Steve Cram - Commonwealth Games 800m Final, Edinburgh 1986

[tommytempo1]

Cram would easily have went under 1:43.00 here had he went full out. As you can see by the Commonwealth Games Flag flying, the conditions at Meadowbank were not perfect for fast times.

[deano27671]

I know I'm going to get shouted down for this, but his 100m down the back straight from 500 to 600m really wasn't that fast! He ran 13.0, which is exactly 1:44 pace. It looks so fast because the rest of the field, which was a very mediocre one, was slowing down. Elliott and McKean were no where near their best here. The real turn in acceleration came at 600m, where he proceeded to run the next 100m in 12.3.

[ARRISIPPY]

@deano27671 I'lll bow to your wisdom,old boy. Still looks bloody fast to me! His second lap here must've been close to 51 seconds. Wonder what kind of time Cram could have run whilst in this form? Not a WR but surely closer to 1.42. Nice upload by the way, Mr.TT.!!

[ARRISIPPY]

The acceleration of Cram down the back straight was truly breathtaking. Strange how fortunes turn around....I thought after this race he was just unbeatable. Didn't last,tho'. Pity he couldn't turn up at the '88 Olympics running like this. Awesome!