Seoul Olympics 1988 men's 800m Final

[robespierre62]

some m...n wrote about unselfish team work.

Maybe Ereng could have won following Cruz, most likely not, kenyans didn't want risk anything. Kiprotich was ordered to sacrifice himself, made it perfectly, destroyed the brazilians.

talk about fair play :DDD

.

[kozmon0t]

No gold for Aoutia!!! Denied!!!

800 is for the tall man. Go back to 5k Aouita.

[newromantic888]

KENYA forever.

[papmjny]

Brilliant run for Ereng. Look his position after first 300 m.

Where are all the World-Record-Breaking Britons nowadays ?

Haven't seen them for years...

[welshnick300365]

Elliot was always a choker on the big occasion.

[deano27671]

@welshnick300365 I don't think he was a choker, he just wasn't good enough. He managed to utilise all or at least most of his potential, but he was never going to set the world alight like Ovett, Coe or Cram did. He was dependable, very good, but not great!

[sabsaka]

the speaker was more tired than the athletes at the end of the race :-)

[KingLiopleurodon]

This race has to make ppl laugh. So Barbosa and Kiprotich talking the night before the race, these others are tough, we should take it to them hard... they do! And to themselves, so much for the plan!

Then, the battle for the silver between Cruz, Elliott and Aouita down the homestretch is classic...look at their faces. Cram's calf injury in the Rieti 1k a couple weeks before this was very unlucky because he was closing in on the WR (1:46.09 @ the 800 in that kilo attempt before his DNF).

[bonstad]

Note that whomever was in last place at the 200m in all races from 800m to 5000m in Soeul, won the race. Kenyans are talented yes, but they outsmarted the rest of the world. Watch Ereng in this race early and watch the stupid Brazilians.

[bijection765]

1:04 is so funny!!! I mean, is he a child?!?!?

[bootymanager]

Ereng (and Rono for that matter) got lucky at this Olympics. Both Elliott and Cram were injured. Both guys were capable of winning both races (8 &15).

[deano27671]

Elliott was never good enough to win this, even at his absolute best. Cram would need to be in his 85 or 86 form to medal here, let alone win a gold. You have to remember it wasn't a one off circuit run but the 3rd (or maybe 4th, I can't remember!) race in that many days. The 1500m was a different matter. Cram & Elliott could have won that at their best. It wasn't so much injury that caused them not to win the 15, but rather the fact they tried doubling up; not realising quite how hard it was.

[Daz555Daz]

@deano27671 To be fair Cram needed to double up because he needed the race time.

[deano27671]

@Daz555Daz I disagree. Cram got injured in Rieti c.4 weeks before Seoul & was still affected by it a week before. Those weeks in between had no races on the circuit, they were for fine tuning/acclimatizing. Cram should have given himself time to recover fully and focus on the 1500, rather than be greedy & attempt to double up. He didn't get beyond the rounds of the 800! You can't expect to double & win 2 medals when not 100%. The UK had the WR holder & Euro Champ sitting at home doing nothing!

[Daz555Daz]

@deano27671 You make a fair point there fair enough. My feeling though is that Cram probably felt he was running himself back into shape - and his final performance in the 1500 was his best so maybe he was right. Who knows? Given the rules though could the selectors have dropped Cram from the 800 at such late notice? I'll be honest and say I don't know. One thing I'm sure of though - if the games were 5 weeks earlier Cram would have walked the 1500 and probably won a medal in the 800 as well.

[deano27671]

@Daz555Daz I respect your opinion & you may be right about running into shape. My take on it is that Cram got injured 4 weeks before the Olympics & missed a couple of weeks training. He had run enough races during the season & the issue was really to catch up with 2 weeks missed training. He desperately wanted to win the 1500 & that should have been his focus. To use the 800 for sharpening knowing that he didn't have a chance of winning was pretty selfish.

[deano27671]

Especially while at the same time knowing Coe was at home having beaten Ereng (the 800 Champ in Seoul) twice that season and having run faster than he did in 86 when he was world ranked 1 and beat Cram at the Europeans. If the games had been 5 weeks earlier Cram may well have won the 1500m, but then again, the rest of the world's top middle distance guys wouldn't have been at a peak 5 weeks before the Olympics! Why would they want to be? It's all about timing.

[deano27671]

Had Cram not got injured in Rieti, he should have won the 1500 comfortably against those that were there. However, this is hypothetical. Had Coe, Aouita & Bile all arrived in Seoul injury and illness free also then it would have been much more difficult to even medal.

[deano27671]

I don't think Cram would have medalled in the 800m due to the intensity of the rounds, and had he got close or won perhaps a bronze in the 800, I think it would have weakened his chance in the 1500. I still think had he pulled out of the 800 and focussed on the 15, he'd have found enough strength to edge past Elliott, Herold & Rono in the straight.

[aypimptastic]

Paul Ereng was such a talent. He started training for the 800 only 6 months(!) before this gold medal.

[5overlord]

Why Aouita chose to run the 800 remains a mystery. It wasnt his event, as shown when Ereng hammers him for finishing speed.

[zabalaaynik]

aouita wa the only athlete who compete and win a medal in 800, 1500, 5000. it never happens untill now

[mrcatohead]

other than him and ovett are there many athletes who have given it a crack?

[shanxytube]

Love the commentators!

[ThectWonderer]

English please!

[mytime81]

Japanese commentators.

[Zndwls]

This race really tested the runners' endurance, because the first lap was run

in less than 50 seconds. Ereng apparently

divided up his strength the best. Cruz still

ran well and Aouita fought hard to finish

third. Elliott also was tenacious but this

time he wasn't lucky or strong enough to get a medal (this changed in the 1,500-

metre final). Gray still didn't win a medal.

Barbosa exhausted himself and Kiprotich totally tied up.  Sabia wasn't a factor anymore.

[MrM0j0Risin666]

fucking hell, they're monkeys!

[mytime81]

Which monkeys are you talking about???

[MrM0j0Risin666]

Dunno mate, I must have been very drunk at the time.

[trishaashraf]

monkey is definitely your mothers stinky ass that you smell every morning you wake up.

[MrM0j0Risin666]

Wooohhh! F-A-G-G-O-T!!

[larryboy1995]

Haha! I guess both the commentators and the guy in the studio didnt notice Ereng pass Kiprotich at the last curve n challenge for the lead! Got them pretty mixed up and even wrote Kiprotich after the finish (for those that can read Katakana...). But this was a great race, and keep it up Ereng, still involved in track!

[musicandoutdoors]

holy shit talk faster you sound like a mouse nibbling on cheese.

[mstrunn]

What a great race this was, the lineup was like a who's who of track, and to think the 800 was once called a mid-distance race, 49.54 @ the 400, :)

[wayzotoichi]

yeah 'middle-distance' it's a two lap sprint....it was called middle distance when we were too small and found two laps like a cross country track lol.

[andres1956]

Paul Ereng precursor del gran Wilson Kipketer. !Que correr tan elegante..!! Aouita, un mediofondista completo..!

[martynhanson]

Aouita was due to run the 1500 but he had to drop out after this race - if you notice he had a thigh strapping on

[pinkfloydmaroc]

vive aouita vive le maroc

[mistergumby]

Sorry for the flood, was supposed to be repling to Oldjoe...

[asadraza5367]

The winner of this race, Paul Ereng lives in El Paso, Texas now and is a coach at UTEP.

[almightywitey]

that's the most annoying call of a race i have ever heard.

[oldjoe5]

The nerve of those Koreans to announce a race held in Seoul, Korea in Korean!

[bavster99]

Strangely, the commentary is Japanese!

[oldjoe5]

You can tell?

[mistergumby]

Yes, quite easily

[mistergumby]

Yes, quite easily

[acguti11]

mis respetos yo por ahora estoy pegando 1.58.23 pero ya ahorita

[numberjunky]

I just ran a super crappy 2:29.39 800 meter run on that very track today. I found an open gate to the olympic stadium here in Seoul, figured Id push for 800... put a time on it.... I probably would have gotten 9th in the race..... better yet... probably would not have made the finals! hahaha

[plainwhitejersey]

classic kenyan team running, erang obviously

knew kiprotich was going to force the pace

as well as make things tough on cruz..

tempting him to run inside at 400, then making

him go three wide on back stretch, and even

jostling him slightly at 650 after taking the

sting out of him...totally brilliant, and unselfish team work that no other country

has mastered

[juan833blue]

Back in the 1988 seoul games, the Kenyans dominated the long-distance track events winning medals from 800m-10,000m, the Kenyans were benfitted by the Ethiopian boycott.

[akuraoo]

However the Ethiopians have not been known to win a medal of any kind in the 800m, 1500m and the 3000m steeplechase let alone putting a runner in the final of those races! Kenyans have won medals from 400m - marathon in it's short Olympics!

[Rotichjoe]

Very true!!!

[oldjoe5]

They benefitted from Aouita's decision to run the 800 instead of the 1500 or 5k!

[poo72]

I never understand why Aouita ran 800m instead of 1500m or 5000m. He lose a sure gold

[sweatershiho]

Perhaps he wanna win a golden medal in middle distance, he's already won a one in 5000meters in Los Angeles 1984.

[sslider08]

well he didn't wanna run the 5000m because he had already one a gold on that distance and also because of his injury at the time so he decided to double 800/1500 but the problem after 800m he had aggravated his injury and withdrew from the 1500m

[SimonDolan]

Poor Peter Elliott - I`m sure he got a bump down the home straight.

[smooveXXX]

amongst all the praise heaped on Said Aouita, there seems to be a lack of respect for the clinic that Paul Ereng puts on in this race. For a relatively inexperienced 800m runner at this point of his career, the patience and poise he shows in letting the field be nearly 10 meters ahead of him at the bell is amazing. He also was very patient with 110 meters to go, choosing to hold the inside, and that won him the race. How to win a fast, tactical race at it's purest.

[rc2869]

I agree this was Ereng's day.

He beat Cruz, Elliott, Aouita, Barbosa, Gray. An all star cast!

[HugoBossSuperModel]

A valiant attempt by Joaquin Cruz to defend his Olympic title! A great champion. I wanted him to win!

[juan833blue]

At least he got the silver, it's tough to win back-to-back 800m gold medals in the Olympics anyway, way to go Joaquim Cruz!!

[pinkfloydmaroc]

bravo said t'es parmi les grands

[jesusromero2008]

said es el mejor de todos los tiempos

[basilcruncher]

Great race. Ereng was sublime. Cruz went out on his shield, refusing to give up his title without a great fight. Aouita almost pulled off the impossible and cemented his case for being the greatest all-round modern middle distance runner. And Peter Elliott, who is so under-rated, fought with his usual guts. Anyone got his Commonwealth 1500 win or 1.42 800 lying around?

[roidutartan]

Si aouita avait perdu cette course c qu'il s'est blessé gravement à la cuisse sinon il était le favori et en était capable de remporter l'or.

il avait battu tout le monde avant séoul notamment cruz à colonne.

[jadreemah]

I agree greatest 800m I've ever seen Aouita's time was 144.10 injured. He was the complete package from 800 to 10,000 no one else could do it like him.

[stouf62]

seoul restera un bon souvenir malgres la decetion de aouita, mais il restera toujours un monument de l'athletisme mondial.

[sslider08]

aouita is another moroccan legend

[Skibum657]

I can't even run one sub 50 400

[garicmidknight]

800m never fails to provide an exciting Olympic race!

[legendair]

u have right and also never the favourit win it..Aouita in 1988 and last olympics was wilson kipketer the favrourit but the winner was as nowah ngeny like a thief

[rc2869]

Do you have 1500m from 1988 Olympic games

[100156306]

that aouita was able to win the bislett games 10000m and then get bored with distance and return to speed and place 3rd in the 88 olympic 800m is nothing less than amazing. Anyone knowing anything about running has to be in awe.

[HeshimaJameni]

Ereng was at the rear for the entire first lap!

[teddydan85]

so what?

[nurvrax]

With Barbosa and Johnny Gray in the same race , you will always get a very fast first lap. Props to Paul Ereng for staying cool.

[kerrigan2]

What a race - Kiprotich and Barbosa went mad on the first lap!

[rc2869]

Wonderful - the greatest 800m field ever assembled in a Championship - Ereng hijacked the expected duel between Aouita and Cruz with perfect run.

Disappointed when Peter Elliot came so close to getting a medal and missing out. He won silver in 1500m