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.