1981 - Zurich - Sebastian Coe WR Mile

The Magical Summer of 1981. The Summer of The Mile. August 19th, 1981. Sebastian Coe attempts to regain the World Record in the Mile from Steve Ovett, who set the mark of 3:48.8 the previous summer.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• Sebastian Coe
• Steve Ovett
• World Record Mile
• Athletics
• track and field
• Great Britain

[yellcarreon]

Incredible run considering that Coe wasted precious seconds by running the first 2 1/2 laps along the border of lanes 1&2!

[milerman]

That's true. Coe did that a lot, trying to avoid problems in races. He cost himself many times in terms of losing tenths here and seconds there in races. But I suppose his main concern was winning. Lots harder to be out there on the track than sitting with a drink in hand and howling at the TV.

[deano27671]

@yellcarreon Yes, he probably wasted about 0.3 secs per bend on the first 5 bends. That makes it worth c. 3:47.0 Then he had to run briefly wide to pass Byers on the 6th bend and ran that last 200m on the penultimate lap on his own without drafting.

[franknjess]

I don't think Coe was on for this race like he was a week later when he ran 3:47. He was in top shape but you need everything to fall into place for a super run. He did set a record but everything was aligned just right a week later. The guys today get rabbits for a full three laps most of the time when going after fast times and records. That's why El Guerrouj was different. He was conditioned and trained to be able to roll very hard on his own over the final 600 if need be.