Seb Coe vs hicham el guerrouj

in case you didnt realize both of your inequalities say the same thing so there really is no argument. Coe is greater than HG or HG is less than Coe. same stuff.

Ousalkoi wrote:

HG had more technological advantages...

..... and yet Coe was still significantly faster at 800m!

"hear it"

Coe would win in a tactical 1500. However, el G would never let it come down to a final sprint against the 2nd fastest 800m man ever born. So El G wins in a 1500. Coe would take it in the 1000. A theoretical 1200 would be a pointless exercise in interpolation. But aren't all these exercises pointless?

Who's the better athlete? I don't think El G's 1500/mile records will last nearly as long as Coe's 800 record. I'd say it's pretty even there.

wtf meat wrote:

in case you didnt realize both of your inequalities say the same thing so there really is no argument. Coe is greater than HG or HG is less than Coe. same stuff.

May mistake (this is pretty embarising for me..)

hicham the g wrote:

Coe would win in a tactical 1500. However, el G would never let it come down to a final sprint against the 2nd fastest 800m man ever born. So El G wins in a 1500. Coe would take it in the 1000. A theoretical 1200 would be a pointless exercise in interpolation. But aren't all these exercises pointless?

Who's the better athlete? I don't think El G's 1500/mile records will last nearly as long as Coe's 800 record. I'd say it's pretty even there.

I agree.

That would need to be one hell of a tactical 1500. I mean, for Coe to win it would need to start at like 63/lap pace.

But then again, El G would still win because he can run his last 800 in 1:46.

For an 800m, Coe wins

Overall, El G is greater because he totally at his event dominated for several years.

hicham the g wrote:

I don't think El G's 1500/mile records will last nearly as long as Coe's 800 record.

I agree with your statements before this one, however, I won't be surprised if the 1500/mile records stick around for a while. They've already got almost 8 years under their belts, and with little danger recently.

Since 2002, the top milers have only run 3:49, 3:48, 3:49, 3:47, and 3:50 respectively. The 1500m times, while stronger, still don't pose a huge threat: 3:27.9, 3:28.9, 3:27.4, 3:29.3, 3:29.02. 3 of those 5 were posted by Lagat (doubtful to PR again), and since 2002, only 4 people have broken 3:30.

All that said, I admire them both and agree with their dominant strengths. A heads-up matchup in their prime would be a specticle, especially if Lagat, Mourceli, and Ngeny were in the race (thats maybe too much fantasy!)

Coe had more leg speed, Steve Cram could have beaten em both in 1985 over 1500m

rnr wrote:

Coe had more leg speed, Steve Cram could have beaten em both in 1985 over 1500m

Disagree. 85 was Cram's Annus Incrediblis, but 3:29? Coe ran that the very next year, beat Cram the previous year, ran some stellar 800s in 85, and ElG yawned while doing 3:29 upteen times.

How about if we put Steve Scott into the picture?

oulg wrote:

How about if we put Steve Scott into the picture?

Why? So he can get destroyed and then write a BS excuse in his book. no thanks

Coe's pr of 3:29 was run when he was way past his prime. His targets were not as high as El G's. That has something to do with it. Despite Coe deferring to this athlete and that athlete to be polite, it's quite possible that he had the raw material to run faster than El G over the 1500. However, just plunking the Coe of '81 down on the track against El G at his peak would probably see El G win in a rabbited race. No way would El G win a tactical race against Coe. At the 800, forget it, despite El G claiming a 1:42+ in practice. (I've always thought El G was maybe a high 1:43 guy at best)

was Steve Scott on a completely lower level?

I am hurt that I am being left out of this discussion. El G was my lover and my best friend. Without me, he never would have broken 3:29, and he would have had to have run the race of his life to break 3:30.

Sebastian and I never met. I wish we had have. We could have made some beautiful music together. Alas, he was born too early.

True. Geb would never have broken 12:55 without you either. Same for KB.

b

Hell you guys are arguing this. Why not put in Wilson Kipketer? This guy would have run much faster then his present world record the only limiting factor was that his rabbits were not able to even run 600m with him. And on top of this the guy ate a bowl of proage (guessing how to spell it) every single day of his life. And other wise never attempted to go up in distance other then the occassional 1000m race.