Greatest 800m runner ever! 24.8 for the last 200m. World record holder for 18 years and still the 2nd fastest man in history some 28 years later. Incredible!
Coe's times in the 800 have been passed by Kipketer and Rudisha, and in the 1500 and mile by Elgerrouj and others, but in my mind, Coe's ability to win, and set world records, at all of those distances (Not to mention the 1000 and 2000 meters) is what makes Coe an all time great.
3 spitfires out of the Stuttgart sky! That was The Sun's front page headlines, British athletics at its best, I remember it as if was yesterday and really the start if British athletics dominance in Europe.
Very similar to the moscow race for Coe as he was in last position at 700 metres and he also had to come wide. The big difference here is that he did not fall asleep on the back straight and got into position with 150 to go. In Moscow he did not wake up until 150 from home and by then it was too late. Of course in this race he did not have a peak form Ovett to deal with.
To be passed by only 2 men in 31 years is testimony to how great he was. His 800 best has been improved by just 0.8 on much better & faster tracks. Put Coe on that June evening in 81 on the London track & if he didn't run wide after the bell, then I see him running 1:41 flat. At 1000m only 1 man, Ngeny, has run 0.2 faster in 31 years. As for 1500, I'd be surprised if at least half of those dozen that have run faster were not on EPO. Coe is undoubtedly the greatest 800/1500 runner of all time.
deano27671 the record books do show who’s the greatest 1500m runner of all time and the one who ran more than 30 times under 3 30 . Let’s not keep fooling ourselves .and who told you coe was clean or any good runner of that generation!!
Coe was a couple of year past his prime when he raced against Cruz, and Cruz is one of the fastest 800 meters runners ever. He also lost out tactically to Ovett in 1980. He's not got a great Championship record for his talent, but on his day surely Coe was the greatest 800 meters runner the world has ever seen.
@kingwilson06ad -Coe held the 800 WR from 1979-97, the longest time anyone has held the record. When he set the 2nd WR he was 1.71 secs faster than anyone in history. That's the biggest margin in the modern era. He won 2 Olympic silvers at 800 (only Whitfield, Snell & Cruz have bettered in modern era & its better than Kip's), plus World Cup gold, 2 Europa Cup golds, a European gold & a Euro indoor gold. Was in top 10 fastest from '77-89 & had the most ranking points on the T&FN system.
The sprinters were in awe of Coe,,,who was doing 200 reps under ,,22 seconds!!!!!! Mike McFarlane was so impressed that he put massive bets on SEB winning the 800m and Mike McFarlane made a amount of money 💰 amongst the athletes who were betting on cram Vs Coe,,,,, fact,
As Coe said, during this era McKean was very hard to beat in any race run between 1:44.5 and 1:46.0. Coe ran a tactically bad race, as he often did during major 800s, but he gritted it out to win this one. Nothing to do with McKean's financial help, this was about speed endurance down the homestraight and McKean couldn't quite ace Coe. This in fact was one of McKean's best efforts. He had an utterly dismal championship record considering his GP placings.
Just watched again the 1500m from 1986 won by Cram. The commentary says Cram 'got it wrong' in the 800, but 'got it right tonight.' I think that's really unfair on Cram. I didn't see the tactics he used as contributing to his defeat in this race.
also unfair on Coe! Coe went past Cram in the 800m, and Cram couldn't have run a better race tactically. In the 1500, Coe was no where near Cram when the break was made and ran every bend wide.
The other thing which is oft overlooked is that Kirov was an Olympic bronze medalist and Druppers a World Silver Medalist. It was a quality field- the conditions were not good for fast time (and neither was the old track). Love the sight at about 50m to go - like 3 spitfires in formation.
Me from Budapest i saw this great race including Great Brirain also át Nepstadion ín Hungary. Coe,Ovett,Cram, was (is) great triumvirate of brittish like Iharos Rozsavolgyi Tábori was ín Hungary
Not sure of the year, but after some disasterous performances at majors, he joined the police. The ability was there, but his mind seemed elsewhere in some races.
@KingLiopleurodon I agree with all this accept I don't think it was a tactically bad race. It wasn't how I'd have run it if I were him, but he clearly tracked the man he had to beat (Cram) and felt (rightly from historical evidence) that he could out-sprint Cram in the last 100. The 800 is the most unforgiving event tactically, yet he ran very astutely in the World Cup final 81 (the best choice of tactics) and the Europeans in 82, where he ran out of steam due to illness.
You were partially correct. You have to remember that tracks alone have become quicker in the last 30 years. Coe & Cram were certainly capable of 3:27 - 3:28 low at their peaks 30 years ago, with even pace and drafting to the bell. Ovett too should have run 3:29 flat. Farah had very even pace in his run (55.0,56.6,56.0,41.2(55.4)) & Kiprop practically acted as a rabbit for him all the way. Coe & Cram were usually way ahead of anyone by the bell. Farah isn't in the top 10 all time at 5 or 10k.
McKean's tactics were spot on for a 20 year old. He was up against unbelieveable athletes and still won Silver. To be fair he responded when Cram tried to go past him and ensured Coe had a decent shot - he would have won anyway mind
Rudisha would definitely win over 600m due to a faster 400 ability than Coe, and Coe would definitely win over 1000m due to superior 1500 ability/endurance. Over 800 with both at their career peaks on today's tracks it would be very close, as I believe Coe was capable of 1:41.0 in 81 on the slightly slower old tracks. Certainly if they were to run against each other over 800 5 times, the same man wouldn't win all of them.
Good to see Coe win a major 800m but I forgot how instrumental Cram was to Coe winning. Watch Crams move down the backstraight and how Coe perfectly keys off him until he finds perfect position with 150m to go.
@rc2869 That is true I think his only previous championship was the Commonwealth Games a few weeks earlier while the other 2 had championship experience going back nearly a decade before at senior level (even more if you include junior champs).
@Daz555Daz Cram's drive from 3-400m out was really used in the 1500/Mile, as he wasn't quite as good as Coe or Ovett in changing pace in a few strides. He v.rarely did this in the 8 to be fair, as they are run at a faster pace. In Edinburgh the month before he didn't hit the front until 200m out. He tried the same here, but Mckean held him off & forced him wide at 200m. In the Comm Cram was up against 1:45 + runners, by Stuttgart, Mckean had improved to sub 1:44 form & Coe was at least 1:43 flat
Well, of course, Cram was peaking twice unlike McKean and Coe. At the time, I was surprised that McKean didn't try to peak for his home country's Commonwealth Games.
Thanks for posting this mate. The master of the 800m! though I don't know why he had to leave it so late!? I still think it's not a very good tactical run, and it was very similar to Moscow up to the last 300m. I guess he knew Cram was the man to beat and was confident he could out kick him in the last 100m. By winning this though he was a little over confident for the 1500m, where he ran an even worse tactically, in a race he should have won.
@deano27671 mate there's no point celebrating this hollow victory. Coe never won an Olympic medal, and his Mickey Mouse victory at the World Cup with Ovett competing in the 800 does not count as a world title. Ovett had beat Coe at 800 in 78 and 80, in 81 there's no telling if Coe would shite the bad as usual if Ovett was allowed to run as well. I hate to say this but Coe was never the best championship 800m runner, the World Cup field he faced in 81 was watered down and did not have Ovett, similarly in 79 and 81 the european Cup was just some kind of competition to see if Coe could sub 12 in the last 100 of some shite 1.47 race that nobody cared about. In the actual European champs Coe shit the bed twice in 78 and 82, and he nearly shit the bed here as well. I will give him credit he won despite absofuckinglutely shite tactics, but who gives a Fook that he won this? Kipketer gets shit on relentlessly on letsrun for not winning an Olympic title, when Coe has won zero Olympic 800m titles as well. But when Coe wins the European champs he has redeemed himself? Hate to break it to you but kip won the 2002 European Champs and ran a 1.42.3 at age 30 when he was past his prime, something Coe could only do when he was 23 and 25. How come Kip is vilified like he is some kind of choker when he at least made it back to Athens in 2004 and was leading in the homestraight when his old legs got weak and he got outkicked by two younger rivals. Yes Kip ran like shite in 2000, but he went for it in 2004 and some might say if he ran the 2000 Olympic final like how he did it 04, he would have had won a gold medal. Coe on the other hand makes the same shite mistake of hanging too far off the pace in 80 and 84, and unlike Kip doesn't even make it back to the Olympics in 88 to give it another go. Kip ran 1.41.83 in 96 and won every single race he ran, if he was allowed to go, he would be the favourite, even if he had lost since the final was abnormally fast, he would have had the experience of running an Olympic final as a favourite, similar to how El Guerrouj needed the experience of losing to finally win in Athens. If Kip had gone to the olympics in Atlanta and lost, I am 100% sure he does not run his Sydney Olympics race like shite. He would be an Olympic Champion. Coe on the other hand botched his 800m in Moscow cause he was balless, and did not learn anything in 84 because he still hung back and ran on the outside as usual, and unlike Kip who was good enough to make it back to Athens at age 32, Coe was shite by 88 at the same age as Kip was when he was running in Athens. So if we compare Kip to Coe, we should immediately conclude Coe was better. Coe ran slower, had only 1 World Cup win which was watered down, did not even take part in the 83 and 87 world champs, he would have been 27 and 31, Kip got first at the world champs when he was 31 and got 4th when he was 31, whereas Coe didnt even compete because he was too shite in 83 and 87. Kip was slipping by the time he was 27, he won the world champs at age 27 by a few hundredths of a second, got second in 00, didn't run in 01, came back in 02 to win the european champs, got 4th in 03 at the world champs, and finally 3rd in Athens. Kip was winning world medals from 95 to 04. Qualified for 3 Olympics but was only allowed to run 2. Coe qualified for 2, ran like shite in both Olympic finals especially the first one, and did not even qualify for a third one, because he was 32 and shite. Coe won his first world medal in 80 at the Olympics and his last world medal at 800m in 84. That's across 5 separate seasons. Kipketer was world class from 95-04, that's 10 separate seasons. Long fucking story short, Kipketer ran under 1.44 in 10 separate seasons. Coe did not even sub 1.44 10 times total. Before you say that nobody was pacing him. Kip ran 1.42.67 from the front in a world indoor 800m final, ran below 1.44 in the wold indoor semi. Ran 1.43.38 in the 1997 World Champs final. That's three seperate occasions where he ran fast from the front. Coe's fastest two timings were paced as we all know, he got trashed in Koln when he was following Cruz as well as the pacemaker. His fastest time aside from that was a 1.43.38 in Bern, which if I'm not wrong was paced as well. So that leaves his fastest unpaced race being his 1.43.68 beat down by Cruz in the 84 LA final. As you can see Kip did not just benefit from fast pacing he could run faster than Coe from the front, Coe needed a pacemaker to run anything below 1.43.68, Kip could run 1.42.67 indoors without a pacemaker. Long story short Kip was a better frontrunner, better indoor runner, had more longevity, came back from illness as well seeing that he recovered from malaria, came back from a foot injury in 2001 to run 3 consecutive seasons of sub 1.44 timings in 02 03 04, something Coe could not do in any portion of his career, not even his peak. And lastly, Kip actually was not allowed to race when he was the clear favourite, whereas when Coe was the clear favourite he ran like dog shite. Some might say Kip was favourite in 2000, yes he was but he was only favourite for what he had accomplished in 97, he had been ill with malaria in 98 and his 99 world champs win was by a hair. So for him to fall short, is similar to Coe losing to Cruz in that perhaps Kip and Coe would have won if they had the form they had from 3 years ago. That being said, Kip showed heart to recovery from a foot injury in 01 and 4th place in the world champs in 03 to get back to leading the Olympic 800m final down the homestraight in 04, he ran perfectly just ran out of gas at the end due to being past his prime. Coe too ran out of gas but instead of running out of as in the Olympic final in 88, he ran out of gas in the British selection trial heat. This man could not even make the British selection trial final, let alone the Olympic final. All in all, Kip deserves more credit. He gets overshadowed because Rudisha was fortunate and healthy enough to have been in 1.42 and below standard for 2 separate Olympics. Kip was dominant as well if the Olympics were 1 year earlier in 95 and 99, Kip would have won the double, if it was one year later in 97, he definitely would have won one at least. Kip >>> Coe at 800m indoors and outdoors.
@@batumalairajakumar3450 Blimey, what a time waster you are. Long story short, Coe has 2 Olympic golds, which is 2 more than Kipketer won. Doesn't matter which event. Coe was talented enough to be capable of winning in 2 events, Kipketer was only good enough to contest 1, the 800m. On the contrary, this win in 86 was very significant, as it cemented Coe as World #1 that year ahead of Cram at #2.
But certainly Ovett and Cram incredible athletes as well, Ovett won a senior title when just 18! Farah was good but not that good, it's just that the 5000-10,000 is quite weak now.
Coe wasn't the brightest junior star. Finnish Ari Paunonen was 17 years when he won 800m in European Junior Championships 1975. Two years older Sebastian Coe took bronze in the same competition. Ari Paunonen's greatest moment was when he ran 3000m world junior record in 1977. Coe had at least dozen greater moments during his career later.
He was raised in Britain, he calls Britain home, he is a British citizen. It's not like he came here 'cos he could make another country's team. Is Bradley Wiggins not British either? Born in Belgium to an Australian father ...
Coe was not in his running prime at that point,Cram was in his prime. Coe couldn't have beaten cram over 1500m at that point in time though. Absolute glory days.
disagree. Coe should have won the 1500 a few days later but chose to run tactically a 1500 equivalent to the Moscow 800m! Every bend wide, out of touch when a burst was made 500m out and having to run through and round traffic to try and reach Cram on the last lap. A week after that Coe ran a 3:29 and missed the world record by a stride.
soulyrasheed That's right boss. Farah is an African man. He ain't a white British man like Englishmen Coe, Ovett and Cram, and Scotsman McKean. We're proud of those 4 Brits. But how can we proud of African man Mohamed Farah. Plus his name's Mohamed. And that's unacceptable.
peter elliott didn't even made a team... great britain will have such talent never again. (don't consider farah british, he's great, but product of imperialsm...
Farah is not as talented as Coe, Cram, or Ovett. Period. Whether he's African or American or Martian you can't even compare Farah to those three. Those three had talent that Farah does not have, all three were world record holders and had blazing speed and abilities(Cram with long drive for speed), Farah is no where near the WR in his event, not anywhere near Komen/Bekele/Geb talent. And Coe has to be put alongside Rudy/Kip/Cruz as top 800m ever. So atleast Coe is better anyway.
Greatest 800m runner ever! 24.8 for the last 200m. World record holder for 18 years and still the 2nd fastest man in history some 28 years later. Incredible!
Deano going over the top again.
Wonderful stuff. Coe could sprint longer and harder than any athlete ever. Just a machine. Unique really.
Cram could do that as well, go hard from 300m all the way. Coe was just much better over the last 100
Coe's times in the 800 have been passed by Kipketer and Rudisha, and in the 1500 and mile by Elgerrouj and others, but in my mind, Coe's ability to win, and set world records, at all of those distances (Not to mention the 1000 and 2000 meters) is what makes Coe an all time great.
I did not understand your remark concerning 2000 meters.
@@carlpeterkirkebo2036 I misspoke about the 2000. I don't remember where I got that notion from. Thanks for pointing that out.
3 spitfires out of the Stuttgart sky! That was The Sun's front page headlines, British athletics at its best, I remember it as if was yesterday and really the start if British athletics dominance in Europe.
No question one of the greatest days in British athletics of alltime.
@@fender1000100 The great Coe, Tom McKean very magnanimous in defeat but Cram was a real sourpuss who didn't expect to be relegated to third.
Ok great, love to watch to watch the masters of middle distance.Ovett, Coe and Cram.
Very similar to the moscow race for Coe as he was in last position at 700 metres and he also had to come wide. The big difference here is that he did not fall asleep on the back straight and got into position with 150 to go. In Moscow he did not wake up until 150 from home and by then it was too late. Of course in this race he did not have a peak form Ovett to deal with.
Truth be told,,,coe didn't have to deal with a staggering last lap of 50,5/
@@simonedwards5564 No he did not - but that's not really relevant. Coe is not in his 1979/81 form here otherwise we would have seen a 10M margin.
this race meant a great deal to coe - so fast at 800m but lacked major wins - good for him
One of my favorite races of all time. I was so pleased for Coe as he won his first major 800m title. I really wanted him to win. GB 123, great days...
I remember the French headlines 'Encore les Anglais' (excuse any spelling errors). What a race!
Wonderful, thanks so much for sharing this! 🏃♂️🍾❤️
To be passed by only 2 men in 31 years is testimony to how great he was. His 800 best has been improved by just 0.8 on much better & faster tracks. Put Coe on that June evening in 81 on the London track & if he didn't run wide after the bell, then I see him running 1:41 flat. At 1000m only 1 man, Ngeny, has run 0.2 faster in 31 years. As for 1500, I'd be surprised if at least half of those dozen that have run faster were not on EPO. Coe is undoubtedly the greatest 800/1500 runner of all time.
...but he couldn't beat Cruz......
deano27671 the record books do show who’s the greatest 1500m runner of all time and the one who ran more than 30 times under 3 30 . Let’s not keep fooling ourselves .and who told you coe was clean or any good runner of that generation!!
Coe was a couple of year past his prime when he raced against Cruz, and Cruz is one of the fastest 800 meters runners ever. He also lost out tactically to Ovett in 1980. He's not got a great Championship record for his talent, but on his day surely Coe was the greatest 800 meters runner the world has ever seen.
Deano going over the top again
@@elizabethtanner9050 Well I doubt Coe had the conditioning and nutritionists specialists. Like they have today.
@kingwilson06ad -Coe held the 800 WR from 1979-97, the longest time anyone has held the record. When he set the 2nd WR he was 1.71 secs faster than anyone in history. That's the biggest margin in the modern era. He won 2 Olympic silvers at 800 (only Whitfield, Snell & Cruz have bettered in modern era & its better than Kip's), plus World Cup gold, 2 Europa Cup golds, a European gold & a Euro indoor gold. Was in top 10 fastest from '77-89 & had the most ranking points on the T&FN system.
The sprinters were in awe of Coe,,,who was doing 200 reps under ,,22 seconds!!!!!! Mike McFarlane was so impressed that he put massive bets on SEB winning the 800m and Mike McFarlane made a amount of money 💰 amongst the athletes who were betting on cram Vs Coe,,,,, fact,
At his best no one better than Seb has graced a track. His top gear in nonpareil.
As Coe said, during this era McKean was very hard to beat in any race run between 1:44.5 and 1:46.0. Coe ran a tactically bad race, as he often did during major 800s, but he gritted it out to win this one. Nothing to do with McKean's financial help, this was about speed endurance down the homestraight and McKean couldn't quite ace Coe. This in fact was one of McKean's best efforts. He had an utterly dismal championship record considering his GP placings.
"Britain 1,2 and 3" ... a very long time since we heard anything like that!
Poetry in motion 🏃
Just watched again the 1500m from 1986 won by Cram.
The commentary says Cram 'got it wrong' in the 800, but 'got it right tonight.'
I think that's really unfair on Cram. I didn't see the tactics he used as contributing to his defeat in this race.
also unfair on Coe! Coe went past Cram in the 800m, and Cram couldn't have run a better race tactically. In the 1500, Coe was no where near Cram when the break was made and ran every bend wide.
Just wow!
most exciting races ever
It took all of Coe's ability to pass McKean with a fully fit Cram behind in 3rd 👍
Cole's lighter than most of them, but he could lift some serious weights. That combined with pure leg and foot speed is hard to beat.
What kind of lifts could cole do?
It used to be on here! I have a copy myself but don't know how to download it onto here! If I find it elsewhere i'll put the link on here!
Britain 1 -2-3..perfect !!..Love the 80s...britain is so strong in 800 and 1500 at this time.
The other thing which is oft overlooked is that Kirov was an Olympic bronze medalist and Druppers a World Silver Medalist. It was a quality field- the conditions were not good for fast time (and neither was the old track). Love the sight at about 50m to go - like 3 spitfires in formation.
Kirov wasn't in this race
Fantastic - thanks for posting.
Me from Budapest i saw this great race including Great Brirain also át Nepstadion ín Hungary. Coe,Ovett,Cram, was (is) great triumvirate of brittish like Iharos Rozsavolgyi Tábori was ín Hungary
my favorite Coe race
Coe is amazing
Amazing to see a British 1-2-3. Anyone know what happened to Tom McKean? Don’t remember him doing much after this?
Not sure of the year, but after some disasterous performances at majors, he joined the police. The ability was there, but his mind seemed elsewhere in some races.
@KingLiopleurodon I agree with all this accept I don't think it was a tactically bad race. It wasn't how I'd have run it if I were him, but he clearly tracked the man he had to beat (Cram) and felt (rightly from historical evidence) that he could out-sprint Cram in the last 100. The 800 is the most unforgiving event tactically, yet he ran very astutely in the World Cup final 81 (the best choice of tactics) and the Europeans in 82, where he ran out of steam due to illness.
Shame Coe wasn’t closer to Cram in the 1500m final as would have won that as well
So tactically brilliant. I loved watching this.
You were partially correct. You have to remember that tracks alone have become quicker in the last 30 years. Coe & Cram were certainly capable of 3:27 - 3:28 low at their peaks 30 years ago, with even pace and drafting to the bell. Ovett too should have run 3:29 flat. Farah had very even pace in his run (55.0,56.6,56.0,41.2(55.4)) & Kiprop practically acted as a rabbit for him all the way. Coe & Cram were usually way ahead of anyone by the bell. Farah isn't in the top 10 all time at 5 or 10k.
deano27671 Farah's an African man.
The Golden Years !
McKean's tactics were spot on for a 20 year old. He was up against unbelieveable athletes and still won Silver. To be fair he responded when Cram tried to go past him and ensured Coe had a decent shot - he would have won anyway mind
Like three spitfires out of the sun
Coe, Elloit, Ovett, Cram - British top league of all time!
Coe vs. Rudisha over 600/800 and 1000 would be some battle. Any thoughts?
Rudisha would definitely win over 600m due to a faster 400 ability than Coe, and Coe would definitely win over 1000m due to superior 1500 ability/endurance.
Over 800 with both at their career peaks on today's tracks it would be very close, as I believe Coe was capable of 1:41.0 in 81 on the slightly slower old tracks. Certainly if they were to run against each other over 800 5 times, the same man wouldn't win all of them.
deano27671
Don't we all improve by time; or else, we're still be living in caves!
+GOATAli Juantorena would for me be the best ever 600m runner.
@@redrum4100agree he was great over 400/800
Sir Sebastian Coe may very well be on the Mt. Rushmore of Britain track runners ;-)
@rc2869
McKean was 22 at this time not 20.
Good to see Coe win a major 800m but I forgot how instrumental Cram was to Coe winning. Watch Crams move down the backstraight and how Coe perfectly keys off him until he finds perfect position with 150m to go.
@rc2869
That is true I think his only previous championship was the Commonwealth Games a few weeks earlier while the other 2 had championship experience going back nearly a decade before at senior level (even more if you include junior champs).
Fantastlc finish
The Best Seb...
@Daz555Daz Cram's drive from 3-400m out was really used in the 1500/Mile, as he wasn't quite as good as Coe or Ovett in changing pace in a few strides. He v.rarely did this in the 8 to be fair, as they are run at a faster pace. In Edinburgh the month before he didn't hit the front until 200m out. He tried the same here, but Mckean held him off & forced him wide at 200m. In the Comm Cram was up against 1:45 + runners, by Stuttgart, Mckean had improved to sub 1:44 form & Coe was at least 1:43 flat
Well, of course, Cram was peaking twice unlike McKean and Coe.
At the time, I was surprised that McKean didn't try to peak for his home country's Commonwealth Games.
1-2-3, Job done...
has any body got the 1500m final
Thanks for posting this mate. The master of the 800m! though I don't know why he had to leave it so late!?
I still think it's not a very good tactical run, and it was very similar to Moscow up to the last 300m. I guess he knew Cram was the man to beat and was confident he could out kick him in the last 100m. By winning this though he was a little over confident for the 1500m, where he ran an even worse tactically, in a race he should have won.
deano27671 What do you mean he knew Cram was the man to beat. McKean was second and nearly won it. Probably should've won it. He ran the perfect race.
Revolver mckean would of won if coe wernt pushed forward by runner in blue
@deano27671 mate there's no point celebrating this hollow victory. Coe never won an Olympic medal, and his Mickey Mouse victory at the World Cup with Ovett competing in the 800 does not count as a world title. Ovett had beat Coe at 800 in 78 and 80, in 81 there's no telling if Coe would shite the bad as usual if Ovett was allowed to run as well. I hate to say this but Coe was never the best championship 800m runner, the World Cup field he faced in 81 was watered down and did not have Ovett, similarly in 79 and 81 the european Cup was just some kind of competition to see if Coe could sub 12 in the last 100 of some shite 1.47 race that nobody cared about. In the actual European champs Coe shit the bed twice in 78 and 82, and he nearly shit the bed here as well. I will give him credit he won despite absofuckinglutely shite tactics, but who gives a Fook that he won this? Kipketer gets shit on relentlessly on letsrun for not winning an Olympic title, when Coe has won zero Olympic 800m titles as well. But when Coe wins the European champs he has redeemed himself? Hate to break it to you but kip won the 2002 European Champs and ran a 1.42.3 at age 30 when he was past his prime, something Coe could only do when he was 23 and 25. How come Kip is vilified like he is some kind of choker when he at least made it back to Athens in 2004 and was leading in the homestraight when his old legs got weak and he got outkicked by two younger rivals. Yes Kip ran like shite in 2000, but he went for it in 2004 and some might say if he ran the 2000 Olympic final like how he did it 04, he would have had won a gold medal. Coe on the other hand makes the same shite mistake of hanging too far off the pace in 80 and 84, and unlike Kip doesn't even make it back to the Olympics in 88 to give it another go. Kip ran 1.41.83 in 96 and won every single race he ran, if he was allowed to go, he would be the favourite, even if he had lost since the final was abnormally fast, he would have had the experience of running an Olympic final as a favourite, similar to how El Guerrouj needed the experience of losing to finally win in Athens. If Kip had gone to the olympics in Atlanta and lost, I am 100% sure he does not run his Sydney Olympics race like shite. He would be an Olympic Champion. Coe on the other hand botched his 800m in Moscow cause he was balless, and did not learn anything in 84 because he still hung back and ran on the outside as usual, and unlike Kip who was good enough to make it back to Athens at age 32, Coe was shite by 88 at the same age as Kip was when he was running in Athens. So if we compare Kip to Coe, we should immediately conclude Coe was better. Coe ran slower, had only 1 World Cup win which was watered down, did not even take part in the 83 and 87 world champs, he would have been 27 and 31, Kip got first at the world champs when he was 31 and got 4th when he was 31, whereas Coe didnt even compete because he was too shite in 83 and 87. Kip was slipping by the time he was 27, he won the world champs at age 27 by a few hundredths of a second, got second in 00, didn't run in 01, came back in 02 to win the european champs, got 4th in 03 at the world champs, and finally 3rd in Athens. Kip was winning world medals from 95 to 04. Qualified for 3 Olympics but was only allowed to run 2. Coe qualified for 2, ran like shite in both Olympic finals especially the first one, and did not even qualify for a third one, because he was 32 and shite. Coe won his first world medal in 80 at the Olympics and his last world medal at 800m in 84. That's across 5 separate seasons. Kipketer was world class from 95-04, that's 10 separate seasons. Long fucking story short, Kipketer ran under 1.44 in 10 separate seasons. Coe did not even sub 1.44 10 times total. Before you say that nobody was pacing him. Kip ran 1.42.67 from the front in a world indoor 800m final, ran below 1.44 in the wold indoor semi. Ran 1.43.38 in the 1997 World Champs final. That's three seperate occasions where he ran fast from the front. Coe's fastest two timings were paced as we all know, he got trashed in Koln when he was following Cruz as well as the pacemaker. His fastest time aside from that was a 1.43.38 in Bern, which if I'm not wrong was paced as well. So that leaves his fastest unpaced race being his 1.43.68 beat down by Cruz in the 84 LA final. As you can see Kip did not just benefit from fast pacing he could run faster than Coe from the front, Coe needed a pacemaker to run anything below 1.43.68, Kip could run 1.42.67 indoors without a pacemaker. Long story short Kip was a better frontrunner, better indoor runner, had more longevity, came back from illness as well seeing that he recovered from malaria, came back from a foot injury in 2001 to run 3 consecutive seasons of sub 1.44 timings in 02 03 04, something Coe could not do in any portion of his career, not even his peak. And lastly, Kip actually was not allowed to race when he was the clear favourite, whereas when Coe was the clear favourite he ran like dog shite. Some might say Kip was favourite in 2000, yes he was but he was only favourite for what he had accomplished in 97, he had been ill with malaria in 98 and his 99 world champs win was by a hair. So for him to fall short, is similar to Coe losing to Cruz in that perhaps Kip and Coe would have won if they had the form they had from 3 years ago. That being said, Kip showed heart to recovery from a foot injury in 01 and 4th place in the world champs in 03 to get back to leading the Olympic 800m final down the homestraight in 04, he ran perfectly just ran out of gas at the end due to being past his prime. Coe too ran out of gas but instead of running out of as in the Olympic final in 88, he ran out of gas in the British selection trial heat. This man could not even make the British selection trial final, let alone the Olympic final. All in all, Kip deserves more credit. He gets overshadowed because Rudisha was fortunate and healthy enough to have been in 1.42 and below standard for 2 separate Olympics. Kip was dominant as well if the Olympics were 1 year earlier in 95 and 99, Kip would have won the double, if it was one year later in 97, he definitely would have won one at least. Kip >>> Coe at 800m indoors and outdoors.
@@batumalairajakumar3450 Blimey, what a time waster you are. Long story short, Coe has 2 Olympic golds, which is 2 more than Kipketer won. Doesn't matter which event. Coe was talented enough to be capable of winning in 2 events, Kipketer was only good enough to contest 1, the 800m.
On the contrary, this win in 86 was very significant, as it cemented Coe as World #1 that year ahead of Cram at #2.
Couldn't be arsed reading this. If Tolstoy wrote about Track & Field I imagine it'd look something like this.
But certainly Ovett and Cram incredible athletes as well, Ovett won a senior title when just 18! Farah was good but not that good, it's just that the 5000-10,000 is quite weak now.
Coe wasn't the brightest junior star. Finnish Ari Paunonen was 17 years when he won 800m in European Junior Championships 1975. Two years older Sebastian Coe took bronze in the same competition. Ari Paunonen's greatest moment was when he ran 3000m world junior record in 1977. Coe had at least dozen greater moments during his career later.
Finally Coe gets a title at 800
Indeed and a 1-2-3 for Britain. Special. I remember in 1998 in the 200m final where Dougie Walker led a British clean sweep.
He was raised in Britain, he calls Britain home, he is a British citizen. It's not like he came here 'cos he could make another country's team.
Is Bradley Wiggins not British either? Born in Belgium to an Australian father ...
BRITAIN 1 -2 -3...Kudos.
Coe was not in his running prime at that point,Cram was in his prime.
Coe couldn't have beaten cram over 1500m at that point in time though.
Absolute glory days.
disagree. Coe should have won the 1500 a few days later but chose to run tactically a 1500 equivalent to the Moscow 800m! Every bend wide, out of touch when a burst was made 500m out and having to run through and round traffic to try and reach Cram on the last lap. A week after that Coe ran a 3:29 and missed the world record by a stride.
@trickygoose2 I stand corrected. He was however very ineperienced compared to the other 2 mind
Perfect tactics?? he won the race
And then he lost his bottle over the 15.
yes, don't know what he was thinking in the 1500! Dreadful tactical race!
@AKAKArnott how can Coe be considered the greatest 800m runner of all time if he failed to win Olympic gold in 1980 and 1984?
He really earned the gold medal.
i'm black, man... farah is not british talent like coe, ovett, cram, he's an imported good...
soulyrasheed That's right boss. Farah is an African man. He ain't a white British man like Englishmen Coe, Ovett and Cram, and Scotsman McKean. We're proud of those 4 Brits. But how can we proud of African man Mohamed Farah. Plus his name's Mohamed. And that's unacceptable.
@deano27671 that's a big enough reason
peter elliott didn't even made a team... great britain will have such talent never again. (don't consider farah british, he's great, but product of imperialsm...
Two greatest 800m runners Coe and Kipketer never won olympic gold medals. It tells how difficult this distance is to run.
A proper European race, with proper Europeans involved.
I take back what I said about Farah in light of his 3:28.
Farah is not as talented as Coe, Cram, or Ovett. Period. Whether he's African or American or Martian you can't even compare Farah to those three. Those three had talent that Farah does not have, all three were world record holders and had blazing speed and abilities(Cram with long drive for speed), Farah is no where near the WR in his event, not anywhere near Komen/Bekele/Geb talent. And Coe has to be put alongside Rudy/Kip/Cruz as top 800m ever. So atleast Coe is better anyway.
Rudy?
Oh Rudisha. I never heard him called as Rudy.
@@alansamuel2454 rudy cant fail !!!!!!!
Why don;t you consider Farah British? Racism?