You can't imagine what it was like watching it live. A British woman winning a track gold medal was something we'd dreamed about for so long. I still get emotional about it now.
I watched it live, as a 7-y-o kid in the north of England. And I remember watching it live too. A thrilling race. We watched on the BBC with superb commentary from the great BBC sports commentator, David Coleman. I still don't think I've ever seen such a sprint finish from a female athlete as Ann Packer's run here. Fantastic memories.
I was a teenager and remember watching it and getting very excited. Remember that this was an era when she and Mary Bignal were amateurs competing against the drug filled Soviet Bloc Eastern Europeans. Wonderful memories and both women still alive,
Met her after Olympics. She taught at a school in coombe that was playing mine(Dorking) at hockey so she came along signed autographs and showed us her medal
Great athletic performance and thrilling filmmaking! The entire event covered in one single unbroken shot. Amazing! A candle lit for the camera operator who shot this.
Well actually the film making was appalling like as usual them days they concentrated on the athletes and NOT the race. The strategy and development was lost.
Long jumping and sprint distances (400m) were her training methods,talent & the late kick were the icing on the cake. Basically ahead of her field in terms of CROSS-TRAINING of the muscles.
This is from a time when women running was a rare sight. Many female runners trained in their spare time, or in secret, because no one encouraged it. Many didn't have coaches, most just ran because they loved the sport, and didn't have much of an athletic foundation with rules and form focus. With everything they were up against, those women were pretty fabulous.
Thanks for uploading this - wonderful historical film. Yes ladies running style has changed but that's the way they used to run. Packer's burst of speed is even more impressive in this film than the TV footage.
Absolutely amazing run by Ann when you watch this in crystal clarity. She was so easy in her sprint, I think she could easily have run two or three seconds faster. In today's conditions, she could easily have been a 1:55 runner.
2:01 is world class even today.1964 cinder track. 1964 shoes. 1964 training knowledge.Easily she gives any of todays' women a run for their money if she had those advantages.
Agreed. That cinder track looked fairly chewed up. She would probably have run 1:59 on a modern synthetic track. It was also a tactical race. She was in lane 3 running around the last bend. Packer had great speed, she was in the British 4x100 team that won a bronze medal at the European championships. She was also an amateur. She had started work as a teacher and had to fit in her job with training. As a professional with more stamina work, she might have been quite good.
She also won silver in the 400m, which was her “true” event, the same Games. I believe she had only run the 800m a handful of times prior to this race. Just an amazing runner and an amazing performance.
I remember only another athlete running a world record at the first international competition: the legend Emil Zatopek. Now just imagine what Ann would have become if she would not have stopped immediately after this Olympics at 22 y.o.
I get so moved by this race in the movie Tokyo Olympiad (source of this footage). The way the race moves through several people in the lead, the way Anne does that fearless, completely free burn at the end, down to the look of release and joy on her face crossing the tape. I also love that the footage starts out with her, due to her placement. Oh, and biting her lip while on the podium is adorable.
My mum used to go on about the commentator getting over excited about Packer winning this, but he seems so reserved listening to him in hindsight. Maybe it is the fog of memory, or maybe she was listening to a different commentator but great win anyway Ann Packer, forever GB gold.
that is exactly what I was going to write. Yes she is beautiful and elegant. :) Heck of a kick too. She passed on the outside and blew everybody away. Awesome.
Very fast finish, she had only done six 800’s. Had she more experience, I think she would be the first under 2 minutes. She was expected to win the 400m instead, but came second, in a great race to the great Betty Cuthbert (Australia) 1956 ( 3 golds) who stepped up from retirement, and in distance 8 years later to win . Cannot find that full race though. Cuthbert 4 golds in four different events... not done before by a female. Carl. Lewis may have, I think.
So this gal, who had virtually no prior experience running the 800, enters the race on a whim and wins an Olympic gold medal and breaks the world record? LOL, just shows how much the sport has evolved over the past several decades. Also the absence of any east African runners in an event like this is something not likely to be seen for generations to come. That said, her time was 2:01.1, but I'd be interested to know her split times. It was surely a negative split, another rarity in the modern 800.
BillySolH Then the 58.6 split must have been for the leader, so I'm guessing Packer was probably closer to 1:00 as she was a bit back in the pack at that point. Probably not a negative split, but almost even times between the two laps which is still rather uncommon these days.
+PongGod why everyone talk about east africans werent allowed to. run this woman run 201 on a track thats slower than track now with the gears and track now that would probably be 158 and she didnt train like how pros trained now so doesnt make sense comparing plus russian beat the east africans in 800m regularly
Well, she did everything wrong and still won gold and set a world record. She was hopelessly boxed in at the back of the pack approaching the final turn. She then slows down to come round the field. Runs the bend in lane three. If she had used the right tactics maybe sub-2 min might have happened.
Near lack of commentary wonderful compared to nowadays when the BBC finds it necessary to take at least two dozen commentators to any Meet. "Pretty little thing" ha ha you'll not get away with that nowadays.
No frippery delighted to have won great memory today mr bolt prancing and preening your a runner end of but the world today look at me look at me what did you perform a miracle did you stop wars no your a runner and yes you broke records but not with humility 😀
Ann was in a lousy position with 200 metres to go, but the last 100 was very impressive and I liked her form too. The commentator was proper old school though. "Inside her, a very pretty little girl..." Just imagine Steve Cram saying that on the BBC today!
this was back when the furthest distance that women could run was 800m since guys thought that running further would damage womens reproductive organs lol. Thankfully they were allowed to run whatever they wanted to over time
Women those days had good sense. They knew this was an athletics field, so they showed up in true athletics gear. Today women mistake the athletics field for a swimming pool and show up in bikinis and bras ...so ugly!
@0:12 "Inside her is a very pretty little girl". Dreadful commentator, not just for that remark, which must have been questionable even in 1964, but for the whole race in general.
You can't imagine what it was like watching it live. A British woman winning a track gold medal was something we'd dreamed about for so long. I still get emotional about it now.
I watched it live, as a 7-y-o kid in the north of England. And I remember watching it live too. A thrilling race. We watched on the BBC with superb commentary from the great BBC sports commentator, David Coleman. I still don't think I've ever seen such a sprint finish from a female athlete as Ann Packer's run here.
Fantastic memories.
I was 10. I remember my father yelling at the screen in excitement. And that David Coleman commentary.
I was a teenager and remember watching it and getting very excited. Remember that this was an era when she and Mary Bignal were amateurs competing against the drug filled Soviet Bloc Eastern Europeans. Wonderful memories and both women still alive,
Met her after Olympics. She taught at a school in coombe that was playing mine(Dorking) at hockey so she came along signed autographs and showed us her medal
Great athletic performance and thrilling filmmaking! The entire event covered in one single unbroken shot. Amazing! A candle lit for the camera operator who shot this.
Well actually the film making was appalling like as usual them days they concentrated on the athletes and NOT the race. The strategy and development was lost.
Still after all these years, this is an electric performance. :-)
What a finish from Packer. She came from nowhere and blew the field away
Long jumping and sprint distances (400m) were her training methods,talent & the late kick were the icing on the cake. Basically ahead of her field in terms of CROSS-TRAINING of the muscles.
This is from a time when women running was a rare sight. Many female runners trained in their spare time, or in secret, because no one encouraged it. Many didn't have coaches, most just ran because they loved the sport, and didn't have much of an athletic foundation with rules and form focus. With everything they were up against, those women were pretty fabulous.
Thank goodness those dreadful days are over. But still in many countries women don’t have equality and are still treated like dogs.
When Ann came to win in the end a huge smile appeared on my face!
Thanks for uploading this - wonderful historical film. Yes ladies running style has changed but that's the way they used to run. Packer's burst of speed is even more impressive in this film than the TV footage.
Thank you "Olympics" for bringing this film to us
Superb run by Ann. She married Robbie Brightwell and two of her sons became professional footballers in England.
Absolutely amazing run by Ann when you watch this in crystal clarity. She was so easy in her sprint, I think she could easily have run two or three seconds faster. In today's conditions, she could easily have been a 1:55 runner.
Yes she retired after Tokyo. She could have tun a much faster time had she carried on!! But there is more to life than gold medald❤️
Same as Keely Hodgkinson...
@@morgonz but Keely has her gold now!
Amazing performance and with such little fuss at the end! So different to today.
She was in a different class to all the others
2:01 is world class even today.1964 cinder track. 1964 shoes. 1964 training knowledge.Easily she gives any of todays' women a run for their money if she had those advantages.
Agreed. That cinder track looked fairly chewed up. She would probably have run 1:59 on a modern synthetic track. It was also a tactical race. She was in lane 3 running around the last bend. Packer had great speed, she was in the British 4x100 team that won a bronze medal at the European championships. She was also an amateur. She had started work as a teacher and had to fit in her job with training. As a professional with more stamina work, she might have been quite good.
@@waterboys3001 100m & 800m! Can't be many capable of that!
She also won silver in the 400m, which was her “true” event, the same Games. I believe she had only run the 800m a handful of times prior to this race. Just an amazing runner and an amazing performance.
Magnificent Olympics for Ann
Magnificent finish
I remember only another athlete running a world record at the first international competition: the legend Emil Zatopek.
Now just imagine what Ann would have become if she would not have stopped immediately after this Olympics at 22 y.o.
Wish our athletes still wore those classic colours as well!
I get so moved by this race in the movie Tokyo Olympiad (source of this footage). The way the race moves through several people in the lead, the way Anne does that fearless, completely free burn at the end, down to the look of release and joy on her face crossing the tape. I also love that the footage starts out with her, due to her placement.
Oh, and biting her lip while on the podium is adorable.
Wow 2:01 for a women back in 1964 is pretty good.
@Clean Up On Aisle 3 mmmmm on a tartan track..an ran on a RUBBISH cinder track,,,,,big difference!!!!!!!!!
Go Ann!!!
ive just come here from watching keely win in paris. wow our girls got speed. and kelly holmes too.
My mum used to go on about the commentator getting over excited about Packer winning this, but he seems so reserved listening to him in hindsight. Maybe it is the fog of memory, or maybe she was listening to a different commentator but great win anyway Ann Packer, forever GB gold.
Smoothmicra was it specifically this commentator?
It was David Colman- bbc
It was a different commentator, David Coleman. You can find that clip elsewhere on RUclips.
'And on the inside of her, a pretty little girl' lol
she is very beautiful and elegant.
that is exactly what I was going to write. Yes she is beautiful and elegant. :) Heck of a kick too. She passed on the outside and blew everybody away. Awesome.
Anne Packer the 400m runner 🏃 with a huge burst of speed.
Beautiful
Please also upload the coverage of the women's 400m final from the same games, where Cuthbert beats Packer.
It was the 400 that Packer was expected to win and she had to be persuaded to compete in the 800.
Great that you included the national anthem and flags at the end, you should do that in more videos
Something so iconic about the choice of film and mode of filming.
A perfect sport woman.
Very fast finish, she had only done six 800’s. Had she more experience, I think she would be the first under 2 minutes. She was expected to win the 400m instead, but came second, in a great race to the great Betty Cuthbert (Australia) 1956 ( 3 golds) who stepped up from retirement, and in distance 8 years later to win . Cannot find that full race though. Cuthbert 4 golds in four different events... not done before by a female. Carl. Lewis may have, I think.
I've uploaded Cuthbert's 400m win.
Great race. They were fighters.
Anne Packer... simply wonder
Sixty years later Hodgkinson wins gold 🥇
makes you wonder what Ann Packer could have done had she not retired at 22
ANN PACKER is my friends grandmother
One of GBR's finest hours and the greatest race of all 800 metre races. And for romance, straight into the arms of fiance Robbe Brightwell.
Beautiful woman.
She was upset in the 400 by the legendary Betty Cuthbert, who ran an absolutely perfect race.
What a beautiful gal. Great run from her
It would have been much better to have given us a wide shot to get the perspective instead of close-ups the whole time.
Such a brilliant win ....Remember it well I was in the RN in Singapore and 6 Of us had the chance to go to Tokyo ...Not me sadly
BTW, this is NOT David Coleman's commentary.!
No kneeling here
How lovely: no fake nails, hair extentions, no makeup, clothing that doesn't reveal camel's toes, no fake eyelashes...just beautifully natural!
So this gal, who had virtually no prior experience running the 800, enters the race on a whim and wins an Olympic gold medal and breaks the world record? LOL, just shows how much the sport has evolved over the past several decades. Also the absence of any east African runners in an event like this is something not likely to be seen for generations to come.
That said, her time was 2:01.1, but I'd be interested to know her split times. It was surely a negative split, another rarity in the modern 800.
PongGod At about 1:48 the stadium announcer can be heard saying: "Yon-hyaku metoru wa, go-juu-hachi byou, roku." = "400m, 58.6 seconds".
BillySolH Then the 58.6 split must have been for the leader, so I'm guessing Packer was probably closer to 1:00 as she was a bit back in the pack at that point. Probably not a negative split, but almost even times between the two laps which is still rather uncommon these days.
PongGod Makes sense, yes.
+PongGod why everyone talk about east africans werent allowed to. run this woman run 201 on a track thats slower than track now with the gears and track now that would probably be 158 and she didnt train like how pros trained now so doesnt make sense comparing plus russian beat the east africans in 800m regularly
+PongGod and also since 1992 4 Europeans won olympics gold which is 75%of gold from 92-12
Well, she did everything wrong and still won gold and set a world record. She was hopelessly boxed in at the back of the pack approaching the final turn. She then slows down to come round the field. Runs the bend in lane three. If she had used the right tactics maybe sub-2 min might have happened.
It was only her 7th 800 meters. She was a 400 meters specialist
"A very pretty little girl."
Different times...
Second!She is fast
Was this the 1st time for 800m in olympics . Women were considered to weak to go further than 400m in the past. How wrong they were.
Women ran the 800 in 1928, but several collapsed at the finish. So, they halted the event until 1960.
I am just glad the prettiest girl won...2018 it is usually the manliest.
She was 22, the same age Keely Hodginskon was in Paris
Near lack of commentary wonderful compared to nowadays when the BBC finds it necessary to take at least two dozen commentators to any Meet. "Pretty little thing" ha ha you'll not get away with that nowadays.
Even so David Coleman' s commentary was great as ever. Perhaps if that could be dubbed on to this that would make a great combination.
The commentary is fake, not live. It was added to the documentary. Not as bad as the Men's 100m though...
Runners' arm movements were very unnatural back then... very artificially low
@@robertluong220 upper body strength wasn’t emphasized.
68 age now was 12 then remember it well class🐱
Marise Chamberlain died today😢 Great women from a pioneering era.
No frippery delighted to have won great memory today mr bolt prancing and preening your a runner end of but the world today look at me look at me what did you perform a miracle did you stop wars no your a runner and yes you broke records but not with humility 😀
Basically zero training for the event and ran a world record time.
Patrick Stewart sent me here too!
Ive talked to her
David rudisha won the 800m final ??
Patrick Stewart sent me here
aye Captain!
"...a very pretty little girl..."
So patronising! She was only winning for her man! Who underachieved. She retired at 22? Maybe Brightwell couldn't stand the competition.
Ann was in a lousy position with 200 metres to go, but the last 100 was very impressive and I liked her form too.
The commentator was proper old school though. "Inside her, a very pretty little girl..." Just imagine Steve Cram saying that on the BBC today!
Nothing wrong with being "old school."
Time?
im not saying she is the most beautiful woman in the world ever... Im just watching !
Queen Charlotte?
I met her in real life in my school
And I’m not trying to show off.
This makes me feel ashamed of my 2:40 :(
The female Billy Mills.
@SubMan I think you got my point.
I had no idea haha! Wow XD
Whooohooi!
She is British not American you don't have shout Woohoo
And no trembling of lower lip.
this was back when the furthest distance that women could run was 800m since guys thought that running further would damage womens reproductive organs lol. Thankfully they were allowed to run whatever they wanted to over time
And the doping didn't ruin them? And other athletes?
oh ight ...
2 mins 1 sec on a cinder track. I wonder what today’s athletes would be able to run in those conditions.
Really interesting listening to the commentating, it sounds so dated lol
dominate i mean
このレースは、世界新記録樹立という素晴らしいものだが、もし🇰🇵辛金丹（シム・キムタン）が出場出来ていれば、🇬🇧パッカーの🥇は無かった筈で複雑な気分にさせられる。辛金丹は１９６３年に２分の壁を破っており、最終的には、1.58.0まで記録を伸ばし、🇩🇪ミュンヘン五輪当時の公認世界記録よりも上だった。北朝鮮がオリンピックに対抗するガネフォ（第三世界の新興国競技大会、インドネシア、中華人民共和国等）に参加していた為、出場が許されなかった訳だが、彼女は参加すべく、日本に来ていた。真の世界一決戦が観たかったのは、私だけでは無かったと思う。残念で仕方がない。
Thank you for that.
Your form could be very "beautiful" but nobody is gonna remember you for that. lol
They made History. They went to the olympics, not you. lol
Women those days had good sense. They knew this was an athletics field, so they showed up in true athletics gear. Today women mistake the athletics field for a swimming pool and show up in bikinis and bras ...so ugly!
Terrible camera work, never showed whole field. But great race by Ann. This is the time when the pretty females looked like females.
that form is off putting
Before the Eastern Bloc countries started using steroids!
Pretty little thing 😂
Ann Packer of England .... such ignorance.
back in those days when black people dont over take the running
Their form is horrible lol
@0:12 "Inside her is a very pretty little girl". Dreadful commentator, not just for that remark, which must have been questionable even in 1964, but for the whole race in general.
I enjoyed that truthful remark.
All white athletes I noticed.
The 800 in the next Olympics was won by a Black woman.