OUR INTERNATIONAL PANEL of experts, who annually put their heads together for T&FN’s famous World Rankings, this time joined up in recapping the second decade of the century. Here’s their ordering of the Top 10 men in each of the standard individual events.
With each of the Top 10s you’ll find some background data: repeaters from the previous decade, the top 3 World Rankings scorers in the decade, a recap of who won the 10 No. 1s and the chronological distribution of the Olympic and World Champs medals, plus World Indoor medals in the jumps and shot. (Note: where needed, medals are as redistributed after any after-the-fact test results. Anybody with a pending CAS case is considered innocent until that final decision.)
| 100 METERS | ||
| 1 | Usain Bolt | Jamaica |
| 2 | Justin Gatlin | US |
| 3 | Yohan Blake | Jamaica |
| 4 | Christian Coleman | US |
| 5 | Andre De Grasse | Canada |
| 6. | Tyson Gay | US |
| 7 | Asafa Powell | Jamaica |
| 8 | Nesta Carter | Jamaica |
| 9 | Mike Rodgers | US |
| 10 | Noah Lyles | US |
WITH BOTH OLYMPIC GOLDS and a pair of WC golds to accompany them, Bolt was the obvious choice for the leader’s slot… Repeaters from the last decade: Bolt (1), Powell (2), Gay (4) & Gatlin (5)… Top scorers: Bolt 65, Gatlin 64, Blake 48… No. 1s: Bolt & Gatlin 3; Coleman 2; Blake & Gay 1… OG golds: Bolt/Bolt… WC golds: Blake/Bolt/Bolt/Gatlin/Coleman.
| 200 METERS | ||
| 1 | Usain Bolt | Jamaica |
| 2 | Noah Lyles | US |
| 3 | Ramil Guliyev | Turkey |
| 4 | Andre De Grasse | Canada |
| 5 | Justin Gatlin | US |
| 6 | Walter Dix | US |
| 7 | Yohan Blake | Jamaica |
| 8 | Warren Weir | Jamaica |
| 9 | Christophe Lemaitre | France |
| 10 | Nickel Ashmeade | Jamaica |
BOLT WAS EVEN BETTER here than in the 100, having 3 WC golds to go with his pair of Olympic wins… Repeaters: Bolt (1), & Gatlin (6)… Top scorers: Bolt 58, Ashmeade & Guliyev 31… No. 1s: Bolt 5; Lyles 2; Dix, Gatlin & Guliyev 1… OG golds: Bolt/Bolt… WC golds: Bolt/Bolt/Bolt/Guliyev/Lyles.
| 400 METERS | ||
| 1 | Wayde van Niekerk | South Africa |
| 2 | Kirani James | Grenada |
| 3 | LaShawn Merritt | US |
| 4 | Steven Gardiner | Bahamas |
| 5 | Luguelín Santos | Dominican Republic |
| 6 | Fred Kerley | US |
| 7 | Isaac Makwala | Botswana |
| 8 | Jeremy Wariner | US |
| 9 | Abdalelah Haroun | Qatar |
| 10 | Tony McQuay | US |
VAN NIEKERK was low in points scored, but his 3 high-end seasons combined with the WR were enough to propel him to the fore… Repeaters: Wariner (1) & Merritt (2)… Top scorers: Merritt 58, James 55, van Niekerk 35… No. 1s: van Niekerk 3; James & Merritt 2; Gardiner, Kerley & Wariner 1… OG golds: James/van Niekerk… WC golds: James/Merritt/van Niekerk/van Niekerk/Gardiner.
| 800 METERS | ||
| 1 | David Rudisha | Kenya |
| 2 | Nijel Amos | Botswana |
| 3 | Mohamed Aman | Ethiopia |
| 4 | Adam Kszczot | Poland |
| 5 | Ferguson Cheruiyot | Kenya |
| 6 | Nick Symmonds | US |
| 7 | Abubaker Kaki | Sudan |
| 8 | Pierre-Ambroise Bosse | France |
| 9 | Marcin Lewandowski | Poland |
| 10 | Amel Tuka | Bosnia |
2 WORLD RECORDS, 4 gold medals—what’s not to like about Rudisha?… Sole repeater: Rudisha (10)… Top scorers: Rudisha 61, Amos 54, Cheruiyot 39… No. 1s: Rudisha 5; Amos 2; Aman, Donovan Brazier (US) & Emmanuel Korir (Kenya) 1… OG golds: Rudisha/Rudisha… WC golds: Rudisha/Aman/Rudisha/Bosse/Donavan Brazier.
| 1500 METERS | ||
| 1 | Asbel Kiprop | Kenya |
| 2 | Silas Kiplagat | Kenya |
| 3 | Timothy Cheruiyot | Kenya |
| 4 | Elijah Manangoi | Kenya |
| 5 | Taoufik Makhloufi | Algeria |
| 6 | Matthew Centrowitz | US |
| 7 | Ayanleh Souleiman | Djibouti |
| 8 | Abdelaati Iguider | Morocco |
| 9 | Nixon Chepseba | Kenya |
| 10 | Mekonnen Gebremedhin | Ethiopia |
3-TIME WORLD CHAMP KIPROP, unfortunately, has a pending drug positive, but the loss of his ’17 season wouldn’t affect his status here… Sole repeater: Kiprop (4)… Top scorers: Kiprop 69, Kiplagat 60, Souleiman 42… No. 1s: Kiprop 5; Cheruiyot & Kiplagat 2; Manangoi 1… OG golds: Makhloufi/Centrowitz… WC golds: Kiprop/Kiprop/Kiprop/Manangoi./Cheruiyot.
| STEEPLECHASE | ||
| 1 | Conseslus Kipruto | Kenya |
| 2 | Ezekiel Kemboi | Kenya |
| 3 | Evan Jager | US |
| 4 | Mahiedine Mekhissi | France |
| 5 | Paul Koech II | Kenya |
| 7 | Jairus Birech | Kenya |
| 7 | Soufiane El Bakkali | Morocco |
| 8 | Brimin Kipruto | Kenya |
| 9 | Benjamin Kigen | Kenya |
| 10 | Hillary Yego | Kenya |
KEMBOI (4) & KIPRUTO (3) split up the medals, but the latter dominated the World Rankings with 4 No. 1s to 1… Repeaters: Kemboi (2), Koech (3), B. Kipruto (4)… Top scorers: C. Kipruto 68, Koech 48, Kemboi 47… No. 1s: C. Kipruto 4; Birech & Koech 2; El Bakkali & Kemboi 1… OG golds: Kemboi/C. Kipruto… WC golds: Kemboi/Kemboi/Kemboi/C. Kipruto/C. Kipruto.
| 5000 METERS | ||
| 1 | Mo Farah | Great Britain |
| 2 | Muktar Edris | Ethiopia |
| 3 | Hagos Gebrhiwet | Ethiopia |
| 4 | Selemon Barega | Ethiopia |
| 5 | Paul Chelimo | US |
| 6 | Bernard Lagat | US |
| 7 | Dejen Gebremeskel | Ethiopia |
| 8 | Thomas Longosiwa | Kenya |
| 9 | Yomif Kejelcha | Ethiopia |
| 10 | Isiah Koech | Kenya |
5 OF 7 MAJOR GOLDS, 5 No. 1s as Farah became a most familiar face… Repeater: Lagat (4)… Top scorers: Farah 59, Gebrhiwet 40, Edris 37… No. 1s: Farah 5; Barega 2; Edris, Imane Merga (Ethiopia) & Caleb Ndiku (Kenya) 1… OG golds: Farah/Farah… WC golds: Farah/Farah/Farah/Edris/Edris.
| 10,000 METERS | ||
| 1 | Mo Farah | Great Britain |
| 2 | Joshua Cheptegei | Uganda |
| 3 | Paul Tanui | Kenya |
| 4 | Ibrahim Jeilan | Ethiopia |
| 5 | Galen Rupp | US |
| 6 | Bedan Muchiri | Kenya |
| 7 | Geoffrey Kamworor | Kenya |
| 8 | Yomif Kejelcha | Ethiopia |
| 9 | Imane Merga | Ethiopia |
| 10 | Rhonex Kipruto | Kenya |
MIRRORING HIS 5K COUNT, Farah again had 5 major golds, 5 No. 1s and 59 points… No repeaters… Top scorers: Farah 59, Tanui 44, Rupp 40… No. 1s: Farah; Cheptegei 2; Jeilan, Wilson Kiprop (Kenya) & Rupp 1… OG golds: Farah/Farah… WC golds: Jeilan/Farah/Farah/Farah/Cheptegei.
| 110 HURDLES | ||
| 1 | Sergey Shubenkov | Russia |
| 2 | Omar McLeod | Jamaica |
| 3 | Aries Merritt | US |
| 4 | David Oliver | US |
| 5 | Jason Richardson | US |
| 6 | Orlando Ortega | Cuba/Spain |
| 7 | Hansle Parchment | Jamaica |
| 8 | Pascal Martinot-Lagarde | France |
| 9 | Grant Holloway | US |
| 10 | Dayron Robles | Cuba |
NO OLYMPICS FOR SHUBENKOV, but the Russian made the most of his WC appearances, claiming a gold, 2 silvers and a bronze… Repeaters: Robles (4), Oliver (9)… Top scorers: Shubenkov 61, Oliver & Ortega 53… No. 1s: McLeod, Oliver & Shubenkov 2; Martinot-Lagarde, Merritt, Ortega & Robles 1… OG golds: Merritt/McLeod… WC golds: Richardson/Oliver/Shubenkov/McLeod/Holloway.
| 400 HURDLES | ||
| 1 | Karsten Warholm | Norway |
| 2 | Javier Culson | Puerto Rico |
| 3 | Kerron Clement | US |
| 4 | Michael Tinsley | US |
| 5 | Bershawn Jackson | US |
| 6 | Félix Sánchez | Dominican Republic |
| 8 | Dai Greene | Great Britain |
| 8 | Yasmani Copello | Turkey |
| 9 | Aderrahmane Samba | Qatar |
| 10 | Jehue Gordon | Trinidad |
CULSON WAS EASILY the top scorer, but didn’t win a major, having OG bronze and WC silver, whereas Warholm twice won the WC and in addition moved to No. 2 on the all-time list… Repeaters: Sánchez (1), Clement (2), Jackson (4)… Top scorers: Culson 55, Tinsley 37, Jackson 32… No. 1s: Culson, Jackson & Warholm 2; Clement, Gordon, Greene & Samba 1… OG golds: Sánchez/Clement… WC golds: Greene/Gordon/Nicholas Bett (Kenya)/Warholm/Warholm.
| MARATHON | ||
| 1 | Eliud Kipchoge | Kenya |
| 2 | Wilson Kipsang | Kenya |
| 3 | Lelisa Desisa | Ethiopia |
| 4 | Geoffrey Mutai | Kenya |
| 5 | Kenenisa Bekele | Ethiopia |
| 6 | Dennis Kimetto | Kenya |
| 7 | Stephen Kiprotich | Uganda |
| 8 | Tsegaye Kebede | Ethiopia |
| 9 | Gabriel Makau | Kenya |
| 10 | Abel Kirui | Kenya |
FORGET THE SUB-2:00 SILLINESS: with half the No. 1s and no fewer than 7 World Marathon Majors wins, Kipchoge was the man… Repeater: Kebede (9)… Top scorers: Kipchoge 61, Kipsang 56, Desisa 31… No. 1s: Kipchoge 5, Bekele, Desisa, Kipsang, Makau & G. Mutai 1… OG golds: Kiprotich/Kipchoge… WC golds: A. Kirui/Kiprotich/Ghirmay Ghebreslassie (Eritrea)/G. Kirui/Desisa… Top American: Galen Rupp.
| 20K WALK | ||
| 1 | Zhen Wang | China |
| 2 | Ding Chen | China |
| 3 | Zelin Cai | China |
| 4 | Miguel Ángel López | Spain |
| 5 | Caio Bonfim | Brazil |
| 6 | Christopher Linke | Germany |
| 7 | Yusuke Suzuki | Japan |
| 8 | Toshikazu Yamanishi | Japan |
| 9 | Koki Ikeda | Japan |
| 10 | Dane Bird-Smith | Australia |
THE ONLY DOUBLE No. 1 of the decade, Wang also had a pair of No. 2s to go with his Oly gold and 2 WC silvers… No repeaters… Top scorers: Wang 44, López 31, Cai 29… No. 1s: Wang 2; Eider Arévalo (Colombia), Chen, Ruslan Dmytrenko (Ukraine), Ikeda, Aleksandr Ivanov (Russia), López, Hao Wang (China) & Yamanishi 1… OG golds: Chen/Z. Wang… WC golds: Luis Fernando López/Ivanov/M. López/Arévalo/Yamanishi… Top American: John Nunn.
| 50K WALK | ||
| 1 | Matej Tóth | Slovakia |
| 2 | Jared Tallent | Australia |
| 3 | Yohann Diniz | France |
| 4 | Robert Heffernan | Ireland |
| 5 | Hiroki Arai | Japan |
| 6 | Tianfeng Si | China |
| 7 | Ihor Hlavan | Ukraine |
| 8 | Evan Dunfee | Canada |
| 9 | Takayuki Tani | Japan |
| 10 | Satoshi Maruo | Japan |
AFTER A RIO GOLD Tóth sat out most of the ’17 season (including the WC) on an adverse test result of which he was subsequently cleared… Repeater: Tallent (10)… Top scorers: Tóth 62, Tallent 59, Diniz 52… No. 1s: Tóth 3; Diniz 2; Arai, Heffernan, Denis Nizhegorodov (Russia), Yusuke Suzuki (Japan) & Tallent 1… OG golds: Tallent/Tóth… WC golds: Nizhegorodov/Heffernan/Tóth/Diniz/Suzuki… Top American: John Nunn.
| HIGH JUMP | |||
| 1 | Mutaz Barshim | Qatar | |
| 2 | Bogdan Bondarenko | Ukraine | |
| 3 | Ivan Ukhov | Russia | |
| 4 | Derek Drouin | Canada | |
| 5 | Erik Kynard | US | |
| 6 | Jesse Williams | US | |
| 7 | Robbie Grabarz | Great Britain | |
| 8 | Danil Lysenko | Russia | |
| 9 | Aleksey Dmitrik | Russia | |
| 10 | Guowei Zhang | China | |
ONE OF THE DECADE’S FEW 9-time Rankings scorers in any event, Barshim added a trio of No. 2s and a No. 5 to his 4 No. 1s… No repeaters… Top scorers: Barshim 77, Bondarenko 45, Ukhov 43… No. 1s: Barshim 4; Bondarenko & Ukhov 2; Mikhail Akimenko (Russia) & Williams 1… OG golds: Ukhov/Drouin… WC golds: Williams/Bondarenko/Drouin/Barshim/Barshim… WIC golds: Ukhov/Dimítrios Hondrokoúkis (Greece)/Barshim/Gianmarco Tamberi (Italy)/Danil Lysenko (Russia).
| POLE VAULT | ||
| 1 | Renaud Lavillenie | France |
| 2 | Sam Kendricks | US |
| 3 | Piotr Lisek | Poland |
| 4 | Paweł Wojciechowski | Poland |
| 5 | Björn Otto | Germany |
| 6 | Raphael Holzdeppe | Germany |
| 7 | Malte Mohr | Germany |
| 8 | Thiago Braz | Brazil |
| 9 | Shawn Barber | Canada |
| 10 | Konstadínos Filippídis | Greece |
LAVILLENIE & KENDRICKS met no fewer than 40 times, with the American coming out on top 23–17 as they split all the No. 1s. The WR-setting Frenchman had a better collection of medals and Rankings, however… No repeaters… Top scorers: Lavillenie 87, Kendricks 43, Filippídis 42… No. 1s: Lavillenie 7; Kendricks 3… OG golds: Lavillenie/Braz… WC golds: Wojciechowski/Holzdeppe/Barber/Kendricks/Kendricks… WIC golds: Steve Hooker (Australia)/Lavillenie/ Filippídis/Lavillenie/Lavillenie.
| LONG JUMP | ||
| 1 | Greg Rutherford | Great Britain |
| 2 | Jeff Henderson | US |
| 3 | Luvo Manyonga | South Africa |
| 4 | Juan Miguel Echevarría | Cuba |
| 5 | Aleksandr Menkov | Russia |
| 6 | Dwight Phillips | US |
| 7 | Tajay Gayle | Jamaica |
| 8 | Mitchell Watt | Australia |
| 9 | Fabrice Lapierre | Australia |
| 10 | Ruswahl Samaai | South Africa |
THE LOWEST-TOTALED SCORING LEADER in all the events, Rutherford had the most No. 1s plus OG and WC golds… Repeater: Phillips (1)… Top scorers: Rutherford 42, Henderson & Menkov 37… No. 1s: Rutherford 3; Echevarría 2; Henderson, Manyonga, Menkov, Phillips & Watt 1… OG golds: Rutherford/Henderson… WC golds: Phillips/Menkov/Rutherford/Manyonga/Gayle; WIC golds: Lapierre/Mauro da Silva (Brazil)/da Silva/Marquis Dendy (US)/Echevarría.
| TRIPLE JUMP | ||
| 1 | Christian Taylor | US |
| 2 | Will Claye | US |
| 3 | Teddy Tamgho | France |
| 4 | Pedro Pablo Pichardo | Cuba/Portugal |
| 5 | Nelson Évora | Portugal |
| 6 | Alexis Copello | Cuba/Azerbaijan |
| 7 | Bin Dong | China |
| 8 | Fabrizio Donato | Italy |
| 9 | Phillips Idowu | Great Britain |
| 10 | Lyukman Adams | Russia |
TAYLOR WAS SO DOMINANT that even though Claye scored enough points to lead almost every other event he was only 2nd here… Repeater: Évora (3)… Top scorers: Taylor 89, Claye 70, Pichardo 46… No. 1s: Taylor 8; Tamgho 2… OG golds: Taylor/Taylor… WC golds: Taylor/Tamgho/Taylor/Taylor/Taylor; WIC golds: Tamgho/Claye/Adams/Dong/Claye.
| SHOT | ||
| 1 | Tom Walsh | New Zealand |
| 2 | David Storl | Germany |
| 3 | Ryan Crouser | US |
| 4 | Joe Kovacs | US |
| 5 | Tomas Majewski | Poland |
| 6 | Ryan Whiting | US |
| 7 | Reese Hoffa | US |
| 8 | Christian Cantwell | US |
| 9 | Dylan Armstrong | Canada |
| 10 | Darrell Hill | US |
THE FIRST 4 were almost impossible to separate, and at various times the panel had them in about every imaginable permutation. The selectors finally settled on Walsh (6 medals, 3 golds, 1 No. 1, 6 times in top 5) over Storl (8 medals, 2 golds, 0 No. 1s, 5 times in top 5), Crouser (2 medals, 1 gold, 3 No. 1s, 4 times in top 5) and Kovacs (4 medals, 2 golds, 1 No. 1, 5 times in top 5)… Repeaters: Cantwell (2), Hoffa (3), Majewski (5)… Top scorers: Storl 55, Walsh 51, Hoffa 50… No. 1s: Crouser 3; Hoffa 2; Armstrong, Cantwell, Kovacs, Walsh & Whiting 1… OG golds: Majewski/Crouser… WC golds: Storl/Storl/Kovacs/Walsh/Kovacs… WIC golds: Cantwell/Whiting/Whiting/Walsh/Walsh.
| DISCUS | ||
| 1 | Robert Harting | Germany |
| 2 | Piotr Małachowski | Poland |
| 3 | Gerd Kanter | Estonia |
| 4 | Daniel Ståhl | Sweden |
| 5 | Ehsan Hadadi | Iran |
| 6 | Christoph Harting | Germany |
| 7 | Fedrick Dacres | Jamaica |
| 8 | Andrius Gudžius | Lithuania |
| 9 | Robert Urbanek | Poland |
| 10 | Lukas Weißhaidinger | Austria |
THIS WAS UNIQUE, with the Harting brothers claiming the Olympic golds… Repeaters: Kanter (2), R. Harting (4), Małachowski (5)… Top scorers: Małachowski 71, R. Harting 64, Kanter 51… No. 1s: R. Harting 5; Małachowski 2; Dacres, Gudžius & Ståhl 1… OG golds: R. Harting/C. Harting… WC golds: R. Harting/R. Harting/Małachowski/Gudžius/Ståhl… Top American: Mason Finley.
| HAMMER | ||
| 1 | Paweł Fajdek | Poland |
| 2 | Krisztián Pars | Hungary |
| 3 | Dilshod Nazarov | Tajikistan |
| 4 | Wojciech Nowicki | Poland |
| 5 | Koji Murofushi | Japan |
| 6 | Primož Kozmus | Slovenia |
| 7 | Marcel Lomnický | Slovakia |
| 8 | Sergey Litvinov II | Germany/Russia |
| 9 | Aleksey Sokirskiy | Ukraine |
| 10 | Bence Halász | Hungary |
NO OLYMPIC CREDENTIALS for Fajdek, but with 4 WC golds he was clearly the best… Repeaters: Murofushi (1), Kozmus (3), Pars (5)… Top scorers: Fajdek 72, Pars 57, Nazarov 52… No. 1s: Fajdek & Pars 4; Murofushi & Nowicki 1… OG golds: Pars/Nazarov… WC golds: Murofushi/Fajdek/Fajdek/Fajdek/Fajdek… Top American: Kibwé Johnson.
| JAVELIN | ||
| 1 | Vítězslav Veselý | Czech Republic |
| 2 | Tero Pitkämäki | Finland |
| 3 | Thomas Röhler | Germany |
| 4 | Julius Yego | Kenya |
| 5 | Johannes Vetter | Germany |
| 6 | Andreas Thorkildsen | Norway |
| 7 | Jakub Vadlejch | Czech Republic |
| 8 | Magnus Kirt | Estonia |
| 9 | Keshorn Walcott | Trinidad |
| 10 | Matthias De Zordo | Germany |
WITH 9 DIFFERENT No. 1s, this was certainly fun to figure out… Despite being shy in the long-throws department, Veselý parlayed the only double No. 1 with Oly silver and WC gold to steal the top spot… Repeaters: Thorkildsen (1), Pitkämäki (4)… Top scorers: Pitkämäki 53, Röhler 47, Veselý 44… No. 1s: Veselý 2; De Zordo, Andreas Hofmann (Germany), Kirt, Pitkämäki, Röhler, Thorkildsen, Vetter & Yego 1… OG golds: Walcott/Röhler… WC golds: De Zordo/Veselý/Yego/Vetter/Anderson Peters (Grenada)… Top American: Sean Furey.
| DECATHLON | ||
| 1 | Ashton Eaton | US |
| 2 | Kevin Mayer | France |
| 3 | Trey Hardee | US |
| 4 | Damian Warner | Canada |
| 5 | Rico Freimuth | Germany |
| 6 | Leonel Suárez | Cuba |
| 7 | Kai Kazmirek | Germany |
| 8 | Niklaus Kaul | Germany |
| 9 | Eelco Sintnicolaas | Netherlands |
| 10 | Ilya Shkurenyov | Russia |
EATON LOST HIS WR to Mayer, but with a pair of all-time bests to go with 4 No. 1s and pairs of both OG and WC golds the American was an easy choice. Repeater: Hardee (7)… Top scorers: Eaton 58, Warner 55, Mayer 44… No. 1s: Eaton 4; Hardee & Mayer 2; Romain Barras (France) & Kaul 1… OG golds: Eaton/Eaton… WC golds: Hardee/Eaton/Eaton/Mayer/Kaul. ◻︎