Is it Coe's 800? Kipketer's 800? El G's 1500? Komen's 3k? I think Komen's 3k is a little weaker than the 1500 or 800 world records. Coe's lasted for what, 16 years? Will El G's last that long? It could at this rate. Running 3:30 these days is a huge accomplishment, and 3:30 is light years away from 3:26.00.
It's Rudolf Harbig's 800-meter WR
its mike lit's wr attempt at the 1200.2m. a blistering 2: 39 min!!!
Not commenting on best middle distance wr, but if you are talking about greatest race where a wr was set, the 1500m in Nice in '85 would have to be high on that list. Cram has a 10-20m lead on Auoita with a lap to go and still has a pretty good lead with 100m and Aoiuta gains on him the whole final straight, but can't quite catch him at the line. Both guys break the old wr and are the first guys under 3:30. At the finish, the difference is .04 sec (3:29.67 - 3:29.71).
...Geb's 5000m record during the '90s where he took off like 11 seconds off the previous record.
how about... wrote:
...Geb's 5000m record during the '90s where he took off like 11 seconds off the previous record.
If it were in a middle distance record then yes. I think it would have to be between Coe's 800, Kipketer's 800, and Komen's 3000. El G's nowadays looks really good, but his contemporaries Lagat and Ngeny time-wise were close. In the 3000 no one in history has approached the record, and Coe knocked down the record so far from what it was and had it stand for a while though his contemporary Cruz was close. Kipketer's time is a second clear of any challengers since he set his record, which is impressive.
Poker wrote:
In the 3000 no one in history has approached the record.
While it was truly a remarkable performance, the record's longevity is also aided by the fact that it is a non-standard distance! It is not an "Olympic event," and the fact of the matter is that there simply aren't very many serious men's 3,000m races that are contested when compared to the 800 and 1500.
i garantee every middle distance world record was set on some drugs.
I wont disagree with the 3000 not being contested as often, but even the best like El G, Geb, and Bekele have tried going at the record and were still a good bit away from topping Komen's effort.
The 800m WR is so ridiculously fast, I cant imagine the pain Coe and Kipketer went through.
Hands down it's Coe. For the time, for any time, his performance was Beamonesque.
When you watch old races of Kipketer's around the time he set the WR, you realize why no one's been close to that time. Form and efficiency wise, he's simply the most perfect runner there has ever been.
The 1000 meter record by Noah Nehgny of 2:11.96 is pretty impressive. 5 consecutive 200's in just under 26.2. That would be a great workout for someone with full recoveries!!!