Fastest kick in track history.

Bob Schul closes out gold medal 5000 in 64 with a blistering 37 last 300 on a soaked cinder track.

On all weather it would of likely been a 34-35 seconds effort. Way faster then anyone today.

Ryun-dirt tracks-'nuff said.

How fast was Aouita's closing 100m & 200m when he almost caught Cram in the 1985 1500m WR setter in Nice?

malmo wrote:

deanouk wrote:

Have to say that I have never seen this race and have never seen these closing splits given anywhere before.

deanuk. I was there. I was in the race. A wall of runners hit the 1200 mark together.

Hey, I'm not doubting the race happened or that you were there. I've seen it listed and read a small review of it. I was just explaining that I couldn't say much about it because I hadn't seen it. I have the vast majority of Ovett's races on dvd, but unfortunately not this one!

If the review in the "Milers" is correct, then the leader went through 1200 in 2:57.1, so Ovett probably ran the last 300 in 38 low, which is awesome. The write up in the book I have also mentioned that Ovett was still recovering from a touch of bronchitis at the time!!

Fish Sticks wrote:

How fast was Aouita's closing 100m & 200m when he almost caught Cram in the 1985 1500m WR setter in Nice?

26.2 & 13.1

The 11.7 reported at the time for his last 100m was actually the time for the last 90m. There was only a visible line on the track at 90 & 110m from home. By splitting the difference you get a last 100m of 13.1.

I think we need to separate middle distance from long distance guys. You can't compare Coe and Yifter, they ran different races.

I also think the measure of the best kicker should not be fastest finish but the guy who would always win if he was on someone's shoulder. By that standard, I would have to say Yifter. You could see a sense of doom on other runner's faces when they hadn't dropped him by the last 300--everyone knew it was over. I would also go with Geb--as poor Paul Tergat can attest to.

Hah, i thought this post was about the fastest "kicks" in track history and I was about to cast a vote for the original JASARIS!!! BABY!!!

but i can't read...so, oh well. but they were fast. and amahzing. and game-changing.

I have always had the feeling that Ovett's having such a devastating weapon--his acceleration with 200m-300m to go--in the end limited him as a runner. He could always win races with the same formula, so he didn't have to develop any other strategies. Would he have avoided the terrible position he got into at the 1983 World Championships if he hadn't always relied on his kick? He probably also never ran as fast as he was able to run.

That said, his kick in his best races, particularly those from 1977-78, was a marvel to behold.

Elliott Heath ran a supposedly 24 second final 200 in this 5k http://www.flotrack.org/speaker/3083-Elliott-Heath/video/456730-M-5k-H05-fastest-Heath

Why is everyone so against seeing a distance runner break 25 in a race?

Nobody seems to have noticed my post about Alex Kipchirchir. Here's the race where I'm pretty sure he closed sub-50. His last 300 was 36.

http://www.iaaf.org/history/WCP/season=2006/eventCode=3490/results/racedate=09-16-2006/sex=M/discCode=1500/combCode=hash/roundCode=f/results.html#det

malmo wrote:

Ovett ran 37.0 in Oslo in 1978. I had a front row seat, pulling even with him at 1200m then promptly getting my doors blown off during that last 300m!

It was terrifying to see.

1. 3:35.80 Ovett GBR

2. 3:36.00 Scott USA

3. 3:37.90 Plachy CZE

4. 3:38.40 Coghlan IRL

5. 3:39.4 Engelund NOR

6. 3:39.8 Crawford USA

7. 3:40.8 Malley USA

You only had a front row seat until the last 300m. After that you had a great view of the bottom of his running shoes, and shoes kept getting smaller.

bigtool,

I heard you, I saw this race and timed him at 49.0, however, here are the official results, which was 24.6/49.4) -

1500: 1. Kipchirchir (Ken) 3:52.60 (24.6, 49.4); 2. Heshko (Ukr)

3:53.33; 3. Willis (NZ) 3:54.76 (67.34, 71.86 [2:19.20], 56.72 [3:15.92],

38.84);

4. Jennings (US) 3:55.09 (68.2, 71.9 [2:20.1], 56.4 [3:16.3], 38.8)

(38.8, 51.5, 1:52.7, 3:04.6); 5. Aritkulov (Rus) 3:55.11; 6. Brannen

(Can) 3:55.16; 7. Suleiman (Qat) 3:55.67; 8. Mekhissi-Benabbad

(Fra) 3:55.89; 9. Ikonómou (Gre) 3:59.00.

g;2p wrote:bigtool,

I heard you, I saw this race and timed him at 49.0, however, here are the official results, which was 24.6/49.4) -

1500: 1. Kipchirchir (Ken) 3:52.60 (24.6, 49.4); 2. Heshko (Ukr)

3:53.33; 3. Willis (NZ) 3:54.76 (67.34, 71.86 [2:19.20], 56.72 [3:15.92],

38.84);

this is impressive

pdf showed he went last 300 in < 36.68

missed seeing that race as not much interest in 3'50 rather than 3'30 finales

ivan was a monster

he was the most "frightening" white boy shorter-distances guy i've seen in 25+y

he was a behemoth of a guy compared to the anorexic africans & it amazed me with his obvious brutal power ( won indoor gold ) how his bulk allowed him to run 3'30 !!!???

why he didn't go for 800 is a total mystery

i'd have bet good money he wouda gone at worst, at his peak

mid-1'42

are deanouk and malmo talking about 2 dif races? or am I old?

Here is Deter Baumann kicking a 24.9 last two hundred at the 1992 Olympics 5K. He is boxed, slows down to get out of the box and still runs 24.9. The 400 before the final 200 was in 53.4ish, that's a 1:19 last 600 meters in 13:12 5k. That is some fast running.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3ZZjC-MEHc

The video says the previous lap was 63.27??

oldold runner wrote:

Here is Deter Baumann kicking a 24.9 last two hundred at the 1992 Olympics 5K. He is boxed, slows down to get out of the box and still runs 24.9. The 400 before the final 200 was in 53.4ish, that's a 1:19 last 600 meters in 13:12 5k. That is some fast running.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3ZZjC-MEHc

bigtool wrote:

Nobody seems to have noticed my post about Alex Kipchirchir. Here's the race where I'm pretty sure he closed sub-50. His last 300 was 36.

http://www.iaaf.org/history/WCP/season=2006/eventCode=3490/results/racedate=09-16-2006/sex=M/discCode=1500/combCode=hash/roundCode=f/results.html#det

I checked the video of the race - indeed, Kipchirchir finished super fast!

Last 400 around 49,45.

Last 300 around 36,60 (definitely faster than 36,68, since he was a step behind the leader at 1200m.

But it was in a really very slow race (3:52,60). The first bend of the last lap he ran on the outside of lane 1, so his last lap was more in the 49,3 region I would estimate. Can't remember of any faster last lap (and faster last 300). But we don't see very often final times like that. But still it was faster than Gonzalez when he has beaten Cram in '87 with a similar final time.

the cancer guy wrote:

I've always wondered about the "has anyone ever closed in under 50 thing" before. Memory is not serving me well at the moment, but, I want to say, in all the threads such as this, I have never seen 49.... yet. It's always 50.4 or 50.3 once all the replies have come in. Nonetheless, that's just amazing. Seconds faster than I could run a 400 flat out on my best day downhill in a storm.

Ryun did it, and on a cinder track nonetheless.