EZ ran 20K under 60 before anyone but himself ran 10K under 30.
The first runner under 30 minutes for 10.000m was Viljo Heino in 1939 - your statement is not true.
EZ ran 20K under 60 before anyone but himself ran 10K under 30.
The first runner under 30 minutes for 10.000m was Viljo Heino in 1939 - your statement is not true.
hey jtupper, could you tell us more about Zatopek? Maybe some of that conversation you had that day?
Good stuff! Thanks for posting it.
irun wrote:
I'm pretty sure Emil Zatopek was the original Bill Brasky.
Hah! This sums things up nicely. Normally, this is where I'd suggest "end of thread", but I'd love to hear more about this beast. Amazing!
said88 wrote:
EZ ran 20K under 60 before anyone but himself ran 10K under 30.
The first runner under 30 minutes for 10.000m was Viljo Heino in 1939 - your statement is not true.
I read this in a profile on EZ. They must've meant "the year he broke 60". Either way, your point is taken. Thanks for the correction.
just the facts wrote:
said88 wrote:The first runner under 30 minutes for 10.000m was Viljo Heino in 1939 - your statement is not true.
I read this in a profile on EZ. They must've meant "the year he broke 60". Either way, your point is taken. Thanks for the correction.
There were several athletes by 1951 that ran under 30min for 10k... Viljo Heino ran 2 world records by that time and swaped the WR with Emil Zatopek 2 times. Alain Mimoun ran under 30 as well and few others. I believe there were 9 runners by that time that broke 30 minutes when he ran two 10km under 30min in a row. Still very impressive.
Several other statements in this thread were exagerated or untrue, or were grossly altered. I have Emil's autobiography (which was not translated into any other language as far as I know) and most of the books that mentions him on more than 10 pages, met him several times and his wife, so I know what I am talking about.
The most incredible thing I know of and admire him for most, came long after his running carrier ended. He was a true and believing communist during the first 15 years after the WWII. The political situation in Czechoslovakia changed a bit in the 60s and people were longing for a change in the dictartoship regime. We all know what happened in August 1968 (invasion of Russian and Eastern block armies), and Emil- a passionate speaker himself- stood on one of the tanks parked on the Prague's plazzas and spoke to the crowd and denounced his communist beliefs on the basis of this military intervention. He even went so far that he signed the document which criticised the presence of Russian soldiers in Czechoslovakia and called for the change in the political system. This all cost him military rank, he was kicked off from the army, and for years he had to work in drilling mines in Jachymov, were they were mining uranium (!!!). He worked like a slave in very dangerous conditions- a 4 times olympic champ and holder of silver olympic medal, holder of 18 world records, 3 European champs wins and the ambasador of a sport !!!! All for speaking out loud and sticking to his beliefs. He knew very well what could happen to him if he would do what he had done. He still did it. That is a picture of a hero.
Forest child wrote:
just the facts wrote:I read this in a profile on EZ. They must've meant "the year he broke 60". Either way, your point is taken. Thanks for the correction.
There were several athletes by 1951 that ran under 30min for 10k... Viljo Heino ran 2 world records by that time and swaped the WR with Emil Zatopek 2 times. Alain Mimoun ran under 30 as well and few others. I believe there were 9 runners by that time that broke 30 minutes when he ran two 10km under 30min in a row. Still very impressive.
I've said it in the second post in this thread: there were already five other athletes under 30 minutes when Zatopek ran more than 20km in 1 hour. These were: Taisto Mäki, Viljo Heino, Martin Stokken, Alain Mimoun and Herbert Schade. The first under 30 minutes was not Heino as I earlier had said, but for sure Mäki.
But to run more than 20km in 1 hour when only five others had run under 30 over 10km truly is astonishing!
Zatopek ran at least 144 races over 5000m and 61 over 10.000m. Only a comparison: Kenenisa Bekele so far has run only 9 10.000m races on the track.
I just finished reading a great biography on the great man.
His finish in the 5000m in helsinki is special..what an amazing will to win.
It said in the book his 400 all out pr was 56 and he closed that 5000 in 28