun 12
Most No. 1s
1. Press 7; 2. tie, Joyner-Kersee & Klüft 6; 4. tie, Ennis-Hill & Tkachenko 4
Consecutive—Klüft 6
U.S. Scorers
1. Joyner-Kersee 96; 2. Frederick 68; 3. Shelia Burrell 21; 4. Hyleas Fountain 19; 5. Pat Winslow 16; 6. DeDee Nathan 10; 7. tie, Kelly Blair-LaBounty, Erica Bougard & Sharon Day-Monroe 7; 10. Kym Carter 5
