Wilson Kipketer 1:41,83 800m - Rieti 01/09/1996

One of my fave 800m runners Wilson Kipketer misses Sebastian Coe's record by 1/10th of a second.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• 800m
• Denmark
• Wilson
• Kipketer

[newromantic888]

simply the the greastest 800m runner ever. SMOOVE AND Deano.Goodluck findind some parity.

[deano27671]

Coe's 1:41.7 would have been 1:41.5 had he not had to run wide on the bend to pass the pacemaker. It was on an old track. 16 years later & after many carefully orchestrated attempts, with pacing and drafting up to 550m (150m more than Coe) Kip runs just 0.4 faster on a modern mondo track. Kip was certainly one of the top of all time & there is a valid argument for all 3, but to dismiss Coe out of hand, backed up by INCORRECT facts & statements from you is not going to convince.

[deano27671]

@smooveXXX As outlined below, most of your summary is inaccurate at best. Coe had a higher percentage of wins in his career (and in his peak years), a greater longevity, more ranking points, a greater superiority over his peers and a better record at the Olympics and European Champs; the only ones which both had equal access to. The World Champs (indoors and out) did not exist in his peak years for Coe as they did for Kipketer.

[deano27671]

Coe ran 2 indoor 800s from 78, both at Cosford and both World records. They were nothing more than winter tune ups to see how the training was going; glorified jogs. Kip had whole indoor seasons with prize money, culminating in World Champs and medals. Again, the two cannot be compared. How many races/records did Snell win/break? It's called evolution.

[deano27671]

@smooveXXX Again you show your lack of knowledge. You stated 800m races. If you don't want to include indoor ones, then fine, but then don't go on about Kip's exploits indoors. It kind of contradicts your point. There wasn't an indoor scene in the 70's / early 80s. There wasn't a World Indoor Champs, and the only track in the UK was an old wooden one used by the RAF. They didn't have invitational meets for all comers back then.

[deano27671]

In the 5 seasons from begin of 78 to end of 82, Coe won (not including heats) 36 out of 40 races at 800m. In the 5 seasons from 95-99 Kip won 47 out of 52. One loss was the World indoor Champs in 99. You never stipulated outdoors only in your earlier claims and are only now implying that indoors don' count. If you then look at the period 83 - 89, Coe won 24 out of 32 800s (not including heats). From 2000 to 2004, Kip won 13 out of 33.

[deano27671]

Andy Norman controlled where all UK athletes ran. Coe had to run the Europa Cup semis and finals, as well as other matches in order to get permission to run the Golden Mile in Brussels. You should try reading books on the era which will make it quite clear that the scene then was completely different to Kip's time, when he was a free agent to run where & when he wished. Try Pat Butcher's book for starters.

[deano27671]

@smooveXXX You clearly have no understanding of UK or European athletics in the late 70s/early 80's. There was NO Grand Prix system or financial winnings until 85 & even then it took several more years for it to evolve into the scene Kip ran in. UK athletes, Coe incl, had to run a set amount of domestic & "international matches" (against other Nations) in the course of a season to get permission to run in the relatively few international "invitation" meets where they could run for themselves.

[deano27671]

@smooveXXX Idiot. It says in his Wiki profile that he won 10 out 0f 12 races in 95. His IAAF profile lists his 1:45.28 loss in Monaco that year (to B. Koech). The greatdistancerunners website has his complete list of races, and shows he was 3rd in Berlin in 1:45.17, to Atle Douglas & Mahjoub Haida. You can see their times listed on the Benvenuti yearly list for 95. You should get your facts right. There was an 800 in Berlin on 1.9.95 & in Monaco, 9.9.95, and he lost both!

[smooveXXX]

So lets sum this up, Kipketer has a better championship record, has a better winning percentage at his prime (because you talk about Coe and glandular fever - how about Kipketer and MALARIA!) ran head to head quicker (WR vs WR) and ran head to head quicker over a sample of races (10) and you still are trying to tell us Coe was a better 8 guy?!?!?! Ahahahahahaha! Coe is the best 800/1500/mile guy ever and may be the best all round MD guy - but he is not a better 800m runner than Kipketer - sorry!