Mo Katir equals El Guerrouj - closes 1500 in 1:47.10

Katir closed in 1:48,3. 54,8 and 53,5 splits last 800m. Strong finish but not living up to the hype of this thread.

Great insight, Spivey. Love this.

Which performance of Morceli justifies this thought?

Both Cram and Gonzalez have run a sub 50 last lap in the European Cup earlier in the season - and both were completely destroyed by Bile. Bile must have been in WR shape on this day with UNIQUE finishing qualities (see also Jim Spivey's comment).

Bile's race was undoubtedly impressive but it should be borne in mind that it was more than two seconds slower at the finish than El G ran in Athens, who was only a fraction slower - 0.7secs - over the last 800m. He could conceivably have run 1:46-flat in a slower race, as Bile did.

You can pretty much look at his World Titles in '91, '93 and '95. All pretty much 50 or 51 point last laps and pretty quick times. Under 1:50 for 800, and you have to think if he went hard from 800 or even 700 out and didn't save as much for the last lap running 53.5/52.5 was doable or close.

His best times over the 1500 and the mile were significantly slower than Cram's records. Records over those distances require more than an ability to finish fast or run a fast last 800.

I don't think he could have run the race the way Bile did - but we will never know.

Cram in the ‘87 world championship race is hardly worth using for a comparison: he finished 8th in 3:41, and obviously wasn’t in top form. Bile did beat Gonzalez by 1.23 and Spivey by 2.02, which is obviously incredibly impressive. I do believe after all that there might only be one runner in history who would have beaten Bile in that race…

Really cool that Jim Spivey commented on the race. Thanks for that, Jim.

I shouldn’t have said I’m sure that peak Morceli would have beaten Bile that day, but I suspect he would. This performance is pretty good:

Closes a 3:34.24 race with a 50.62 last lap. Has anybody in history matched that?—I don’t think so. He beats Cacho by 1.32 and Bile by 1.72. Spivey was also in that race - it would be interesting to hear his take on this.

^Another World Championships, another dominant win for Morceli, this time putting 2 full seconds on 2nd place. This time he split 51.54 in a 3:32.84 race, and I don’t think he had yet reached his prime.

Arguably his most dominant World Championship win:

Closes in 51.28 in a 3:33.73 race, but that doesn’t do it justice: he jogs across the line after absolutely obliterating peak Niyongabo and a young El Guerrouj.

Plus you can watch both of his 1995 3:27s if you need further illustration of his dominance at that point.

So, a 3:27.37/3:44.39 runner who could reliably close 3:32-3:34 races in 50.5-51.5 and dominated 4 World Championship or Olympic 1500s, who went 38-0 in outdoor 1500/mile finals from September ‘92 until September ‘96 (he didn’t lose indoors or in heats either) would have given Bile a hard time in the 1987 World Championship. Maybe he couldn’t have beaten him if they’d hit 700m stride-for-stride, but I think the most likely scenario is that Morceli is nearer the front at that point and Bile never gets past him.

Bile has a channel on YouTube where he has uploaded some rare races. He only has 91 subscribers. Give the man some love and he might upload some more.

Cram has won in 3:31.43 two weeks before in Zürich. He still led at 1340m while running close to his limit. Then he was passed by Bile who run with incredible ease.

en.m.wikipedia.org

Steve Cram

Stephen Cram, (born 14 October 1960) is a British retired track and field athlete. Along with fellow Britons Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett, he was one of the world's dominant middle distance runners during the 1980s. Nickname...

Open link

Open the “Athletics career” tab and scroll down to the paragraph that begins “In 1987”. Even the commentators of the World Championship final (one of whom is Frank Shorter) seem aware that it’s not Cram at his best.

The simple fact that Cram finished in 8th, a second behind Michael Hillardt, is proof that beating him in that race is not like beating 1985 Cram.

He was not as good as in 85 and in 86, but for sure he was also not just the 8th best runner in the 87 final.

He wanted to defend his world title, and when realizing the unbelievable strength of Bile he lost his dedication and concentration. He maybe was the 3rd best athlete on this day.

Bile was just untouchable and I can't see Morceli even at his best would have beaten him. But you can differ, no problem.

You gotta believe the majority running that fast are stretching the rules at minimum,. Steroids are easy, Pretty much just have to avoid being caught with the container. Microdose and stay below limits. Then brag how you can train like an animal and not get hurt.

I thought he might. Too modest to mention that medal though

Toxic trolling imitating fun online personality from days gone past.

I liked Jakir much better. (Funny enough, I preferred Makhloufi's genuine brashness to Katir's simultaneously whiny and cocky attitude.)

And he was closing like an absolute freight train too

Laros was visibly disgusted. He walked toward the tunnel while the first two finishers were celebrating.

And he was rightfully annoyed at himself. This is the second time in a few races that he not only allowed himself to get boxed amidst a slow pace, but boxed well back in the pack. As I was watching it I was thinking this is like a replay of Hengelo.

Laros did a better job this time of sensing and extricating. But he's got to avoid that predicament in the first place. No margin for error against these fields.

The allathletics site is easily the best source for track and field videos. I'm surprised so many posters here had trouble finding the race. With any event they cover, there will be live views supplemented by separate videos of each event posted throughout the day. Check the "Replays" link for those videos. The only videos that sometimes take a while to show up are the full session replays.

Why am I not shocked that an American runner turned coach thinks only the finishing stretch matters? That's the same regulating crap I've watched all my life.