Would you prefer Yamcha to be stronger than Krillin?

[TheCiple]

Kuririn being stronger than Tenshinhan makes perfect sense when you take into account that he trained with partners far stronger than both Tenshinhan and Chaozu. Kuririn also still had the potential unlock lead.

Like who, 18? I'm pretty sure he stopped fighting and training seriously by that point which is why he stopped shaving his head.
Krillin trained alone the three years before the androids, and didn't train for 7 years after that while presumably Tien did.

Even if you think Chaozu's presence is negligible, i think Tien is dedicated enough to close that Potential Unlock gap over the course of 10 years. You can always take Yamcha telling Marron that Krillin is the strongest human at face value, but tbf he was trying to reassure Krillin's daughter there.

And also the Z-Fighters seemed to have had no contact with Tien since cell was defeated, and based on his entrance it's implied he has gotten much stronger.

[MainJPW]

Like who, 18? I'm pretty sure he stopped fighting and training seriously by that point which is why he stopped shaving his head.

I was also counting Super, where he trained with both 18 and Goku and performed relative to 18 during the ToP, but even with just the original 42 volumes, he trained with 18 before the 25th Budokai. 18 should be a more effective training partner since she's stronger than any of the regular Earthlings; meanwhile, Chaozu isn't stronger than Tenshinhan.

Even if you think Chaozu's presence is negligible, i think Tien is dedicated enough to close that Potential Unlock gap over the course of 10 years.

Or he just didn't, because his training method isn't enough to let him close the massive gap. Kuririn was getting stronger throughout the Namek arc after the unlock, to the point where Vegeta claimed his power was rapidly rising along with Gohan's.

You can always take Yamcha telling Marron that Kuririn is the strongest human at face value, but tbf he was trying to reassure Krillin's daughter there.

Yamcha turned his attention away from Marron when he added "among Earthlings". Yamcha saying Kuririn was the strongest man in the world was the reassurance; the "among Earthlings" part is just him correcting himself.

And also the Z-Fighters seemed to have had no contact with Tien since cell was defeated, and based on his entrance it's implied he has gotten much stronger.

He could have. That still doesn't confirm anything about his strength in relation to Kuririn.