ChatGPT’s Top Five Greatest Performances in Track & Field History

The debate can rage unending when you ask a track and field fan their top performance in the history of the sport. When there is such a rich history to choose from and incredible athletes doing the remarkable, often with the entire world watching, how is it possible to choose?

We asked ChatGPT to help us out. On the prompt, “What are the five greatest performance in track and field history?” we received the following response, some of which would crack anyone’s top five. It certainly appears the AI is a fan of the sprints, and a bit of a history buff. What do you think? Comment below to tell us what you would include in this list.

It’s difficult to determine the greatest performances in track and field history as it is subjective and depends on various factors such as era, competition level, and individual preferences. However, some of the most memorable and outstanding performances include:

1. Usain Bolt’s 9.58 seconds 100m world record at the 2009 Berlin World Championships
2. Florence Griffith-Joyner’s world record time of 10.49 seconds in the 100m at the 1988 Summer Olympics¹
3. Michael Johnson’s world record time of 43.18 seconds in the 400m at the 1996 Summer Olympics²
4. Carl Lewis’ four gold medals in the 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay, and long jump at the 1984 Summer Olympics
5. Paavo Nurmi‘s five gold medals and three world records in middle-distance running events at the 1920 Summer Olympics

These are just a few examples and many other legendary performances by great athletes throughout history could also be considered as the greatest in track and field history.

Since the throws were not mentioned, we decided to give the system another chance, asking specifically about the greatest throwing achievement in history, to which the reply was:

Jan Železný’s world record of 98.48m in the men’s javelin throw, set at the 1996 Summer Olympics³

Hard to argue that one.

Human Adjustments

While the performances standout, the AI still needs some help from time to time with pinpointing accuracy. Here are some corrections to the above:

¹FloJo’s 10.49 second run took place at the 1988 Olympic Trials

²Michael Johnson’s record setting 400 meters took place at the 1999 World Championships. Worth noting, at the 1996 Games, he ran an Olympic record time of 43.49 seconds

³Železný’s world record throw took place at a meet in 1996 in Jena, Germany. He did in fact also win Gold at the Summer Olympics in 1996