Wilson Kipketer: 800 meters in 1:41.83 - Rieti 1996

[deano27671]

Coe's Florence run was one of the greatest performances ever in athletics history. It represented a huge 2.6sec improvement of Snell's trailblazing run of 1:44.3 some 19 years earlier. Snell himself never broke 1:45 again for 800m, but that doesn't make his WR a freak effort either. About the same length of time between Snell's & Coe's runs, is the time between Coe & Kipketer.

[deano27671]

In 17 years Coe's record was only eroded a further 0.6 secs after many attempts. Each of the 3 have a unique claim to being the GOAT at 800m, Snell for his consecutive Olympic golds, Coe for being so far ahead of the rest of the world in terms of time, and Kipketer for running so many fast times. Each is a product of their age and there is no way to get a definitive answer. It comes down to personal choice and to what criteria one deems the most significant.

[newromantic888]

Kipketer never ran he just danced and glided on air. Thats how supreme this man is.

[newromantic888]

coe was under the mark how many times. Once. Freak effort..

[deano27671]

@newromantic888 LOL. So because Coe only did it once it was a freak effort!? No. Coe was already the WR holder when he broke 1:42 and was over a second faster than anyone else in history! By running 1"41.73 he went 1.71 faster than anyone else on history, the biggest margin anyone had over the rest of the world since the 1930's. There was no threat to his WR being broken and in those days there wasn't such a large grand prix circuit with pacemaking laid on at every event.

[deano27671]

There was no incentive or reason for Coe to keep going out and solo running the last lap in sub 1:42's. He went after the 1500 & Mile records instead, and was obliged to run in many international meets to represent his country. Despite it not being a Championship year in 81, Coe had to run 6 times for the UK or England. The fact he was ill or injured for 1982 and 83, meant he was never in shape to attack his WR again. If he hadn't been, I would expect him to still be the world record holder.

[deano27671]

He could possibly have come close at the end of 84, but got injured the first race after LA, Zurich, & ended the season there. After that he wouldn't have been able to beat it. The reason Kipketer ran many more sub 1:42's is due part to the fact that it was an era when it was all about time rather than winning, & was an integral part of the circuit. The other main reason, which should seem pretty obvious, is that he was chasing Coe's record for 2 seasons in 96 & 97 before he actually broke it.

[deano27671]

Thus the incentive was there for most of his peak years. As Kip was only an 800m runner, he never had the distraction of attempting to break records at other distances, because he knew he couldn't. If you're going to be that specialised & run that many more 800s in an era when the tracks were faster, the opposition better & the incentive to run fast times (big dollars and decent pace makers that can hang on to 600m) is there, then of course the probability of running more fast times is greater.

[newromantic888]

@deano27671 Yes thats true Deano but Wilson actually did it. With Seb he probably could have but we will never know. Its all a case of IF............

[deano27671]

@newromantic888 Actually DID WHAT?? If you mean sub 1:42, then the answer is, so did Coe! And Coe was the first to do it, some 16 years before Kipketer. Of course Kipketer deserves the respect for doing it several times, but your insinuation that Coe's solitary exploit under 1:42 was a "freak effort" is somewhat insulting and inaccurate. You can't maintain that pace for 2 times round a track and call it freak. Beamon's 8.90 at altitude is a feak performance.

[newromantic888]

@deano27671 Yes I meant Wilson went under 142 several times and looked comfortable in doing so and I always think without the malaria his 99 season as good as it was would have produced a sub 141 time. Look I apologise for my comment all I am trying to say is that Wilson was able to realise more of his potential than Seb. Wilson has times in his resume though Seb doesnt. I am sure Seb would have gone low 141 had he concentrated on the event and not had injury and other health issue. Passion.

[taylor1038]

is there fried chicken at the finish or something?

[oldaardvark]

@taylor1038

No but the winner gets to pick a racist out of the crowd and toss him into a pit with hungry lions.

[taylor1038]

@oldaardvark haha, i think lions prefer dark meat, haha, but no seriously i completely forgot i made this comment, sorry, but but black jokes are too funny.

[VLombardi01]

fast!!!

[giggity5313]

the best

[jmcd2v]

Thanks for posting this. Kipketer and Coe were both so smooth when they were in top form.

[4241600m]

incredible, thanks for posting