I mean seriously - how would they get on? The likes of Coe, Cram, Ovett, Moorcroft, Scott, Wessinhage, Walker, Foster, Bedford, Rogers, Shorter, Snell, Elliott, Viren even Aouita, Cruz etc
At their best - could they compete with today's best? Could they cope with the conditions?
I say yes!
considering the mens 1500 has kind of regressed since the morceli/elguerrouj era, a Coe or Ovett at their peaks would definitely medal in the final, if not win gold. none of the current guys have run under 3:30 this year.
Randy Barnes could win the SP
Coe and Cruz easy in the 800.
Alfie Shrubb would have come in dead last in the 10000, but he would have looked the coolest.
Sven Svensson - dagens coolaste namn!
Sven Svensson wrote:
I mean seriously - how would they get on? The likes of Coe, Cram, Ovett, Moorcroft, Scott, Wessinhage, Walker, Foster, Bedford, Rogers, Shorter, Snell, Elliott, Viren even Aouita, Cruz etc
At their best - could they compete with today's best? Could they cope with the conditions?
I say yes!
In the 800,1500 and marathon - yes. In the 10000, it would be an embarassment.
Just depends in the 10,000, do the runners of old get the same "training aids" that the current runners are on?
batman wrote:
Coe and Cruz easy in the 800.
It is interesting that the 800 hasn't really progressed at all in the last 20 years. Cruz and Coe, in their form of 1984, would be the favorites in Osaka. Hell, Cram, Aouita, Ovett, and Juantorena in their primes would have excellent chances of medaling.
Coe, Aouita, Cram, and Ovett would also be right in the mix in the 1500. All of the improvement in 1500 times in the last 20 years is attributable to a handful of men. Only El Guerrouj, Lagat, Ngeny, and Morceli have run faster than 3:28.95. With Lagat presumably not as fast as he was a few years ago, the PRs of the guys from the 80s look quite competitive.
Viren ran 27:38 in '72 Olympics, 27:40 in '76. That would still place high today.
Alan
Swing low wrote:
Just depends in the 10,000, do the runners of old get the same "training aids" that the current runners are on?
I think it's naive to believe that none of the runners of twenty years ago were PEDs. After all, the drugs where there and there was little drug testing.
Viren would get stomped on big time. He'd have his hands full beating Abdi and not getting lapped when the pace is fast.
Disagree about Viren. He handled several surges in his olympic races and closed in 52 in one of them.
I love how everyone has started using the acronym PEDs. Nothing like dropping terminology to seem cool.
never happened, you must be confused w/juha the cruel
W. Mitty wrote:
Disagree about Viren. He handled several surges in his olympic races and closed in 52 in one of them.
Don't forget Bob Schul. His 8.26 WR for two miles on a dirt track is worth at least 8:10. This is also without any kind of altitude advantage and having to work full time. When are we going to give this man his due?
dc do md wrote:
never happened, you must be confused w/juha the cruel
W. Mitty wrote:Disagree about Viren. He handled several surges in his olympic races and closed in 52 in one of them.
are you sure? doesn't appear in my Grimms history of the Olympics - perhaps you have a later edition.
These Africans would absolutely destroy Viren and all the rest of the drug-using Fins and yes poor little Prefontaine too...and Schul and anybody else considered old-timers.
Not including Kiptanui, Tergat, Gebreselassie, Hissou, Skah, Ngeny, and Komen I'm willing to bet Bekele, Sihine, Kipchoge, Mathathi, Gebremariam, Tadesse, Kenyan-Qataris, etc. etc. etc. would have those guys pissing on themselves from the ass-whipping. I don't think you guys really understand the magnitude of an insult it is to the Africans to even be NEXT to a white guy while racing anything 3k up! THIS INCLUDES ABDI.
Why do you think Bekele was so pissed about even believing that there was a rivalry with him and Mottram...you saw that ass-whipping didn't you? No?? I bet Mottram will never act like that again in Bekele's presence. ("Respect your daddy boy"--Bekele to Mottram