1976 Olympics 5000m

[papmjny]

Lydiard simply noticed that Viren is very very unique talent. Arthur was Finland's Hedtrainer for some years at late 60's.

[kozmon0t]

The red guy and the two black guys were way outta position at the bell. If they were closer they could have passed Viren on the backstretch and had the inside for the final turn. Instead they had to run wide and get in each other's way. Viren was a bit lucky they all did something stupid. Tall black guy in particular got himself boxed and had to move to lane 4, otherwise he could've won it.

[YiftertheShifter1]

@kozmon0t Viren isn't "lucky" that the others had poor tactics during this race. He put himself in the driver's seat and forced them all to run extra yards; they all blew energy trying to pass him, energy which he consumed more efficently.

[kozmon0t]

@YiftertheShifter1 He couldn't have prevented them from getting into position by the bell. Considering there was three of them, and any one of the three would have had him on the backstretch, all three being out of position is luck, no matter how it got set up.

[VirenKickedPresAss]

It's funny that people say Pre would have won this race....this was an entire level higher then '72 was in regards to the quality of the field....!

[featherinthewind123]

incredible



[dersinghampault]

Magnificent - I remember this so well. I was a great fan of middle and long distance running in the 70s and early 80s and I remember recording this on tape cassette (oh, for video recorders then!) which I've since lost, but where the BBC commentator was shouting "And here come the two black shadows of New Zealand (Walker and Quax) but Viren..."(realises that they are not going to catch him) "DEFENDS HIS TITLE WONDERFULLY WELL! - AND HE WILL NOT BE BEATEN! - VIREN WINS THE GOLD!..."

[YiftertheShifter1]

@dersinghampault It's actually, "AND VIREN DEFENDS HIS TITLE WONDERFULLY WELL, AND THEY WILL NOT BEAT HIM! LASSE VIREN, THE GREATEST DISTANCE RUNNER IN THE WORLD, PROVES IT BEYOND DOUBT!" (David Coleman). Type up "Viran's fall" on Youtube.

[xxxDAPROBLEMxxx]

He f*cked them in their as*es

[raulevich]

virrren virren virrennn!!!!

[ARRISIPPY]

Viren !! Three and a half decades on and it's still bloody awesome! . Incredible run. Foster never thought he was a cheat...he put it down to regular drinks of reindeer milk!

[mahtivaari72]

These runs helped Viren to become a member of Finnish Parliament.

[Finnmark4]

Let's just say for the sake of argument that the Finns were the inventors of "blood doping", which back then meant using your own oxygenated blood to boost performance, not synthetic EPO used today. The Finns were accused of this in 1972. Don't you think by 1976 everyone was doing the same? Or were some countries so noble that they would not knowingly allow their athletes to use every, at this point still legal, method available? The answer is of course they would.

[VirenKickedPresAss]

@Finnmark4 So true! There wa even talk that Pre was doing blood doping as well.

[poo72]

Fortunately, Dixon started his spurt a little bit too late.

[totowablood58]

Viren did not blood dope prior to the olympics. All this stupid shit comes out whenever someone achieves an incredible feat. He was the best in the world at those particular days of the olympics. If he did blood dope, that takes a long time to get your strength back and it's rediculous. Plain fact, Viren trained harder than anybody in the 70's. Haikkola had him running 250km per week about (155 miles) he was capable of running a fine marathon which he did that olympics in 2:13. He was cool

[heathcoat1]

haha white runners.



[papmjny]

Simply Lasse trained harder than anyone at that time. Anyway, he has not ever reached times like Africans (or David Moorcroft, close to 13 mins). Repeat myself, but Lydiard brought complete training methods to Finland. Soon, end of 70's those methods were not valid anymore, And finns were not at the top anymore. Italians, gradually africans, and others became as a new masters in long distance running.

[whitelon]

Look if Viren did not blood dop he would have probably never gone to the Olympics in my opinion. He cheated and even if he cheated Steve would've definitely destroyed him in this race if he was alive and possibly gone under 13 minutes .

[YiftertheShifter1]

@whitelon No, you look: Viren was a talented legend of distance running and there is absolutely no evidence whatsoever to assert your ludicrous statements. My message to you and all the others who bash Viren and worship Pre: Pre's death does not fill the void of his unaccomplished feats, and Viren was the best there is on this day. Your allegations are false and unproven conjecture. Enough of the lies: Viren is a legend.

[VirenKickedPresAss]

@whitelon That is a pussy statement, by a pussy with no proof-

[papmjny]

Viren was one who was at junior age, when New Zealand's Arthur Lydiard (e.g. Peters Snell's tariner) become headcoach for runners in Finland in end of 1960's. Also Vaatainen, Vasala, Kuha (World Record holder in 3000m Steeples) were training with methods of Lydiard. Lydiard lifted whole running culture in Finland after 30 empty years. Lydiard picked all the most talented runners and Viren was clearly most talented of them all.

[sanitary103]

holy shit that ending was insane! that one dude fell over! blood doping or not, it's a thing of beauty to see these athletes go at it

[harsescramblelegend]

Viren was an execelent runner but if STEVE PREFONTAINE would not of died he would have beat viren.13:24 is an average run for viren steve i think would of at least ran a 13:00.good job for viren for winning but personally i think he did not run against that good of runners.

[welshnick300365]

@harsescramblelegend

Prefontaine was a fine runner but Viren was capable of running a race at whatever pace was required to win. Pre relied on a pacemaker. Another thing with Viren was that he almost always ran the shortest way round. In the 1972 5000m Pre ran almost 60m farther than Viren. We'll never know who would have won though Viren again at Montreal ran the perfectly paced race.

[4807avh]

What about Paavo Nurmii ?

[4807avh]

Yes Viren ran 13.16.4 but Puttemans was 3 times the season's best.

1972 : 13.13.0 World rrecord for 5 years.

1973 : 13.14.5

1975 : 13.18.6

[YiftertheShifter1]

Season leader doesn't = gold medal. Bekele ran his WR in 2004, but still lost to El G in the olympic final.

[4807avh]

Miel puttemans ran 13.13. Lasse Viren never ran that fast.

[YiftertheShifter1]

But he still ran 13:16.4 in brutal conditions three days after beating Puttemans in the Olympic final.

[ggodd2156]

中間年にバッとしなかったビレンのこの勝ち方は大いに意外でした­。やはりドーピング疑惑濃厚ですね。

[RunninMan5K]

Pre prolly runs like 13:04 this day to be honest...he prolly would have went out super hard and held the whole way and just trashed the field for what happened in 1972...to be we didnt get to see that run...

[YiftertheShifter1]

That's rubbish man. Viren was the best, and nobody was going to conquer him on this day.

[futuremodal]

@RunninMan5K It's doubtful Pre would have done anything like front running the whole way. Aside from Ian Stewart, Pre would have been the only other returnee from Munich with experience racing Viren in Viren's element. Given that Pre was a better miler than Viren, it is likely his strategy would have been similar to that of Munich, except this time trying to keep Viren from taking back the lead. Either way he would've had to gap Viren to win, since Pre couldn't outkick Viren.

[weeiceman]

@futuremodal

Sadly, one could also add the other missing "x factor" created by the African

Boycott. The name Yifter comes to mind. I just finished watching the Prefontaine bio (Fire on the Track). Some interesting reflections by Stewart (on the '72 5000m).

What a 5000m that would have been (with Pre and Yifter).

[ap1234512]

omg around 35-42 seconds in i thot for a moment that this was the 1972 munic olympics because i thot i see pre way in back wearing his oregon uniform =( but then i realized that pre never ran so far back and was close to the front the entire race in 72 so i got sad =(.

[ryancardno]

brave clever and on the juice should give the gold back

[papmjny]

they did World Record trial and Lasse made 13.14, just under Ron Clarke record 10 years before, Noot sure if Viren could run much faster

[ananasagama]

that german guy was almost the best and portugal suffers coos ussr man fals....

[Zndwls]

Virén, regardless of his purity or impurity as a runner (that is, his use or avoidance of blood doping), ran intelligently: at a steady rhythm,

avoiding crowded places in the group of runners, accelerating the pace steadily in the last 1,100 metres, and avoiding the running of curves wide, which saved him at least several, if not tens of metres, compared to a few of his rivals, such as Dixon.

[chshmilu]

Magnificent! What a guy. Brave, clever, and immensely talented. To outsprint the sprinters was amazing. I still remember watching it live, as if were yesterday.

Chris

[Irshkid444]

This was when running was actually exciting. I hope things change and runners from countries besides Africa win some distance events.

Don't get me wrong, Kenenisa Bekele is a great runner but all it is is Africans. I think it would be more interesting with some competition from Americans and Europeans.

[raysalsa1]

you know i'm huge pre fan. In fire on track documentary Ian stewart said pre could win 10000m gold in montreal if he had dedicated himself to that distance. however, he said the munich 5000 even it was run somewhere between 13 10 and 13 15 the result probably would been same. he wasnt sure result would been much different for pre here in 5000. can pre run under 55 secs for last lap? stewart said he had run 52.8 in 5k last before. pre would have needed a big lead with a mile left here to win.

[YiftertheShifter1]

Very unlikely that Pre could have defeated Viren in the 10K here in Montreal. The competition wasn't as great as in the 5K, with only Lopes to challenge, but without a final lap of about 56 seconds or faster, neither Lopes nor Pre (who'd do 58 in the smaller 5K distance) could've wrested the gold from Viren.

[YiftertheShifter1]

To be sure, Pre could've won the bronze medal in the Munich 5000 meters, and might have had one in the Montreal 10K, but the person who did take the bronze is the man you just mentioned, Ian Stewart, who felt guilty in taking a medal from a man who'd clearly had it and then died not long afterwards.

[raysalsa1]

stewart couldnt have had good race in munich. he has said he was in brilliant shape in munich and that a faster pace favored both him and pre. however, pre cant run final lap faster than viren' gammoudi or himself. if vaatainen was healthy his final lap is by far best in field. check out the 1971 euro championships in 5000 and 10000m. its amazing finishing spped better than yifter i think.

[timppa000]

How come all the runners are white? Back in the 1976 blacks were not allowed to participate in Olympics, right?

[YiftertheShifter1]

Nope. The African nations boycotted because New Zealand athletes were allowed to compete (i.e. Quax and Dixon); New Zealand's rugby team had recently toured apartheid South Africa.

Why would blacks not be allowed to play in '76 when they'd been doing it for decades (i.e Jesse Owens in 1936)?

[vekeok]

Fantastic run for Viren. My opinion he could have done much better results than 5000m 13,13 and 10000m 27,38 if they had run speed runs like today do. He is so strong in this game in last laps.

[futuremodal]

We may never again see a tactician as supreme as Viren in future Olympic competitions. The need to lead (to control pace in the latter stages of the race), staying to the inside rail as much as possible, plus a great finishing kick. Today's elite runners either lead (because they have no kick) or they stay off the lead to prep for a finishing kick, or they employ team tactics aka the Africans.

[TheDrLighthouse]

@vekeok Lasse Viren will drink your blood. One of the original dopers, a true vampire he was.

[YiftertheShifter1]

@TheDrLighthouse Yeah, and I suppose there were werewolves roaming around as well.

[TheDrLighthouse]

@YiftertheShifter1 In 76 I was 13 - and living in Montreal - first time i'd heard of any kind of doping. I tought it was disgusting!!

[YiftertheShifter1]

@TheDrLighthouse But how did you know that Viren engaged in doping? Did he turn into a bat? Did he sleep in a coffin? See his fangs?

[TheDrLighthouse]

@YiftertheShifter1 No, the TV commentators on Radio-Canada were actually discussing his blood doping at the time.

[YiftertheShifter1]

@TheDrLighthouse No, they were probably discussing the allegations, not that he actually did it. How would they know? Have they been to Finland and seen him do it?

[Zndwls]

My very last comments on this race:

Polleunis of Belgium kicked from tenth to

sixth place in the final lap. This was by far

his best major championship performance.

He ran the final lap about as fast as Viren,

or perhaps even a bit faster.

Geis of the United States ran comfortably in the group until 3,000 or 3,400 metres.

During the last kilometre, he lost to

Viren by over 15 seconds.

[Zndwls]

My final comments on this race: Kuznetsov,

the Soviet runner who fell about 750 metres from the finish, came ninth in this distance

at the 1978 European Championships.

Päivärinta, the other Finn, again underachieved - but he had some great races outside the Olympics. Simoes had surprisingly qualified for the final and ran

quite well (eighth). The last 600-800 metres were clearly too fast for Sellik,

Uhlemann and Kvalheim. Quax perhaps began his final kick a bit too early - or too far back.

[futuremodal]

Agreed. Viren's negative splits over the last two laps were run to tactical perfection. The others were all over the track wasting energy. Hey, if you're a 3:52 miler in a 5k race, you should be able to go sub-60 pace over the last few laps. Do it even if it means taking the bloody lead for Pete's sake!

Watch at 7:22 (10:40 on the race clock) where Hildy moves out into lane 2 to let Viren pass him on the inside! What was he smoking before the race!

[YiftertheShifter1]

With the exception of being at the back, being at the front is usually the worst position, where you'll typically get outkicked. Basically you're "doing the work;" Hildy probably had enough and let Viren take up the "worst position," where survived the concerted attack of about four or five people. What a legend... there will never be another Lasse Viren.

[futuremodal]

With the exception of windy conditions, I would respectfully disagree that front running is the "worst" position, because front running allows one to both control pace and maintain unfettered rail hugging, i.e. the shortest distance. It is true however that a front runner will burn roughly 7% more energy than followers, all other things being equal. I expect Viren knew he had the race won with 600 to go when none of the milers seemed to want to take charge with an extended kick.

[kingwilson06ad]

Yes, but Viren had no choice but to front-run. It was a reversal of roles compared to the 1972 5000-meter final. There Prefontaine had to front-run to avoid Viren. In 1976 Viren had to front-run to fatigue Quax, Dixon and Foster (all 1500-meter experts). His strategy worked to perfection. Viren was a sublime strategist.

[futuremodal]

It was anethema for Viren not to run in front at critical points in his races - it was just his way. Look at the '72 race - even though Pre was pushing 60's, Viren still takes the lead with 2 laps to go. Not that he had to in order to burn out kickers - Pre was doing a nice job of that himself - but Viren just had an inherent desire to control pace in the latter stages of big races, even though he himself possessed a great finishing kick as well. Such was a quality lacking in Dixon, et al.

[Zndwls]

This was a very tight race: the top four runners finished inside six metres! Viren may have been blood-doped, but he ran much more wisely than Quax, Hildenbrand, Dixon, Foster and the others. They shifted their position and accelerated and slowed down much more often than Viren. Apparently they also expected him to kick radically with 600 metres to go. Instead, Viren accele- rated gradually: 200-metre splits: 31.7 - 30.6 - 28.0 - 27.0. He also ran very near the track's inner edge.

[YiftertheShifter1]

No proof of blood doping, as I've said before... other than that, you're spot on. Viren's speed, strength, endurance, and tactical genius was enough to outrace his concerted, but rather unruly, opposition.

[futuremodal]

Every time I watch this clip, I can't help but laugh at the naivete of the Kiwis - to paraphrase: "We're milers. We'll just sit off the leader's shoulder until 150 to go and outkick everyone." Watch the whole clip - they didn't even try to push the pace in the last 4 laps.  Remember this - the advantage of a miler running a 5k isn't that they can outkick everyone, but that they have the stuff to burn those last few laps before it turns into a kickers' race.

[kingwilson06ad]

I would even go as far as claim that the Kiwis made a tactical mistake Prefontaine committed in '72. Pre failed to begin front-running sooner. the Kiwi's failed to try to make the race a slower one by trying to block Viren. Viren started pushing with 1050 meters to go. The Kiwis had nothing left for a typical miler's kick in the last 200 meters

[futuremodal]

Interesting take. I would have to see video of Dixon and Quax running their pre-Olympic 5k's to see what style they used to run their sub 13:20's. Did they not push pace at all in those races? Remember also that Viren was the king of tactical running - whatever anyone else did he would simply adjust and take back control of the race.

RE: Pre - his alleged pre-race plan was follow Bedford then go 60's with 3 laps to go. If true, the slow early pace forced him to go 1 lap too soon.

[futuremodal]

A slow early race favors the kickers, but not necessarily the milers. Yifter was probably kicking himself while watching this race, knowing it was set up for him.

With both Pre and Yifter in this race, Viren would have to prepare for both a 60s per lap w/mile to go runner (Pre) and a sub 55 last lap kicker (Yifter). Such would have stretched Viren's ability to the max.

We were robbed of what would have been the greatest Olympic 5k race of all time with Pre's death and Africa's boycott.

[FinnMove]

Lasse Viren had a self confidence which others didn´t have enough. Though this race is in the end beyond belief. Even Quax and Dixon feared Viren and they let Viren make his own decisions. The last 100 metres was a miracle. Everyone was sure that Viren wouldn´t win but he did it however !

[futuremodal]

Look. I've coached collegiately. A guy who can run three 59's in a row then run a 57 for the last lap is certainly a "better miler" than a guy who can only run three 61's in a row but kick a 53 last lap, but the latter is obviously the better kicker. Quax, Dixon, et al were of the former description, Viren the latter. Viren could not have beaten those guys in an actual mile race, but he certainly had a much better kick than those guys for a 5k pace.

[YiftertheShifter1]

That is not my point. My point is that when a 5000m race has a slow first 3600 meters or so, the 5000m race is reduced to a mile race which will obviously favor a mile runner. Examples of this are the Athens 5000m final, or the Osaka 2007 final: both races a mile runner won. Yes Viren can't beat them over a mile as he hasn't concentrated at this distance, yet when that scenario was laid out for the top class milers in this race, Viren, the best Olympic runner of this age, was the winner.

[FinnMove]

Lasse Viren was the best. He had the best self confidence and the others admired him too much. So Viren did what he wanted. The rest is history.

[YiftertheShifter1]

From a statistic I read somewhere, there were 17 people were faster than Viren over 5K, yet none of them were able to deprive of him and his racing genius of a second Olympic 5000m title. It does not matter what the naysayers say of Viren: he is among the greatest distance runners of all time.

[FinnMove]

Yes you´re right. They said he had nerves of superman. An hour before the race started he was still asleep relaxing. Maybe this was a legend. But they never said what would be the goals of his in 1972. Maybe 27.10 in 10000 metres and 13. 05 in 5000 metres if he should have done his best. Viren never said too much about his gold medals but his self confidence was remarkable.

[FinnMove]

And the accuse for blood dope was nonsense. In fact that was discovered those days when no one knew about it very much. At leastin Munich his gold medals were very sincere. If someone used that everyone used that. It was not illegal that time. How about those Africans today ? Their achievements running miracle results are unbelieavable.

[FinnMove]

And that faster runners. I speak by experience. A tactic when you for a while run very fast and then very slow is very stressing. You know if you are training. If you walk for a while it is very hard to achieve the normal speed again. I think that was Viren´s tactic in this race if you understand.

[futuremodal]

Several points: (1)Just because the Kiwi's were milers doesn't mean they had a great finishing kick. (2) The penultimate 3 laps in this race was 3:10; the penultimate 3 laps in '72 was 3:04; thus '72 was a true frontrunner's race while '76 was a true kicker's race. (3) If Pre had been here it is likely the penultimate 3 laps would have been around 10 seconds faster.

The question then is: Could Viren have run a 55 second last lap off true four minute mile pace as opposed to 4:13 pace?

[YiftertheShifter1]

Mile runners, the likes of El G, Aouita, and Lagat who move up to 5000 meters have a lot more speed, both running and finish, then average long distance runners. The first miles of this race were slow, almost reduced to a one mile race, which is assumed to favor milers like Dixon and Quax, but they were beaten in a mile/ lap race by a long distance runner, Viren.

[futuremodal]

The only reason "milers" move up to the 5k is because they're tired of getting outkicked in the 1500 by better milers. Neither Quax nor Dixon had great finishing kicks. As I stated previously, just because someone is a "miler" does not mean they can kick with the longer distance guys. It is an egregious assumption. The best milers in history - Ryan, Coe, et al - never did move up to the 5k.

[YiftertheShifter1]

"...because they're tired of getting outkicked in the 1500 by better milers" That's not true. Many people move up in distances later in their careers, like 10000m runners moving up to the Marathon. Quax, Dixon, and Foster were all world class milers, with PRs as many seven or eight seconds faster than Viren's over 1500m. This 5000m race became a mile race with the slow early pace, which should favor the milers, but Viren emerged the victor.

[YiftertheShifter1]

For the last time, Pre could not have beaten Viren in '72 nor could he have beaten Viren in '76. Viren ran a faster last mile in Munich and Montreal, even as opponents believed they had faster last miles. In Munich his last lap was almost exactly 56 seconds, so not that much off 55, which I think only Yifter the Shifter could have challenged (though he too could not keep up with Viren in the 10K final). Viren wins. The rest settle for lesser positions. That's history. DEAL WITH IT.

[futuremodal]

Pre lost in '72 due to tactical ineptude, not lesser athletic ability. Logic dictates that Pre would be a much better tactician in '76 closing the cognitive gap. Pre's last mile in '72 (4:03) was faster than Viren's last mile in '76 (4:05). Anyone with any sense would realize that the Montreal 5k would have been much different if both Pre and Yifter had been in the race. It's been a much faster pace for one, and Viren would not have had the confidence to kick with Yifter.

[YiftertheShifter1]

Right on the first count, wrong on the rest. I doubt Pre would have made the large an impact on this race; you say he would have been a better tactician, but that's what they said of Eamonn Coghlan before he took 4th yet again in '80. Pre's last mile in '72 was 4:03, but Viren's was 4:00, three seconds faster. Finally, why would you say this race would have been faster? The Munich 5K (with Pre) was 2 seconds slower; the Moscow 5K was not a whole lot faster either.

[futuremodal]

It is logical that, since Pre certainly made the biggest impact on the race in '72 (since he was the one to push that last four minute mile), an older wiser Pre would have had an even bigger impact in '76. He would have been 25 in '76, just reaching his peak. He wore that '72 race as a chip on his shoulder, so certainly would have had incredible motivation to redeem himself. Pre would have taken the pace earlier in '76 to play to his strengths, thus a faster pace - world record pace I'd bet.

[YiftertheShifter1]

I reiterate for the upteenth time: Pre would not have beaten Viren in Montreal, just as he had been unable to beat Viren in Munich. His PR is five seconds slower than Viren's, and eight slower than the world record, so how could you assume the race would have been at world record pace? In fact, if Pre ran this race at world record pace, he would suffer the same fate as David Bedford: out of the medals, while giving Viren, a smart runner, a gold medal/ Olympic or (as in Munich 10K) world record.

[YiftertheShifter1]

Viren's last 1500m here would have placed him fourth in the 1500m race at these games (3'39"xx or so).

[futuremodal]

Viren's last mile splits here were 64, 64, 62, 55. That's a 4:05 mile and a 3:48 1500 split, not 3:39 as YtheS states. His last mile split in "72 was much faster.

[YiftertheShifter1]

Futuremodal, what you calculated there is where the frontmarker (at 1600m to go being Hildenbrand) starts the four laps (meaning from the time Hildenbrand passes 1600 to go to when Viren finishes). Viren, as you notice, is buried deep within the pack before moving out and taking the lead and never surrendering it. I'd be interested to know official splits for this race, but Viren's last 1500 meters was enough to knock out all the milers and fast finishers of this race.

[futuremodal]

"Viren...is buried deep within the pack"?! He's arm's length behind Hildy.

Here's a suggestion: Actually watch the video.  Particularly, keep your eye on the upper right hand corner of the video. That's the race clock.

Here's Viren's clock times:

At 4 laps to go - 9:19

At 3 laps to go - 10:23

At 2 laps to go - 11:27

At 1 lap to go - 12:29

Finish time - 13:24.77

Splits were roughly 64, 64, 62, 55 according to the video race clock. That's a 4:05 mile, 3:48 1500. Deal with it.

[YiftertheShifter1]

Well, here is just an excerpt from Viren's profile:

"In the 5,000 meter final, he held off all-time greats Dick Quax, Rod Dixon, and Brendan Foster (all world-class at 1,500 m) with a devastating display of front-running over the last few laps. To those who watched him, the display was awesomely inspiring to the point that his last 1,500 meters in that final would have placed him 4th in the 1,500-meter final held at those Games."

[futuremodal]

Ahhh! Now I see the problem. You're using the Wikipedia version of what happened, I'm using the ACTUAL RACE CLOCK as seen in the video. No wonder there's such a discrepancy in stating Viren's last 1500 split at Montreal.

In truth, Viren's ACTUAL 1500 split from the Montreal 5k would have placed him back of the pack in the ACTUAL 1500.

A bit of advice: Never ever use Wikipedia as source material for anything. It is edited by left-wing idiots.

Peace out.

[YiftertheShifter1]

Well, I guess there may have been a discrepency in that. You win that part of the argument, I'll concede.

[rmrooster01]

I keep hearing the "What If" Pre was in the 76 olympics. The Truth is that Viren won, and when you watch this you can tell that he set the pace,  and he outkicked a competitive field. Viren was a champion and no one can take that away. He has the gold medals to back it up..... "What Ifs" mean nothing.

[BartMu2]

Viren fué uno de los mas grandes fondistas de la historia. Ganar 4 medallas olimpicas en dos olimpiadas seguidas no lo logra cualquiera. La leyenda de Prefontaine nace a raiz de su muerte, bien aprovechado por su entrenador, cofundador de Nike.

[brianpcurran]

prefontaine is more famous in death than in his real life. he could not come close to viren. if he did more training and less drinking things might have been different. he has been the marketing miracle for nike for a new generation.

[craigr176]

Prefontaine would have won this race no bother at all and everybody knows it!!!!

[papmjny]

?????? Prefontaine was complete loser in 5000M Munich 1972 even tough he said that he runs 13.10 easily there. He was only fourth. He was not a winner type at all. Viren beat all best one-mile-runners in Montreal 5000 m leap. He is THE BIG ONE as a human also. He is the honest one. Does not talk too much. He takes gold metals.

[YiftertheShifter1]

What makes you so sure?

[huntinwr]

Fascinating race. Many fluctuations in the pace. Viren certainly was a master of tactics. Hard to say how Prefontaine would have done. The Africans would have had an impact, as well. Henry Rono? I'm not so sure the results would have been much different. I think Prefontaine could have won the 10,000 meters over Viren, however. He ran 27:43 in terrible windy conditions in Eugene one time.

[YiftertheShifter1]

Personal bests versus big races... please differentiate between the two. Viren, if you have forgotten, ran 27:38 in the 1972 final, breaking a 7 year old world record despite falling on lap #12, and then defeated Prefontaine some time later in the 5000m final.

As for the rest of the race... simply awe-inspiring. Truly Viren will always be part of Olympic folklore due to such performances when they mattered the most.

[62liimis]

Well, those who accuse Viren for doping should maybe have their own piss analyzed. Never know, what you can find...

[specialist34535]

Prefontaine was, of course, one of those who could have been at least a medalist, if not winner in this race. Remember also the Africans, especially Yifter with his famous kick finish. They were victims of the 1976 boycott.

For me as a Finn, it would be tempting to say "Viren would have won anyway". But who knows...

[matt6101]

i just watched the movie "without limits"

such a shame Pre wasn't alive to run this race

he will always be remembered

[axeblue]

i swear i saw a leprechaun. maybe it was just Prefontaines spirit.

[samuelnc1985]

Unvelievable... how can someone lead a kick like that from 600 out. Viren was doping though, no?

[Viren4Pre0]

No, Viren was not doping.

[jeandaniellabranche]

Viren was doping. It was proved

[Viren4Pre0]

Then, you are the only person to have proof then, as no one else in the world has proved it. Why don't you show everyone? We are waiting.

[jeandaniellabranche]

himself said he was doped SUCKER!!

HAHAHHAHAHAHHAHA AHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAHHAHH­AHAHAHHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAH

[VirenKickedPresAss]

No, JEAN, get you fucking facts straight. Viren NEVER said he did. You ignorant fuck.

[VirenKickedPresAss]

LYING ASSHOLE

[FinnMove]

Katseltiin tätä yöllä kesällä 1976. Lasse ei voi voittaa näin hitaassa vauhdissa !

Viimeinen kierros on uskomaton. Miten ihmeessä

Viren pystyi tähän. Se on kai suomalaista sisua.

[Finarphin]

You seem to be saying you saw this race. I saw it, too. Tough race.

The Finnish Sisu-spirit, yes: plus organization, hard training, subsidies, blood-doping, steroids, and everything else. Of course the other runners were doing the same things, for the most part.

Prefontaine? Yifter? It's too bad they weren't there, but perfect fairness is rarely achieved. Viren actually did win the race as contested. Good for him.

[FinnMove]

We believed that Lasse wins if it is going to be a new world record.

Everyone was screaming. Too slow ! The milers

will beat you. But not. A race beyond the belief.

[brianpcurran]

Prefontaine is overrated. I lived though his era. If Gerry Lindgren didn't wig out he would have won the race.

[rytkonen]

Stop that joking, please! Best 5k ever, of course..!!

[willt08]

Are you serious? Pre was dead.

[gallenkallela]

Thougthest 5000m, what i have ever seen!

[scubasteve121212]

no the guy who fell was steve prefontaine..he got 4th

[Nordlicht7]

That's wrong! The guy who fell was Klaus-Peter Hildenbrand from Germany who won bronze.

[kingwilson06ad]

you are getting the 1972 and 1976 races mixed up... Pre finished 4th in the Munich Games 5000 meter... and he almost fell at the end... in this video, Hildebrand, finished 3rd, beating Rod Dixon by a whisker

[GetUpAndTryAgain]

did that guy who fell at the end get bronze?

[kingwilson06ad]

very smart... Viren did to Quax and Dixon what Prefontaine failed to do to him in '72: Viren pushed the pace with 7 laps to go to exhaust the milers... with two miles to go it was too late for Quax and Dixon to outkick Viren because he made the race more of a front-running one... this is was Bekele also failed to do with el-Guerrouj in the 5000-meter final in Athens: even if you are great kicker, you must do front-running if your competition includes even faster kickers

[almightywitey]

Lasse was a great tactician. He did what he had to to win. Amazing talent.

[Sqid101]

Yeah. Viren did what he had to. A bummer for New Zealanders watching, but give him his due: he couldn't afford to go head to head with them in a sprint so he ran them into the ground -- the right tactics.

[minipex]

wow