Greatest Olympic Marathon??

1984 was boring compared to 88, 92 and 96.

I vote for 1988, when Saleh built up a lead and then was gunned down by Bordin. I will never forget the look of complete and utter FEAR in the eyes of Saleh when he looked back in complete dehydration, peering helplessly at the Dracula-like stare of Bordin coming closer and closer.

jason

'92 had two great duels (men & women). The final 3-31/2 miles was uphill. What a brutal way to settle a duel in the heat for all the marbles. Truely, the toughest person won on that day with that course.

There are a couple of decent books out about the history of the Olympic Marathon which make for good reading, if you're into reading about that sort of thing.

This one I have read (and it is excellent):

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http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0880119691/qid=1026919555/sr=8-7/ref=sr_8_7/102-2603218-5751342

This one have not read:

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http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0275957713/ref=ord_1cl_log_ydet/102-2603218-5751342

Wasn't the 1992 men's race the one where (according to legend) the winner collapsed to the track and didn't even have enough strength left to lift his head, so he subsequently barfed "sideways" all over the track? That's toughness.

But the 1996 race had 3 men trying and failing to get away from each other in the late going...all were on the track at once...

nm

In as much as the World Championships are a sort of "off year" Olympics, I'm going to stray just a tad. Remember the 91 WC marathon? Hot in Tokyo. Big pack relatively late in the race. I distinctly recall turning to my wife and saying,"I don't know who is going to win, but I know who won't," and pointed out a runner with his head tilted sideways like Ryun, wearing the pained grimace of Zatopek, and taking little short choppy strides like when Fred Flintstone bowls. Of course, that was Hiromi Tanaguchi (sp.) who won. I wouldn't have even bet on him finishing, but he was tough, tough, tough. Then spence ran a very smart and strong race to get bronze. Very exciting race.

The Atlanta Olympic marathon was instructional as far as championship tactics go. After a fairly lackluster first half (even the Americans were in it through 15M!), the S. African squad tested the field at about 16M to see who would respond. Only Lee Bong-Ju came along. They backed off the pace for a couple of miles and let what was left of the pack catch up, but then Josiah Thugwane bolted, building a lead which Lee had to work very hard to close, while the main group had no answer at all. Sensing the medal train leaving the station, Kenya's 22-year-old Erick Wainaina took a last look at the pack around him and threw in a 4:47 mile - with a good portion of it uphill - to reel in the two leaders, and from then on it was cat-and-mouse. Lots of gut-wrenching surges, both short and long, ensued on the hilly course, as pre-race favorite Martin Fiz from Spain (who had outkicked Lee by one second in a 2:08:25 race ealier that year) kept trying in vain to rejoin the leaders. The 99-lb. Thugwane was built for the course and the heat and seemed to be able to break free easily at any time and was also able to shadow anything the others did, while Lee had to work extremely hard to close any gap that Thugwane opened. Wainaina didn't have any short surge gears at all but always worked his way back when dropped. He appeared to want a faster, more steady pace, but was reluctant to lead, although he looked strong enough to have won the race if it had been 30 miles. Lee seemed to be in pain running the downhills. Knowing that the stretch from the 25M point to the stadium was downhill, Lee made a last-ditch effort to break away on an uphill right before the 25M point, but he couldn't shake the others. Thugwane tore out of there on the downhill on his way to ripping off a 4:28 mile. Lee and Wainaina strung out behind him, the strain of the hellacious pace evident on their faces, but they didn't let Thugwane have it easy. Wainaina patiently worked his way back to Lee just before the stadium tunnel, but the gutsy Korean repassed him and actually closed on Thugwane a little on the track. Thugwane's last 400m was 70 seconds as he slowed some in the last 30m to wave his arms in victory. Lee gutted out a 68-point (dead set on reeling in Thugwane even in the final meters) to finish 3 seconds behind, making the closest race in Olympic marathon history. Wainaina was another 5 ticks back with the Bronze (and came back in Sydney to win the Silver, making him one of the better Olympic marathoners in history). In any event, this was a great race. Those guys KILLED each other during the last 7.5 miles on a muggy morning and on a tough course. You'll rarely see three guys hammering each other all the way to the last lap like that.

Thugwane is a cool guy. I hung out with with him at Nagano Marathon in April, but I can definitely not out hang him! Dude is reportedly so hung like a horse, he would probably run a minute or two faster with a schlong that is about the size of mine!

He is a very quiet, humble champion. He looks like a Jamaican rap star these days, with his hair in tight dreadlocks. Reports around town (Bangkok) are that he visits about once a year, and the gals around Soi 3 and Soi 3/1 (Sukhumvit Road) know that it is cool to hang with the OlyChamp, but much lube is required....

Jason

I would have to go with L.A. 1984. No it wasn't as exciting as 88, that was the best finish. But the buildup and cast of characters in L.A. was the most legendary. Those guys are still bigger legends in one race than you get today. With the depth of the African explosion people don't hang around as long and win as often and lets face it, they don't get as much attention as the 70's and 80's guys. You had Seko, Deek, Salazar, Lopes, Dixon, men who were made stars through live coverage of races such as New York. Then there were other contenders such as Hugh Jones, Geoff Smith, Rodolfo Gomez, GIdamis Shanga. Not to mention the Soh brothers of Japan. You KNEW these guys because it was easy to keep track of them. Major articles in the running magazines (even SI and Joggers World) contributed to the buildup plus there was a good pre-showdown in Rotterdam the year before. This contributed heavily to the drama and buildup to the race. It was just more intriguing. Christ, the greatest marathon ever was run at London this year and it didn't even make Sportscenter that night!

Two weeks after the 2000 Olympics I posted a question asking if anyone could name the recent Olympic champ (this was on run-insight). No one could.

Who cares. Its 25 mile too long

Nothing beats the Innaugural women's marathon in '84 when All-American girl, Joan Benoit (Samuelson), brought home the gold, only a few weeks after knee surgery.

:) jag

Benoit won LA (Olympic marathon) about 4 months after arthroscopic sugery, which she had about 17 days before running the Trials marathon. She won the Trials, too, which showed how tough AND how fit she was. She was as tough as Salazar or Rodgers in their prime, tougher than nails. Remember she ran 2:21 (2:22?) with a 1:08 first half. Her quads HAD to be shot with that kind of racing, yet she ran what is still one of the top 10 times ever run there. No American woman has probably ever been tougher.

mljt wrote:

Benoit won LA (Olympic marathon) about 4 months after arthroscopic sugery, which she had about 17 days before running the Trials marathon. She won the Trials, too, which showed how tough AND how fit she was. She was as tough as Salazar or Rodgers in their prime, tougher than nails. Remember she ran 2:21 (2:22?) with a 1:08 first half. Her quads HAD to be shot with that kind of racing, yet she ran what is still one of the top 10 times ever run there. No American woman has probably ever been tougher.

I'm about to read her book, Running Tide, so I hope it's good. Such a little lady achieved great things in a time of transition. Absolutely incredible!

By the way, is that (1:08) the fastest first half ever by a lady? What was it that Paula Radcliffe ran for her second half of the London Marathon (1:07-08)?

:) jag

Performance wise, I'd say either of Abebe Bikila's record breaking victories in 60 (Rome) or 64 (Tokyo). Knocked some serious chunks off the world record, the first time barefoot.