some more youtube vids Coe, Ovett, Cram and Rono

I really miss David Coleman

Sir Bastion Newbold wrote:

I really miss David Coleman

I loved Colemans balls

that two mile was absolutely ridiculous.

it gave me goosebumps to watch that and hear the crowd roar like that.

th3 dude wrote:

that two mile was absolutely ridiculous.

it gave me goosebumps to watch that and hear the crowd roar like that.

it was certainly a fabulous race - and not just a world record but a real RACE too. Wonderful stuff. Ovett waving just as he passes Rono was classic.

Great stuff...many thanks!

Wow! How 'bout Ovett's 1986 Commonwealth Games 5000 victory?

Always thought Ovett was a puss...sure he ran fast & won biggies but he rarely, if ever, ran with balls.

Give me Coe or Cram anyday over the kicker Ovett.

th3 dude wrote:

that two mile was absolutely ridiculous.

it gave me goosebumps to watch that and hear the crowd roar like that.

That brought back lots of happy memories. Steve loved that lucky old Russian vest - he wore it in a lot of his great races of the late 70's.

Between Henry's surges and the tumult of the crowd, that 2 mile was incredible. I noticed that the flags were waving around, so I can't blame Ovett for not wanting to lead. The showboating is a different matter. In any event, 8:12/13 in those conditions with uneven pace is very impressive.

I believe that is the only video currently available with Henry running.

Some nice rabbiting by a young Graham Fell, as well!

pale ale wrote:

Always thought Ovett was a puss...sure he ran fast & won biggies but he rarely, if ever, ran with balls.

Give me Coe or Cram anyday over the kicker Ovett.

Give me a break! You say Ovett "ran fast & won biggies" -- aren't those generally the top two priorities of an elite runner?!? Ovett virtually always gave it his all. Check out his efforts at '84 LA Olympics when he was struggling with health issues. Admit it, you don't like Ovett because he's a champ and you're a chump.

It looked to me like Rono ran an huge amount of that race, especially the first mile, in lane 2 or 3.

Nope. I'm not a chump. But frankly, that's beside the point. Watch the races posted above. Ovett invariably sits & kicks. Maybe he wins, maybe he loses. I give him a big fat zero for ballsiness. Sure he has a gold medal, but I still take Cram & Coe over Ovett.

Ovett v Cram 1 mile Crystal Palace 1983

Cram pushes & pushes; Ovett stalks. Cram wins.

Ovett v Rono 2 miles Crystal palace 1978

Rono pushes & pushes; Ovett stalks. Ovett wins. But how much faster could he have run?

Ovett v Cram v Coe 1984 Oly 1500/800

1500 - Over the final lap Coe pushes; Cram can't respond; Ovett drops out. Breathing issues? Whatever.

800 - Defending 800 champ Ovett dives across the finish to get a start in the final & flounders like a limp dick. Balls for starting the final? Nah, he'd have been roasted alive by the British press if he didn't. Breathing issues? Whatever.

I just watched the Ovett/Cram mile. Just chilling to watch Ovett shadow Cram: "Ovett menacing Cram the whole way!". They both knew their strengths and ran to them, with a brilliant result.

Great interview after as well. Listen for the crowd beginning to cheer as the interview clip cuts off. Those crowds are the stuff that dreams are made of.

I sure wish that I had the "ballsiness" to criticize one of history's great runners from the comfort of an anon keyboard. Such is the curse of adulthood and the acquisition of some measure of maturity.

Well said.

I wouldn't say Coe ran with very much courage in the '80 Olympic 800 final, as he himself admitted.

Yes, the Cram/Ovett is a treat. What's not to like? Both did what they could to win the race and it came down to the wire. The crowd loved it as did the commentators. If you don't absolutely enjoy watching that race you aren't an athletics fan.

they don't determine the winner of a race by who ran the 'ballsiest', its who crosses the line first.

Ovet worked to his strengths.

Lets imagine you are training for the biggest race of your life, a 1500m. 2 weeks before your goal race you have a 1000m race lined up but you can't get to the venue because of an air traffic controllers strike. Anyway your training partner and some of your club members are racing a half marathon and you decide to travel with them to give your support. Realising that they will not be joining you on your Sunday long run you ask the organisers if they would mind if you could do a spot of distance running with the lads and drop out after you have had enough. They have no objections and you borrow a pair of 'heavy' training shoes and set off. Running with your training partner and finding the pace quite comfortable he tells you to take off and try and catch the leaders. A few miles later you catch them up and manage to win the race in 65:38 beating one of the Olympic marathon representatives of the year before who you let collect the prize of a television. 'Sheer madness' is how you describe this escapade. Your legs are stiff for a couple of days but it doesn't seem to have had much effect.

14 days later you run your race

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhBXI6v1MNI

I think in the table of ballsiness you can now consider yourself as somewhere near the top.