Said Aouita not the first at all
Keino
Keino multiple gold and silver medals, multiple distances
Said Aouita not the first at all
Keino
Keino multiple gold and silver medals, multiple distances
Aouita 84 wrote:
Disko Eric wrote:
Viren, Nurmi, Zatopek?
Said Aouita.
Aouita was the first to go all in on the blood doping, and likely the first elite runner to use EPO in the late 80's. Transforming himself from a b-level circuit runner at age 23 with the help of 'Docteur Syringe', he studiously avoided the Golden Brits at 1500m and in so doing inadvertently turned himself into a 'versatile' all-time great, picking up 5000m gold when the distance was only run by failed milers. To top it all, he became the only 5000m runner in history to drop down to the 800m for an entire season in order to cement his 'legacy', possibly with the help of EPO which was already being used by cyclist clients of his Belgian doctor, but failed miserably - aside from a 1:44 pb which apparently accords him GOAT status.
But then again, I'm a bit biased.
:)
Coevett wrote:
Aouita 84 wrote:
Said Aouita.
Aouita was the first to go all in on the blood doping, and likely the first elite runner to use EPO in the late 80's. Transforming himself from a b-level circuit runner at age 23 with the help of 'Docteur Syringe', he studiously avoided the Golden Brits at 1500m and in so doing inadvertently turned himself into a 'versatile' all-time great, picking up 5000m gold when the distance was only run by failed milers. To top it all, he became the only 5000m runner in history to drop down to the 800m for an entire season in order to cement his 'legacy', possibly with the help of EPO which was already being used by cyclist clients of his Belgian doctor, but failed miserably - aside from a 1:44 pb which apparently accords him GOAT status.
But then again, I'm biased to an enormous amount and not interested in facts at all.
:)
Maharaja Mombasa Moses Muhammaddin.
Kobbs Hessler wrote:
Ajax wrote:
Oh man, I forgot Bikila. - 1960 Olympic Marathon Champ and 1964 Olympic Marathon Champ.
And he ran barefoot in Rome in 1960. Imagine 26 miles over ancient cobblestones without shoes.
You should also remember that he was not a natural barefoot runner, as many seem to think. On his first run in Rome his shoes fell apart and he failed to find a pair that suited him, so he ran barefoot.
Shockwaves wrote:
Flagpole wrote:
CORRECT!
This thread should be retitled 'Who was the greatest distance runner before blooddoping and EPO ruined the sport'?
And the answer is Henry Rono.
I could maybe be on board with that.
1955 wrote:
As with a few other posters, I'd have to go with Zatopek. He was before my time but his contemporaries seemed to agree he was a force of nature, yet endlessly amiable. His Oly record speaks for himself, as do his collection of WRs.
Yes, Aouita or Komen or even Keino may have been more talented (although the suspicion of PEDs weighs on the first two), and Viren's Olympic performances were marvelous (although his non-Olympic year performances were decidedly lackluster), but for me it was Zatopek.
Thank for bringing that up. I neglected to remember Viren seemed to disappear during non championship years. Sorta like Makh Daddy.