I don’t drink. I don’t kiss girls. These things do an athlete in. – Suleiman Nyambui
Surprised by the archives, I stumble upon this COMMENTARY in Track & Field News (April 1981). And I am going to say something to the haters and the doubters, I have no recollection whatsoever what had me so agitated. Don’t remember writing it. Just want you to think RED FLAG. Metaphor maybe for the futurists among you.
I sit here in my high-quality Nike Oregon Project t-shirt, best logo ever, and I can’t help thinking these anonymous scud missiles of human pustules need to back off.
Where was I? Oh, yeah, your recreational activity was once my sport. It was once my life.
It’s called integrity. Which arises out of authenticity. Which is truth.
Apparently T&FN was among the first to call out fake news. No surprise. – JDW (Senior Editor, Road Racing)
Stop Abusing Rankings
Recently, a press clipping crossed my desk, which aroused my interest. It aroused my temper. (Frankly, I’m often in a state of arousal.)
The clipping was an article by John Jones, a good man who covers the sports scene for the Times-Picayune in New Orleans. The T-P is the sponsor of the Crescent City 10K and John is providing much of the pre-race coverage. He’s doing it well. But he is also the victim of a new phenomenon in the sport – “Ranking The Runner.”
Track & Field News was the first sports periodical to rank athletes, way back in the dark ages of 1940-something. I don’t know just when – the magazine is just about as old as I am and I have arthritis and gray hair.
T&FN was also the first publication to rank road racers. It was a simple act. The magazine ranked every other event, so why not road racing?
Why not, indeed. It did a damn good job. One year I even did a good job of it. There were arguments and disagreements, certainly, but no one really questioned TF&N. (I do recall one runner expressing great disappointment at not ranking 5th after he had been slotted 6th.)
Actually, few question this publication’s motives about much. The editorial staff is renowned for its integrity, dedication and weirdness. (I do not to mean to suggest that I personally am all those things. I am certainly not weird. Hendershott is weird, certainly Gleason, maybe Hill and you should see…)
But, I digress. In 1979 another magazine began to rank road runners. In 1981, yet another. There is no point in inquiring as to why they would bother. Nor is there much to be gained by arguing about which publication has the best procedure.
T&FN does, of course – because I said so – even though I greatly disagree with the naming of a man who never ran on the roads [Suleiman Nyambui] the 6th-best short-distance competitor. Cross country is not road racing, period. End of argument.
The problems caused by multiple rankings occur when writers like John Jones identify Benji Durden as “ranked No. 4 in 1980” or Ron Tabb “the No. 1-ranked American marathoner of 1980.” Wrong. They’re both great athletes but neither deserves to be rated so highly. Someone actually may have ranked these two runners as No. 1 and No.4, but Jones didn’t tell his readers who it was. It certainly wasn’t T&FN.
At the very least, reporters should identify the source of their rankings, referring to one authority or another. We could live with that. Of more value to the sport would be the acknowledgment that the T&FN Rankings are definitive.
This would not only eliminate confusion among journalists and race directors, but it would add greatly to the credibility of the rankings. Runners, understandably, are already using the credential which causes them to compare most favorably.
If an athlete is ranked 10th in two magazines and 3rd in the other, don’t be surprised to read that he/she is “The No. 3 runner in America.”
Just imagine if the Association of Tennis Professionals had more than one computer doing its rankings. Chaos. It would be a ridiculous situation and tennis wouldn’t allow it. Why should road racing?
Some day, a road racer will start his own magazine and perhaps publish yet another Top 10. Any guess who will rank No. 1?
Ron Tabb’s response. “I agree rankings are not always accurate. I shouldn’t have been ranked # 1 in 1980 but probably should have in 1983? In 1983 T&F had Greg ranked # 1, Alberto # 2, and me # 3. Before the 1983 T&F rankings came out, Al was asked by Rich Phaigh who was the massage therapist for AW who he thought the top American would be for the marathon and he said Ron Tabb. Greg had won Boston in 2:09 but ran 2:17 in Chicago, Al had finished 5th in his two marathon performances both in the 2:09 / 2:10 range and I had finished 2nd at Boston in 2:09, won in Sydney in 2:10, 18th at WC’s in 2:13, (top American) won in Beijing in 2:18 temp in the 90’s, and 3rd in NY in 2:10 (top American) T&F came out with Greg #1. Al, #2, and me #3. Al thought I’d be 1, Greg or himself # 2 or 3. Great pic’s though, first time seeing them. In the second photo to your link is from the1983 Boston Marathon. #10 Paul Cummings, # 3 Greg Myer, # 6 Benji Durden. Just behind the lead pack over Greg’s left shoulder is 4 time Boston Marathon winner Bill Rogers and to the right of Greg’s shoulder is me. 1983 would mark the last time 3 American’s would finish under 2:10 and finish 1st, 2nd, & 3rd. Greg won, I finished 2nd, and Benji finished 3rd. Sad to see the men’s marathon scene has fallen off so much. A coaching friend of mine Douglas Clark commented a couple of weeks ago that the top 3 finishers from the “83” Boston race would be the top 3 Americans going into the 2020 Olympic trials.”