I remember Pietro Mennea back in the early 80’s in Athens Greece at a meeting winning the 200 meter. I was about 15-16 then. After the receiving the gold metal, he approached a disabled person on a wheel chair who was in the field and gave him his gold metal. What a wonderful memory. Thanks Pietro !
Pietro Mennea "la freccia del sud" il più grande atleta italiano di tutti i tempi,per spirito di sacrificio,dedizione e mentalità.Altro che Tomba atleta del secolo...non c'è confronto!Grazie Mennea per tutte le soddisfazioni ci hai regalato in una disciplina ostica ai colori azzurri.
Mennea wasn't tall or particularly muscular but his wonderful technique and relaxed running was astounding. He was my track&field idol. Also it was a joy to watch his style, he ran so beautifully. And today another Italian won the olympics in Tokyo. And a gold medal in high jump! Congrats Italy - European Championship in soccer, Eurovision contest and now this!
Sadly, he admitted to using human growth hormone even though it wasn't illegal at that time. Still serious questions around using it though. And now, there is a strong narrative around Alan Wells and drugs. This doesn't diminish their great talents, it just reminds us they are human and given to failure like us all.
@@temp850 what time r u talkin' about ? Saying repeatdly " he admitted use of growth hormone" like you& someone else from english speaking countries usually and not underlining that he did ONLY ONE TIME after olympics 84, is an hypocrit way to not recognize outer
Grandissimo Pietro. Ha dimostrato di essere il migliore anche nei 100. Li ha messi tutti in fila a cominciare da quel pallone gonfiato di Wells. Avevo 18 anni e non posso scordare la finale che vidi in bianco e nero.
'pallone gonfiato' ?...non è bello, Wells è stato un grande velocista e ha vinto i 100 metri nell'Olimpiade del 1980 ed è stato appena battuto da Mennea nei 200.
@@emmannamontini7252 Appunto.......offese gratuite dei soliti borbonacci che anche Mennea detestava.......n.b. Alle olimpiadi 1980 nei 200 metri Mennea fu penalizzato dalla ottava corsia, altrimenti avrebbe vinto più agevolmente, non a caso dopo quelle olimpiadi il regolamento è stato cambiato, chi vince le semifinali ha diritto alle corsie 4 e 5
Made us all proud and attached to the tv with excitement and goosebumps... Roberto Baggio had the same Effect. And Italy in General during world cups. Ahhhh memories
Lo vidi una volta in allenamento ed era incredibile il pensare come dentro un corpo così minuto potesse esserci tanta di quella potenza per diventare il velocista più forte al mondo. Grande ed Immenso Pietro.
Tra anonimi volti nutriti di vittorie ce ne uno scavato come quello di un italiano del dopoguerra, sei tu nostro grande e amato Pietro ma, in mezzo a quegli zigomi sporgenti, due occhi pieni di struggente rivincita. Corri, anima indomita, corri come facevi allora, vola alto, spirito libero dal grande cuore. Nostro grande grandissimo Pietro ❤🙏
@@stefano3715 mai poesia è più simbolica di quello che hai scritto Stefano, c’è tutto, la voglia di rivalsa di un atleta che si scopre di avere la dinamite nelle gambe con l’aggiunta di allenamenti feroci, grande Pietro sei stato un dono piovuto dal cielo per noi comuni mortali guardavamo sempre la tua corsia all’uscita dalla curva , gli altri sembravano fermi e tu piombavi sul traguardo come attratto da una calamita giova ricordare che a Città del Messico in occasione del tuo 19 e 72 il secondo arrivò sul traguardo con 7 mt di svantaggio, una pazzia 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Borzov last in the final race of the 1978 European Championships: After the season, Borzov had to have operations on both Achilles tendons. He was already able to train only to a limited extent for the 1978 European Championships. In 1979 he tried a comeback in Moscow (Spartakiade), but failed. He ran the 100m in 11 seconds and the 200m in just under 22 seconds. There he ended his career.
Mike Giammarino He admitted to trying to extend his career, when he was in his mid-thirties, by taking growth hormone, but then retired anyhow. There's nothing in these old races that screams out "dope." Ray was jacked, like all the East Germans, but Mennea was legit.
Pietro la tua dedizione per questo sport supera i confini della realtà, 100 200 e staffetta rimani il più grande atleta della storia. Una vita per l'atletica una vita da straordinario vincente, grazie infinite freccia del sud ,i tuoi sogni sono stati I nostri sogni....max da Sora
200 metre final was nearly last coming round the bend moscow 1980 pipped alan wells on the line for gold.always looked out for him after that.fantastic sprinter.rip pietro mennea.
Cosa farebbe oggi il nostro grande Pietro, ve lo dico io con le scarpe tecnologiche, con le piste rimbalzanti ma soprattutto con la sua certosina volontà in allenamento, pur con fior di campioni nel panorama di oggi, il grande Pietro farebbe polpette di tutti 👍👍👍
As a young kid who was watching sports on tv in the late 70s, Pietro Minnea was one of the first track athletes that stuck in my mind because it seemed so strange that a White man was so successful in the sprints which were dominated by Black men. His 200 record was one of those stats that just imprinted in my mind and has stayed there forever. Watching videos like this now on RUclips takes me back to those days when I was a kid…
Sa paragoniamo,il fisico e il peso di Mennea è quello che è riuscito a vincere, compreso un record mondiale durato 17 anni frutto di durissimi allenamenti, credo, come nessuno al mondo abbia mai fatto. Per questo credo che sia stato il più grande della storia.vero che ci sono atleti che hanno vinto più di lui, prendiamo Bolt, col fisico di Mennea proviamo a immaginare cosa avrebbe fatto? Per me nulla. Prendiamo invece Mennea col fisico di bolt ? Avrebbe fatto record del mondo dei 100,200, 400 metri e sarebbero durati come ho già scritto, almeno 100 anni.
@@Giuseppee62 ma che discorso è? boh....lei premia Mennea perché fisicamente era mediocre? per il peso?? Mennea con 10.01 sui 100 non è neanche tra i migliori 20 al mondo
Brilliant old footage: the incomparable Frank Bough the consummate media professional, absolutely lovely man ( I met him personally many years ago) - a real gentleman, no different from his screen personna. David Coleman, unforgettable commentator, one of the best in the business with the ability to enthuse his audience. Not sure that 'bulldozing' for a sprinter was quite the right metaphor in this case though. As for the sprinters, sadly it was at the peak of drug-taking but testing/monitoring wasn't up to standard, and so hard to know which if any, of these guys were actually clean.
Pietro Mennea era un raro talento puro dell'atletica, uno di quelli che ha guardarne la struttura fisica non penseresti mai di vederlo compiere imprese incredibili.
I got to race some of these guys at QE2 Stadium in Christchurch New Zealand in the South Pacific Games, needless to say I remember being scorched by Alan Wells, Don Quarrie and Halsey Crawford. I did a 10.8, I would have loved to go faster but that was it. Alan Wells and Don Quarrie signed my Singlet, but Hasley Crawford told me to "Fuck Off"......I've never forgotten that as these guys were my heroes!
It was sad to see the great Valeriy Borzov fail to make any impact in that race at the European Championships, which took place in the August of 1978. Less than six years earlier, in September 1972, he had triumphed in both sprint events (the 100 and 200 metres) at the Munich Olympics, and been hailed as one of the biggest stars in world athletics. Moreover, Borzov subsequently went on to win another individual medal (the bronze) in the 100m at the Montreal Olympics - only 2 years prior to those European Championships of 1978. Sadly, however, when he competed against Pietro Mennea, Eugen Ray and Allan Wells (among others) in Prague, he was a shadow of the sprinter that he had been in Munich, just six years earlier. :(
Carl: the guy you are talking about is Nikolay Kolesnikov, who came 7th. Earlier that year he had won the European indoor 60m title and had a bronze medal from the 1976 Olympic 4x100m, but I don't think he is related to anyone famous (I could be wrong, though).
I don't think so, he was always a big lad. Watch him at the 78 Commonwealths, which was his focus for that year. That's the reason why he didn't run so well in Prague a few weeks later.
"They introduced me to Muhammad Alì as the fastest man in the world. He was surprised and said 'I believed the fastest man in the world is black'. I replied: 'I'm black inside'" [Pietro Mennea, 1952--2013]
HE SAID " YES ( i m white) BUT INSIDE I AM MORE BLACK THAN YOU". Now I explain something about the meaning of term "black". To be black, at least in italian means to be angried. He was referring to the fact that being a man of South Italy he had to struggle against many difficulties..
The announcer keeps saying "Russian" when he should be saying "Soviet". Borzov is from the Ukrainian S.S.R., now just Ukraine. He is definitely not Russian.
Back in those days, Brits and Americans often tended to call all USSR athletes Russian. Now I see some of their names and can see that someone was Lithuanian, Estonian, Georgian and not Russian.
Borzov was born in Ukraine, but his both parents were born in Russian regions. His father had origin from Shuya town Ivanovo district and was sent in Ukraine for military service
@@ewaf88 By Moscow 1980 the rules had changed and he had to use blocks. I don't think the reaction time equipment was used to call false starts until a few years after that though.
Sprinting is generally considered to be a sporting activity for big, robust, heavily muscled men.... yet it was noticeable that the Italian guy [Pietro Mennea], who triumphed in the 100 metres at the European Championships in 1978, was a relatively small, slight fellow (at any rate, in comparison to the vast majority of world class sprinters). In fact, Mennea was only about 5 foot 10" in height, and weighed a mere 155lb (a fraction over 11 stone) when he was in his prime as an international sprinter. By contrast, Eugen Ray (the burly East German dude who finished second behind Mennea in the final of the 100 metres at those European Championships of 1978) was well over 6 foot tall, and his biceps were about twice the size of his Italian rival's! I suppose that the point I am trying to make is this: Whilst sheer strength and power is of SOME relevance to sprinting, it is certainly not the be-all-and-end-all. If it was, then Arnold Schwarzenegger would have been a great sprinter in his prime!
william kinch there was only about 1 1/2" difference in heght between them but ,yes, Eugen Ray was much closer to 90 kgs than the 72/73 Mennea raced at
What an extraordinary performance by a man giving it his all after years of painstaking self-discipline. No, not Mennea, he was just a great runner, Colman in the commentary box.
I'd forgotten about him not using starting blocks. I wonder why he didn't use them. I believe you've got to use them these days because of the electronic sensors for false starts.
Part of the reason why may have been due to the Commonwealth Games held only a few weeks before, a number of athletes had difficulty raising themselves for a second time.
I remember Pietro Mennea back in the early 80’s in Athens Greece at a meeting winning the 200 meter. I was about 15-16 then. After the receiving the gold metal, he approached a disabled person on a wheel chair who was in the field and gave him his gold metal. What a wonderful memory. Thanks Pietro !
Emil K Pietro not Pedro. Mennea was italian not spanish.
Thank you for the correction
instablaster.
That is 24ct Class! ✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️👍
Pietro Mennea "la freccia del sud" il più grande atleta italiano di tutti i tempi,per spirito di sacrificio,dedizione e mentalità.Altro che Tomba atleta del secolo...non c'è confronto!Grazie Mennea per tutte le soddisfazioni ci hai regalato in una disciplina ostica ai colori azzurri.
condivido!!!
Condivido al 100% 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Il solito neoborbonico.....Mennea non lo era.....
@@mariomarini3774 ...neanche io visto che sono bolognese
@@lucaspalvieri9252 Un cervello di sardina.....
Mennea wasn't tall or particularly muscular but his wonderful technique and relaxed running was astounding. He was my track&field idol. Also it was a joy to watch his style, he ran so beautifully. And today another Italian won the olympics in Tokyo. And a gold medal in high jump! Congrats Italy - European Championship in soccer, Eurovision contest and now this!
Ten minutes First the high jump for Italy
Yes, his style especially in the 200 metres was always fascinating! I always had the feeling that after the bend he would shift into 4th gear.
Sadly, he admitted to using human growth hormone even though it wasn't illegal at that time. Still serious questions around using it though. And now, there is a strong narrative around Alan Wells and drugs. This doesn't diminish their great talents, it just reminds us they are human and given to failure like us all.
@@temp850 what time r u talkin' about ? Saying repeatdly " he admitted use of growth hormone" like you& someone else from english speaking countries usually and not underlining that he did ONLY ONE TIME after olympics 84, is an hypocrit way to not recognize outer
outer people's greatness. People like
Grandissimo Pietro. Ha dimostrato di essere il migliore anche nei 100. Li ha messi tutti in fila a cominciare da quel pallone gonfiato di Wells. Avevo 18 anni e non posso scordare la finale che vidi in bianco e nero.
'pallone gonfiato' ?...non è bello, Wells è stato un grande velocista e ha vinto i 100 metri nell'Olimpiade del 1980 ed è stato appena battuto da Mennea nei 200.
@@emmannamontini7252 Appunto.......offese gratuite dei soliti borbonacci che anche Mennea detestava.......n.b. Alle olimpiadi 1980 nei 200 metri Mennea fu penalizzato dalla ottava corsia, altrimenti avrebbe vinto più agevolmente, non a caso dopo quelle olimpiadi il regolamento è stato cambiato, chi vince le semifinali ha diritto alle corsie 4 e 5
Questo era mennea... un grande... volonta di vincere sempre in ogni gara...
BORZOV AND MENNEA ARE MY IDOLS
Wonderful Pietro! Miss you RIP
ONE OF MY IDOLS IS MENNEA
Mennea era un Fenomeno.
Ma veramente, vecchio!
MsG
Made us all proud and attached to the tv with excitement and goosebumps...
Roberto Baggio had the same Effect. And Italy in General during world cups.
Ahhhh memories
Grande, grande Mennea. Riposa in "Pace", ciao Pietro e grazie x "Ttto". 😢
Big Mennea R.I.P. (2013)
Mennea held the WR in the 200 meters for many years.
About 20+
17!... 1979-1996... and it still is European Record...
Phenomenal athlete. Best of a whole generation.
I photographed the race he broke it in in Mexico City. 1979.
Yes, for a very long time. Did Michael Johnson finally best it?
Lo vidi una volta in allenamento ed era incredibile il pensare come dentro un corpo così minuto potesse esserci tanta di quella potenza per diventare il velocista più forte al mondo. Grande ed Immenso Pietro.
That feeling when Dad told you that he is on RUclips now, but it's a video from 1978 😅 Proud of you Volodimir Ignatenko. You were rocking 🔥❤
That is SOME video from your Dad.
Congratulations to the talented dad. I remember it well. One who, together with the great Valeriy Borzov, gave our Pietro Mennea a hard time.
@@nautilusnemo8046 Thanks so much! Appreciate it, I'll send your congrats directly to him 💙💛
in my opinion, Mennea was the best. Mennea forever.
name chrckd out
La freccia del sud....rip
Ciao Antonio, com'era l'antidoping a quei tempi?
Com'era l'antidoping a quei tempi?
Intramontabile. Indimenticabile. Indimenticato. Grande Pietro mennea
Mennea had a beautiful running action, very fluid and smooth. He was deceptively quick and of course was even quicker over 200.
First man to break 20 secs onnthe 200mts..19.96. Great runner
Not quicker, but better.
Not really, Borzov was more elegant
Didn't he run 200m in 19.72?
I think so if I can remember 45 years ago. The 2nd 100m of this 200m race he ran very fast something like 9 sec. Or 9.10
@@bernardm2528 Yes, in 1979. That record lasted 17 years.
Tra anonimi volti nutriti di vittorie ce ne uno scavato come quello di un italiano del dopoguerra, sei tu nostro grande e amato Pietro ma, in mezzo a quegli zigomi sporgenti, due occhi pieni di struggente rivincita. Corri, anima indomita, corri come facevi allora, vola alto, spirito libero dal grande cuore. Nostro grande grandissimo Pietro ❤🙏
Wasn't expecting to find poetry in the commentary. But Mennea certainly was poetry in motion.
@@stefano3715 mai poesia è più simbolica di quello che hai scritto Stefano, c’è tutto, la voglia di rivalsa di un atleta che si scopre di avere la dinamite nelle gambe con l’aggiunta di allenamenti feroci, grande Pietro sei stato un dono piovuto dal cielo per noi comuni mortali guardavamo sempre la tua corsia all’uscita dalla curva , gli altri sembravano fermi e tu piombavi sul traguardo come attratto da una calamita giova ricordare che a Città del Messico in occasione del tuo 19 e 72 il secondo arrivò sul traguardo con 7 mt di svantaggio, una pazzia 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Pietro Mennea " son of Wind" Italian Pride 🇮🇹 rest in peace
I think his nickname was “la freccia del sud” (the southern arrow)
Bad start and still wins, love this
Borzov last in the final race of the 1978 European Championships:
After the season, Borzov had to have operations on both Achilles tendons. He was already able to train only to a limited extent for the 1978 European Championships.
In 1979 he tried a comeback in Moscow (Spartakiade), but failed. He ran the 100m in 11 seconds and the 200m in just under 22 seconds. There he ended his career.
a brilliant runner Borzov.
RIP LEGEND
Wells amazingly starting without blocks!
Magnifique
Pietro,
Malgré, son départ moyen,.
Indeed..he left this world too soon...may he rest in peace...😑😑
Pietro Mennea. A superchampion in a normal body. And most of all without drugs...
Gianni Fanetti Mennea admitted to using drugs I believe
Mike Giammarino He admitted to trying to extend his career, when he was in his mid-thirties, by taking growth hormone, but then retired anyhow. There's nothing in these old races that screams out "dope." Ray was jacked, like all the East Germans, but Mennea was legit.
Виктор Кадий he admitted himself that he took drugs all through his career.
coolro Do you mean Ray?
coolro no, Mennea admitted he injected his own oxygenated blood back into his body before competition. But it was legal to do so then
Pietro la tua dedizione per questo sport supera i confini della realtà, 100 200 e staffetta rimani il più grande atleta della storia. Una vita per l'atletica una vita da straordinario vincente, grazie infinite freccia del sud ,i tuoi sogni sono stati I nostri sogni....max da Sora
Yeah I recall watching these guys run loved it then and now
Pietro menea was a underrated great .
200 metre final was nearly last coming round the bend moscow 1980 pipped alan wells on the line for gold.always looked out for him after that.fantastic sprinter.rip pietro mennea.
Cosa farebbe oggi il nostro grande Pietro, ve lo dico io con le scarpe tecnologiche, con le piste rimbalzanti ma soprattutto con la sua certosina volontà in allenamento, pur con fior di campioni nel panorama di oggi, il grande Pietro farebbe polpette di tutti 👍👍👍
MY IDOLS
BORZOV
MENNEA
Amazed that Borzov was still running in '78...must have enjoyed it...and he married the fabulous Tourischeva
Borzov also ran at the 1980 Moscow Olympics
@@cristixav Последним соревнованием для Валерия Борзова стала VII Спартакиада народов СССР (1979), после которой он завершил карьеру.
@@cristixavNo. He retired 1979.
As a young kid who was watching sports on tv in the late 70s, Pietro Minnea was one of the first track athletes that stuck in my mind because it seemed so strange that a White man was so successful in the sprints which were dominated by Black men. His 200 record was one of those stats that just imprinted in my mind and has stayed there forever.
Watching videos like this now on RUclips takes me back to those days when I was a kid…
Many thanks for this Highlight with Mennea and our E. Ray, from GDR.
I'm amazed at the quality of this video. Great stuff
Pietro Mennea è stato il più grande talento naturale che l'atletica italiana, e forse mondiale, abbia mai espresso.
Italiana ed europea. Mondiale mmmmm
Almeno non era pompato.. tra il 77 e l'80 pure mondiale
Sa paragoniamo,il fisico e il peso di Mennea è quello che è riuscito a vincere, compreso un record mondiale durato 17 anni frutto di durissimi allenamenti, credo, come nessuno al mondo abbia mai fatto. Per questo credo che sia stato il più grande della storia.vero che ci sono atleti che hanno vinto più di lui, prendiamo Bolt, col fisico di Mennea proviamo a immaginare cosa avrebbe fatto? Per me nulla. Prendiamo invece Mennea col fisico di bolt ? Avrebbe fatto record del mondo dei 100,200, 400 metri e sarebbero durati come ho già scritto,
almeno 100 anni.
in europa in quegli anni non dimentichiamo il grande valery borzov (CCCP) e negli stati uniti il grandissimo TOMMY SMITH
@@Giuseppee62 ma che discorso è? boh....lei premia Mennea perché fisicamente era mediocre? per il peso?? Mennea con 10.01 sui 100 non è neanche tra i migliori 20 al mondo
Funny how this footage from the late 70's is better than most footage from the late 90's, early 2000's on youtube.
Nukity I thought the same thing! Hahaha
European Top Brodcast Quality Olympic Standard. Compare that with US TV Series Baywatch as example
VHS killed the records for ever
La grande freccia del sud....rip Pietro
I live for these Magical Moments.
Mennea did brilliantly in the final considering that the guy in Lane 8 was pretty much over into his lane at about 20m.
MENNEA IS MY IDOL
Brilliant old footage: the incomparable Frank Bough the consummate media professional, absolutely lovely man ( I met him personally many years ago) - a real gentleman, no different from his screen personna.
David Coleman, unforgettable commentator, one of the best in the business with the ability to enthuse his audience. Not sure that 'bulldozing' for a sprinter was quite the right metaphor in this case though.
As for the sprinters, sadly it was at the peak of drug-taking but testing/monitoring wasn't up to standard, and so hard to know which if any, of these guys were actually clean.
Grande Pietro e grazie per tutto quello che ci hai regalato
Indimenticabile Freccia del Sud.
che emozione nel vedere un ragazzo del sud italia SALIRE sul podio piu alto del Mondo in una delle discipline piu IMPORTANTI delle OLIMPIADI
Che emozione vedere un ITALIANO....... sud nord centro........
Pietro Mennea era un raro talento puro dell'atletica, uno di quelli che ha guardarne la struttura fisica non penseresti mai di vederlo compiere imprese incredibili.
Che emozione....grazie Pietro
THANK you so much for this. The lanes separating the runners in the early games are so comical. And, I would think distracting for the sprinters.
Mennea was built like 5000m runner. incredible
Pietro Mennea, the Arrow of the South
greatest italian athlete ever 🇮🇹🔥👍
The finest sports commentator of them all ..the big daddy .. Mr David Coleman ! Quite remarkable ......
Great Mennea forever
The physiques of these guys. Prob never lifted a weight in their lives, either.
Masterpiece of Pietro Mennea !!!
I got to race some of these guys at QE2 Stadium in Christchurch New Zealand in the South Pacific Games, needless to say I remember being scorched by Alan Wells, Don Quarrie and Halsey Crawford.
I did a 10.8, I would have loved to go faster but that was it.
Alan Wells and Don Quarrie signed my Singlet, but Hasley Crawford told me to "Fuck Off"......I've never forgotten that as these guys were my heroes!
A gentleman indeed Mr. Crawford 😂
Back when Europe was European
lol thats salty as hell. I'm black and i had to lol You best hold on to these memories
Super fluid Mennea ,, a pleasure to watch.
grazie Pietro
Prague 1978
Magnifique
Pietro had some tremendous battles with Wells , who refused to have blocks.
Grande Mennea!!
My two favorite sprinters of all time are Mennea, and Bolt.
and tommy smith (200)
Don Quarrie, Evelyn Ashford, Merlene Ottey..All clean!
mennea, un fenomeno
BORZOV IS MY IDOL
Yes Borzov is you idol but Pietro Mennea is the best.
@@angelomercolino3880 where’s Mennea’s Olympic 100m gold medal?
@@stewartwalter4075 olimpiadi di cui 4 consecutive in finale. Chi altri al mondo sui 200 metri? 19,72 è ancora record europeo.
Mennea era un prodotto sportivo "genuino", qualche altro lo era di ... "laboratorio".
It was sad to see the great Valeriy Borzov fail to make any impact in that race at the European Championships, which took place in the August of 1978. Less than six years earlier, in September 1972, he had triumphed in both sprint events (the 100 and 200 metres) at the Munich Olympics, and been hailed as one of the biggest stars in world athletics. Moreover, Borzov subsequently went on to win another individual medal (the bronze) in the 100m at the Montreal Olympics - only 2 years prior to those European Championships of 1978.
Sadly, however, when he competed against Pietro Mennea, Eugen Ray and Allan Wells (among others) in Prague, he was a shadow of the sprinter that he had been in Munich, just six years earlier. :(
***** he was still only 28 at the time. I guess lots of miles in those legs by then though.
Borzov was known as the doctor of sprints . He had an amazing track career
Maybe he ran out of drugs.
😇.....💉🧪💊💉
Six years is 100 years in elite athletics. No way would Borzov have kept up all those 'roids that long...
Carl: the guy you are talking about is Nikolay Kolesnikov, who came 7th. Earlier that year he had won the European indoor 60m title and had a bronze medal from the 1976 Olympic 4x100m, but I don't think he is related to anyone famous (I could be wrong, though).
Wells without the starting blocks amazing !
He did start using them towards the end of his career because he was definitely at a disadvantage without them.
Wells got huge over two years! Very slim here compared to the increased muscle at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
Yep, he bulked up on steroids and became almost unbeatable.
@@golden.lights.twinkle2329 Really? Any proof?
@@golden.lights.twinkle2329 It' called hard work and training.
@@maxglendale7614 Drew McMaster allegations which Wells has denied.
I don't think so, he was always a big lad. Watch him at the 78 Commonwealths, which was his focus for that year. That's the reason why he didn't run so well in Prague a few weeks later.
MENNEA IS MY SECOND IDOL
Lol
Mennea was a OG
Rimarrai sempre nei nostri cuori. ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
"They introduced me to Muhammad Alì as the fastest man in the world. He was surprised and said 'I believed the fastest man in the world is black'. I replied: 'I'm black inside'" [Pietro Mennea, 1952--2013]
What a funny thing to say.
I love that! Makes me smile that 2 legends met and had a moment. I would not have been able to control my laughter.
HE SAID " YES ( i m white) BUT INSIDE I AM MORE BLACK THAN YOU". Now I explain something about the meaning of term "black". To be black, at least in italian means to be angried. He was referring to the fact that being a man of South Italy he had to struggle against many difficulties..
Borzov was a cart horse. Never broke 10s.
There was once a time when a German athlete looked German and a British athlete looked British.
Atleti così non sono ancora nati. 17 anni record imbattuto
I love Allan Wells
The announcer keeps saying "Russian" when he should be saying "Soviet". Borzov is from the Ukrainian S.S.R., now just Ukraine. He is definitely not Russian.
Back in those days, Brits and Americans often tended to call all USSR athletes Russian. Now I see some of their names and can see that someone was Lithuanian, Estonian, Georgian and not Russian.
Borzov was born in Ukraine, but his both parents were born in Russian regions. His father had origin from Shuya town Ivanovo district and was sent in Ukraine for military service
Allan Wells no blocks!!!
RossKempOnYourMum01 No false could be calculated either
Good spot
Not really the commentator made a point of mentioning it!
@@ewaf88 By Moscow 1980 the rules had changed and he had to use blocks. I don't think the reaction time equipment was used to call false starts until a few years after that though.
@@trickygoose2 Yes I remember when he had to start using blocks. He would have hated modern systems
Mennea from last to first in the final.
Il più Grande...Pietro da Barletta !
"Borzov could fly."
In 1972, yes definitely..... but, alas, not in 1978, David! :(
La Freccia del Sud/The Arrow of South 💥
Wells was better at 100m than Mennea by the time the 1980 olympics came around as he won the gold but Mennea pipped him to gold in the 200m
Sprinting is generally considered to be a sporting activity for big, robust, heavily muscled men.... yet it was noticeable that the Italian guy [Pietro Mennea], who triumphed in the 100 metres at the European Championships in 1978, was a relatively small, slight fellow (at any rate, in comparison to the vast majority of world class sprinters). In fact, Mennea was only about 5 foot 10" in height, and weighed a mere 155lb (a fraction over 11 stone) when he was in his prime as an international sprinter. By contrast, Eugen Ray (the burly East German dude who finished second behind Mennea in the final of the 100 metres at those European Championships of 1978) was well over 6 foot tall, and his biceps were about twice the size of his Italian rival's!
I suppose that the point I am trying to make is this: Whilst sheer strength and power is of SOME relevance to sprinting, it is certainly not the be-all-and-end-all. If it was, then Arnold Schwarzenegger would have been a great sprinter in his prime!
william kinch there was only about 1 1/2" difference in heght between them but ,yes, Eugen Ray was much closer to 90 kgs than the 72/73 Mennea raced at
Look at Christophe Lemaitre now.
exactly
ancora piango!
Mennea was a wonderful runner but the fact that Alan Wells never bothered using starting blocks at this time totally confused me
Borzov will always be my hero
Those times though. Probably wouldn't even make the semis with 10.26 these days
Mennea , stallion 🇮🇹 italian !!!
Grandissimo Pietro Mennea
Il più grande atleta italiano di sempre
What an extraordinary performance by a man giving it his all after years of painstaking self-discipline. No, not Mennea, he was just a great runner, Colman in the commentary box.
Da Barletta, Puglia, Magna Grecia italica,il mito Pietro Mennea, la freccia del sud Italia....💚🤍❤️
Some improvement from Alan Wells to go from unplaced here to Olympic champion in two years
I'd forgotten about him not using starting blocks. I wonder why he didn't use them. I believe you've got to use them these days because of the electronic sensors for false starts.
@@simongleaden2864 I maybe wrong but I think he was using them by 1980. I remember his wife / coach being rather fierce
@@RichardUpton I think they insisted he use them at the 1980 Olympics
Part of the reason why may have been due to the Commonwealth Games held only a few weeks before, a number of athletes had difficulty raising themselves for a second time.
@@201081hero thats a good shout and the games were held in Canada and so jet lag to get over…
Bellissimo.
Borzov was past his prime here, but geez he was a wonderful sprinter
Quality commentating
GRANDE!!!!❤️❤❤❤❤❤❤