Hypothetical matchup. Tokyo, 1964. Snell is the best he has ever been leading up to the 1500m final. After dominating the 800m final days earlier with the second fastest time in history, he looks poised to make history as the first man in decades to complete the double. The only chink in his armor is possible race fatigue, as this will be his 6th race in 8 days.
His only challenger is the veteran champion from Australia. One year older than Snell, Elliot made his mark from 1958-1960 when he never lost a mile race and ran 17 sub-4 minute miles and a 3:54.5 in 1958. His 1500m performance was even more impressive, running a best time of 3:35.6 (equivalent to a 3:52 mile) in the Rome Olympic final. Snell's best time in the mile is only 0.1 second faster than Elliot's, and has never run a flat-out 1500m until this race. Elliot has the faster time, but Snell has his famed last quarter kick. Who will win?
Just think if both had raced sometime during the 1960-64 span, or if Elliot hadn't retired at 22. It would certainly be a great race.