Yuri Borzohovksy underperformed

No one has ever run the 800 at the international level of competition the way Yuri did. He won an OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL, he did not underperform. Savvy?

By this standard, almost every 800m runner in history has underperformed.

He had two WC Silver AND two bronze. He pretty much did as well as any 800m runner not named Rudisha or Kipketer.

I think that how YB ran his races was actually ahead of his time. He was similar to Jakob in that he understood the immense value in not bombing it off the line anxious about getting position - the Athens final where he lets the main contenders scrap it out in the first 200 is as he runs smooth and even just behind them is a thing of tactical beauty.

Now that being said, arguably the best Russian athlete winning arguably the deepest and most competitive event on the track at the time with what we now know about how the Russians ran their track and field program in that era? Sad to say that there is almost zero chance he was, well you guys know what I mean... I guess it's "easier" to have a huge finish when your prayers and vitamins are on point.

Every single 800 record and 1:41 time has been run with a 2-3 second differential. Borzakovskiy split what like 51.1 51.3 in his 1:42.4? The man was meant to be a 1:41 runner , he had 45s 400 speed as an 18 year old. His old school coaches probably told him to use this inefficient strategy in each race, with some old school , disproven theory on energy systems. maybe the man always needed money and he never wanted to take a risk in a single race and go out in 49.5. He never reached his full potential and blew his chance at 2012 semi final doing this strategy

But Rekrunner will tell you that Russian performances in the EPO era were inferior to the Soviet Union, therefore EPO doesn't work.

Do you really believe a single 800m time run in 1:42 or below is clean. If somebody is running 1:42 clean they’re going to be consistently hitting 1:38s. Kipketer was running 1:45 in Europe before he was “discovered” and then started running world records with a new coach.

No I won't. I recall the Russian times from the EPO-era are slightly better than the old Soviet Union times from the 1980s -- like most every country.

Yeah he probably could have a marginally faster PB in the 1:41s (though not World Record). So what? The guy performed really well at Championships, and that matters more. In 2012, he was old so that is like people who give Kipketer a hard time for getting bronze in '04 as an old man. Also, we really going to act like Kipketer getting "discovered" is it as opposed to becoming a professional after being a student? You're welcome to think he was a doper if you please, but come on.

imagine how doped up that guy must have been. that was a time of complete free for all in russia and corruption in wada.

Every 800 time run 1:42 is doped up.

The men's 800m time was over 1.5 seconds better, the 1500m was over 2 seconds better.

The Soviet Union had one of the most sophisticated doping programmes there has been. The EPO era happened to coincide with the period of post-Soviet chaos. I doubt very much there was much of a state sponsored program going on again until Putin.

A chip off the old block. His birthday is April 12, 1981.

His dad Steve Ovett won the 800m gold medal and the 1500m bronze medal in July, 1980 at the Moscow Olympics.

I didn't know that was the discussion we were having. As to the question of "has one single human on earth run 1.42 for 800m not taking drugs?" Yes I believe there has been a human to run an 800m in 1.42 that wasn't doped.

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Hmmm. Exactly what I said. I won't tell you the Russians were slower because they were in fact a little faster than their Soviet predecessors.

Note that all of the Soviets with their most sophisticated doping programmes, and all of the Russians in the EPO-era, were still slower than Coe, Cruz, and Koskei from the 1980s. And Borzakovskiy was the only one faster than Gray and Cram, from the 1980s.

Note also that your Soviet athletes from the 800m and 1500m were from the Soviet Republic of ....... wait for it ....... RUSSIA!

has Yuri been sent to Ukraine yet? Heard former dopers were up next in the conscription line

1.6s over 800m and over 2s in 1500m is not 'slightly faster'. Especially when Russia was such a mess, including the athletics system (not just the doping part).

The second part of your reply doesn't make sense. So the Soviets couldn't beat the Brits, but EPO era Borzakovskiy ran almost as fast as them, and this proves EPO doesn't work???