Finns what has happend...

The Finns managed to copy the Swedish system in no time at all and maybe even improve it with half a dozen "sports leaders" and functionaries for one coach. The boss level started to believe it was they and their "system" (of multi-level management and distribution of funds) had been behind the success, and not the coaches and the athletes.

It's still too much that way, the "system" rules - whereas in Sweden now it's the coaches at club level who have distinguished themselves who are given a central role and the funding to go with it.

It was Mike Kosgei who was brought in presumably as a last ditch effort to repeat Arthur Lydiard's achievement in 1995. Both men met with very similar prejudiced opposition in the ranks and impatient criticism and failed to perform any miracles in the short time they were here. Kosgei survived it for two years, a bit longer than Lydiard had done, but left without causing a "paradigm shift" like Arthur had done.

However, I believe Kosgei did leave a trace: his conviction that Finnish runners could achieve great things seemed quite genuine, he attended training camps for 16-18-year-olds and helped to keep the flame alive. (BTW he said that the biggest surprise for him was that "Finnish runners don't like to sleep"!)

(The next candidate for a miracle man was Juha Väätäinen: the same story, the same results - but his enthusiasm and his unwavering belief in the rewards of hard work were catchy.)

Jukka Toivola did finsih behind Alberto Salazar in New York, the year was 1981 - but you're right: "Shorter" was my brainfart for Rodgers.

The womne's 3000m winner in Rome 1974 was Nina Holmén. The name should be familiar to readers of this thread, because she is the mother of Janne Holmén who won marathon gold in Munich 2002. (BTW Janne's father and coach Rune was a decent distance runner himself, Janne is married to Laila, sister of Khalid Skah...)

Long runs are done also these days and also in winter, but I'm afraid most young runners prefer shorter long runs and would rather head for tempo runs or intervals indoors.

But the biggest problem is that most young runners are too sensible about their future. I have to admit it makes more sense to put one's studies first: it's not as simple as it perhaps once was to risk everything in the pursuit of glory in a sport woth the damands and the competition running has.

The 90's recession had very little do with the collapse of the trade with the Soviet Union. Some factories in the textile industry which had had a comfortable niche in that trade had to lay off their work force or went bust, but that's about it. But I digress...

I'm not too sure that anyone, young or old, took up running or began to train harder or more seriously because of an economic downswing. Besides, the economy has been on a upswing for the past ten years and the country is "rich" on a scale beyond the 80's short-lived credit bubble.

OTOH sport is quite possibly seen as a way up (rather than out of poverty) stronger than ever - but running sure isn't one of those sports like icehockey or soccer.

Running is still more a calling than a nice job one can practise in one's 20'¨s and 30's...

More likely Costa del Sol in Spain or Dullstroom in South Africa, though. Some brave and more independent souls have sought their way to Eldoret in Kenya. Jukka Keskisalo, the steeplechase winner, spent four months in Australia (near Melbourne where Mottram and his club mates train).

What about the 23% unemployment rate caused directly by the collapse. Also the collapse of several banks as bills could no longer be paid by overextended companies and individuals. My job went instantly as did many others. That was nothing to do with the textile industry.

I think long term unemployment or poor prospects are a very good incentive to some people to train. Lots of time on their hands, it worked in the UK. Sky high unemployment here in the late 70'-80's coincided with the Golden Age of UK middle distance running. Coincidence maybe. My first spell of unemployment allowed me to train more which led to some rather good performances as it did for several other top UK runners.

Finns do like to get educated though and I agree that many would be put off by the challenge of athletics when a dull office job awaits them. Who needs excitement when a life time of drudgery beckons, live fast die young..... People generally only get one chance to reach their peak in any sport, they should grab that chance, education can be done any time even while training 100+ miles/week. Opportunities should never be thrown away for a wife and 2 kids, a mortgage, car and an acedemic title. Live safe, die bored.

I don't think this is a place to discuss economics, but what happened was a text book case of a bank deregulation followed by a bubble economy followed by a credit crunch and a bust for all. Everyone had borrowed money to invest or buy real estate, and suddenly the floor went off the market, the value of the currency floated down, the banks got scared, everyone stopped investing or buying or consuming etc etc etc.

FWIW there wasn't a single bank collapse here, because the state rushed in to bail them out. The assets of the one bank which had truly been on the brink of collapse were sold to other banks, while the state took on the bad loans and the taxpayers ended with the final bill.

When the same story took place in Norway and in Sweden, the results weren't as drastic, because Norway had its oil revenue as a buffer and Sweden adopted a different fiscal policy, i.e. loaned even more money to keep the economy going and the unemployment low. Finland chose to remake and remodel itself with an iron hand, so to speak, into the Nokialand it became just a few years later.

In any case, the collapse of the Soviet trade was only a nice handy false excuse for the recession and the politics that led to and deepened it.

Anyway, it would've been nice if the whole debacle would've produced one world or European class runner, but I cannot think of one. Besides, if you travel to training camps or races, you aren't "available to employers" and therefore you wouldn't qualify for the dole:-)