@dredandmrbears Yes. Many people, especially the press,hated him for it.I thought he was the most exciting runner I had ever seen.I still get excited watching these old clips.I've often wondered what Coe and Ovett would have earned if they had been paid as todays athletes are.
Ovett really should be credited with the 800/1500 double at these championships. Beyer, who improved by 2 secs in the 800 final and never ran anywhere near as fast again, was later listed by Stasi documents as having been on a state run drug programme. Shame for Ovett.
Utter domination by Ovett. Masterful tactics, but he was also in a different league than the others. This race, together with the 77WC, instilled a deep culture of fear in his 1500m opponents. When Moorcroft passed Loikkanen he must have believed he had the silver...some finish by Coghlan over the last 100.
Ovett was superior to the other runners in this race, and he showed it by celebrating his victory on the home straight and by still winning by a full second. Too bad that Coghlan got boxed in on the near bend of the last lap. He kicked the last 100 metres even faster than Ovett, although probably he couldn't quite have beaten Ovett in this race. The young Finnish miler, Loikkanen, ran one of the best races of his life.
Great finish by Coghlan, you can see how much it meant to him after being 4th in the 1976 Olympics. Sadly, another fourth place ahead of him in 1980.
Ovett looked a different class there.
number17bus 3 months ago
Coghlan seemed to get boxed in there for a while, but nobody could have caught Ovett. What acceleration over the last 200 meters!
LesbianVampireLover 5 months ago
Great race. Wonderful sprint finish by Ovett.
TopLevel100 6 months ago
So was it as controversial in 1978 for Ovett to celebrate in the homestretch as it is for Bolt to celebrate early.
dredandmrbears 8 months ago
@dredandmrbears Yes. Many people, especially the press,hated him for it.I thought he was the most exciting runner I had ever seen.I still get excited watching these old clips.I've often wondered what Coe and Ovett would have earned if they had been paid as todays athletes are.
hales51 8 months ago
this field was stronger than in most Olympics!!
martynhanson 9 months ago
Ovett was a legend & my hero. I always loved the wave to the crowd on the home straight. Thanks for posting
neillycoll 1 year ago
Ovett really should be credited with the 800/1500 double at these championships. Beyer, who improved by 2 secs in the 800 final and never ran anywhere near as fast again, was later listed by Stasi documents as having been on a state run drug programme. Shame for Ovett.
deano27671 1 year ago
@deano27671
neillycoll 1 year ago
@deano27671 It's a shame that those old east German athletes are still in the record books. If they were on drugs they should be removed
Wallinger2006 1 month ago
Utter domination by Ovett. Masterful tactics, but he was also in a different league than the others. This race, together with the 77WC, instilled a deep culture of fear in his 1500m opponents. When Moorcroft passed Loikkanen he must have believed he had the silver...some finish by Coghlan over the last 100.
KingLiopleurodon 1 year ago
Ovett was superior to the other runners in this race, and he showed it by celebrating his victory on the home straight and by still winning by a full second. Too bad that Coghlan got boxed in on the near bend of the last lap. He kicked the last 100 metres even faster than Ovett, although probably he couldn't quite have beaten Ovett in this race. The young Finnish miler, Loikkanen, ran one of the best races of his life.
Zndwls 1 year ago
"...And he's ALREADY celebrating!" -david coleman + steve ovett = legendary.
knightsxc06 2 years ago
many thanks for this bro..been looking for this for ages! u
yellcarreon 2 years ago
Thanks for posting this Kevin been looking for it for ages, I believe athletics was better back then some how. Ovett was a legend.
fitzieo1 2 years ago
Great stuff! So many familiar names from back then! Was the sport really better then, or do we just have selective memories? I love all this!
benoni45 2 years ago