How good was Said Aouita?

don't forget 27:17 (got spiked). plus I think that he tried the steeple and was on the way to a great time until injury?

always thought aouita was the best at running faster in more pain, if that makes any sense. seemed to be closer to all out so much of the time, compared to others i've watched.

needed better drugs maybe...

"Between September 1983 and September 1990 he won 115 of his 119 races. The defeats were against world champion Steve Cram over 1500 m, Olympic bronze medalist Alessandro Lambruschini over 3000 m steeplechase, Olympic champions Joaquim Cruz and Paul Ereng over 800 m and world champion Yobes Ondieki over 5000 m"

jesus

When I was an up and coming young runner, Said was THE man. I remember when he started losing finally. It was like seeing superman get hit with some kryptonite.

I don't think there will ever be another runner with that kind of range that can also win at those distances...the only athlete that ever comes close to his range is Haile Gebreselassie with his 3:31 1500m winning indoor worlds and his world records in the marathon. Maybe Webb can match Aouita's times but I don't see him with the same kind of winning record. (115 out of 119 over 800-10000, that is unheard of!)

too bad he was trying to get australian athletes to dope. makes you wonder about him.....

2nd best Morrocan ever wrote:

1:43,3:29,4:50 and 7:29 (those last 2 closing in 54x). World record at 5000m.

Wut a beast.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c4gsDq9OlM

He was better than this post indicates:

1500 WR, 2000 WR, 3000 WR, 5000 WR, 10000 SB - 27:26

First ever sub-7:30, First ever sub-13:00.

He also won an Olympic gold in the 5000 AND an Olympic Bronze in the 800. The only person that can compare with him in terms of pure dominance is Henry Rono.

He raced and won against the Olympic champions Joaquim Cruz, Peter Rono, John Ngugi and Alberto Cova over their respective main distances

Aouita was even better at his craft than Brahim Boulami, Adil Kaouch, Asmae Leghzaoui and Mohammed Mourhit.

2nd best moroccan ever??? you're selling him short dude. are you telling me that you think el G was a greater runner??

2nd best Morrocan ever wrote:

1:43,3:29,4:50 and 7:29 (those last 2 closing in 54x). World record at 5000m.

Wut a beast.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c4gsDq9OlM

I think Webb could ultimately display this kind of range, if he focused up in distance. He's already run the 1:43, 3:29 (3:46 equivalent). He will NEVER medal at 1500, but he has the speed to close the last 800 of a 5000 with ANYBODY in a championship race. I hope this dawns on him over the next few years. Nobody else in the US with sub-12:55 potential as far as I'm concerned.

Oh, El G was even better at the same craft than Aouita.

TBS Olympic Gold showed almost his entire 7:29 3000 WR on tv and it was incredible - his eyes were practically rolling up his head down the final homestretch. I doubt there was a tougher runner in the world and certainly none with better range - world class in the 800 and the 10,000.

Atanvarno wrote:

He raced and won against the Olympic champions Joaquim Cruz, Peter Rono, John Ngugi and Alberto Cova over their respective main distances

Aouita never beat Cova in 10,000m race.

Supposedly Aouita only ran one 10,000m race in Oslo in 1986, finishing in 27:26.11.

Here is a link to the result -

.

He did. Cova stopped after realising he has no chance. Aouita ran much faster in his debut than Cova's lifetime PB.

2nd best Morrocan ever wrote:

"Between September 1983 and September 1990 he won 115 of his 119 races. The defeats were against world champion Steve Cram over 1500 m, Olympic bronze medalist Alessandro Lambruschini over 3000 m steeplechase, Olympic champions Joaquim Cruz and Paul Ereng over 800 m and world champion Yobes Ondieki over 5000 m"

jesus

When you're pumped to the gills with HGH, steroids, and blood transfusions, this is possible. Also, studiously switching between the 800, 1000, 1500, Mile, 2000, 3000, 3000 steeplechase, two miles, 5000 and 10000m to avoid your main rivals (mainly Coe, Ovett, and Cram) helps build up a long unbeaten streak too.

Also, leaving aside the fact that Aouita's 'range' was almost certainly the result of being the biggest doper on the planet in the 80s, has any other elite 5000m runner ever attempted to devote an entire year to dropping down to 800m (an event Aouita began his career at)?

Further, isn't it just a little strange, that Aouita was a dedicated 800/1500 runner until the age of 23, and could rarely break 1:50, yet after a number of years of the 5000m, aquired the ability at near 30 to drop back down and run sub 1 :44 and be regarded as favourite for Olympic gold?

Peter Coe said 5000m pace is golden. I suppose Aouita's improvement backs him up.