Earlier today, we considered some of the points that will determine the Greatest Of All Time in triathlon. It is hard to say for sure what the most important factors are and it might be impossible for everyone to agree on one set of criteria.
The solution, then, is to put it to the people.
At this point in time, who do you consider to be the men’s and women’s GOATs?
Below you will find two polls, one for the men and one for the women. We have tried to accommodate each decade of triathlon. In doing so, we have restricted the fields to two athletes per decade where possible. There is a bit of blurriness here given that some athletes competed in more than one decade.
That gives six names to keep the poll to a reasonable length. If there is anyone you feel that should be included that isn’t, feel free to comment their names below.
Also note, we are purely focused on short distance World Triathlon racing and long distance achievements are not factored into consideration.
Men
From the 2010s, three time world champion Mario Mola and two time Olympic champion Alistair Brownlee made the cut.
Javier Gomez Noya straddles the 2010s and the 2000s. As an Olympic silver medallist and five time world champion, he was a force in both decades.
The 2000s cohort also includes three time world champion Peter Robertson and Olympic gold and bronze medallist Simon Whitfield.
The only representative of the 1990s is four time world champion Simon Lessing.
Who isn’t listed here?
It felt a little harsh to exclude Jonathan Brownlee. Despite going up against Mola, Alistair Brownlee and Gomez in their primes, he still won a world title and Olympic silver and bronze medals. However, he was arguably not the premier athlete of his era and therefore not the GOAT. Similarly, Vincent Luis has two world titles but misses out.
Bevan Docherty also won a world title to go with Olympic silver and bronze, matching Jonathan Brownlee’s achievements. However, if that was not enough for Bronwlee, it seemed a little contradictory to include Docherty.
Another point to mention is that the most recent Olympic champion Kristian Blummenfelt is not included. One day he will likely factor into discussions, however he does not yet have the body of work over an entire short distance career to match his predecessors. Moreover, he is still far younger than every else listed; as he is still active and under 30, we cannot yet be sure where his career will ultimately end up.
Women
There have been a number of outstanding female triathletes over the past three decades and we have tried to capture some of the most successful in this poll.
Olympic champion and four time world champion Flora Duffy and Olympic champion and two time world champion Gwen Jorgensen feature for the 2010s. Jorgensen also holds the record for women’s WTCS race wins and has the fastest run splits in WTCS history.
For the 2000s, Olympic champion and three time world champion Emma Snowsill is included as well as world champion, Olympic silver medallist and World Cups wins record holder Vanessa Fernandes.
Representing the 1990s are Olympic silver medallist and two time world champion Michellie Jones and two time world champion and the athlete with the second most World Cup wins, Emma Carney. (Carney won 19 World Cups to Fernandes’ 20).
Olympic gold and silver medallist Nicola Spirig did not make the cut. This was largely because, although she was an exceptional one day racer, she did not show the consistency of the other athletes.
For the same reason Blummenfelt was not listed for the men, Georgia Taylor-Brown is omitted as she is still young and improving. Taylor-Brown has one world title (from 2020) and an Olympic silver medal.
Stay tuned for results of the polls. They will be posted early next week.
