Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #64 - Wille Grut

Wille Grut

Sweden

Modern Pentathlon

Overall Ranks

#1 among Swedish Olympians

#1 among Modern Pentathletes

Olympic Results

1948

Individual - Gold

Total

Events - 1

Gold - 1

William Oscar Guernsey Grut was born on September 17, 1914 in Stockholm, Sweden, the son of Torben Grut, the architect who designed the Olympic stadium in Stockholm for the 1912 Games. His father had also been a very good tennis player, but Wille became a swimmer and won several national championships. He even made the 1936 Olympic team as a relay alternate, but didn't end up competing.

While he was in Berlin, he saw the modern pentathlon, and decided to switch events. World War II cancelled the next two Olympics, but in 1948, Grut was ready to compete. The first part of the modern pentathlon is the equestrian steeplechase, and Grut had experience riding horses in the army. He mastered the course, never missing a jump, and finishing in the fastest time to receive the top score for that portion.

The next part was a round-robin epee fencing tournament, where placement was determined by number of wins against the field. There were 44 competitors, so this took a couple of days, but in the end, Grut had won 28 matches, the most of anyone, and he again earned the top score.

The third portion was rapid-fire pistol shooting, with a total of 200 points possible per competitor. Grut hit 190, which put him in 5th place out of the field, while his nearest competition through the earlier events finished in 21st, dropping him way behind the lead. Next was a 300m freestyle swimming race, which again played to Grut's strength, and he easily won that portion, by more than 4 seconds over anyone else.

The final event was a 4000 meter cross country race. Grut was far from the lead in this portion, finishing more than a minute behind the leader, but he still came in 8th among 42 racers who finished, giving him the gold medal by a mile over anyone else. No other competitor finished in the top 10 in more than three portions, while Grut was top 10 in all of them, and won three parts outright. It remains the most dominant modern pentathlon performance in history, and makes him one of the greatest Olympians of all time.

Football Predictions - 9 Sep thru 14 Sep

Upset picks are in italics.

Wednesday

New England at Seattle - Seahawks by 7

Thursday

Florida A&M at (7) Miami - Hurricanes by 47.5

San Francisco vs. LA Rams - Rams by 7.5

Friday

Villanova at (24) Louisville - Cardinals by 27

Norfolk State at (25) Virginia - Cavaliers by 30.5

Richmond at NC State - Wolfpack by 22

Rutgers at Boston College - Eagles by 28

(23) Missouri at Kansas - Jayhawks by 0.5

Saturday

Howard at (5) Indiana - Hoosiers by 42

(6) Oregon at Oklahoma State - Ducks by 14.5

Arizona State at (10) Texas A&M - Aggies by 14.5

(11) Oklahoma at Michigan - Sooners by 3.5

(16) Penn State at Temple - Nittany Lions by 14.5

Washington State at Kansas State - Cougars by 4.5

East Tennessee State at North Carolina - Tar Heels by 21.5

Old Dominion at Virginia Tech - Hokies by 2.5

Wake Forest at Purdue - Demon Deacons by 2

South Florida at Army - Black Knights by 2

App State at East Carolina - Pirates by 14

Wofford at Kent State - Golden Flashes by 6

Wagner at James Madison - Dukes by 16.5

Gardner-Webb at Liberty - Flames by 23.5

Western Kentucky at (2) Georgia - Bulldogs by 23.5

UT Martin at West Virginia - Mountaineers by 9

Colgate at Central Michigan - Chippewas by 10

Holy Cross at Miami (OH) - Warhawks by 13.5

Stony Brook at Ball State - Cardinals by 14.5

Rice at (3) Notre Dame - Irish by 38

(12) Alabama at Kentucky - Crimson Tide by 15

Arizona at (15) BYU - Cougars by 8.5

Utah State at (19) Washington - Huskies by 35.5

Mississippi State at Minnesota - Gophers by 2

Weber State at Colorado - Buffaloes by 27.5

UCF at Pittsburgh - Panthers by 15.5

California at Syracuse - Orange by 18.5

Duke at Illinois - Blue Devils by 2

Eastern Michigan at Michigan State - Spartans by 24

Maryland at UConn - Huskies by 3.5

UTSA at Texas State - Bobcats by 5

UL Monroe at UAB - Blazers by 14

Robert Morris at Akron - Zips by 10.5

Central Connecticut at Toledo - Rockets by 23

Sacred Heart at UMass - Minutemen by 20.5

UNLV at North Texas - Mean Green by 12

UC Davis at (17) SMU - Mustangs by 35.5

Northern Colorado at Wyoming - Cowboys by 4.5

Mercyhurst at New Mexico - Lobos by 21

Alabama State at Troy - Trojans by 0.5

Delaware at Vanderbilt - Commodores by 12

Campbell at Florida - Gators by 23

Memphis at Boise State - Broncos by 12.5

Buffalo at FIU - Golden Panthers by 27.5

Jacksonville State at Ohio - Bobcats by 10

Monmouth at Western Michigan - Broncos by 30

(18) Tennessee at Georgia Tech - Volunteers by 4.5

Southern at (22) Houston - Cougars by 14.5

Towson at South Carolina - Gamecocks by 21

Western Carolina at Cincinnati - Bearcats by 19

Bowling Green at Nebraska - Cornhuskers by 34.5

Southern Utah at Colorado State - Rams by 11

Tulsa at Sam Houston - Bearkats by 8

Illinois State at Northern Illinois - Huskies by 11.5

South Alabama at Tulane - Green Wave by 20.5

West Georgia at Arkansas State - Red Wolves by 15

Georgia State at Kennesaw State - Owls by 10

Middle Tennessee at Marshall - Thundering Herd by 14

Lindenwood at Missouri State - Bears by 15

San Diego State at UCLA - Bruins by 20

Western Illinois at Wisconsin - Badgers by 17.5

(1) Ohio State at (4) Texas - Longhorns by 6.5

Louisiana Tech at (8) LSU - Tigers by 19.5

(13) Texas Tech at Oregon State - Red Raiders by 3

Iowa State at (21) Iowa - Hawkeyes by 11.5

Georgia Southern at Clemson - Tigers by 10

Navy at FAU - Midshipmen by 3

Fordham at Coastal Carolina - Chanticleers by 16.5

Charlotte at (9) Ole Miss - Rebels by 44

Southern Miss at Auburn - Tigers by 13

Grambling at TCU - Horned Frogs by 16.5

Prairie View at Baylor - Bears by 21

Cal Poly at San Jose State - Spartans by 17.5

Texas Southern at UTEP - Miners by 9.5

North Dakota State at Air Force - Falcons by 8

Arkansas at (20) Utah - Utes by 17

Sacramento State at Fresno State - Bulldogs by 18

Montana State at Nevada - Wolf Pack by 17

Louisiana at (14) USC - Trojans by 20

New Mexico State at Hawaii - Warriors by 4

Sunday

Tampa Bay at Cincinnati - Bengals by 4

New Orleans at Detroit - Lions by 18.5

NY Jets at Tennessee - Titans by 7

Baltimore at Indianapolis - Colts by 1.5

Atlanta at Pittsburgh - Steelers by 3.5

Chicago at Carolina - Bears by 10.5

Cleveland at Jacksonville - Jaguars by 26

Buffalo at Houston - Bills by 0.5

Miami at Las Vegas - Dolphins by 6.5

Green Bay at Minnesota - Packers by 3.5

Arizona at LA Chargers - Chargers by 8.5

Washington at Philadelphia - Eagles by 7.5

Dallas at NY Giants - Cowboys by 6.5

Monday

Denver at Kansas City - Chiefs by 1

Results

NCAA: 82-9 (.901) 87-12 overall (.879)

Upsets: 2-3 (.400) 2-4 overall (.333)

Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #65 - Rai Benjamin

Rai Benjamin

USA

Athletics

Overall Ranks

#21 among American Olympians

#17 among Track & Field Athletes

#15 among Male American Olympians

#12 among Male Track & Field Athletes

#10 among Male American Track & Field Athletes

Olympic Results

2020

400m Hurdles - Silver

4x400m Relay - Gold

2024

400m Hurdles - Gold

4x400m Relay - Gold

Total

Events - 4

Gold - 3

Silver - 1

Rai Benjamin was born on July 27, 1997 in Mount Vernon, New York, and was a 3-time New York State Champion in the hurdles before he graduated, first attending UCLA for a year, then USC for 2. He then decided to turn pro, but it took a year before he was approved to compete for the USA, because he had competed as a teen for Antigua & Barbuda, his father's home country, in one meet.

After winning silver in the 400m hurdles at the 2019 World Championships, Benjamin won the US Olympic Trials in 2021 in a personal-best time to qualify for the Tokyo Games. In the 400m hurdles, the favorite was Karsten Warholm of Norway, who had just broken the 33-year-old world record, setting it at 46.7 seconds. Warholm started fast, but Benjamin caught up by the third hurdle, then briefly lost his stride and fell behind again. He slowly worked his way back through the rest of the race, sitting just behind Warholm over the last hurdle, but his finish wasn't fast enough, and he took the silver medal with a time of 46.17 seconds, more than 0.5 faster than the world record, and still not good enough for gold.

He also competed in the 4x400m relay, where he ran the anchor leg for the favored Americans in the final. The USA was behind Botswana after the first lap, but took a slight lead by the midway point. The third American runner extended the lead to 0.7 seconds when he handed off to Benjamin, who ran the fastest leg of anyone in the race, finishing in 43.4 seconds to give team USA the gold by almost 1.5 seconds.

When he returned to the Olympics in 2004, the competition was the same, with Warholm and bronze medalist Alison dos Santos both competing and among the favorites. Benjamin won both of his heats, but Warholm had his signature fast start in the final, leading Benjamin clear until the 9th hurdle, when Benjamin pulled ahead, then turned on the jets, finishing the race 0.6 seconds ahead of his rival to take the gold medal.

He also ran the anchor leg in the 4x400m relay again, but it ended up much closer this time. Botswana led after the first lap again, and Great Britain passed both to take the lead at the halfway point, but Bryce Deadmon passed them both on the third leg to give Benjamin a lead of 0.24 seconds going into his leg, which turned out to be just enough, as Letsile Tebogo of Botswana ran the fastest leg of the race to nearly catch him, but Benjamin ran the second-fastest time of all to hold him off and win another gold, this time setting a new Olympic record in the process.

Last year, Benjamin announced that he would be focusing more on the 400m than the hurdles going forward, but two weeks ago he ran the hurdles in a meet in Switzerland and won the race, so he may be able to win more than 2 medals at the next Olympics in Los Angeles. Even if he doesn't, he has already established himself as one of the greatest Olympians of all time.

Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #66 - Johannes Hosflot Klaebo

Johannes Hosflot Klaebo

Norway

Cross Country Skiing

Overall Ranks

#5 among Norwegian Olympians

#4 among Cross Country Skiers

#4 among Male Norwegian Olympians

#3 among Norwegian Cross Country Skiers

#2 among Male Norwegian Cross Country Skiers

Olympic Results

2018

Sprint - Gold

Relay - Gold

Team Sprint - Gold

2022

Sprint - Gold

15 km - Bronze

Relay - Silver

Team Sprint - Gold

2026

Sprint - Gold

10 km - Gold

50 km - Gold

Skiathlon - Gold

Relay - Gold

Team Sprint - Gold

Total

Events - 16

Gold - 11

Silver - 1

Bronze - 1

Johannes Hosflot Klaebo was born on October 22, 1996 in Oslo, Norway, and grew up in Trondheim, where he learned to ski, being coached by his grandfather, who still coaches him today. He made his international debut at age 18. He earned his first bronze medal in the world championships in 2017 in the sprint event, just before his Olympic debut in 2018.

His first Olympic event was the skiathlon, which was 15 km of classical skiing, followed by 15 km of freestyle after a change of skis. The leaders all remained together for nearly the entire race, but in the final 5 km, one of his teammates broke away, and a few other soon took pursuit, but Klaebo remained behind in the pack, and finished in 10th place.

The next event was the sprint, his strongest event, and he was favored to win. He was #2 in qualifying, then won both of his heats to advance to the final race, where he led almost the entire race, and finished 1.3 seconds ahead of the other medalists to win his first Olympic gold, and in the process he became the youngest gold medalist in cross country skiing ever.

In the relay, Klaebo was given the anchor leg. Norway was in 5th place after the first leg, and 4th at the halfway point, but Simen Hegstad Kruger, who had won the skiathlon, ran the fastest leg of the competition to give Norway a 1-second lead before the final leg. Klaebo allowed the French skier to pass him, and eventually the Russian as well, and was content to draft off of them for most of his leg, before sprinting past them on a late downhill stretch and running away to win the gold by 10 seconds.

In the team sprint, two skiers take turns running 3 legs each in a relay, and Klaebo was paired with Martin Johnsrud Sundby, who had 4 previous Olympic medals. They easily qualified for the final, then stayed with the main pack for the first half of the race, when Klaebo took off ahead of the group, and no one immediately followed. On Sundby's final leg, a couple of teams closed the gap early on, but then he pulled away near the end, and Klaebo put it away on his final leg, winning the gold by almost 2 seconds over the Russians. He finished his first Olympics with 3 gold medals.

In 2019 and 2021, he won World Championship gold medals in those exact 3 events both times, cementing himself as one of the best in the world. At the 2022 Olympics, he again started with the skiathlon, and once again the result was disappointment, as he could never get out of the pack, and ended up finishing in 40th place.

His next event was the sprint, where he was the defending champ and favorite. He qualified in third, won his first heat, then finished 6 seconds behind Federico Pellegrino of Italy, the defending silver medalist, in the semifinal, but both made the final. Those two led the final from the start, with Terentyev from Russia just behind, but they ditched him on the home stretch, and then Klaebo finished strong, beating Pellegrino by 0.26 seconds to repeat as gold medalist, the first to ever do so in that event.

Next was the 15 km race, and he started off slowly, sitting in 20th place a quarter of the way through, but then he shifted into another gear and started passing people, and by the end of the race, he had moved up to take the bronze medal, 14 seconds behind the silver, and 12 seconds ahead of the next skier.

In the relay, Klaebo was again assigned the anchor leg. The Russian team took a huge lead early, and never allowed anyone to get near them, winning the race by just over a minute. Norway was in second place through the entire race, but Klaebo had to hold off a serious push from France on the final lap to earn the team a silver medal, which he did by 9 seconds.

In the team sprint, Klaebo was paired with newcomer Erik Valnes, and through the first 5 legs, the race was very tight, with less than a second separating Norway, Russia, and Finland, but Klaebo was able to create a gap on the final leg, then sprint to the finish, and won the race by 2.5 seconds over the Russians to win his fourth medal and second gold of the games.

He also competed in the 50 km race, which ended up being shortened to 30 km due to weather, but after falling far behind halfway through, he dropped out and didn't finish the race. It was something he wouldn't let happen again. In 2023, he won his same 3 golds at the World Championship, giving him a triple three-peat, plus two silver in the longer events, and then in 2025, he won gold in all 6 World Championship events, foreshadowing the 2026 Olympics.

Klaebo was favored in every event in Milan-Cortina, even the skiathlon, where he had struggled in his previous two tries. In this one, he was in second place at the halfway point, where they switch skis, then sat behind Hugo Lapalus of France for most of the second half before finally passing him with just over a kilometer to go and holding the lead the rest of the way, winning the gold by 2 seconds in the end.

In his favorite event, the sprint, he led after qualifying for the first time, then won both of his heats to advance to the final, where his only real competition ended up being American Ben Ogden, who was a complete surprise. The pair stayed together for nearly the entire race, before Klaebo took the lead on a late hill and pulled away for a victory of 0.87 seconds.

In the 10 km race, Klaebo started out a little behind, sitting in 12 at the quarter mark, but had moved up to 2nd place behind teammate Einar Hedegart with 2.5 km to go. At that point, Hedegart didn't have much left in the tank, and Klaebo pulled ahead in the last kilometer and ended up winning by nearly 5 seconds to take his third straight gold and 10th career medal overall.

Klaebo skied the anchor leg in the relay for the third straight Olympics, and this time Norway was a huge favorite, thanks to Russia not being allowed to compete, and Klaebo being so dominant. His part of the race hardly mattered, as Norway led from start to finish, with Klaebo taking a 12 second lead to start his leg and stretching it to 22 by the end as they won gold easily.

Klaebo was paired with Hedegart in the team sprint, and they nearly didn't make it out of qualifying, as Hedegart finished his leg in 25th place, but then Klaebo dominated his leg, and moved Norway up to 2nd to reach the final. In the final, they were in 3rd after Hedegart's first leg, but then Klaebo took the lead on his first leg, and they never gave it back. Finland and Italy both challenged for the lead at some point, but neither could take it, and Norway won by 1.37 seconds.

The final event was the longest, the 50 km. Klaebo had failed to finish it at the previous Olympics, but this time, he and two Norwegian teammates skied in a group ahead of everyone else throughout the entire race, before Klaebo pulled ahead on the final climb and won the gold by 8.9 seconds, becoming the first Winter Olympian ever to win 6 golds in the same Olympics.

Klaebo is still the best cross country skier in the world, and is sure to compete for more gold medals in the future, but right now, he is #2 in Olympic history with 11 gold medals, and has 13 medals overall, and only a few poor performances in previous Olympics have kept him from being among the top 25 of all time, but he has a good chance to get into that range going forward. As it is now, he is already one of the greatest Olympians of all time.

2026 NFL Preseason Rankings

The NFL season starts tomorrow with a Super Bowl rematch between New England and Seattle. I've analyzed each team's offseason moves, along with their upcoming schedules, to determine where they all rank heading into the new season, and where I expect them to finish. Here are my full preseason rankings, along with my playoff predictions:

				Actual		Proj
Rank	LW	Team	Rating	W	L	W	L	Seed
1	2	LA Rams	-16.17			14	3	N1
2	1	Seattle	-13.79			13	4	N5
3	10	Detroit	-10.95			14	3	N2
4	7	Buffalo	-9.51			12	5	A1
5	5	New England	-8.757			12	5	A5
6	6	San Francisco	-8.56			11	6	N6
7	4	Jacksonville	-7.778			11	6	A6
8	3	Houston	-7.452			12	5	A2
9	9	Denver	-4.447			10	7	A4
10	12	Baltimore	-3.913			11	6	A3
11	14	Chicago	-3.768			10	7	N7
12	8	Indianapolis	-3.717			11	6	A7
13	13	Kansas City	-3.648			10	7
14	15	Green Bay	-2.644			9	8
15	23	Dallas	-1.795			9	8
16	11	Philadelphia	-1.27			9	8	N3
17	16	LA Chargers	-0.568			8	9
18	26	Cincinnati	0.0471			10	7
19	18	Pittsburgh	0.396			9	8
20	19	Tampa Bay	2.093			8	9
21	20	Atlanta	2.3792			8	9	N4
22	17	Minnesota	2.7233			7	10
23	28	Washington	4.4289			6	11
24	24	New Orleans	5.9867			7	10
25	22	NY Giants	6.2746			6	11
26	25	Arizona	6.4173			5	12
27	21	Carolina	8.3939			5	12
28	27	Miami	10.141			4	13
29	30	Tennessee	13.669			4	13
30	29	Cleveland	16.659			3	14
31	31	Las Vegas	18.238			2	15
32	32	NY Jets	19.087			2	15

Wild Card

(2) Texans over (7) Colts

(6) Jaguars over (3) Ravens

(5) Patriots over (4) Broncos

(2) Lions over (7) Bears

(6) 49ers over (3) Eagles

(5) Seahawks over (4) Falcons

Divisional

(1) Bills over (6) Jaguars

(2) Texans over (5) Patriots

(1) Rams over (6) 49ers

(5) Seahawks over (2) Lions

Conference

(1) Bills over (2) Texans

(1) Rams over (5) Seahawks

Super Bowl

(1) Rams over (1) Bills