Steve Ovett, one of my all-time sport heroes! I love the personality of this man.
Would realy like to know what he could have achieved on the clock from 800m to 5000m. Maybe at 800m he was close to his capabilities, but in the other events I`m sure he could have done faster than he has.
@distance88 I'm sure he could go much faster too. In his bio he said he was capable of 3:27s for 1500m. I believe he could have held the world 800m record pre- Coe's 142.33 had he trained and raced for it in 1977-78. Awesome runner that he was, I don't believe Peter Elliot was more naturally gifted and he ran 1:42.9s at his peak.
@seanofafrica Elliott was at his absolute limit with 1:42.98. He was primarily an 800m runner for most of his career, whereas for Ovett it was always his 2nd event after 1976. After that time though, Ovett's basic 400 speed didn't improve. He was likely a 47 high 400 flat runner from 77 to 81, and then it dropped further. I'd say Elliott must have been around 47 high ability in 90. If Ovett had a few serious attempts at the 800 in 78-80 I think he could have run 1:43 low.
I recently read Ovett's 1984 autobigraphy. He claims to have been in the best shape of his life before the '84 Olympics. It's a shame we never got a chance to see a true rematch of Coe and Ovett in LA.
@AlanBurtonSinger Yes, it's a good read. The fact he could run a 1:44 with all the health troubles he had goes to show he must have been in v. good shape. We'd certainly have got a 1,2,3 in the 1500m.
Never seen this before, awesome very sad that this was the last hurrah of Steve Ovett,when you consider In my opinion, he was past his prime here, what would he have ran say from 1978 to 1981.Also a word for Seb Coe, when you consider he ran 3.29 when he was approaching the age when most atheletes are on the slide, what would he have ran say 1979 to 1981, before his illness troubles.
@fitzieo1 Yes, I wrote almost exactly what you've just said on LetsRun yesterday. I posed the question why he declined so rapidly after 84. Was it the LA respiratory problems, was it psychological or did he not care anymore? All very sad. I remember him being routinely beaten by younger UK runners of modest ability from 85 onwards and thinking how unfair it was. He would have slaughtered them in his prime. I think many took Ovett & Coe for granted, thinking we'd have lots more!
@deano27671 well spotted it was 41.6 not 39.6 , i watched this on the bbc news the night steve broke the record and have been try to trace it since then ,,
thanks for this video deano...i think ovett is capable of a 3:28 1500m and 3:45 mile if not for his 82/83 problems.....hope you can also upload his 86 commonwealth triumph...all the best!
Funny how Coe & Ovett both recorded their best ever 1500 times at Rieti, seems to be a choice of distance athletes over the years with Morceli (1500, mile), Rudisha (800), Komen (3000), hell even Powell ran a 100 record there a few years back.
great video , i have been trying to locate this for years , Ovett covered the final 300m in 39.6 to take the record back and said if it wasnt for the wind hed have run faster,
@roger3594 Yes, I believe he would have run faster but for the wind, although his last 300m was 41.6, not 39.6, as he went through 1200m in 2:49.14. If he could run 3:30.7 in a bad year in unfavourable conditions, he should have easily broken 3:30 earlier in his career.
Nice one Deano! At the end of the race he looks more relieved than pleased. Wonder if he would ever have gone clock running if Coe hadn't come along? Pity he didn't have enough left to have a go at the mile. Strange,we fans who went through this era,that thirty years on we're still seeking out permutations of "what if...". My good lady would just call it "sad". So what the hell does she know?!!Thanks again-great upload.
Thankyou so much for posting - Ovett must have spent alot of time reflecting on this race when his career slid into ignominy (apart from 5000m at Commonwealth Games 1986) in later years. This must be his last world class performance.
Steve Ovett, one of my all-time sport heroes! I love the personality of this man.
Would realy like to know what he could have achieved on the clock from 800m to 5000m. Maybe at 800m he was close to his capabilities, but in the other events I`m sure he could have done faster than he has.
Deano: Ingelheim is in Germany, not Norway...
distance88 6 months ago
@distance88 I'm sure he could go much faster too. In his bio he said he was capable of 3:27s for 1500m. I believe he could have held the world 800m record pre- Coe's 142.33 had he trained and raced for it in 1977-78. Awesome runner that he was, I don't believe Peter Elliot was more naturally gifted and he ran 1:42.9s at his peak.
seanofafrica 1 month ago
@seanofafrica Elliott was at his absolute limit with 1:42.98. He was primarily an 800m runner for most of his career, whereas for Ovett it was always his 2nd event after 1976. After that time though, Ovett's basic 400 speed didn't improve. He was likely a 47 high 400 flat runner from 77 to 81, and then it dropped further. I'd say Elliott must have been around 47 high ability in 90. If Ovett had a few serious attempts at the 800 in 78-80 I think he could have run 1:43 low.
deano27671 1 month ago
I recently read Ovett's 1984 autobigraphy. He claims to have been in the best shape of his life before the '84 Olympics. It's a shame we never got a chance to see a true rematch of Coe and Ovett in LA.
AlanBurtonSinger 6 months ago
@AlanBurtonSinger Yes, it's a good read. The fact he could run a 1:44 with all the health troubles he had goes to show he must have been in v. good shape. We'd certainly have got a 1,2,3 in the 1500m.
deano27671 6 months ago
wow i waited 28 years to see this., thanks
markgregamy 7 months ago
Never seen this before, awesome very sad that this was the last hurrah of Steve Ovett,when you consider In my opinion, he was past his prime here, what would he have ran say from 1978 to 1981.Also a word for Seb Coe, when you consider he ran 3.29 when he was approaching the age when most atheletes are on the slide, what would he have ran say 1979 to 1981, before his illness troubles.
fitzieo1 7 months ago
@fitzieo1 Yes, I wrote almost exactly what you've just said on LetsRun yesterday. I posed the question why he declined so rapidly after 84. Was it the LA respiratory problems, was it psychological or did he not care anymore? All very sad. I remember him being routinely beaten by younger UK runners of modest ability from 85 onwards and thinking how unfair it was. He would have slaughtered them in his prime. I think many took Ovett & Coe for granted, thinking we'd have lots more!
deano27671 7 months ago
@deano27671 well spotted it was 41.6 not 39.6 , i watched this on the bbc news the night steve broke the record and have been try to trace it since then ,,
once again many thanks for posting it
roger3594 6 months ago
@roger3594 I've just uploaded Ovett's 1500m win in the 81 World Cup. Not sure the nationality of the commentators, but its all there!
deano27671 5 months ago
thanks for this video deano...i think ovett is capable of a 3:28 1500m and 3:45 mile if not for his 82/83 problems.....hope you can also upload his 86 commonwealth triumph...all the best!
yellcarreon 7 months ago
@yellcarreon You're welcome. I think I have Ovett's Commonwealth 5k. I'll get round to it soon.
deano27671 7 months ago
@yellcarreon I've now uploaded the entire 5000m from the 86 Commonwealths on here.
deano27671 6 months ago
Funny how Coe & Ovett both recorded their best ever 1500 times at Rieti, seems to be a choice of distance athletes over the years with Morceli (1500, mile), Rudisha (800), Komen (3000), hell even Powell ran a 100 record there a few years back.
201081hero 7 months ago
great video , i have been trying to locate this for years , Ovett covered the final 300m in 39.6 to take the record back and said if it wasnt for the wind hed have run faster,
roger3594 7 months ago
@roger3594 Yes, I believe he would have run faster but for the wind, although his last 300m was 41.6, not 39.6, as he went through 1200m in 2:49.14. If he could run 3:30.7 in a bad year in unfavourable conditions, he should have easily broken 3:30 earlier in his career.
Philcher69 7 months ago
@Philcher69 This is actually my comment. I was logged on with a friend's profile at the time by mistake. Sorry!
deano27671 7 months ago
Those splits taken from 600,1000 and 1400 are nonsense. Typical for the italians.
acetracking 7 months ago
Nice one Deano! At the end of the race he looks more relieved than pleased. Wonder if he would ever have gone clock running if Coe hadn't come along? Pity he didn't have enough left to have a go at the mile. Strange,we fans who went through this era,that thirty years on we're still seeking out permutations of "what if...". My good lady would just call it "sad". So what the hell does she know?!!Thanks again-great upload.
ARRISIPPY 7 months ago
Thankyou so much for posting - Ovett must have spent alot of time reflecting on this race when his career slid into ignominy (apart from 5000m at Commonwealth Games 1986) in later years. This must be his last world class performance.
sebcoe81 7 months ago