What if Viren had not blood doped in 1972

Yes he's right Im off to watch the 3 films made about Stewart.

Ian Stewart Not Great wrote:

These stats are still mediocre,

If Stewart was mediocre, Pre was moreso. Stewart was considered to have the better pedigree going into that race.

Ian Stewart Not Great wrote:

Pre had to completely shut it down because he didn't care about bronze to get nipped by Stewart.

Another LetsRun mindlessly stupid comment.

Stewart sacrificed the gift. Pre was the real winner.

I've seen the movies. They all say so.

Ian Stewart Not Great wrote:

These stats are still mediocre, Wolrd XC, big deal, Nick Rose got silver, someone Pre always demolished, and would have continued to do so if he lived. European and Commonwealth titles like NCAA and AAU titles, most PRs slower, no guts. Pre was a shoo in for a silver or bronze who lost because he wanted only gold, Stewart is just a also ran that got lucky. Hell, I doubt Stewart could even outkick Pre with his slower 2-3 second slower Mile time, Pre had to completely shut it down because he didn't care about bronze to get nipped by Stewart.

If that overgrown boy you idolize was so arrogant he didn't care about an Olympic Medal, he deserved to lose it to Stewart.

Get over it. Pre was dying and Stewart passed him. He wasn't good enough that day, and because of other stupid things he did he didn't get another.

One factor in Virén's Olympic victories, especially at the 1972 Olympics 5,000 and 10,000 metres, has received little attention: his careful running of almost all the bends (curves) near the inner edge of the first lane, which spared him tens of metres compared to his chief rivals. More specifically, the United States' Steve Prefontaine gave Virén a handicap of over forty metres at the 1972 Olympics 5,000 metres, and Belgium's Emiel Puttemans gave Virén a handicap of about fifty metres at the 1972 Olympics 10,000 metres, by running many bends wide on the outer edge of the first lane or sometimes even on the second lane. This skillful practice of avoiding the running of extra metres in long-distance track races is called "bend (curve) mathematics" (see Mauno Saari, "Lasse Viren: The Secrets of Running" / Lasse Viren - Juoksemisen salaisuudet, Finland, 1979).

These stats are still mediocre, Wolrd XC, big deal, Nick Rose got silver, someone Pre always demolished, and would have continued to do so if he lived. [/quote]

Yeah, one world XC title, Commonwealth Games, European Championships, give me a break! I mean, Pre won NCAA Cross three times (FOUR in the track 5k)! That wuss Stewart couldn't handle the heat in the American school-boy league. Clearly Pre was the superior runner.

charlie chan wrote:

Has there ever been a stupider way to run a 5000 Olympic final than Pre's? No. But thank to Pre's popularity American runners have been duped into thinking it is a valient wat to run for decades now. It is the reason we are two decades behind the world in distance running.

Rethink that one Charlie, the biggest problem with our guys today is that they just sit behind the Africans never putting themselves in the race.

I don't know why this keeps coming up, but these are the facts:

1. Blood doping was not illegal back then

2. Viren was never caught

3. Viren never admitted doping

Another What If wrote:

A Brit wrote:

A more gutless way to earn a bronze??? You mean outsprinting the American? Weird, I thought that was the point. Had it wrong all these years.

Pre went for the gold, Stewart merely went for a medal. Perhaps it would have been more accurate to say that Stewart ran more conservatively (i.e. with less guts) than Prefontaine.

But what do you friggin' Brits know. You're all arrogant azzholes. Otherwise you'd have left the American colonies alone and gotten the hell out of Ireland.

Stewart is a good dude. He can be seen on video that pre deserved a medal more than he did on that day

Ian Stewart Not Great wrote:

Pre was a shoo in for a silver or bronze who lost because he wanted only gold, Stewart is just a also ran that got lucky. Hell, I doubt Stewart could even outkick Pre with his slower 2-3 second slower Mile time, Pre had to completely shut it down because he didn't care about bronze to get nipped by Stewart.

Pre shut it down! When you stagger 10+ metres to get across the line you are not shutting it down, you are completely spent. And if he were a "shoe (they teach spelling of that word by grade 1) in" for the silver, why couldn't he catch Gammoudi. Pre ran reckless on that last lap and it cost him. Get over it.

Also: Viren was the bomb in 72 and 76 because he spent years training just for them. Each winter before the Olympics he would go to high altitude and run 3 times per day, totaling tonnes of miles; training harder than anyone so he could demolish that summer. And don't forget the reindeer milk!