Rankings is a term that defines the best out there. Sports also use rankings to identify athletes who have excelled in competition and in comparison to previous generations. For track and field, especially sprinting, Usain Bolt is a name that echoes everywhere a veteran or even a new fan goes to. His 100m and 200m records are still unbroken by any major sprinter of the current era, and even none of them have gotten closer to some of the fastest times in his career.

However, every time, there are plenty of debates going on in the track world involving such big names. Recently, two track legends sat down to opine on their own list of top male sprinters of the sport, which didn’t see Bolt at the top of the list, despite his numerous accolades and contributions to track and field.

Ranking in a descending order

So who were these two track legends? Justin Gatlin and Rodney Green always have their discussions on every current track and field topic on their Ready Set Go podcast on YouTube. However, recently they went candid on their list of top sprinters in the sport, considering all the generations. Green especially made the list, and he had an interesting take on it, while Gaitlin nodded to the list, seemingly showing his approval.

Surprisingly, the rankings didn’t start with Usain Bolt on top, but Jesse Owens, as the retired Bahamian sprinter explained, “So my number one is going to be Jesse Owens—reason being, man, he’s the one who broke the barrier, you know. He was the first one out there, got a long list of medals, and he looked like us. He looked like us. No disrespect to anybody else out there, but you know, he broke the barrier.” Green knew that the Jamaican track fanbase wouldn’t be taking the list very kindly, so he clarified that he meant no offense to anyone out there, as it is his opinion.

Even though he didn’t keep Bolt in the first place, he didn’t forget about him, stating, “Number two is going to definitely be if that’s our Wilt Chamberlain of the sport, the MJ of the sport is going to be Usain Bolt. I got him at number two, you know what I mean? Um, he definitely transcended the sport as he turned into Usain Bolt with his uh, eight gold medals, um, and what he’s done in every World Championship that he’s done in his world records definitely transcended the sport.”

Comparing the Jamaican legend with basketball GOAT Michael Jordan, Green knew the statement he made. Bolt reformed the sport and brought a ton of changes, owing to his blistering speed on track and personality off the track. The Jamaican was an absolute package that turned a lot of heads towards the sport, making them lifelong fans, especially since his two significant world records in the 100m and the 200m are yet to be broken by a modern sprinter, and as per the current timings of the athletes, they are really far away from coming even closer to his other best times in those categories.

“At number three, it’s going to be another gold medalist who has no other color medal except gold would be MJ Gold. Number three would be Michael Johnson. You know what I mean, uh, for, you know what I mean uh, for you know his feats and how he impacted the sport he’s still remembered to this day with the gold shoes and everything,” said Green. Indeed, the contributions made by Johnson are imminent. Recognizing the financial challenges facing the sport, Johnson introduced his own event, Grand Slam Track, promising one of the largest prize pools ever seen in a track meet.

Coming to the final two sprinters in the list, Green revealed the names with a special twist in the end, stating, “Number four would be our first celebrity of the sport, uh, who turned it like being a celebrity in the sport, a thing would be Carl Lewis. Carl Lewis, this is not based on jumps or anything, just sprinting. You know, I mean he was on billboards, big old contracts, and everything else, and at number five I would have you at number five, bro (Justin Gatlin).” The moment Gatlin heard about himself being in the top five sprinters of all time, he gave a surprising reaction.

Apart from statistics, this shows the close bond between the two athletes, who eventually became podcast partners. Returning to the statistics, Gatlin was a formidable competitor in his era. The 2004 Olympic champion in the 100m had set plenty of bars in the sport, not only for the American athletes but for every single one out there. He was someone who gave tough competition to Bolt in his prime, so his name on the list was evident. So how did the Jamaicans, and the Americans compete against each other on track?

Usain Bolt’s perspective on Justin Gatlin

There were always a few who gave actual challenges to Usain Bolt in the realm of track and field, and among them was Justin Gatlin. Both of them raced together since Bolt first set foot on the scene in 2004, and even when he finally retired in 2017. However, apart from raw pace, the American always tried to play mental tricks on his rival, as the Jamaican revealed on the High-Performance podcast, stating, “For me, it’s always fun; I enjoy watching Justin. It’s fun for me to see him in his element because he does this thing where he walks back and forth like a crazy person. You know, he’s serious, and I always find it so funny and amusing because that’s his way of psyching himself up.”

Competing against Gatlin was always a fun experience for Bolt. Even though they have competed in races that have gone up to the final few meters, they are always embarrassed by the rivalry that they share. The Jamaican also pointed out how his American rival always wanted to find out a certain way to get into his head during the events, but it only resulted in him acting relaxed in front of it, as a counter to his mental games. Both of the two-track legends have had a ton of epic battles, which is something the track world still misses.