No one can compare to the doped up Africans of ‘87 onward. If Coe had doped he’d likely have won two Olympic 800 golds.
The biggest enemy in winning Olympic 800m golds to Coe was Coe himself. Man’s record is pretty obvious, notably poor tactician in championship 800m races. But in the 1500m much better.
Coe was far and away the best in 1980, however he was probably no longer best 800m guy in 1984. Tactics cost him the 800m the first time. In 1984, he was just second to a younger, faster guy.
800 Meter U I mean Texas A&M had a down year last year after a coaching change midway through the season and many injuries, but they have Whitmarsh, Kimar Farquharson who just opened up with a 1:46, Caden Norris who opened up with a 1:48 and two long distance guys who opened with a 1:49
Farquharson dropping a 45.7 in the open 400m last weekend is also pretty ridiculous.
And yes, I also am begging for ONE THREAD about the 800m where there is not a 20 post tangent about Seb Coe
Coe was far and away the best in 1980, however he was probably no longer best 800m guy in 1984. Tactics cost him the 800m the first time. In 1984, he was just second to a younger, faster guy.
Fair. The ‘84 tactics were bad though and it would’ve been a closer race if he were tactically better. He ran the entire race in lane 2 in a pretty honest race where everyone had room at the end.
This post was edited 3 minutes after it was posted.
Man I knew he was running too smooth and tall with long legs not to run 1:44. My instincts were correct. We got another competitive field for the 800 at the trials this summer sheesh. I wonder if a college guy like that thought he had a good shot at the Olympics beginning of the year. Now he does.
He was hurt at the end of 2022 and most of 2023 after reinjuring himself at the end of the 2023 season after giving it a go! At the end of 2022 they found a heart problem with him that forced him to sit out immediately. He began this season slowly with a few indoor races! He’s slowly getting back to form and possibly can go faster! I’m excited to see what he can do!
800 Meter U I mean Texas A&M had a down year last year after a coaching change midway through the season and many injuries, but they have Whitmarsh, Kimar Farquharson who just opened up with a 1:46, Caden Norris who opened up with a 1:48 and two long distance guys who opened with a 1:49
Farquharson dropping a 45.7 in the open 400m last weekend is also pretty ridiculous.
And yes, I also am begging for ONE THREAD about the 800m where there is not a 20 post tangent about Seb Coe
45.7/1:46 combo is dangerous. Exactly what Sumner ran in HS and we all know how he turned out.
Man I knew he was running too smooth and tall with long legs not to run 1:44. My instincts were correct. We got another competitive field for the 800 at the trials this summer sheesh. I wonder if a college guy like that thought he had a good shot at the Olympics beginning of the year. Now he does.
Right? I was watching him run indoors a few weeks back and was yelling at my girlfriend to "come check out this guy's legs. He's like a gazelle or something."
No, Seb Coe always ran tactically badly. He was just physically dominant when he was right in the head and body. In 1980 in the 800m, tactics cost him. In 1984, he was good and very very good at the 1500m, but Cruz was too strong for him in the 800m. (Cram was too strong for Cruz the following year!)
1978 breakthrough after his introduction to strength training with Gandy! That's also at Loughborough University where he not only developed enormously from an okay prospect with unmemorable times to the best in the world but also was present at the same time they were running advertisements for steroid test subjects.