1988 Olympic 1500m Final

[laLeeyo]

The fastest won. Coe didn't even qualify

[athleticscoach2012]

Rono deserved the gold though because he ran his best ever race when it mattered- at the Olympic Games

[number17bus]

Marcus O'Sullivan, great runner, future world indoor champion, but that's a shocker of a haircut (0:18). Still, at least he's not dressed like Steve Scott!

[martynhanson]

No, it's a time and a place at that time. You and others say Coes is greatest 800m runner ever but he was 100% at time of both his 800m Olympic finals but was trounced in both for gold

By the way, Ovett was not 100% at time of 83 world champs and even though he ran fastest last lap it was clear Cram had something in hand and I say that as Ovett fan

[wiwrd11]

5:16 "What a run by yet another Kenyan. They really find him and this is a new one as well.Peter Rono a famous name, 21 years old has come through to take Olympic gold on his first major international appearance. Cram just hadn"t got the legs, but it matters most of all. A bold piece of front running."

[wiwrd11]

0:04 " six six eight Peter Rono, the danger from Kenya."

[martynhanson]

re 84 final - if Coe had been carted off stricken on a stretcher and a truly fit Ovett would have won then history could easily have been written differently. you can't win if you are ill. this London olympic thing is driving me nuts. Putting everything on this. Take Farah. If a month before the games he gets injured what then? As David Hemery said - to put everything on one day in 4 years in the future is ridiculous. don't think the athletes of today have worked this one out yet

[deano27671]

@martynhanson You could say the same about 83. If Coe hadn't been ill in the 82 Europeans and for practically all of 83, he would have won 800 gold in 82 and could have done the World Champs double in 83. Ovett was fully fit in Helsinki 83 and ran a dreadful race. Coe had more than his fair share of illness ruining gold medal chances. The Olympics are still the pinnacle however, and Hemery is in a great position to say such things having won an Olympic gold himself.

[avacadoazzurro]

Steve Scott's sunglasses are ridiculous.

[martynhanson]

What pisses me off about die hard Coe fans is 'he would have won 39 times out of 40 if he would have been 100% fit' Take 1984 if Ovett and Cram would have been 100% they'd still say the same thing. Whereas Ovett and Cram fans would have the head to say 'in a race a few things can happen, and you never know' .

An example of this is, in spite of people rating Coe as the best 800m runner ever, he was 100% fit for both his Olympic 800m and he never came close to Gold. That I do know!!!!!!!!!!!

[soulyrasheed]

@martynhanson true, but seb simply achieved more than greats like ovett and cram. he was better overall 800/miler

[deano27671]

@martynhanson Coe still won 2 consecutive Olympic silvers, (not to mention a host of other gold, silver and bronze medals over 800m from other major races/championships  over a long period), which is a better effort than Cram & Ovett put together over their favoured 1500m in the Olympic arena. Since WW2, only Snell and Cruz have a better record at the Olympics over 800m. His is better than Kipketer's.

[deano27671]

Yes, Coe was 100% fit in the Moscow 800m final, but lost it because he ran a diabolical tactical race. He was still the fastest over the last lap by quite some margin, just as Ovett was 100% fit in the 83 World 1500 final where he finished 4th! He was the fastest over the last lap there too, but ran a dreadful race. People don't go on "crucifying" Ovett for coming 4th when he was 100% in the same way they did Coe, who at least got the silver.

[deano27671]

Ovett fans would rather remember him for his wins against lesser fields and not dwell on his Olympic bronze & World 4th. Seems like double standards to me!

As for the LA 800m, Coe's build up was hardly problem free and he certainly wasn't as race fit as most of the other entrants at the beginning of the 800m event. All this bull***t about Cram not being fit before the Games and "if Ovett hadn't been ill", doesn't stand up to much scrutiny.

[deano27671]

Both in fact had a better build up to LA than Coe. Ovett ran 3 international 800s & 4 international 1500s in the 2 months leading up to the Games; that's 7 races. Cram had 3 international outings at 800, 3 at 1000m & 1 over 1500m. That's also 7 races. Coe had 1 800m race in Oslo (where he said he was only 80-85% fit) 2 1500s in the AAAs and a solo slow mile at Haringey where he won by 10secs. That's 4 races. Therefore he had far fewer races at international level than either Steve.

[deano27671]

He had to use the 800 heats & final to get him race ready for retaining his 1500m title. He also had the misfortune of coming up against a man who put together the greatest series of championship 800m runs ever. Cruz on that day would have beaten anything that Ovett or Cram ever produced at 800m. Indeed, his 25.2 last 200m in a 1:43.0 is better than anything Kipketer or Rudisha have produced in subsequent years in Championship races.

[deano27671]

In probably every other major championship final run in the 70's & 80's, Coe's efforts in the LA 800 would have been enough to win gold. The reason Coe is considered one of the greatest of all time at 800 is the fact he held the WR for longer than any other athlete in the modern era (18 years) and had the greatest margin in time over the next best ever (1.71 secs) since WW2. Not to mention he accrued more world ranking points on the T&FNews system than any other runner before him.

[athleticscoach2012]

@deano27671 Don't think Ovett was 100% fit before the Worlds having missed most of 82 injured. He was getting there but had not run fast times prior to the games and although doing 3:30 couple of weeks later don't think he was confident going into the race. His finish was never the same after that injury as well. I think Coe would have won in 88 as he had regained fitness by the time of the games. AB the only guy who could have beat him was missing as well.

[ImDavidGurney]

Peter is a lot heavier today.He measured me for a pair of New Balance at the store in Hasbrouck Heights,NJ.

[Averagebum2]

@ImDavidGurney No kidding...Peter Rono???

[bellpeter27]

WOOO!!! PETER KIPCHUMBA RONO FTW!!

[sonysakariah]

oh cram i love u so much................

[Daz555Daz]

Sad to see Cram beaten by guys who would not have been within 30m of him on his day. Still that's the nature of championships - won by those who arrive fit and get it right on the day and all power to them.

[dephcon9]

Thanks for this video! Jeff Atkinson is my cross country coach this year so I feel very honored. :D

[abuj1]

@dephcon9 dude me too, only i'm a junior so he's been coaching me longer prolly

if you're pvxc, who are you?

[dephcon9]

@abuj1 ya i'm pvxc. i'm ian. one of the freshman.

[MrRatley]

@abuj1 LOL whatsup! So funny to see pvxc here! SO I guess the lesson is not to sit n kick? jk love you jeff. Just follow the recipe

[Daz555Daz]

Such a shame for Cram that he never got the Olympic gold his talent and effort deserved - too young in 80, and injuries at just the wrong times in 84 and 88 when he looked to be a class apart at times during the season. Still, incredible career and an all-time great.

[jegspillerpiano]

@Daz555Daz Well, it's about peaking. Coe managed it.

[mnandi984]

Faaack Coe, fuck that overrated dude!! This is the year Kenya dominated middle and long distance events. VIVA Kenya

[jegspillerpiano]

@mnandi984 yeah, they had to wait until Coe was 32 and past his best before they could 'dominate'.

[pnstate07]

I still can't believe Peter Rono this race. I know Marcus O' Sullivan. I ran against  Rono few times.

[Averagebum2]

@pnstate07 Were you in the 1991 NCAA in Eugene OR? I watched Rono in that race, and was disappointed he came in 3rd.

[KingLiopleurodon]

Rono ran hard. Cram's injury in the Rieti 1k cost him here... despite his ferocious last 30m when he decided, suddenly, that he could still win despite all the problems. But, then, the travesty of the 1988 UK OG selection! It wasn't Peter Elliott who was the problem. The selections should have been: Coe, Elliott, Cram for both 800 and 1500. McKean in the 800 was a total joke, worst championship runner of the era. Crabb in the 15 was an OK runner, but not in the class of the big 3.

[ToniLite]

@KingLiopleurodon

Yeah the selection for the Games was a joke. I don't think McKean broke 1:45 for 800m at all that year, while Coe did 1:43 just a month before the games! Same with Crabb - surely no one realistically expected him to do much. Cram obviously over-estimated his fitness in doubling up - guess he just thought he'd be recovered in time. Damn that Rieti race!!!

[Zndwls]

Peter Rono did what few other runners can do in a major championships 1,500-metre final: lead the race from 700 metres and still win, without a dramatic and explosive final kick. Elliott, Herold and Cram must have regretted not quite having had the speed to outrun Rono on that day. Rono, by the way, never won an Olympic or a World Championships medal after 1988.

[deano27671]

He never won another race after this period!

[mamowolde]

If aouita had been healthy he would have accomplished the ultimate triple at these games...800m, 1500m, and certainly the 5000m runnnig away...bless him and his feats

[RawMarketingSolution]

Coe would have won this by more than a second, would've pretty much been a replay of 1984 final.

[bootymanager]

@RawMarketingSolution Bullshit! Coe would've had his arse handed to him, no doubt whatsoever. He wasn't in shape and, even if selected, wouldn't have been up to the challenge.

[bootymanager]

Coe would've got his arse handed to him.

[deano27671]

Lol!

You know little about this period. Coe had already beaten Ereng, the 800m champion at these Games, twice in the months before Seoul. The closing splits here were far inferior to Coe's corresponding splits in LA. And Coe beat both Rono and Herold the following season. Cram was dismal in this race. If he hadn't been greedy in trying to run the 800 as well (where he wasn't even good enough to get to the final), then maybe he'd have won a medal in the 15.

[fitzieo1]

I fully agree Coe would have won this.What a joke the U.K selectors are to deny Coe even an attempt to defend his title.Also Elliott was magnificent to get the silver.

[jibjobjab]

The same selectors fucked up 10 years later when they left another legend of GB track , Roger Black out of the Euro 98 team!

[gpc31]

Coe would have won this going away.

[yellcarreon]

thanks for posting dude....finally after a year of searchin..

[fitzieo1]

Thanks for posting this been looking for it for ages.