1977 World Cup womens 400m - Irena Szewinska

[Nicklas4500]

For me, Szweinska will always be the greatest 200m/400m runner ever.

[222mozart]

phantastic Irina

very nice Marita

[Olivierr3]

The links to the best performances by Szewinska: 100-200 m Rome 1974 European Championships: youtube.com/watch?v=oJaI1iXwig­Q, 400 m Montreal 1976 Olympic Games: sportwizja.pl/film/4053/irena-­szewinska---rekord-swiata-na-4­00m---olimpiada-montreal-76/

[ada1lbert2]

szewinska was a true and clean athlete, real champion winning 7 or 8 olimpic medals, countless europien championships and she was a champion in 4 different individual diciplines!!! 100m, 200m, 400m, and long jump, and she was running relays as well, show me an athlete like that at these days...? you not gone find it

[MrFennyfanny]

They were far from being machines. But they were top athletes that showed the world

what systematic training with the best coaches can do. Their athletes dominated

track and field, swimming, ice skating, and even bob sled. How come their bob sleds

beat the rest of the world, because they were doped ? Come on !!!! That sport shows that they were great because they trained better than the rest.. Everyone was doped, only the ones who trained best, won.

[diverlx]

please don't be naif

[maniek11033]

Those were beautiful times. Irena Szewińska began an era of speed less than 50 seconds for 400 meters. This race was a beautiful and especially The last straight

[MZ6461]

a great race where two legends of different generations meet!

[uztzop]

Controversial is the fact that major league baseball players have been doped,

also controversial and proven that cyclists have been doped from several different

countries. So it does not make any sense to point fingers at the German athletes,

look at Fabita Whitbread from England for example. The reason why East Germany was so successful is because they had taken sports to newer heights on a scientific as well as training basis.

[DrugPoznan]

Tutaj jeszcze Marita Koch nie widziała co to doping.

[ChristovMr]

Brilliant race of two of the greatest female tracks stars. Hadn't seen it before so thanks for posting it!

[farrodread]

Saw Irena run in Jamaica at the height of her career.....just marvellous performance.

[zedlacredit]

What a great race this was, I remember it very well, so nice to see it again !

[latekoll]

irena byla niesamowita wtedy a koch sowieso gedoppt ;-)

[Olivierr3]

Facts: Szewinska no 1 on the Track and Field list and ranking 1974 (49.9). It was a famous achievement and one of the reasons to give her titles of the best athletes of the year by United Press International and Track and Field.

[Olivierr3]

Breaking 50 s barrier by Szewinska is also confirmed at the official website of International Olympic Committee. Why should we try to change the history of the athletics after 25 years?

[Olivierr3]

On the last leg of the 4x400 relay in Rome (European Championships 1974) Szewinska got 48.5. Between 1974 and 1978 Szewinska had 34 consecutive victories in 400 m (finals).

[Olivierr3]

By the way I'd be very interested to know more about training secrets of GDR athlets in '70s. Brehmer was just 18 years old running under 50s. Besides all her best results were achieved in Moscow, Potsdam and Dresden.

[Olivierr3]

The best junior results: Breuer (GDR, 1991) 49.42, Brehmer (GDR, 1976) 49.77, Sanya Richards (USA 2004) 49.89, Jing Li (China, 1997) 50.01, Marita Koch (GDR, 1976) 50.19. Do not you think it is suspicious about GDR athletic system?

[PKCW22]

Her last appearance was injury at the 80 Olympics semi-final.

But did she retire straight after? I think she did not.

What were her times during those twilight years?

[latekoll]

irena super laska wow!!

[karrtt1234]

I remember this race... it was so exciting... what a great race she also won the 200 meters at this meet.

[LemieuxNHL66]

hmmm. Wat's cool is that Irena Szewinska is my 3rd cousin. It's pretty cool. My dad actually met her and he showed me pics of her and him.

[Snauzer67]

Oh so cool. Could you please upload the pics? I was so a fan of Szewinska:-)

[LemieuxNHL66]

sure, but upload them where? They're black and white btw

[Snauzer67]

You should upload them on your Youtube account. That would be nice. Cool to have a picture of Irena S. in ones youtube account!!

[beatka2701]

dziękujemy Irenko :))) thx Irena you're the best !!!

[cucumb]

Anybody know where this event took place?

[RabCGiblet]

Dusseldolf, Germany.

[cucumb]

Thanx

[diverlx]

Why controversial ??? Do you all think the others ( Szewinska, brisco, vladikina, perec, gohr, ashford, flo-jo,kratochvilova ...) even the unknown british, french, west-german athletes were not dopped ???? eastern bloc athletes

[athlete5399]

Of course she was controversial! It was proven about the GDR drug clinics on MOST of their top athletes and one cannot rule out Koch as being amongst them. And yes, Flo Jo, Kratochvilova, Brisco etc are all suspect, but they're not in the race we're talking about!

[PKCW22]

Would you or anyone know of a striking photo of Szewinska rounding off the bend at the 1972 Munich 200m final? That was a marvelous picture of her with strikingly determined gaze. The background spectators were blurred. She was the sole runner. I saw it many years ago on a sports magazine/book and I was in awe.

I wish that I owned that magazine. I know someone who is an excellent ink drawer. He has consented to reproduce this photo into an ink drawing. But where is this photo?

[Snauzer67]

PKCW22 yeah she was wearing white clothes and had a red band(sorry my english) in her hair? The pics is very powerfull!

[PKCW22]

Dear Snauzer67, thanks very much for digging up the picture of Szewinska. However, the picture you showed me should be taken during the above 1977 400m race.

What I referred to was a striking picture of Szewinska rounding off the bend of the 1972 200m Olympics final where she came from behind and took 3rd. She had a determined gaze looking straight into the camera. The cameraman just caught that gaze and published it in a sports magazine. It was a great, great picture!

[uztzop]

@athlete5399

a string of athletes from the former Eastern block as well as athletes from

western countries have used doping substances. Marita Koch has been

actually one of the athletes from East Germany who did not test positively.

Meaning that it could not be proven that she used these substances at her races.

Which does not rule out that she never did, but of course does not rule out that

athletes from western countries also used these substances.

[karrtt1234]

@diverlx Ashord and Szewinska were clean !

[CHUNKEY70]

Koch was an amazing athlete. Definitly ahead of er time.

[gorhman]

Fantastic video , thanx for uploading. Its not easy to see Koch in second place...Nowdays she is married with her trainer Wolfgang Meier who also trained Maria José Perec for a while. Koch lives in Rostock, Germany and manages a sport shop. She never has admited to have been under a doping program in the GDR. She even demanded the German newspaper "Der Spiegel" asking for 510.000 Euros when they acused koch for having oral turabinosi "the magic blue pills" from the GDR.

[Olivierr3]

The last big success of Szewinska. It was much more difficult to win in Dusseldorf then in Montreal 1976, where she had 10 m advantage (1,23 s) over Brehmer. There were not many athlets who managed to run faster then Koch. Szewinska 1977 (400m), Ashford 1979 (200m), Kratochvilova 1981 (400m), Brisco 1985 (200m).

[Olivierr3]

The full run from Montreal'76: 'Olimpiady Montreal 1976' 1'37 - 3'16. Amazing!!!

[cucumb]

Oliverr3 you forget to mention that Heike Dressler evened the 200m 21.71 by Koch. Koch has always been so friendly. Nice to see her loose in a good way and shake hands with Szewinska. Loved Szewinska - still amazing at that age. 5399 thnx for the vid!

[Olivierr3]

I mentioned only events when Koch did not win the race. In Stuttgart'86 when Drechsler got 21,71 (200m) Koch ran 400 m, so she could not lose.

[cucumb]

Yes I knew that and that she only evened the 21.71. Sorry about that.

[Olivierr3]

:-) I forgot about Barbel Eckert-Wockel beating Marita Koch in 1982 (400m).

[cucumb]

She was married Wockel as far as I known.

[DYNASTYO5]

Do you have that race. I'd love to see it. I thought Koch only lost twice in her career at 400. So it was 3 times?

[SerchWagnerianBear]

It was Christina Lathan and not Brehmer, the second place at Montreal, Olivierr3

[SerchWagnerianBear]

Actually, in 1976 Lathan smashed the WR three times and became the first woman under 50 (even before that Szewinska). Much more was expected from her at the Olympics, but it looks like she tried to mantain Irena's pace the first part of the race and at 300m she ties up

[Olivierr3]

What are we talking about? It's enough to look to Wikipedia to see that it is the same person Christina Brehmer-Lathan. About 50 second barrier: Szewinska got 49,9 s in 1974 (manual timing), Brehmer-Lathan 49,77 in 1976 (electronic timing). That's all in this subject.

[SerchWagnerianBear]

Didn't know her maiden name. Take it easy.

[Olivierr3]

That's ok :-) best greetings!

[Olivierr3]

By the way... I was looking for those three world records by Christina Brehmer-Lathan in 1976 mentioned by you and I can find only 49,77 on 09.05 in Dresden. Could you inform me about them?

[SerchWagnerianBear]

That's what Wilkipedia says. But they're wrong and I was, too. I jus checked the all-time list and she only broke it once (previous was 50.14 from Riitta Sallin of finland).Too many mistakes by me this time

[karrtt1234]

@Olivierr3 Well that because it never happened !

[SerchWagnerianBear]

Given you brought all this up again, are you aware a manual timing mark is not official?. I see you're Polish and you won't probably like this, but the fact is manual timing is very dubious and it's just a tenth of a second what we're talking about here. That makes Christina Lathan the first woman to run under 50. No doubt

[Olivierr3]

Till the end of 1974 both manual and electronic timing were fully and officialy recognized by IAAF.

[karrtt1234]

Lathan nee Brehmer did that in 1976 49.77 szewinska did a 49.75 before the montreal games and at the games beating Brehmer in 49.29 to 50.51 sliver for Brehmer so really I think your point is really trival since Irena reclaimed her world record twice in that same season...

[karrtt1234]

@SerchWagnerianBear She wasn't Lathan yet , when she was in Montreal.