Why Johnny Gray was so good

A fabulous physical talent, probably the best ever in this country, but not a great competitor, expecially when facing competitors as physically talented as he was -- i.e., World Championship and Olympics. If you examine all his World Championship and Olympic performances, they were inferior to his performances at the Trials where he would usually dominate. Probably his worst performance was the '93 World Championships semis where he let a competitor cut him off, lost concentration and finished last. Afterwards, on TV he raged about the competitor not having a stride before cutting in but not his falling completely apart as a result. Even his bronze medal winning performance in the '92 Olympics was far inferior to his dominating start to finish 1:42.80 win at the Olympic Trials where he tore apart the field.

Not a great competitor, Les??? As stated earlier, four Olympic 800m finals. What are your credentials, Les, to gauge the level of competitor that Gray was?

former SMTC guy wrote:

I always tried to talk him into running the mile a few times, just to get a sub 4, but he never did.

As someone else already pointed out, he did race the occasional 1500m. A friend of mine who ran for BYU ran against him in the mid-80s at some random meet where my friend went 3:44 and narrowly lost to Gray. Clearly could have gone sub-4 if he'd wanted to -- but why bother when you're busy going sub-1:43!!!

Gray was definitely an exciting guy to watch race -- and it's nice to see yet another track legend posting on Letsrun...

Johnny, just to let you know, you were a great inspiration to me. Id cheer for you on the line every time!!

I agree, I dont believe you choked you seemed to give it everything, every single time.

Glad to see you're doing well.

Please tell us all what you've been up to since you retired. And also what you think of the present US middle / long distance runners.

A fan.

graywatcher wrote:

Any video clips of Mr. Gray out there?

This one from 1985 where Johnny finished 3rd in low 1:43

great race to watch. Gray had to come from too far back or looks like he would have gotten 2nd. funny, considering he is known for being the frontrunner, pushing the pace.

question for Les wrote:

Not a great competitor, Les??? As stated earlier, four Olympic 800m finals. What are your credentials, Les, to gauge the level of competitor that Gray was?

You wouldn't measure gray against Les.You measure him against himself. How he did in the big championships for how he should have done. I don't thikn it makes him less of a competitor for underperforming...just means he didn't time his season right or had some bad races. Some people always peak too early.

If this is the real Johnny Gray, my apologies for saying that choked. I ran the 800m and ran it clean. No I was never ranked nationally but I ran my times clean as well.

You inspired me to run as fast as I did.

To say what Johnny implied but can't say:

You are claiming he "choked" because he couldn't win major championships. But in order to place himself in a position to win against athletes who were indefatigable in training because of drugs, he had to push the limits in his own training. Thus, when the meet came around he had tired legs and didn't race up to the level of the drugged runners. However, he is satisfied with his choice to overtrain because that was his only chance to win.

I don't know Johnny, but am good friends with another world class runner who was frustrated by the same predicament.

question for Les wrote:

Not a great competitor, Les??? As stated earlier, four Olympic 800m finals. What are your credentials, Les, to gauge the level of competitor that Gray was?

1988 Gold medal favorite, finished 5th. 1992 again the Gold medal favorite off a dominating Olympic Trials performance, beaten by two Kenyans. 1993 World Championships last in his semi.

Les

You were pretty good too!

Gray ran 1:12.81 for 600m.

That is simply absurd.

Once again, Gray was a fabulous talent who had a long career and ran fantastic times. Making the Olympic finals four times is a great achievment. However, REACHING the highest stage and PERFORMING YOUR BEST once you reach the highest stage are two different things. For whatever reason, he could not put it all together once he reached the finals of international championship races. It was not a physical thing, as he performed brilliantly in Olympic trials with rounds.

saying johnny couldve run his 1:42.8 and won the olympics is as stupid as saying webb will run a 3:30 at worlds.

I ran the 800 in college and my total running career, high school - post college was '87 - '96.

Coe was the World Record holder during almost all of that period but there was really only one runner that was near the top of the world every single year- Johnny Gray.

Every single World Championship or Olympic Final was won by an underdog except Kipketer in '95.

I thought Paul Ereng was going to be the best ever but he only had 2 real good years.

The 800 is a crazy unpredictable race. Gray was one of the most consistant faces in the event's history.

"Gray was one of the most consistant faces in the event's history"...and a great competitor despite what Les says. The man, Johnny Gray, takes his given talent, puts in years of very hard work to be amongst the best in the world in his event, takes care of his body and is the model of longevity at a world class level, and only because he didn't win a GOLD medal which so few do, has some guy named LES state that he wasn't a great competitor. By LES's great and all-knowing standard only a handful can truly be a great competitor.

Aouita was the favorite in '88, not Gray

Les wrote:

1988 Gold medal favorite, finished 5th. 1992 again the Gold medal favorite off a dominating Olympic Trials performance, beaten by two Kenyans. 1993 World Championships last in his semi.

Why isn't Gray in the T&F Hall of Fame?

Johnny Gray wrote:

First of all I'll like to thank everyone for the great comments, as well as coach Ranaldie foe sending me this web site. Now for my thoughts. I think that the reason I ran so well for so long is because I was blessed, as well as I worked very hard and stayed away from Drugs and cheating even through the rough times. As far as the comment about me choking, NEVER! I didn't choke, I was just too tired at times and because I was human and not cheating, I took a lickin but kept on tickin.To sum it all up, I workd hard and I did it clean, my question to the rest is how many of you did it clean? Love you all and thanks for the great comments. I HAD FUN!

Johnny was talented, but he also worked damn hard. And Jake, if you're reading this, it was a pleasure training with you (on San Vicente) and behind you (on the track) for two seasons. I loved when we would finish a hard session and you would tell Merle, "We was doin' some RUNNIN'." Indeed.