We continue our Ranking the Records countdown across all events using the IAAF Scoring Tables with the #2 performances. Click here for a full explanation of how the rankings were determined.
It takes some truly special performances to climb this high in the rankings.
Today's #2 records are a study in stark contrasts. They are by two very different athletes from two very different eras. In every way, they couldn't be more opposite.
One is from an era where track and field athletes could be paid professionals, who had a long, remarkable career, churning out fantastic performances year after year, traveling all over the world as a paid professional athlete, wearing a national uniform no less than nine times, and winning international championships medals.
The other is from the amateur era of track and field, when getting paid to compete was actually illegal, who never wore a national uniform or competed outside of the U.S. but who, for a few glorious months, went to the mountaintop and bathed in the sunlight of the pinnacle of athletic performance.
Perhaps the fact that there is room in this sport for so many different types of people with such diverse athletic skills is one of the many things that we track junkies love about the sport. Read on to learn about their remarkable achievements.