Who has the best finishing kick ever?

Coe's 400m PB is 46.87.

What is Aouita's PB?

Akhmatkhuzin wrote:

Coe's 400m PB is 46.87.

What is Aouita's PB?

Better ask Venti, he'd know.

Akhmatkhuzin wrote:

Coe's 400m PB is 46.87.

What is Aouita's PB?

Coe’s ‘official’ pb doesn’t do him justice. When he set that time in 79, he went through 300m a bit fast, in 33, and was disappointed with the final time, despite coming 2nd and being the first Brit home in the AAA Champs. He had run a very easy 46.95 in the heat the night before, easing up in the last 50m.

800 guys don’t run many competitive 400’s and therefore don’t get the chance to practise tactics, pace, etc. Personally, I think 400 split times in relays tend to give a better gauge of their 400 ability. Coe ran a 45.5 relay later in 79, after running an 800m earlier in meet. That probably indicates 46 low ability.

In 81, his best season, he ran a 45.7 leg 90 mins after front running a 1:44.0 800m, and in that relay race (on YouTube), he stumbled on takeover, lost 5m on the American he was racing, but still managed to win. This was more like a 45.0 split without the stumble, and worth 45 high ability in an open 400m.

Aouita has no ‘official’ 400m pb on record, but I have seen claims (with no date or location) of him running a 46.9 in training run.

Interestingly, I have an interview with Aouita from a UK athletics magazine in 1985, where he claimed he was training with Coe at Macolin, and he was timing Coe over 400m. He stated that Coe “was still so fast” and gave a hand time for Coe of 46.8. Now if that is reliable, and Coe was far from his best in 85, then clearly peak Coe could have run at least 46.0 in a competitive environment. Aouita gave no indication of whether he was running same set in training.

Akhmatkhuzin wrote:

Coe's 400m PB is 46.87.

What is Aouita's PB?

Rudisha's PB is 45.15.

Von Hayek wrote:

Akhmatkhuzin wrote:

Coe's 400m PB is 46.87.

What is Aouita's PB?

Rudisha's PB is 45.15.

At altitude. More like 45.4 at sea level. It was early season though, and I'd have to give him the ability to run 45.0 (or slightly faster) when running 1:40.91.

Coe was probably capable of 45 high in an open race in 81.

Soren Kudsen

Deanouk wrote:

Von Hayek wrote:

Rudisha's PB is 45.15.

At altitude. More like 45.4 at sea level. It was early season though, and I'd have to give him the ability to run 45.0 (or slightly faster) when running 1:40.91.

Coe was probably capable of 45 high in an open race in 81.

Out of curiosity, what is Wilson Kipketer's 400m PB?

He was remarkably smooth in his action.

Von Hayek wrote:

Deanouk wrote:

At altitude. More like 45.4 at sea level. It was early season though, and I'd have to give him the ability to run 45.0 (or slightly faster) when running 1:40.91.

Coe was probably capable of 45 high in an open race in 81.

Out of curiosity, what is Wilson Kipketer's 400m PB?

He was remarkably smooth in his action.

Almost identical to Coe's - 46.85 for open (compared to Coe's 46.87) and 45.4 in relay (from 97, his best year, a week before equalling Coe's mark), compared to Coe's best split of 45.5.

Deanouk wrote:

Von Hayek wrote:

Out of curiosity, what is Wilson Kipketer's 400m PB?

He was remarkably smooth in his action.

Almost identical to Coe's - 46.85 for open (compared to Coe's 46.87) and 45.4 in relay (from 97, his best year, a week before equalling Coe's mark), compared to Coe's best split of 45.5.

Coe's change of pace when uninjured is unmatched in my opinion.

Konchellah clocked 45.38 when he was 18

Von Hayek wrote:

Deanouk wrote:

Almost identical to Coe's - 46.85 for open (compared to Coe's 46.87) and 45.4 in relay (from 97, his best year, a week before equalling Coe's mark), compared to Coe's best split of 45.5.

Coe's change of pace when uninjured is unmatched in my opinion.

Totally agree. When in peak form, his turn of pace was unmatched, in slow or fast paced races: although on a very few occasions, his poor tactics meant it still wasn’t quite enough to win. E.g. Moscow 800 final.

Aouita had some pace in his legs.

Out sprinting Gonzalez and Coghlan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R48XdtIhTmU

Said Aouita wrote:

Aouita had some juice in his legs.

Out sprinting Gonzalez and Coghlan.

Fixed.

fify wrote:

Said Aouita wrote:

Aouita had some juice in his legs.

Out sprinting Gonzalez and Coghlan.

Fixed.

+1

And why do people say Aouita was an elegant runner with good form? Wasn't just his head rolling from side to side in the last 50m there, it was his whole upper body. Lucky he had all that stuff in his legs.

Coevett wrote:

fify wrote:

Fixed.

+1

And why do people say Aouita was an elegant runner with good form? Wasn't just his head rolling from side to side in the last 50m there, it was his whole upper body. Lucky he had all that stuff in his legs.

Aouita when he is all out sprinting has this head rolling action.

Definitely his form is not as elegant as Seb Coe's.

Villas-Boas wrote:

Fausto Coppi wrote:

Who has the best finishing kick ever for middle or long distance races?

Snell?

Ryun?

Coe?

Ovett?

Yifter?

Cova?

Skah?

Morceli?

Gebrselassie?

Borzakovskiy?

Bekele?

Farah?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWoNJYweeoY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWRM-7pDxDg

Fernando Mamede had a brutal and yet underrated finishing kick.

That's what happens when you have a one-time world 10000m record holder, who was fast enough to run for Portugal on the Olympic 4x400m team.

Cavorty wrote:

Villas-Boas wrote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWRM-7pDxDg

Fernando Mamede had a brutal and yet underrated finishing kick.

That's what happens when you have a one-time world 10000m record holder, who was fast enough to run for Portugal on the Olympic 4x400m team.

Mamede's PB in the 800m is 1:47.5 from 1974 before his prime.

That is quite impressive for a 10000m runner.

Anyone know his 400m PB?

Fernando Mamede's PB for the 400m is 48.2 in 1971.

https://riasport.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/457194_10150957158773122_1033762364_o2.jpg