Seb Coe said he's only seen one Olympic run that rivals Sydney's 50.37. Guess what it was....

rojo wrote:

In his annual year end call with the media, Coe said he'd only seen one Olympic run equal to Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone's 50.37 Olympic win. And it was...

"Sydney McLaughlin this year was outstanding. I’ve only seen one performance [in-person] in an Olympic stadium to rival that just in terms of strength of character, physically and mentally, and that was David Rudisha in London winning gun-to-tape,' said Coe.

Do you agree or disagree?

I don't see how he doesn't also include Bolt 2008. There is a LOT more pressure in a 100m than a 400h. And Bolt set WRs in both the 100 and 200. Bolt is clearly above Sydney in my mind. Plus I ding Sydney for not doubling or at least also running the mixed 4 x 400.

In terms of other Olympic races, Coe raved about Herb Elliott in the 1960 1500 which he didn't see.

"If you look at 1500 meters, then for me, the definitive all-time 1500 meters win was Herb Elliott in 1960 in Rome," Coe said.

In that race, Elliott, the 22-year-old Australian, ran 3:35.6 to break his own world record and win gold by 2.8 seconds over France's Michel Jazy.

Jonathan Gault's article on his talk with Coe is here

Link:www.letsrun.com/news/2024/12/seb-coe-o...

rojo wrote:

In his annual year end call with the media, Coe said he's only seen one Olympic run equal to Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone's 50.37 Olympic win. And it was...

"Sydney McLaughlin this year was outstanding. I’ve only seen one performance [in-person] in an Olympic stadium to rival that just in terms of strength of character, physically and mentally, and that was David Rudisha in London winning gun-to-tape,' said Coe.

Do you agree or disagree?

I don't see how he doesn't also include Bolt 2008. There is a LOT more pressure in a 100m than a 400h. And Bolt set WRs in both the 100 and 200. Bolt is clearly above Sydney in my mind. Plus I ding Sydney for not doubling or at least also running the mixed 4 x 400.

In terms of other Olympic races, Coe raved about Herb Elliott in the 1960 1500 which he didn't see.

"If you look at 1500 meters, then for me, the definitive all-time 1500 meters win was Herb Elliott in 1960 in Rome," Coe said.

In that race, Elliott, the 22-year-old Australian, ran 3:35.6 to break his own world record and win gold by 2.8 seconds over France's Michel Jazy.

Jonathan Gault's article on his talk with Coe is here

Link:www.letsrun.com/news/2024/12/seb-coe-o...

McRunnin wrote:

rojo wrote:

In his annual year end call with the media, Coe said he'd only seen one Olympic run equal to Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone's 50.37 Olympic win. And it was...

"Sydney McLaughlin this year was outstanding. I’ve only seen one performance [in-person] in an Olympic stadium to rival that just in terms of strength of character, physically and mentally, and that was David Rudisha in London winning gun-to-tape,' said Coe.

Do you agree or disagree?

I don't see how he doesn't also include Bolt 2008. There is a LOT more pressure in a 100m than a 400h. And Bolt set WRs in both the 100 and 200. Bolt is clearly above Sydney in my mind. Plus I ding Sydney for not doubling or at least also running the mixed 4 x 400.

In terms of other Olympic races, Coe raved about Herb Elliott in the 1960 1500 which he didn't see.

"If you look at 1500 meters, then for me, the definitive all-time 1500 meters win was Herb Elliott in 1960 in Rome," Coe said.

In that race, Elliott, the 22-year-old Australian, ran 3:35.6 to break his own world record and win gold by 2.8 seconds over France's Michel Jazy.

Jonathan Gault's article on his talk with Coe is here

Link:www.letsrun.com/news/2024/12/seb-coe-o...

I agree that Bolt's 2008 performances should be on the list, but not for the reasons you gave.

First, I don't think Bolt had more pressure on him in the 100m final in 2008 than Sydney had in the 400h this year. Prior to the Beijing Olympics, Bolt wasn't yet a household name, and track fans primarily regarded him as a 200m sprinter. Yes, he had broken the world record in the 100m earlier that year, however, he lost his final 100m race before the Olympics to Asafa Powell in which he "only" ran 9.89. There were legit questions about his start. Tyson Gay was the reigning world champion and coming off a wind-aided 9.68 at the US Olympic Trials; he was dealing with an injury, but he was expected to contend with Bolt and Powell for the win if healthy. Point being: Bolt was not the overwhelming favorite, and he wasn't an established big star like he is now.

Sydney, on the other hand, went into Paris as the defending Olympic Champ and one of the faces of the Olympics. She was the overwhelming favorite, she was the established big star, and she had the added pressure of being expected to break her own already-insane world record.

Second, Coe's comment appears to be about a single performance, not a double or a triple. So, although I think you should be giving Sydney credit for running the fastest women's 4x400m relay leg in over 40 years, what she did or didn't do beyond breaking the WR in the 400m hurdles isn't relevant to the question of which single Olympic performance is the best.