Hodiho. Haters, come back when you've won three Olympic 800 meter golds and set WRs that persisted for decades...and while you're at it, you need to beat Snell's alltime 1:44.3WR for 800 on a grass track. Then, and only then, will anyone listen to you.
The idea that Snell, or other Lydiard disciples, or even Lydiard-doubters, can learn much from Johnny Gray (or those coached by Igloi or Timmons) is almost too pathetic. What can we do except laugh when we read these claims?
Johnny Gray was a world-class athlete whom I happen to respect because he laid it on the line, every time, he ran 1:42 several times during a long career at the highest level, and he raced four OG 800 finals and even won a bronze medal at the event.
But he's not even in the same stadium as Peter Snell.
Don't you haters realize that trying to diminish an athlete as great as Snell, or his monumental accomplishments, just makes you look like utter weenies?
Also, have you guys noticed that Peter Snell is becoming increasingly direct in his old age? He states that "American" "interval-based training" is "bullshit." At least, he said it twice in the interview.
That doesn't mean he lacks respect for his US rivals, except Beatty...
"I was impressed with Jim Ryun afterward as, even though I wasn’t as sharp as I could have been when he beat me in 1965, I felt he was going to have a fabulous career. I shook his hand just after the race as I was pretty happy for him, though I’m not sure if Jim got that message."
And, now we know why he won't be invited to present the 800m medals by the LOCOG...
"As far as the British middle distance runners in the early 1980s I was glad when Steve Cram knocked Sebastian Coe off as I preferred his personality."
And never mind the four lap events. The significance of the 800 vs the 15/mile...
"I believe winning back-to-back 800s was the tougher thing to do. Neither of the 800 races was a foregone conclusion whereas in the Tokyo 1,500 meters I was favored and it would have been more shocking if I didn’t win."
Gary: great job with the interview, this is most interesting. But, you missed a couple of subjects that are of interest to the LR readership.
There is no mention of the notorious 76 second 660yd time trial in Tokyo that caused "rumors to spread like wildfire" around the Olympic village and created a climate of abject fear among his opponents. As if they didn't already fear him.
Whether the 1:44.3 was the limit for him? I doubt it, considering his comments about the relative difficulty of the track in Tokyo and the fact his positioning was so bad, he resorted to unprecedented tactics to win the race. No other athlete has deliberately exited the box on the backstretch of the OG 800 final by dropping back, and then swinging wide and taking the entire field around the curve. And recorded what was then the second fastest time in the history of the event, second only to his own WR. The margin of superiority is just as conclusive as the 1500 although it didn't show on TV as well.