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From: Trackstar2000
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  • LEGEND , this is when american and caribbean shamefull dope cheats had yet to come, with the significant support of some uk's druged liars and shamefull robbers else ---- probably the last true fair 200 m gold at Olymp. Games . too bad ^^^

  • " world record from 1979 to 1996 ..." correction in there

  • @lease2coach a ) Obviously we're speaking of the Olympics , better of the last clean 200m Olympic gold and he won one gold and one bronze ( on his debut in Munich 1972 )at Olympics in this specialty , one gold in the 200 m like Tommie Smith , Jesse Owens , Berruti ....

    On the other hand we can also list other " lesser " competiitons : golds on European Championships ( you know , the continental competition that used to produce so many champs who kicked american's asses at olymp)

  • owner and detentor of an incredible and fantastic world record since 1979 to 2006 , .....

    Let's not count Mediterranean games ( they were just a bit better than the Pan American Games ) and similar, World Championships comprehensive that were joke competitions and farcical meetings set only to let all those druged cheats and doped cunts from USA steal tens of dozens fake senseless dirty medals as they keep on doing since 30 years ....! !! ))))

    b) This guy is a LEGEND of track & field

  • but more than this he's one of cleanest and fairest outclass champs in the history of track & field , so far from enhanced pathetic actors like carlina - gay - lewis and totally different from farcical doped faggots like michael -

    Epo-HGH -johnson !

    Mennea the last clean 200 m Olympic gold of the last 200m Olympic final .

    In any case , US doped clowns' brilliant career doesn't need to be overrated by underrating Mennea's amazing one , since the Italian kicked them so many times

  • when it happened they ran fairly .....!! ))))

    Ahahahahahahahaha american farcical cheats and doped clowns , but their blind and childish supporters are even funnier and more ridicculous ! XDD

  • Pietro Mennea in this race reminds me of wallace spearmon as he doesn't run the bend but he has enough power on the straight

  • 1st Gold? One Gold and two bronze's in Mennea's career. Impressive though.

  • what pixel is he?

  • I believe the Americans would of struggled in this 200 final.

  • sti deficenti inglesi dicono che si dopava,vorrei sapere chi gliel'ha raccontato

  • Grande, grandissimo Pietro. Ed un pensiero anche a Paolo Rosi, commentatore RAI dell'epoca, bravissimo giornalista di atletica, Pugilato, rugby!

  • Mennea knew that he would have his hands full with Wells in the above 200, especially after the Euro cup 79, but i think he deserves the benefit of the doubt, great 200 from both men.

  • mennea clean? are you guys freaking joking? mennea was doped same as basically all other successful track and field athletes.

  • @lordraven1980 You really are a moron, aren't you? Fastest man in the world in 1980 was Pietro Mennea. In fact, two of the fastest men ever recorded in the 200m were both WHITE, Valeri Borzov of Russia (Soviet Union) and Pietro Mennea of Italy. What a coincidence how black athletes started beating Mennea's time in the mid 1990's when the doping scandals really began. Pietro Mennea is still the 8th fastest 200m runner of all time.

  • whats your point? mennea certainly wasn't clean. neither was borzov lol. you are what the commies would call a 'useful idiot'.

  • @lordraven1980 What's my point? You blatantly disregarded my point - For what ever reason, you want to discredit a white olympic gold medalist 100m sprinter. If it was a black sprinter that won gold in 1980, would you deem him as 'not being clean' also? You are what I would call a 'worthless piece of shit'. You're a joke. Go fuck your mother.

  • @lordraven1980 And genius... being a 'useful idiot' would entail me supporting Communist ideology. Yet again, you make more generalizations that I must be pro-Communist Russia since I commended a Russian gold medalist for being great. You are the type of imbecile that makes skewed rationalizations with no basis. Again, go fuck your mother. It's probably what you're best at.

  • @sugarshane44 Mennea clean? OMFG! Are you doped too?

  • Comment removed

  • @lordraven1980 I must admit that I have my doubts as to whether the 'Italian Arrow' - Mr Pietro Mennea - was a clean athlete (although, for all I know, he may have been). That said, I have always had the greatest respect for the brilliant Ukranian sprinter Mr Valeriy Borzov - who won the coveted sprint 'double' at the Munich Olympic Games, back in September 1972. In my considered opinion, Borzov stood out as being the greatest sprinter of his generation.

  • @lordraven1980 [Continuing on from my previous 'post' about Mr Valeriy Borzov]: What evidence, if any, do you have to substantiate your belief that the 1972 Olympic sprint champion used anabolic steroids (or other illicit pharmaceutical drugs) to enhance his performances? Could it be that you are prejudiced against the great Ukranian sprinter of the 1970s purely because he happened to come from a country which was (at the time) part of the Soviet communist bloc?

  • @TheEctomorph No, not in the way you are suggesting. But you might want to look into this whole issue a bit more. Borzov was of course doped in 72.

  • @sugarshane44 wtf are you going on about? black or white i don't care. mennea was doped. and so are most world class athletes.

  • @lordraven1980 'doped same as basically all other successful track and field athletes'--Hmm, that really adds a lot of validity to anything you have to say; universalizing all successful track and field athletes as using performance enhancers...jealous fucking idiot.

  • he says "spalla a spalla" kind of difficult to translate into english literally "shoulder to shoulder".

  • Can anyone kindly interpert into English what the Italian commentater is saying as Mennea and Wells are coming off the bend into the straight, please?

    "Bella! Bella!" Be fascinated as to what hes saying.

  • questa gara l'ho vista in diretta, e benchè fossi un ragazzino tra un po' mi venne un colpo: prima indietrissimo, pensai 'le olimpiadi per mennea sono una maledizione', poi il recupero incredibile e poi sul finale ci mollò rischiando di farsi superare (anzi per un attimo pensai che fosse stato beffato sul 'filo di lana'!!!)

  • l'atletica italiana è caduta nel baratro...oggi come oggi facciamo pietà...

  • il più grande sprinter di tutti i tempi per doti volontà dedizione (eccelse, strabilianti)

    nessuno ha cercato di imparare la sua metodologia

    tutti i suoi sforzi sono valsi solo a renderlo grande,non a creare un seguito.

    un classico caso che appartiene a uno dei tanti misteri italiani: in italia NON SI PUO' diventare miti-eroi ( o si vieni distrutti sul piano personale: a. tomba o si viene cinicamente dimenticati: mennea, zoff, paolo rossi, f. baresi, k. dibiasi, g. agostini, bearzot)

  • sky , quello che dici e giusto . Sentivo la dichiarazione del presidente della federazione in tv , era contento con 8 italiani in finale ma nessuna medaglia. Il problema si risolve iniziando dalla scuola. ma purtroppo da noi i ragazzi si tuffano subito nel calcio solo per scoprire che e un mondo marcio con raccomandazioni da parte di sponsor, genitori, allenatori.

  • approvo quello che dici e son stupefatto per le dichiarazioni del presidente fidal: cmq quest'anno ho vissuto i mondiali di nuoto e di atletica come un'oasi, un ristoro profondo da tutte quelle tensioni, da tutta la violenza verbale e non, da tutti i veleni, da tutte le falsità che si sprigionano per 9 e più mesi dai mass media a causa del football.

  • un mito vivente...record rimasto suo per 21 anni

  • Che mito!!! Fa accapponare la pelle....

    P.S.: Ma qui scrivono tutti in inglese?!!?

  • Mennea was a great runner. However, all this rhetoric about him being the last clean sprinter says much more about unspoken biases than anything else. There were no random, mandatory tests in Mennea's time. Steroid testing Fact is, Lewis, Johnson, Bolt, Powell and other face/d much stiffer drug testing than Mennea ever did

  • mennea was never given a lot of credit for his records simply because he was not an american. He held the world record at sea level for 200m it lasted for 3 years. His record at altitude lasted 16 years until Johnson came along. I never heard anyone criticise Smith, Lee Evans or Beamon for their records at high altitude yet Mennea came in for a lot of stick abroad and in his home country. like Wells a clean runner. He came 3rd in 1972, 4th in 76, 1st in 80 and 6th in 84 olympics

  • fact is that Lewis tested positive before the US trials but the case was kept hidden. Christie tested positive as well but got off by saying that the substance originated from ginseng tea. I have been drinking ginseng tea ever since but with no improvements . Fact is that you have to be really stupid to get caught )like Ben Johnson=

  • Dear kahirij, mennea is 5ft7inches tall, he does not have the very muscular build of a typical sprinter, in this video even great runners like Quarrie or Wells have nowhere the muscular build of Bolt, M. Johnson Powell green, Christie. to name a few. Its true there were no random tests at the time but since then the science of pharmacology has moved on somewhat and you have to be really stupid to get caught like ben johnson .remember also that these athletes are helped by researchers

  • i'm not saying mennea wasn't a great athlete. he obviously was. but don't degrade all the runners who've come since. if you've ever seen bob hayes ('64 gold medalist, 100m) you know that some sprinters have naturally muscular builds.

    such observations neither prove nor disprove steroid use on any level.

    what you write about pharmacology advances is true, but i have no particular reason to suspect bolt or johnson of steroid use

  • Mennea got little credit for what he achieved specially in his own country and his records were often put down but it was a different era and what you say is true. When it comes to Lewis who was caught out he got away because the US kept the results secret and Christie said his positive test came from ginseng tea. in 1987 i was travelling through Rome airport and the world champs had just finished, I remember seeing many east european women athletes with lots of facial hair-moustache

  • the only sprinters I degrade are Lewis because he was caught but got out of it by stating that he had taken over the counter cold medecine, and his positive test was kept secret by the US and Christie who also tested positive and put it down to drinking too much ginseng tea and Gatlin these individuals won the 100m olympic gold with lewis winning 9 golds overall. The latter was caught for a second time later on in his career. As I said previously you need to be stupid to get caught out .

  • loooooool half of that is bollocks

    do not trust wikipedia.... the facts of the pre internet era, aren't a 100% right on hear

  • Mennea never used blood regeneration , he's the emblem of fair sport & clean winning . Check better , there are the long distance champs who were rumored of using blood regeneration before it was banned, but Mennea was absolutely out of it.

    Better, he had frequent rows with his teammates 'cos he accused them to do something not so fair, despite allowed by IAAF rules .

    Don't post so uncorrect & false nonsenses plz, we're not in a junk tabloid's site ....!

  • O.K thanks for the History and civilization speech, and i agree with you, 80 Olympic 200 probebly last clean 200.

    An exciting close final that means more now than the ridiculous margins we see in todays finals.

    But 80 is the finest ever 200 final.

  • @Trulyloyale So are you saying Mennea was an informer rat or a "collaborator"?????.... typical of you guys

    How are you anyway?..... Are you still trying to give some credibility to the Italian Sport?... Get a life.... I am sure you will make a great "hair dresser" or an awesome pedicurist .... Ciao bello!

  • @katharos2000 Mennea was an informer rat or a collaborator ??!! XDDD

    Ahahahah what the hell are you trying to say ??!!

    Are you just typing such bizarre bs just to move ur fingers or its just an habit of yours to spell so nonsensed idiocies with no meaning at all , I mean the habit of a retarded and stupid troll ??! DDD

    There's no need me or anyone else to give credibility to Italian sport, for the simple reason that Italian Sport gives credibility to itself

  • not only by its history & great heritage , but also by its many victories and success that , unlike 100% unfaithful countries like USA , Germany or Australia who have been stealing many undeserved medals, are deserved and , most of all, CLEAN

    not robbed and dirty !!

    If there's someone who should get a life and try to look less brainless and ridiclous, that one is just YOU , that's why I suggest you to wash up your empty head , learn a bit of sports history

  • and put apart your childish nationalistic spirit and your pathetic envy !!

    I'm sure you can look less clueless and stupid than you look, even as stupid web troll , and to realize that there's a huge enormous difference between Italian sports legends and the shittyfaced spanish doped cheaters, worthy representatives of the so called " spanish sport " , or I should say Spain's national factory of doping cheats and dirty robbers !!!

    Bye genius .....;-) !!! XDD

  • Ps : and if you're that curious, I can entertain you for entire days telling you about the millions cheats, and doping affairs ,or about the hundreds of robbed medals & victories by f.i. USA or AUS and all their continuos chronic covering up of any rising doping scandal inside their different olympic teams, and this for decades ......!!! Just let me know .....

    Bye IQed brain and grow up !

  • @Trulyloyale Ops!... I did hit a nerve!

    Your mum should wash your mouth with soap!! The only record you carry is the record of coarse language!! Where did you grow up? In a hore house?....hummm... maybe!

    OK you keep entertaining us with your beautiful posts.

  • @katharos2000 what's up ignorant and childish web troll , hurt by truth or you cant just find enough pathetic arguments to fill your multiple rubbishy stupid comments ?? Don't take care of me, unlike you I have the good habit of talking about subjects I know something about , worry instead of YOUR desperate mummy who should start from washing your empty head and put a bit of brain abiltity , personal education and good mouthing which seems totally unknown to you .

  • Where did YOU grow up , rude and stupid troll , in a slum of a sin city full of primitive

    scums , provoking hoods and shameless floozies ?? .....No wonder of your endeless ignorance and disgusting behaviour .

    Ps : can you understand that you 1st started with your shit ( like you did several times in other videos ....) and I gave you the deserved , or do you need to post more added rubbish of yours as the typical retarded ignorant web troll you are ??!!

    Omg what a disgusting idiot !!

  • @Trulyloyale I like you a lot; seriously... you are amusing, just have look how much do you write in comparison with me? Incredible how little it takes for you to implode and become abrasive, big sign of insecurity and inferiority complex.

    OMFG!!!!! This was funny; "and I gave you the deserved" I pissed myself with that one!!!

    And This one; ready? "unlike you I have the good habit of talking about subjects I know something about"

    I told you you are funny and entertaining!

    Dire ciao a Floozie!

  • @katharos2000 all you can do is keeping on posting your shit as that retarded web troll you are , here like in many other videos , making a fool of yourself and showing all your stupidity and embarrassing ignorance like a 5 years little boy !!

    I repeat ( well, you're so wooden-headed so can't understand ....) once again : tell your mummy to wash your empty head and just to put a bit of brain ability & mature attitude in it !!

    Grow up idiot of a web troll , you're only pathetic ! ;-)

  • @Trulyloyale oh! what happened with you?? This post was a short one and not as fun as the other ones?

    common trolly loyal you can do better than that!!?? Try again! be creative!

  • Shawe55 are you color-blind ? XDD

    you're not supposed to be like that since you're from the US , who are the less white coloured country of the world .....! ;-)

    Sorry x you , but Italians are the most white coloured people of western world, and not only 'cos they created our western civilization ..... lol

  • PintJohnBull, in addition to Mennea, Wells and Borzov, Bobby Morrow, who won 100m and 200m at the 56 Olympics should be added. Then there is Livio Berruti who won the 200m in record time at the 60 Olympics.

  • Speedyslime93, for your information, Mennea is 5'10" tall.

  • still cant believe a skinny, white italian who stands at 5'7 ran a 19.72 in the 70's. wow. ALong with Trindon Holliday, Walter Dix and Bob Hayes, this guys got one of the best leg speed ever imho.

  • Mennea cerca di recuperare...cerca di recuperare...Recupera!... Recupera!...Recupera!... Recupera! ...Recupera! ...Ha vinto!

    Pietro Mennea, just a champion.

    This is what sport used to be.

  • epico

  • My heart seemed to jump out from my throat during the last 50 mt. Great joy!! Think that those were the days that athletes could use blood regeneration using a filtering machines after trainings and races, together with strange drugs. I read about in 1984 that italian athletes, mainly spee draces ones, used to use filtering, being not considered as doping. And think that Mennea's weight training was awesome: once USA athletes asked him if his written daily training program was the weekly one!

  • Mennea è barlettano come me.

  • Thats one fast not black guy!

  • How many of the 70 men are Olympic Champions?

  • You are wrong, there are 3 white men who has broken the 10 sec barrier.

  • who were they? i didnt think any white man had ever gone under 10?

  • Matthew Estes @ 9.96

    was the first.

  • Phenomnal closing speed esp. in 200 and if he was 5'-7"!!!!  Ital. spinters Livio Berrut, Gold 200 '60. Lindy Remanjiani (US) gold in100.

  • It was a brilliant final, probebly the last clean Olympic 200 final. Congratiolations to Pietro Mennea a worthy winner, but this victory proved more important than his 19.72 the year before.

    As for Allan Wells, he had a brilliant Olympics, Gold and Silver, which puts him the greatest Sprinter Britains ever produced.

    Mennea, Wells, Borzov greatest white sprinters of all time.

  • Comment removed

  • There's too much emphasis on sub 10s/20s in the sprints, their not everything, its silverware which is more important than sub

    10s in a sprinters career.

    Example, Marion Worinin, poland 10 flat P.B in the 100, best Individual Olympic position

    7th in the 80 final.

    I believe he ran that 10 flat in the Polish championship, peaked at the wrong time.

  • If Pickering's going to go under 10 hes going to have to buck his ideas up. I know hes still young but well have to see some 10.1s out of him if hes even thinking about making final's in major competitions.

  • Do you really think Borzov and Wells were clean? i think Mennea maybe but i doubt Borzov and wells.

    Borzov however was toughest mentally.

  • Mennea used hgh before it was banned. Rumors swirled about Wells and Borzov was part of the soviet union team who were rife with drug taking

  • he wasn't doped....fuck you!!!he was the best just becouse he had been trained a lot

  • Trulyloyale, your truly a bloody born liar. Your saying Wells was doped here! Thats what your insinuating when you mention British as shamefull robbers, where is your PROOF ALLAN WELLS DOPED? Well?!

    Wells was clean, always was, as clean as Mennea, cleared all his tests from all of his races in his career, so again wheres your PROOF?

    And Wells beat Mennea twice in the 200, 79 and 83 Euro cups, so Mennea was beatable.

    So i suggest you go learn your basic sports facts.

  • Shut the fuck up, don't tell so childish & bizarre lies .

    I NEVER SAID Alan Wells was doped, I could never even dream on spelling such a ridiculous & false idiocy .

    I know so well Alan Wells was a classy,fine sprinter and a fair,clean athlete, so find better arguments to piss people off .

    Worry instead about changing your nick .

    Ps : and when I say "x or y was unbeatable" obviously is meant as figuring x or y was very strong .

  • I know about the legendary Mennea vs Wells duels of those years, don't worry for me thanks, while I suggest you to learn on reading more carefully posted comments :

    I can assure you that I have not the bad habit of posting rubbish or talking about subjects I know nothing about.

  • Your nought but an Olympic Champion Wanker Trulybullshit, You have stated "they were ALL DOPED EXCEPT MENNEA" So you are a FUCKING IDIOT.

    Your the one that needs to make themselves clear on these pages, because up to now you know shit about what your talking about. Now you can Fuck off.

  • It was your "they were all doped" comment that threw me.

  • like your brain benfiqa

  • Paolo Rosi: il miglior telecronista italiano di tutti i tempi!!!!!!!!!!

  • che recupero !!!!!!!!!

  • The same for US attending the 1976 & hosting the 1984 Olympics : clear proofs that USA have no principal since they attended those particukar and boycotted Games .

    Not mentioning all the "fair and clean" principals the USA have about their massive use of doping and their ridiculous doped pricks ....!

  • Non sono un patito di atletica ma queste immagini mi fanno venire sempre la pelle d'oca... "Recupera, Recupera, Recupera, Recupera, Recupera.. ha vinto !!!"

  • Le glorie olimpiche passate...

    Che Dio c'aiuti per quest'olimpiade!!

  • Well in reality P mennea is 5ft7 and would get smoked by MJ. So get over it, he will never be 6ft4 and his record was beat. Get use to it

  • Is this the 1980 Olympics? (which is why there's no Americans?)

  • Yes. Proof that life does go on without them.

  • Tell me is there such a thing as a modest American?

    Self praise is no reccomendation.

  • To be honest there are great runners from every country. Trust me Im proud of them all, I just love the USA. I cant wait for 08 olympics!

  • The beautiful thing is there are all types of Americans. We are not some homogeneous, dull, monolithic society like 98%of the other countries in our wonderful world.

    Nothing is wrong with a little self-promotion.

  • Also proof that some countries have no principal by attending that particular Olympic Games.

  • No principal? So the boycott made a difference in Afghanistan? And perhaps you are in that 98%.

  • At least stand up for what is right you moral relativist. Have some conviction.

    Obviously you are with the 98% immoral masses.

  • So i assume America will be boycotting China this year, if that is the case then.

  • No. We are too full of crap to take an honest, principled stand on China. The money we get from them is too good for the powers that be. So in that case we are the 98%.

  • If Michael Johnson was 5 foot 7 like petro mennea. his time in the 200m would only be 23.6 think of that!!!! if petro mennea was 6 foot 4 like M Johnson his time would have been about 18.17

  • P Mennea had the fastest leg speed ever recorded in the history of track and field ,he ran at 6.17 strides per second standing 5 foot 7 inch's he held the 200m world record for over 17 years. the fastest man in the world today Powell only runs 5.1 strides per second but being like 6 foot 4 helps. if Petro mennea was 6 foot 4 he would have run the 100m in 8.78 and the 200m in 18.25 because Italian = speed and african = long legs.

  • @brooklynruvolo17 how about usaing bolt? do mennea still has fastest leg speed over usain bolt?

  • shut up fuck*ng middle-class person! You british are so stupid and envious that you make me sick

  • DavDeath89 do not blame a nation as all been the same just because of one bad remark from someone that does not understand about the Olympics final.

  • Yes; you're right, sorry

  • No problem friend. It is a great final above, and should be enjoyed as such.

  • He was not quick at the start, but later on he in the race he would always come on strong.

  • a few ignorant and childish hypocrite brits tried to relate the great Pietro Mennea to a totally invented drug using : he absolutely never got dopped in his all career, I don't know wherevere from so shamefull lies may come out, bobody more than him fought doping in track & field . That's the main reason why he was in bad relations with some

    Euro and with US federation .

    Ben Johnson,Linford Christie,all the DDR & Germany's sprinters , even Carl Lewis got dopped ; he never did it .

  • I was not still born at that time but my Dad who was a sprinter and used to practise along with Mennea in famous Formia Athletics Center( central Italy , guys like Juantorena,Sara Simeoni,Saneyev were practicing in there) sometimes talks me of his teammate Pietro and of this great champion who worked 365 days x year, 10/12 hours x day (that's true, I'm not exagerating).

    I didn't want be disrespectful to you 'cos I'm so young, but I needed to post what I know to be true .

  • Trulyloyale in response to your comments, I agree with you.Pietro was one of the all time greats, and he was also one of the cleanest as well.

    And i am pleased that he alongside the rest of the above finalists was clean, because the above final was probebly one of the last clean Olympic sprint finals that we had.

    But you are right Mennea and Wells were both excellent champions.

  • Its a shame the Eastern block women couldnt take a leaf out of their book at these games.

  • Two European sprinters battling it out for Olympic glory, happy days! Wells was a bit unlucky, just ran out of gas.

  • did he win a second?

  • No,the above Gold was the only gold, and he won 2 bronzes, Bronze in 72 200, and Bronze in 4x400 in 80 at his olympics career.

  • great.

    Mennea the best

  • ITALY ON THE TOP OF THE WORLD

  • I love this final, the way wells came off the bend i thought we were going for a 19.95 job, but it wasnt to be. Still my fav olympic 200 final of all time.

  • If thats the case jonesphere then fair enough, i can accept that,and im glad to accept that. pietro was one of the great sprinters and i for one dont want to believe that the above 200 final is tarnished in any way. As for wikipedia maybe there should be stricter checks on their, before people contribute rumours or their tuppence worth in general.

  • guys, anybody can write anything he wants on Wikipedia... which makes it the most unreliable source out there. i tried searching in italian, and the only results that mentioned Mennea and Doping together were on his work against it.

  • I personally hope it's untrue but to print something that is libellous would be idiotic and risk financial ruin. Doesn't make sense to me.

  • maybe you are not familiar with the wiki concept. Wikipedia IS a user-contributed online encyclopedia, The idea is that users including you and me can contribute and add content... It was a user that added that line about the growth hormone, and another user that decided he didn't like the line, or maybe thought it unfounded, and deleted it a couple of weeks ago... The whole article lacks sources for most of the things it states, and has been tagged as such by another user...

  • I still stand by my earlier remarks about this olympic 200 metre final, the first 4 were musturd in this race. Incidenttly Just out of interest lee what year was it you clocked 10.21? Thanks.

  • Agreed. But what the bottom line here is pietros rep. I mean you might be right pietro might be able to live with it. But what about when some kid in 30 years time is going through Athletics history and sees the growth hormone remark in wikip.2+2=7?

    I personally would have no intention of leaving it at that but as lee says im just sticking my $0.02 in.

  • ... errr... make that "sour grapes", not apples... although it's the same effect. ;-}

  • Hear what ur saying Lee. As Highlander and I have already said it Seems to be a strange state of affairs.

    Impressive PB's from urself to.

  • like the role models in our federal government, there is a dearth of political will in the face of revenue and personal gain.

  • oh, and another thing... (one of my dad's faves)

    until everyone and anyone who runs under a set time or performance gets tested for any and all known enhancing or masking agents, all sport is f'ed in this regard. the technology is there to do it; has been for a long time. but...

  • hopefully, he'll have something to say for us in this discussion to either clarify wiki or clarify his own perspective from back then w/reg. to success through chemistry. until then, i would much more likely believe what he says in this forum rather than the quoted, printed words of others.

    way more than $0.02, i know... but it's my reality.

  • consequently i lost the nervousness in the blocks, i.e. the love for the competition. when that happens, you're done. there was constantly a temptation to gain any edge, whether by working harder, anticipating a gun, crossing a lane (which pietro has been accused of by many), but i never took any chemical means to get over.i should probably feel comfortable to lump pietro into the high-performance cheater list, but i'm not.

  • this whole area of track and field was the main reason i "retired"... because i was competing and trying to earn a living against a whole system of cheaters and their tacit supporters- official (tac, usioc, ioc, the eastern bloc governments) and unofficial (the media, the manufacturers of the drugs themselves, the meet promoters, etc.).

  • now, there are some here in seattle, who through mouthfuls of sour apples would swear they saw me doing steroids this time, that time, etc. as an innocent party of a lie, i see, saw, felt and feel how pathetic it actually was/is.

  • listen... if anyone should agree with you and highlander, rettamann, it should be me. my best 100m time was 10.21, my 200 20.81, and my 400m 46.1 over a career lasting almost a decade. i ran against ben, carl, kirk b., sam g., russians, e. germans, and all the other cats who were certainly cheating throughout their careers. i beat many of them through what i inherited from birth.

  • respectfully, especially now, especially living under the current united states government, shouldn't we know that everything we see in print doesn't have to be the truth?  perhaps italian society is not as litigious as ours. that said, pietro should sue the shit out of them... and their source... but if hgh wasn't illegal at the time, what rule would he have been breaking? carl lewis was tested positive long before ben johnson... how was that one overlooked?

  • It says growth hormone wasn't illegal then. Fair enough . No rules broken but it still seems to be getting an advantage over rivals. I can't believe wikipedia would just make it up for no apparent reason. Like Highlander, can't work this one out.

  • Yeah your absuloutely right guys its there in black and white i have just come off wikipedia, and if its a false accusation they would be in stook wouldnt they? Cant work this one out.

  • Just read Wikipedia . And like Jib says It says he admitted to taking growth hormone. If ur a Lawyer now Mennea better get suing for defamation of character. Hard to believe they'd make it up knowing the legal shit they'd be letting themselves in 4.

  • can't come up with a simple answer for success always come up with simple reasons. the drugs excuse is unfortunately tagged on those who deserve it, along with those who don't. it is a battle that will continue until the governing bodies eliminate all cheating. valeu, pietro, you were absolutely amazing! grazie!

  • Like Highlander enjoyed Menneas performances when I was younger and was very disapointed by what I read about him on Wikipedia.

  • ok. that was a test. i ran in college at washington st. u. in the us when pietro was at the height of his career. also, i ran in a meet in viareggio where he competed. he was one of the most natural runners ever to step on a track. those who (next)

  • pietro, it's good that you're defending your career.

  • (part 2) Do you know how many times people who use illegal substances have to stop because they have accidents? Unfortunately the world is full of people who like to undermimne the image of others and who spread out unreliable news. I always fought the doping: when I used to run and now that I am a lawyer. (end)

  • Hi I'm Pietro Mennea and I can assure you that during the final of the Moscow Olympic Games and during all the competitions in which I took part,I never made use of steroids or other forbidden substances. In 20 years of competitive sport I never got stretched or had any kinds of physical problems.(part 1 -- continue)

  • Nobodys doubting that mennea was a fantastic athlete. His 19.72 at the world students was a magnificent feat. But i have only just been informed on other pages of youtube and this page that pietro mennea admitted himself that he took steriods for the above final. Which i find dissapointing because as i have stated earlier mennea was one of my heroes. But i still love this race and is my favourite olympic 200 metre final ever.

  • Read Pietro Mennea Wikipedia on internet.

    If Mennea Pietro is a Lawyer he'd better sue Wikipedia.

    Quote "In 1984 Mennea admitted using growth hormone although it was not illegal at the time"

    Surely a well known website would not leave them selves open to be sued if he hadn't come out and said this.....answers on a post card please.

  • Mennea took part to five Olympic games equal to 20 years of competitive sport without missing a competition: at the age of 16 he weighted 68 Kg and when he stopped competitive sport he was 36 and weighted 69 kg He never declared having committeed any illegal acts:he never used growth hormone or steroids(he never weighted more than 69 kg)His secret was just hard training:6 hours a day for 350 days per year for 20 years! only those who do not know the reality dare to undermine the immage of Mennea

  • Can you put that in english please.

  • Mennea ha partecipato a 5 Olimpiadi pari a 20 anni di agonismo senza mai saltare una gara:a 16 anni pesava 68Kg quando ha terminato l'attività agonistica a 36 anni pesava 69 Kg. Non ha mai dichiarato di aver commesso illeciti: non ha mai assunto ormoni della crescita, steroidi o anabolizzanti (non ha mai pesato più di 69 kg) il suo segreto era solo duro allenamento 350 giorni l'anno per 6 ore al giorno per 20 anni!Solo chi non conosce la realtà si permette di screditare l'immagine di Mennea

  • Yes , he was on growth hormone. His medals should be taken off him like they do in cycling when they own up to cheating.

  • Thats intresting i wasnt aware of that, i remember mennea and wells having some battles back in these days. Wells beat him in 2 european cups 79" and 83" but mennea as you can see beat him here. But intresting what you say about mennea on steriods.

  • Pietro Mennea admitted, more than 10 years after this race, that he had been on anabolic steroids at the time. Shame, as I had always regarded him as a great athlete until I learnt that. In fact he prevented Wells from winning double gold at 100m and 200m the Olympics.

  • Il più forte di sempre. Mennea era la metà di un velocista di oggi (oggi sembrano culturisti), correva di nervi, si allenava da matti e non prendeva niente... Il record del mondo per me è suo

  • Grande

  • Message for jagmart who knows nothing about sprinting mennea was beaten a few times by the americans 1977 world cup to clancy edwards and in 1983 he was beaten into bronze at the world championship. So why dont you go and look it up.