Worst Olympic final ..... ever?

Well, in terms of "running away with it," you have to think of John Ngugi winning the 5000

el g vs morceli in the 1500m final

el g falls/gets tripped up... what a bummer

The 1964 10,000 meter final, which was won by a no-name, one-hit wonder. Ron Clarke deserved to win that race.

Anything with the name "racewalk" in it!

Yeah, a no-name wonder who set more than one AR. What a no-namer.

Billy the Fish wrote:

Which race was the worst Olympic final you have seen? Perhaps it's a race where someone just ran away with it or one that never lived up to all the pre-race hype.

Any of the T&F events in 1980.

youngun wrote:

Yeah, a no-name wonder who set more than one AR.

What are you talking about? Name me the multiple American "records" this guy (I won't say his name, because he doesn't deserve to have it spoken loud) set?

Trollie McSockpuppet wrote:

youngun wrote:

Yeah, a no-name wonder who set more than one AR.

What are you talking about? Name me the multiple American "records" this guy (I won't say his name, because he doesn't deserve to have it spoken loud) set?

I would presume that Mr. Unmentionable has held every American record at one point in time since he was the fastest of the only true Americans running.

Now are you talking European Americans or American Americans?

Trollie McSockpuppet wrote:

youngun wrote:

Yeah, a no-name wonder who set more than one AR.

What are you talking about? Name me the multiple American "records" this guy (I won't say his name, because he doesn't deserve to have it spoken loud) set?

Trollie:

I thought you knew your stuff. Mr. Mills set an American and WORLD record the next year. Do you know the event? Do you know who tied that record and when?

The thing that's cool about Billy Mills is that he is still involved in running. He does seminars and has for decades. Mr. Clarke was burnt out by the time he retired from running and has done little for running since then. I must admit that Ron was my favorite runner when I was in HS and college.

I must also comment on his lack of major event winnings....I feel that he could have won some Commenwealth golds and Olympics as well had he been willing to incorporate more speed work in his pre season training. (He did virtually nothing but straight hard continuous runs and racing) He had the ability to sprint at the end of races, just didn't want to spend the time necessary to really hone it down.

Braavo Furgi wrote:

Trollie:

I thought you knew your stuff.

Indeed I do, Mr. Furgi. I suggest you proceed with caution, lest you be humiliated like all the others who have challenged me in the past.

Mr. Mills set an American and WORLD record the next year. Do you know the event? Do you know who tied that record and when?

Why are you asking me these questions? I asked for the other poster to identify the so-called American records that Mills set. I got no response. Now, you are asking me trivia questions about an event that never happened. Sad. Very, very sad.

Yanqui wrote:

Well, in terms of "running away with it," you have to think of John Ngugi winning the 5000

I remember watching that race and wondering why nobody even tried to go with him. It was like they all wanted to do the normal olympic tactical thing and Ngugi just went out and ran it like it was some fast rabbited race.

Only there were no rabbits and Ngugi simply ran away with it.

Are these the events that never happened?

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"Mills later set U.S. records for 10,000 m (28:17.6) and the three mile run and had a 5,000 m best of 13:41.4. In 1965 he and Gerry Lindgren both broke the world record for the six mile run when they finished in a tie at the U.S. AAU nationals, running 27:11.6."

___________________________________________________________

You insulted Billy Mills. There is no need for such behavior as he IS the only American to ever win the 10000. His win was unbeliveable in the ferociousness that he exhibited while achieving this. He became injured after 1965 and thus never reached his prior level again :(

I notice that you provided no attribution for your quote. This is hardly surprising; your "quote" is an obviously contrived bit of nonsense to cover for the fact that you don't know what you're talking about.

Riiiiiiggggghhhht......Mills set a world record for the "six mile run." Yeah, and I hold the world records for the 4.36 mile run and the 72-furlong run. The fact is that athletes stopped competing in races measured in "miles" in the late nineteenth century. An official six-mile race has not been held in over 90 years. And, as if the "miles" reference wasn't evidence enough of your fabrication, you also mention that the race ended in a "tie." Sure--Gerry and Billy just skipped along over the finish line holding hands.

Wrong. I at least had the courtesy to refer to him anonymously at the start of this thread. You are the one who is his dragging Mr. Mills (and now, by association, Gerry Lindgren) through the mud. You should be ashamed.

I have seen all of the finals at six Olympics. There has not been a "worst" final. They have all been great races!

Two of the most thrilling races, I have ever seen were won by Billy Mills. Both races set records! To add to the Billy Mills set records mentioned above by Braavo Furgi, Billy Mills Olympic win was in an Olympic Record time that was not broken in the "altitude Games" of 1968 in Mexico City.

Billy Mills, an American, brings his best in the most important race of his career and someone knocks him for this? I'd rather have one good race and it be an Olympic gold than a world record and years of solid races, but choke when it matters.

People on here knock every other American because they can't win a medal when it matters. This guy wins gold and people complain??? You people are unreal and this discussion is ridiculous.

The Sydney men's 5,000m was disgusting. Million Wolde won in like 13:35. Plus I wanted Bob Kennedy to be in that race so bad. No doubt in my mind he pushes that pace. Ali Saidi Sief of Algeria (Silver) probably would have one off of a faster pace. The Sydney 800m (Nils Schuman) was a stinker as well.

The 1992 OG 10,000 was a terrible race, horribly marred by Hammou Boutayeb's interference with Richard Chelimo, in order to aid his Moroccan teammate Khalid Skah. An absolute disgrace, for which he was rightly DQ'ed. But that's no solace to Chelimo, who clearly was put at a disadvantage. Plus it soiled Skah's win as well.

Trollie:

This statement, "An official six-mile race has not been held in over 90 years. And, as if the "miles" reference wasn't evidence enough of your fabrication, you also mention that the race ended in a "tie." Sure--Gerry and Billy just skipped along over the finish line holding hands..."

Proves that you my good running friend are stupid. Look it up. The American championships were run in yards until the late 1960's.

The tie in 1965 was another finish similar to the '64 Olympic final...a gut busting effort all the way to the tape. There is a famous picture of them straining to outlean each other at the tape. I don't suppose you've seen it as you claim that Gerry and Billy tied intentionally. Their time was identical but Billy was given the win after analysis of the photo finish pictures. Review the facts from now on....and think twice before you dis another American Olympic Champion.

What a load of crap.

Didn't Billy Mills run a World 6 mile record the following year?

Gammoudi went on to success after that. Ron Clarke had a golden year in 1965. The Olympics were in 1964 not 65 or 68. Billy Mills won the race and his victory and accomplishment should not be diminished by the kind of this kind of low level smack!

The worst Olympic final was 1984 womens Olympic 3000 final. With Mary Decker whining on the sidelines and Zola Budd looking like the "deer in the head lights'.