So did Walker, who ran 1.6secs faster. But in a championship race in '74 Bayi's tactics were new. It wouldn't have worked against Walker in '75 or the Olympic final in '76.
You are not objective here at all. Therefore your opinion, while not meaningless, is influenced heavily by bias. The truth is you have no idea.
I saw them both race in the 70's. Bayi's tactics were new and took his competitors by surprise. I had also seen great runners in the 60's and of course I have seen all the great md runners since. That isn't "objective" enough for you, who are so expert?
So did Walker, who ran 1.6secs faster. But in a championship race in '74 Bayi's tactics were new. It wouldn't have worked against Walker in '75 or the Olympic final in '76.
Walker might have beaten Bayi in '75 because he was a better runner than he was in '74 but he would not have gone with Bayi to do so. It would have been even less likely in '76.
Walker has said that in '75 he was confident that he could go with Bayi and beat him. His easily beating Bayi's mile record that year (as well as his demolishing the 2k record) and then his Olympic title in '76 suggests he was probably right.
Walker might have beaten Bayi in '75 because he was a better runner than he was in '74 but he would not have gone with Bayi to do so. It would have been even less likely in '76.
Walker has said that in '75 he was confident that he could go with Bayi and beat him. His easily beating Bayi's mile record that year (as well as his demolishing the 2k record) and then his Olympic title in '76 suggests he was probably right.
What it suggests is that Walker was a better runner in '75 than he was in '74 and thus was more capable of beating Bayi at the time.
Had Bayi been in the '76 Olympic race he would have attempted to run off and Walker would have been the only follower. None of the rest of the field would have gone with him at that point in time. It wouldn't have been a 3:39 race.
If Bayi had used those tactics in 1976, the “field” would have let Bayi and Walker go.
Not in an Olympic final.
There’s no way Bayi wouldn’t have used the same tactics in 1976 and it would have been suicide for anyone besides Walker to go with him. The pair would have run around 3:32 and there was no one else in the field with a PR of faster than 3:35.
Walker has said that in '75 he was confident that he could go with Bayi and beat him. His easily beating Bayi's mile record that year (as well as his demolishing the 2k record) and then his Olympic title in '76 suggests he was probably right.
What it suggests is that Walker was a better runner in '75 than he was in '74 and thus was more capable of beating Bayi at the time.
Had Bayi been in the '76 Olympic race he would have attempted to run off and Walker would have been the only follower. None of the rest of the field would have gone with him at that point in time. It wouldn't have been a 3:39 race.
You are correct about that. But I think the other finalists would have also tried to follow.
What it suggests is that Walker was a better runner in '75 than he was in '74 and thus was more capable of beating Bayi at the time.
Had Bayi been in the '76 Olympic race he would have attempted to run off and Walker would have been the only follower. None of the rest of the field would have gone with him at that point in time. It wouldn't have been a 3:39 race.
You are correct about that. But I think the other finalists would have also tried to follow.
In the 1974 CG 1500m, Bayi ran the first lap in 54 and if he did that in 1976 final there’s no way anyone besides Walker would have considered covering it. The CG field let him go and he did comeback, but Bayi had too much left. Anyone that would have tried to keep up in 1976 would have been handing the Bronze to Van Damme.
It's plain as day how to win championship 1500 races - go for it. Yak proved this twice, in going for it and winning, and not going for it, and now we have to put up with nonstop vomit about Wightman.
In warm-up Bayi ran non-stop for 1 hour (10 miles) around the outer perimeter of the warm-up field. He did it in an orange Puma RAIN suit on a sunny enough and warm day. He did endless loops around this half mile loop at 6 min pace.