Best track sprinter

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Please use the above poll to vote for who you think is the best track sprinter since the 80's to the present, i hope this gets a lively debate going

Lee

If you are voting it would be great if you would leave a short note explaining your choice.


Lee

Anyone know what Nothstien's personal best time was? He has the track record at trexlertown(his hometown track, www.lvvelo.org) at 10.347, but it is concrete, outdoors, at sea level
I read Hubner did 9.9 (was this at altitude?)

If you are voting it would be great if you would leave a short note explaining your choice.


Lee
I'm relatively young (21), so I can only speak about the guys I have seen race. I picked Gary Neiwand, an Olympic champion, fast, and brash to boot. Had a sublime kick, you could see him accelerate when he was already at top speed, but it was so smooth and so quick. I don't think that there are too many guys out there that, when passing on the last lap in the back straight during a semifinal, have moved up all the way to the blue stayers line and dropped down in front of their opponent.

Also, I think Curt Harnett deserves a bit of a mention. Not as one of the best sprinters, but definitely the fastest if for only one race (9.76 for the flying 200 if I'm not mistaken).

I'm relatively young (21), so I can only speak about the guys I have seen race. I picked Gary Neiwand, an Olympic champion, fast, and brash to boot. Had a sublime kick, you could see him accelerate when he was already at top speed, but it was so smooth and so quick. I don't think that there are too many guys out there that, when passing on the last lap in the back straight during a semifinal, have moved up all the way to the blue stayers line and dropped down in front of their opponent.

Also, I think Curt Harnett deserves a bit of a mention. Not as one of the best sprinters, but definitely the fastest if for only one race (9.76 for the flying 200 if I'm not mistaken).
I dont recall Gary Niewand ever being an Olympic champion.... one of very few races he actually never won. But he was a persoanl favourite of mine along with French rider Florian Rousseau. I admire Florian for the fact that he won the world Kilo champs one year then proceeded to win the sprint the next year i believe. What a champion, in the glory days of track sprinting! Also i think Arnaud Tornant deserves a mention even though he is still reasoanbly young. Anybody who can win three world championships in one year (and four kilos in a row!) has to be a freakishly good rider even if he never wins an olympic gold.

This might hot the debate up!

I went through all the worlds and Olympics (just the sprint) since 1979 and awarded points like this;

Worlds 1st=3 points
2nd=2 points
3rd=1 point

Olympics 1st=5 points (figured Olympics must be worth a bit more!)
2nd=3 points
3rd=1 point

The results were;

1st Lutz Hesslich 30 points
2nd Koichi Nakano 24 points
3rd Jens Fiedler 21 points
4th Michael Hubner 17 points
=5th Florian Rousseau 15 points
=5th Laurent Gane 15 points
7th Marty Nothstein 13 points
8th Gary Neiwand 8 points
9th Darryn Hill 7 points
10th Frederic Magne 1 points

Hesslich. no contest.

Close for 2nd and 3rd....Neiwand, Hubner, Nakano, Rousseau.

I dont recall Gary Niewand ever being an Olympic champion.... one of very few races he actually never won. But he was a persoanl favourite of mine along with French rider Florian Rousseau. I admire Florian for the fact that he won the world Kilo champs one year then proceeded to win the sprint the next year i believe. What a champion, in the glory days of track sprinting! Also i think Arnaud Tornant deserves a mention even though he is still reasoanbly young. Anybody who can win three world championships in one year (and four kilos in a row!) has to be a freakishly good rider even if he never wins an olympic gold.
Did he not win the sprint at the '96 Olympics? Must also agree with you on Florian, and Tournant is a beast.

1. Fiedler
2. Nothstein
3. Harnett

Track World Records:

http://www.uci.ch/english/palmares/track/record_index.htm

It's a bit confusing to read at first because there's a few different categories: outdoor, indoor, profesional, amateur, Olympic, etc.....

1. Fiedler
2. Nothstein
3. Harnett
I can see why you would have Fiedler and Nothsein up there, but Harnett? Can you explain.

I can see why you would have Fiedler and Nothsein up there, but Harnett? Can you explain.


No. That's the order they finished in Atlanta.

Regardless, people still loved Harnett because he was SO FAST.

He still holds the world record at 9.865

Lutz Hesslich would have to be my choice for best sprinter, very fast and a fantastic tactician, his win in the 1988 Olympics summed it up for me, he just outclasssed everyone else. I would find it very difficult to choose others but it would be a close call between Hubner, Fiedler and Niewand.

No. That's the order they finished in Atlanta.
gotcha, just checked it, my bad

Regardless, people still loved Harnett because he was SO FAST.

He still holds the world record at 9.865


Ridden in air thinner than Kelsey Grammar's hair.....

Koichi Nakano was World Sprint Champion 10years in a row!!! I have to say that makes him the greatest of all time.

Will anyone back me on Stephen Pate?

i know it is early in both of their careers, but it will be interesting to see how the rivalry between theo boss and ryan bailey develops...

Will anyone back me on Stephen Pate?

Yeah, Patey: legend!! Got a world title and had a world record for the profesional indoor 200m.

http://www.uci.ch/english/palmares/track/record_index.htm

Was he not also a Bentleigh boy?