Alberto Juantorena 1976 Olympic 800

Alberto Juantorena wins the 1976 Olympic 800 meters

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• Alberto
• Juantorena
• Olympic
• 800m
• 1976

[wolfdog45]

if it comes to a sprint between you and Juantorena then that block of muscle will win

[shichengfei]

John Walker wins the 1976 Olympic 1500 meters

B）

[rc2869]

What a runner - he destroyed a field that good.

[ottogunsche]

I remember watching Alberto running when I was a kid. What a runner! For a big man he really could move.

[peruanorolando1]

el caballo.....asi le decian....era un bravo

[TheEctomorph]

@farrodread No. Mr [now Lord] Sebastian Coe broke his record in Oslo, Norway, on 3rd July 1979.

[TheEctomorph]

@saladin400800 [Continuing on from my previous 'post' about athletes who were world-class at 400 metres and 800 metres, simulataneously]: at the Montreal Olympic Games, back in '76. I just hope that I am around to see it!

[TheEctomorph]

@saladin400800 Have you ever heard of a German athlete called Rudolf Harbig? In 1939 - just before the outbreak of World War 2 - he held the world records for the 400 metres and 800 metres, simultaneously. If The Olympic Games had been held in 1940, he may well have won the elusive 400/800 double at the highest level - and thus preceded Alberto Juantorena by 36 years.

I firmly believe that the time will come when another man achieves what the big, heavily muscled Cuban athlete achieved

[TheEctomorph]

@newromantic888 Yes indeed. He was a very fine athlete. Who knows what the big Belgian might have gone on to achieve in the late 1970's and early 80's? God rest his soul.

[zednik771]

@TheEctomorph You seem to have the same opinion i do on this. Last spring, my freshman year, i never ran a single practice with the distance guys, only working with the 2/4 coach due to the fact the 400 was my specialty. I ran a 52.05 (no blocks) and a 2:05 being boxed for 3 corners 2 weeks after the end of the high school season. It seems to me that the best way to prepare for the 8 is to do plenty of 400m training too.

[TheEctomorph]

Alberto Juantorena was a superb physical human being, who spectacularly disproved the old athletics theory - or perhaps I should say myth (!) - that it was impossible for a man to excel at both the 400 and 800 metres events.

The excellent Michael Johnson - who I alluded to in my previous 'post' on this site - was also a phenomenally gifted athlete, who (IMCO) had great potential as an 800 metres runner. Johnson was blessed with (considerably) more basic speed even than Juantorena.

[TheEctomorph]

@zednik771 Yes, I am inclined to agree with you, sir. It is my prediction that the first man to break the elusive 1:40.00 barrier (in the 800 metres) will be a powerfully built, 'jumped up' 400 metres runner - with a personal best for the shorter distance of less than 44 secs.

I, for one, believe that Michael Johnson could probably have come close to breaking the 1:40 barrier for the 800 metres, had he chosen to specialise in that event when he was in his late teens or early twenties.