12 Runners Make the Fittest 50 List for ‘Sports Illustrated’ – runnersworld.com

Sports Illustrated just released its Fittest 50 list to showcase the strongest, fastest, and most impressive female and male athletes in the world. Essentially, SI brought in five experts—trainers, exercise physiologists, and performance experts—to analyze athletes’ strength, agility, endurance, training regimens, and various fitness factors in comparison with other peers in their given field. (You can read more about their selection process here.)

There’s a range of sports represented in the list, including basketball (LeBron) to rowing to gymnastics (hello, Simone Biles) to football and CrossFit. But making up a surprising chunk of both the women’s and men’s lists? Runners.

Totaling 12 in all, including marathoners, ultramarathoners, triathletes, and track and field stars, the list confirms what we already believe to be true: that runners have earned a spot in the race for the greatest athletes right now.

Here are the 12 runners selected in this year’s list for their performances over the past 12 months.

Jim Walmsley (No. 23, Men)

There was no doubt watching Walmsley win and achieve a course record at the Western States Endurance Run this past June was satisfying, especially after two previous attempts. On top of that, according to SI, the 28-year-old logged more than 4,000 miles in 2018. Want to add that to your 2019 resolutions, this year?

Eliud Kipchoge (No. 21, Men)

Does Kipchoge even need an introduction? The 34-year-old was crowned the greatest marathoner this past year when he broke the world record and finished the Berlin Marathon in 2:01:39. Being on this list proves that Kipchoge’s abilities not only put him up with the running greats, but with the best athletes of all time. (Why he wasn’t listed as No. 1 we’ll never understand, but we digress.)

Patrick Lange (No. 14, Men)

This German set the new standard for triathletes when he broke the eight-hour barrier of Ironmans and won the World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, in 7:52:39. Look out, world, for the athlete crushing swimming, biking, and running in blue! (He really likes to wear blue.)

Kevin Mayer (No. 5, Men)

Not only could we watch this 26-year-old from France pole vault for hours on end, but he brings it for all his other events in the decathlon. On the same day Kipchoge won the Berlin Marathon, Mayer broke the decathlon world record and earned 9,126 points. (That’s a lot.)

Mary Keitany (No. 14, Women)

She’s the current Queen of the Big Apple. If you watched the 2018 New York City Marathon, then you saw Keitany slay the course once again with her fourth win, clocking in at 2:22:48, the second-fastest women’s NYC time in history.

Caster Semenya (No. 13, Women)

The South African runner dominated track and field in events like the 800 and 1,000 meters in 2018, solidifying herself as one of the most dominant (and to many the most controversial) athletes competing.

Courtney Dauwalter (No. 12, Women)

This science teacher and ultrarunner has had an incredible past couple of years, with an overall win at the Moab 240 in 2017 and a second place finish at the Tahoe 200 in 2018. She also seems to have a deep affection for jelly beans and pancakes as fuel, which we can appreciate.

Emma Coburn (No. 9, Women)

If you know Coburn, you know her as the ultimate steeplechase runner who’s won seven national titles since 2011 and has an Olympic bronze medal to her name. Yes, she shares a lot of her workouts on social media, but she is also a pretty amazing baker.

Daniela Ryf (No. 8, Women)

Ryf is officially on the list for greatest female triathletes, as she earned her fourth consecutive win of the Ironman World Championship in Kona in 2018 with a time of 8:26:16. (She is one of three women in history to win Kona more than three times in a row.) Ryf’s 112-mile bike portion was a split of 4:26:07, a new course record, and that followed her swim where two jellyfish stung her. If that’s not a sign of endurance, we don’t know what is.

Gwen Jorgensen (No. 5, Women)

Not only is Jorgensen a dominating triathlete (she was the first ever American to win a gold medal at the Olympics in 2016), but she decided to switch over to the marathon and has been crushing it in races as she gains more confidence with the distance. She also trains with the Bowerman Track Club under the same coach as Shalane Flanagan and Amy Cragg, so she’s in good company.

Dina Asher-Smith (No. 4, Women)

This track star from Great Britain is only 23 and closed out the year as the European champion for the 100-, 200-, and 4 x 100-meter races.

Caterine Ibarguen (No. 2, Women)

Not only was this 34-year-old from Colombia named IAAF’s Female Athlete of the Year for 2018, but she has an Olympic gold medal under her belt from the Rio Games for the triple jump. (The only blip on her result list since 2013 is a silver medal at the 2017 world championships in China.) And let’s just say her long jump and triple jump performances are explosive and very, very impressive.