(through the 2018 season)
(compiled by Jim Rorick)
How hard is it to make the T&FN World Rankings?
In crafting our annual compilations we have long noted that just running fast or jumping/throwing high/far isn’t enough. For graphic proof check out the following list of high-powered athletes.
These are the performers with the highest mark on the all-time list who were never quite good enough to make the World Rankings in that event (although they may have in another event).
Specifically that means not good enough to have ranked in any year, not just the year in which they recorded this mark.
The imposing list:
| MEN’S TRACK | ||
| 100 | 9.89 | Ngoni Makusha (Zimbabwe) ’11 |
| 200 | 19.69(A) | Clarence Munyai (South Africa) ’18 |
| (low-altitude) | 19.75 | Steven Gardiner (Bahamas) ’18 |
| 400 | 43.93 | Rusheen McDonald (Jamaica) ’15 |
| 800 | 1:43.03 | Kenneth Kimwetich (Kenya) ’98 |
| 1500 | 3:28.81 | Mo Farah (Great Britain) ’13 |
| Mile | 3:48.98 | Craig Mottram (Australia) ’05 |
| Steeple | 8:05.88 | Bernard Nganga (Kenya) ’11 |
| 5000 | 12:53.72 | Philip Mosima (Kenya) ’96 |
| 10,000 | 26:43.98 | Lucas Rotich (Kenya) ’11 |
| 110 Hurdles | 13.11 | Aleec Harris (US) ’15 |
| 13.11 | Antonio Alkana (South Africa) ’17 | |
| 400 Hurdles | 47.93 | Kenji Narisako (Japan) ’06 |
| Marathon | 2:03:46 | Guye Adola (Ethiopia) ’17 |
| 20K Walk | 1:18:12 | Artur Meleshkevich (Belarus) ’01 |
| 50K Walk | 3:39:47 | Tomohiro Noda (Japan) ’18 |
| MEN’S FIELD | ||
| High Jump | 2.38 | 7-9¾i | Wolf-Hendrik Beyer (Germany) ’94 |
| Pole Vault | 5.90 | 19-4¼ | Jacob Davis (US) ’98 |
| Long Jump | 8.49 | 27-10¼ | Melvin Lister (US) ’00 |
| Triple Jump | 17.78 | 58-4 | Melvin Lister (US) ’04 |
| Shot | 21.76 | 71-4¾ | Stephen Mozia (Nigeria) ’18 |
| Discus | 69.90 | 229-4 | Jason Young (US) ’10 |
| Hammer | 82.40 | 270-4 | Plamen Minev (Bulgaria) ’91 |
| Javelin | 91.36 | 299-9 | Chao-Tsun Cheng (Taiwan) ’17 |
| Decathlon | 8526 | Francisco Benet (Spain) ’98 |
| WOMEN’S TRACK | ||
| 100 | 10.90 | Glory Alozie (Nigeria) ’99 |
| 200 | 22.18 | Dezerea Bryant (US) ’15 |
| 400 | 49.49 | Olga Zaytseva (Russia) ’06 |
| 800 | 1:56.21 | Zamira Zaytseva (Soviet Union) ’83 |
| 1500 | 3:58.28 | Elvan Abeylegesse (Turkey) ’04 |
| Mile | 4:20.23 | Gulnara Galkina (Russia) ’07 |
| Steeple | 9:10.27 | Colleen Quigley (US) ’18 |
| 5000 | 14:33.13 | Gulnara Galkina (Russia) ’08 |
| 10,000 | 30:29.21 | Fyles Ongori (Kenya) ’08 |
| 100 Hurdles | 12.54 | Nichole Denby (US) ’08 |
| 12.54 | Jessica Ennis-Hill (Great Britain) ’12 | |
| 400 Hurdles | 53.77 | Irina Davydova (Russia) ’12 |
| Marathon | 2:19:36 | Yebrqul Melese (Ethiopia) ’18 |
| 20K Walk | 1:26:58 | Marina Pandakova (Russia) ’15 |
| 50K Walk | — | insufficient data in new event |
| WOMEN’S FIELD | ||
| High Jump | 2.01 | 6-7 | Nafi Thiam (Belgium) ’18 |
| Pole Vault | 4.75 | 15-7(A)i | Kylie Hutson (US) ’15 |
| 4.75 | 15-7(A)i | Demi Payne (US) ’15 | |
| 4.71 | 15-5½ | Payne ’15 | |
| 4.71 | 15-5½ | Michaela Meijer (Sweden) ’17 | |
| 4.71 | 15-5½ | Nina Kennedy (Australia) ’18 | |
| Long Jump | 7.20 | 23-7½ | Irena Ozhenko (Soviet Union) ’86 |
| Triple Jump | 14.83 | 48-8i | Yelena Lebedenko (Russia) ’01 |
| Shot | 21.05 | 69-¾ | Zdenka Šilhavá (Czechoslovakia) ’83 |
| Discus | 69.08 | 226-8 | Mariana Lengyel (Romania) ’86 |
| Hammer | 76.72 | 251-8 | Mariya Bespalova (Russia) ’12 |
| Javelin | 67.11 | 220-2 | Maria Andrejczyk (Poland) ’16 |
| Heptathlon | 6564 | Kendell Williams (US) ’17 |