Coe vs.Ovett-1500m.Final,1980,Moscow Olympics,(with interview)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ก.พ. 2013
- With shades of Jim Ryun in '68,Ovett had gone into this final with over 40 straight mile/1500m. victories to his name,but,on the day it counted for nothing.With Straub's surging final two laps and Coe's blistering homestraight (12.1 for the last 100 metres) Ovett was,finally,found wanting,and Coe astonished one and all with one of the greatest sporting comebacks of all.
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I lived in Ireland at the time of the Coe / Ovett rivalry. I can always remember the 9 o'clock news being interrupted in order to go live to Oslo, Zurich, Brussles or wherever when Coe or Ovett were running. Phenomenal time for track and field and never repeated since.
I was in Ireland in 1981 when Coe broke the mile record in Zurich (I think). A few days later on the day I came back to England and Ovett reclaimed it - somewhere in Germany I think.
A couple of days later we were watching Coe in Brussels - me and my cousin were huge Coe fans and my Uncle and Our Kid were massive Ovett fans (my Dad was still in Ireland but was a Coe fan also). Watched in disbelief as Coe smashed the record again - he would have been 8m ahead of Ovett's mark and 10m ahead of his own a week earlier. Great days.
That’s a cool memory 👍
Agreed
IAM glad someone remembers it as I remembered the crowds a full stadium was unbelievable at that time of high unemployment
There was an Irishman in the mix too. Eamon Coughlin?
Amazing...I remember this so well. A slow pace was always going to play to Coe's strength...that sprint finish. The 1500 is for me the highlight of any olympics because it has endurance, power, tactics, luck, strength, cleverness....etc...all playing into the result. Forget the 100m power event...the 1500 is the ultimate mix of all the qualities needed to become a world class athlete.
I’d have to concur. It also helps looking at it from a British point of view😜. Especially as it looks like those Glory Days are possibly being revived.
I always remembered they avoided running against each other, it was all hyped up, pathetic really
@@bryangreen9672they didn’t avoid each other in championships, and obviously they were not going to set themselves up against the other in a WR attempt.
Ironic how days before Ovett took Coe’s pet race being the 800m, then Coe took Ovett’s pet 1500m event! Brilliant runners & favourites of mine! Cheers from Australia 🇦🇺
In the 80s in middle distance running everyone feared Seb Coe, Steve Ovett and Steve Cram. You also had Peter Elliot as well. A great time for British middle distance running.
Seb was my favourite as a kid. I'm a similar height but my running weight was around 70kg not 60kg like Seb. He was just amazing...
great Jürgen Straub
@@ebojfmdboojoh4023and Tom Mckean!
Magical days. I’ve been a massive fan of athletics since the 1984 Olympics but that turned out to be the tail end of this extraordinary and historic rivalry. Whilst both Coe and Ovett are indisputable greats (Coe arguably an all time great given that he would surely have one at least one WC gold had he not been ill in both 83 and 87) Cram didn’t quite achieve enough in terms of gold medals albeit he was absolutely unbeatable in 1985. He never beat Coe in a global final.
Fantastic commentary by Coleman
One of the greatest sporting moments. It was said that you were either for Coe or for Ovett. I loved them both!
I loved them both.... but I loved Coe more.
Me too, I loved both of them
Straub did a great gutsy run he can forever be deeply proud of
Those various anabolic steroids must have helped
@@garyloughran8211 him and thousands before and after him. Yet, a run he should be proud of
I don’t accept any East German medals or records.
@@stoolpigeon4285 I think Straub's arms went in the air at the end, not just because of the silver medal but that he had beaten Ovett, An athlete who had beaten him (Straub) so many times before.
@@stoolpigeon4285 Why should he be proud of likely being blood doped in the hours before that race, enabling him to race well beyond what he was normally and naturally capable of, denying Ovett not only silver, but possibly the gold (as it would have been a completely different race. Not to mention that Straub made his heat with Ovett unnecessarily fast, which left Ovett more tired than Coe for the final). Having said that, Crammy probably looked at that race and thought - 'hmm.. that's how you race against Coe and Ovett'. Not the drugs of course, but the tactics.
I saw Sebastian Coe run in the 4x400 relay for Loughborough University at Crystal Palace. Of course, he was the anchor but he was 30 yards behind when he took the baton. I thought, "He's not going to make that up!" I got to see world class speed that day, breathtaking!!
"You don't become a bad athlete in a week." What a great line that so many athletes need to hear. I coach high school runners. I need to show my guys this video and focus on that line. Don't ever give up.
Actually that's a similar thing Harry Wilson said about Buckner winning a high quality 5000m in the Euros' 1986. He was referring to his man, Ovett, trouncing both Buckner and Hutchings in the Commonwealth 5000m four weeks earlier but reversing it with Buckner to 'you don't become a great athlete in four weeks'
great race by Straub.
Trent Huff best silver of all time?
That last 800 must have been run in about 1:48, with Straub doing most of the work.
Up until this point the whole world had wondered what would happen with Coe and Ovett if they were both fully fit and neck and neck heading into the home straight. This race answered that question. 👍
Well, I was more of a Coe fan, being a Yorkshire man and what with Seb’s obvious connections with the region, even if he wasn’t born there. But to be fair to Steve it was one each, both having struck against the head in what was perceived to be the other’s strongest event.
Coe was always the pure sprinter - he had a 10.44 pb in the 100. But Ovett was the racer - steely under adversity, etc. But Coe was magnificent in his strategy in this race - he basically got the 800 he had wished for earlier in the week! 2:05.7 for the 1st 800??
Ovett said he was not fully engaged in the race emotionally after winning the 800. Coe on the other hand needed this race desperately to redeem himself after a tactically hapless race over the shorter distance where he was a clear favourite to win.
I don’t believe you can split Coe, Ovett and Cram in their respective prime form.
my favourite sporting moment of all time
I used to see Coe quite a lot when he lived in Sheffield.He ran past me once in November '79, on one of his training runs. He was a slight,slender figure - less than ten stone.He looked so graceful and classical.He had long legs too for a man who wasn't tall What an athlete.
marty dav brilliant runner , I agree with all your comments
Coe's last 400m was a 52.2
Coe's last 100m was a 12.1
Holy smokes
Almost as quick as Jim Ryun's 49.8 and 11.4 kick at Dusselford!!
@@richardmilliken5651 Yeah, that Dusseldorf race was insane.
There are varying claims for Ryun's splits. I've read his last 400m was run 50.6 (some sources say 51.2, some say 49.9). His last 300m was 36.4, his last 200m was 24.8, and his last 100m was 11.6. (At least from the sources I've found)
Coe also ran an 800m in Helsinki in 1981 with a final 100m in 11.3
If I recall correctly this was the fastest last 800m in a 1500m at the time despite straub not starting his run for home about 700m out
AND COE GETS THE REVENGE HE WANTS! Literally the most satisfying line in the whole of the Coe v Ovett rivalry
Not in my opinion
Great British Runners.🇬🇧
Coe just kicked into overdrive.👏🏼
The great era of long distance running, leaves me warm and cosy knowing i lived in this era and witnessed the greats first time round.
coe was a strong 200 runner and even when he was older continued to compete at club level in sprint type events. A champion will do what needs to be done. Most of us would avoid a sprint, embarrassed by getting thrashed in sprint events. But a champion has their eye on the bigger picture and a totally clear idea of process. Placing yourself under race conditions at a shorter distance hones your instinct about how to find extra pace when you might need it at 1500 or even beyond. Smart training.
That last 700m should carry a public health warning
52 for the last lap. Coe looked stressed for the last 600m. He didn't look as relaxed as he usually looks. But when he needed to kick it was devastating. One of the great major races of all time, even without some of top runners whose nations had boycotted. The winner wsa going to come from these two anyway.
I agree Coe did look stressed last 400m but found his kick
Steve Scott et al were not in the same league as Coe and Ovett, boycott didn't make any difference.
This was intense. Even in the Olympics I don't recall, as a fan, many races with this level of intensity.
That Coe kick .. 😍
Forty years ago today, and so more exciting than any of the subsequent Olympic 1500m finals
Wow, the 1984 final was pretty exciting too
Was a great race, but Rio 2016 final was far better!
@@gethinowen5180 in really,,,,how the hell is that???
@@simonedwards5564 slow tactical race with big burnout. Centrowitz dethroned the pre race favourites of Kiprop and Makhloufi.
Clearly a better race
@Richard Milliken come on!
The faster the face does not mean the more exciting...
I would much rather a final like rio, where Centrowitz, who was no where near the favourite, managed to beat the likes of kiprop and Makhloufi. As opposed to a final like Doha which was a ‘honest pace’ where Cheryiout goes off and makes it a battle for Silver instead of gold.
I don’t know how you can prefer the later...
Incredible running.......sprinting at that pace in middle distance running is something out of this world....First class 👍👌👌
Saw him in Central London 3 days ago at the Curzon cinema on Shaftesbury Avenue. Got star - struck and couldn't get any words out. Apparently it was the first showing of a Daley Thompson documentary. The swimmer Sharon Davies was also there.
Steve Crams hair must have been a major drag factor.
😂😂😂😂😂
He was only 20 then though.
9 times out of 10 Steve would’ve taken the silver, but Seb was great that day. 2 Legends.
Great period of athletics
How time flies I was 10 at the time. I don't remember watching this race the first time around. Love from the UK ❤️🙏👍
Overtime.. a complete natural...wat a runner..
awesome last 700m from 3 gods
I remember watching this and the 800m live. It was strange became Coe should have won the 800m and Ovette the 1500m and it turned out the complete opposite results. Both great runners.
Spot on 👍
2 amazing athletes. It's amazing they won eachothers favourite event.
Bloody brilliant was on a Friday afternoon was 16 never forget it
Brilliant by Straub, turned it into a fast 800m race. Supreme by Coe. Overt looked bit leggy after a hard week and one race too many
Coe & Ovett were two very classy runners, both had different styles but they were both class. I was more of an Ovett fan, but that's to take nothing away from my admiration for Coe. We were lucky as fans to have world class athletes to watch and I was 15 years old watching the Moscow Games. Sadly our Irish athletes didn't medal that year.
4th place finish for eamon Coughlin in an Olympic final twice.that has to hurt.
Coe was so ahead of his time he held the 800M world record for around 20 years until it was just broken recently.
Coe's WR was broken in 1997 by Wilson Kipketer. 16 years reign.
Two most dominant runners of the late 70s early 80s .Shame they didn't compete against each other more often .
They chose their races carefully not to run against each other too often!
12.1 last 100m! Never bettered in a major championship 1500.
Greek God-like, I say...
Coe is the most hated smug English bastard in the history of British athletics. That's a certainty man.
By you yes but not by me and plenty of other people
@@Revolver1981he might be smug,,, but in them time's / AFGHANISTAN GETTING INVADED BY RUSSIA/ SEB COE DEFYING HIS HEROINE MAGGIE THATCH/ ;A* _ FUKKA,,,, AND GOING TO MOSCOW /EVEN THOUGH MAGGIE TOLD THE ATHLETES NOT TO GO THEN "YOU'RE NOT GOING!!!!!!!!! AND GIVING US FANTASTIC MEMORIES MILLIONS WILL NEVER FORGET!!!!!!! OVETT AND COE WERE THAT ALOOF, THAT'S HOW THEY CARRIED ON,,,SO GENUINELY PROUD TO REPRESENT THEIR COUNTRY,,,,, EVEN TAKING THE CHANCE OF A REPEAT OF THE MUNICH TERRORIST DISASTER OF 1972 !!!!!!!! Smug????? Yeah,,, BUT COE,OVETT,CRAM ,THE WHOLE BRITISH TEAM WALK-IN INTO AN RUSSIAN OLYMPIC, MINEFIELD IN MOSCOW SMACK BANG IN THE MIDDLE OF A WAR BETWEEN RUSSIA AND AFGHANISTAN KNOWING THE FATALITY OF COMPETING IN THEM BOYCOTTED GAAMES//// THEY WE'RE,,,,,,,, BRAVE,,,,,, BEYOND COURAGEOUS,,,,,, and it all came out on sebs face at the end of the 1500,,,, LOOK !!!!!!!! Then LOOK AGAIN,,,,,,,,, !!!!!!! LEGEND !!!!!!SMUG?????? YES?? BUT A TRUE LEGEND!!!!!! AND! STEVE OVETT IS THE MAIN REASON COE DROVE HIMSELF ON SOOOO HARD IN TRAINING AND IN WHOLE RUNNING CAREER!!!!!!!!!!!! STEVE OVETT WAS THE ONE THAT PUSH THE BUTTON ON SEBS ROCKET POWER ,,,ALONG WITH HIS FATHER!!!!!!!!!!
Revolver sorry mate, incorrect, please delete your comment
43 years on I was 13 years old we was all glued too the television 🤣 well done SEB you must off been under so so much pressure must off been coaching himself with freight because he lost his race, 800meters wow.
Strange how certain periods in time, we became dominant in world class Sports, both men and women. Great runner's, Snooker players, Ice Skater's, football, Rugby etc , then periods of disapointment.
A tactically brilliant race by Seb. As he would do in '84 with Cram, Seb would keep the lead on his rivals and use his kick speed, especially over the final 150m, to win the day. No runner had Seb's top end speed at this distance, as both Ovett and Cram learned. (Great race by the Russian!)
Explain the 1986 European 1500m final, where Cram outkicked.Coe
@@redrum4100 explain how Coe whipped Cram in 1984. I'm sure Cram is loving looking at his Olympic silver, and Coe and Ovett are polishing the Olympic gold.
@@francishunt562 Easily explained. Cram became injured before the Olympics. His times leading up to the games suggested he would destroy Coe.
@@redrum4100But he didn’t, end of. Ultimately Coe has a much better record in World and Olympic terms. Cram was a terrific runner for sure.
All that is besides the point I originally made, which was if "No runner had Seb's top end speed at this distance, as both Ovett and Cram learned" then why did he not outkick Cram at the 1986 Europeans, especially when he, Coe, was clearly super fit. The original poster simply answered the question with another question, and you have carried on where that left off, but as yet nobody has answered my question.
watched it again for the millionth time-ovett let coe win
Ovett was never in the race, look at his positioning throughout. Yet he was so experienced
@@boneidol20 watch ovett vs cram 1983 where ovett didnt let cram win.you will see what i mean-big difference
Ovett was not mentally 100% in this race just like coe wasn't in the 800. If the 1500 had been first ovett would of won it.
Not necessarily, because although both held World records in events both lost, Overt did tend to get boxed in a lot. Cram was unpredictable too, but Coe was the tachtician. Surprising, that he lost the 800, but that intensified his focus on the 1500.
@@davidbaldwin133 I agree. Ovett didn't have the same edge after he had won the 800m. He said his feeling was "I've won my gold, I want to go home."
Coe, Cram and Ovett would again meet in the final of the 1500 in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, Ovett dropped out in the middle of the race due to respiratory problems and Coe outran Cram in the stretch to not only win, but break the Olympic record in what many consider to be one of the greatest 1500 finals in Olympic history.
Ovett was the record holder at the time.
Well Cram won the World 1500m title in 85 and broke the World Record. I'd take a World Record over an olympic record anyday
@@ebojfmdboojoh4023 Cram wouldn’t
@@ossyable I think he would. But if you offered him an Olympic Gold medal in replace of his World Record he definitely would take the Olympic Gold Medal.
@@ebojfmdboojoh4023 I’m bit confused as you appear to be making both arguments. I have heard Cram say world records are eventually broken but you can never take away your gold medals.
They could still win international meets today.
Both won each other’s best distance
Coe learned a lesson from the previous 800 by not being way behind this time. He should have won that 800 but made a bad error by getting so far behind.
Apart from the obvious Brit glory, I forever remember Straub's reaction in this race. As he crosses the line he feels like has won the Earth by getting 2nd! So he had: it was incredibly gutsy to go for it 600m out, and his best hope beforehand was orobably to beat 'the rest' and get bronze, but when he'd split the big two he felt 'wow'!
Good job!
He dared anyone to challenge him and won. Good job.
Seb Coe war einfach einmalig.
Aber 1980 hat er von Thomas Wessinghages Abwesenheit profitiert: er war der einzige, der Coe den Sieg streitig hätte machen können
At 3:35 Coleman spots the break almost before Straub makes it!
Ideal race for Seb, it was almost an 800m.
most natural runner I've seen Coe
Final stretch, Ovett let's up when he knows it won't be 1st place.
Sebastian coe... wow this is back in the day before we knew we could run...
Wouldn't be surprised if Coe could do 45 in a 400.
Matt Bonneville his pb was I believe 46.9 but he rarely ran the event. He did run 4*400m relays and had 45 second splits . I agree , if he actually trained and concenterated on 400m he would have been sub 46 seconds.
@@darrenshaw767 I always though that Jeremy Wariner should have moved up to 800 later in his career, he had that easy speed that Coe had.
45.5 on relay.
Matt Bonneville he did
@@MrLuigiFercotti you don't say that Coe had the same speed as Wariner, that's just plain crazy.
He ran a 46 400 against Wariner's 43.4 400 m. Not even close. If Coe focused on 400 m he could do a low 45.
I always liked Ovett but Coe knew from the bell that he had this race under his control.
Coe always trained for speed first, which paid off big here in the final 150 meters.
they both trained for speed and endurance.
What the current runners need to do.
No he trained his endurance
@@VictorOctavian coe a speed merchant similar juantorena, what nonsense. The Cuban was Olympic champion over 400
@@VictorOctavian I know for a fact, that juantorena, had far superior basic speed than coe, more than two seconds quicker, they very different types of 800 meter runners.
most natural runner I've seen
Good effort from a young Cram.
Great race and hilarious subtitles! “Co second and a vet in third” 😂😂
the coe ovett rivalry would make for a great movie
Going into the Olympics, Coe held the world record in the 800m and Ovett had the world record in the 1500m. So of course Ovett won the 800 and Coe won the 1500 😆
HE FUCKING LET COE WIN
Bu yarışta favori Ovet idi, fakat Coe aldı..
It came down to who was in front
Everyone wrote him off they said ... obviously didn't know the man , at all
If I looked at the clock right....did they run that last 400 in 48 seconds? Good grief!
No about 52 secs... still fast tho
53. the last 300 in is about 39.8 that gives about 53. still very fast. Coes 1500m Olympic record in 1984,. could have easily beaten HeG.
@@mathematics5573 Coe's closing splits here were - 52.2, 38.6, 25.0, 12.1
In LA (which was quite a bit quicker overall) they were - 53.2, 39.2, 25.7, 12.7
No, look at the clock again !
@@VictorOctavian Welcome.
I wonder how many people really know why Ovett lost the race? I think the whole Irish team know. He thought it was going to be an easy win so decided to stay up late on the eve of the final..... with the Irish team who were celebrating something, anyone know what?
Ovett appeared to be strugglng all the way the final 300 meters. He was just only keeping up with the leaders. Silver was within his power but he could not do much in the final home stretch. By contrast Coe was in powerful command of the race and was unbeatable on the day.
Opening song?!
When does the movie come out
No Union Jack or National Anthem plays at medals at ceremony!
Indeed. The Thatcher government did not want the athletes to go, but did not actively prohibit them, as the Yanks did. Good thing as well, as this contest between Coe and Ovett was (for my heart and soul) the most dramatic athletics confrontation ever witnessed...
Just to add: African nations were banned from the 1976 Olympics too.
@@charliemagri1669 They weren't banned, they chose to boycott the Games in protest at the IOC's refusal to ban New Zealand after their rugby side had toured South Africa.
what is the music to start the video?
Something called "New Day" from freeplaymusic.com . I used it because they said it was copyright free but when I uploaded this video they claimed copyright! Lesson learnt...
What was the intro music?
Something called "New Day" from freeplaymusic.com . I used it because they said it was copyright free but when I uploaded this video they claimed copyright! Lesson learnt...
The first loss by Overt to the East German, but as Coemhad the biggest kick, why did Overt wait so long to go?
im not sure coe had a better kick than ovett tbh,this race was about who wanted/needed it most.ovett also made his old mistake of concentrating on coe and not the race in general
Because they were already kicking with 700 m to go !!!!!!!!!!! Then 12,1 LAST 100 M !!!!!!!!!!
My thought is that Ovett's only chance would have been to make a long, hard run for home with perhaps 300m to go, but Coe would likely have not let him pass anyway -- he kept himself in front of Ovett the whole race. He had the same strategy against Cram in '84. And not to take anything away from Ovett's brilliant 800m win in '80, but Coe gave away his own chance to win that race by being way too far off the pace with 200m remaining. It all made for great Olympic drama!
@@gowers1972 the result of the 800m was the deciding factor in the outcome of this race. Had the 1500 been first ovett would of won.
Possibly correct. Coe admitted in his book that he couldn't get focussed on the 800- a rare event for him - but Ovett 's style was unpredictable and it's unbelievable that he still had the 1500 World record in 1984, so could have come out with no gold in that event. That was Coe's main event.
what the hell was steve cram doing in that race?!
if only ovett didnt have a hangover
05:39 - The arguments will go on...
Coe=Beatles; Ovett=Stones
Interrupt the bloody news! How dare they .
What is the commentator name?
Wanted ovett but credit seb
Coe. Grit.
1960 Roma - 1500m - Herbert Elliott 3:35 min. !
mtgne 53 + surely not that fast ?
Yes, but Coe win 2 gold medals to 2 jo at 1500 m.
He was ill in 1988, but the UK federation didn't allow him to defend his title!
coe now world athletics chief
Оветт подарил победу Коэ!
Coe is such a drama queen. Looks camp AF when he wins. Ovett was rougher round the edges lol
I think it was pure relief coming out in him after the 800m and the stick he took from the British press leading up to the 1500m.
these two or even three of GB could have done the relays in the 4 x 400 would win it .
A great run by Coe considering he lost to Ovett in his favoured 800M. Ovett didn’t even take silver!
5:37 The crowd seemed tame to be honest. (I see the USSR filled the stands with TSCKA fans.)
Was really strange race strain never beat ovett in any other race other than the Olympic final,3years before in the World Cup in Germany ovett decimated strawb and the whole field in 3 34 1500 ,strain did the first heat of the Olympic Games in 3 36 and ovett said that was a tactical plan by staunch,because ovett had won 45 races at 1500 without defeat he finished ahead of him in the heat,plus in ovett book he said winning the 800 had taken a bit away,plus had a row with mum before the final,it seems that all people talk about is times ie cram being faster than ovett ,but he never got a gold medal,I belive ovett could have run 1 42 if that was needed to win an Olympic gold medal,he didn’t need to do that ,but he did a50 second last lap in the 800,,I agree that after the accident with church railings in 1981 December he was never guite so good,and I belive he overstrained going into los angless,I still fell that on his day he couldn’t beaten any miler.
poor race tactically by overtime allowing it to slow and play into the hands of the 800m runner.
coe was criticised for bad tactics in the 800m final but overtime run a worse tactical race, getting boxed but then got lucky.
two great athletes.
You are correct.
Ovett tactically messed up in both and got lucky in one.
Two I great athletes.
Sebastian Coe bem Jovem
6. Jozef Plachý 3:40.7
And then the 🇰🇪 Kenyans came along.....Game over
It is not just a coincidence that the Kenyans advancement to the top of the middle and distance ranks, was accompanied by the arrival of EPO and the surge of Western coaches and doctors converging on remote areas in Africa, where stringent out of season drug testing did not take place for decaded! UNlike the rest of the world. Since the IAAF established drug testing laboratories and enforced random out of season testing for Kenyans a few years back, there has been an explosion of elite (Olympic and world medalists, world record holders, etc) Kenyans being caught and banned for drug use.
Yes, there are many talented Kenyan distance runners, probably more in depth talent than anywhere else in the world, but people are naive to think that (many) of them weren't helped along the way.
@@deano27671 I fear that you are spot on here. Tragic
Jakob Ingebrigtsen : hold my lutefisk
This is the first time I feel Ovett knew Coe had his number.
Coe looks like a 15y old in the interview 😂
Come the golden boy I wanted Steve to tank him again pure toff Come brilliant runner but a pure bore
Mm
As in Los Angeles another depleted field. For one reason or another, no Filbert Bayi, John Walker, Steve Scott, Ivo Van Damme and David Moorcroft. Coe had all the luck in 80/84 but then you can only run against what’s put in front of you and he very efficiently saw off the opposition on both occasions.
Non of the above would have got near him.
Coe beat Bayi, Walker and Scott about 10 days after Moscow in Zurich, missing the world record by 0.1sec. Van Damme died in 1977, so it would have taken exceptional dark forces for him to have materialised in Moscow 3 years later! RIP.
Coe was the greatest middle distance runner of his era. He won 2 consecutive golds at the Olympics for the 1500 metres and consistently broke the world record.
@@deano27671 Of course. We don't know how much of a rival Van Damme would have become.
US boycoted these games
That's true but Coe was better than the best Americans at the 1500 metres. Coe won the 1500 metres in LA in 1984 as well.
I honestly believe that Coe was better than Ovett in the 1500 despite Ovett's record over the previous few years. Ovett was in the perfect position but couldn't match Coe's kick.
Phoebe Bloomfield True.Coe simply had a faster kick.Ovett did everything right tactically but it wasn't enough.
In that case ovett was a better 800m runner than coe he beat him easily in the 1978 European final and the 1980 Olympic final? Coe had everything to prove in this race ovett was mentally coming down from the elation of winning the 800m. People forget that if coe was so good why did he get beat by Don paige of the USA ten days later in Italy over 800m. Paige never broke 1.44 in his career. The reason was probably he was suffering the same comedown ovett was feeling in the 1500m final. Had they raced shortly after Moscow over 1500m I would of backed ovett to win as he would of had a longer spell to refocus. Coe has recently admitted that ovett was very likely affected by the 800m result in a negative way in this race and was clearly no where near 100%. This was clearly the biggest factor in the result and not straubs long run for home which coe himself for years claimed helped him. Both were phenomenal athletes and I believe they were as good as each other and 1 gold each was a fair reflection of this.
@@davidbaldwin133 Coe (1:44.3 pb at time) was not the finished article in 78, whereas Ovett was already at the peak of his powers. In the 800 final in Moscow Coe closed (last 200 and 100) faster than Ovett and gained marginally on him, despite having to run every bend wide. But Ovett won fair and square. In the 1500, Ovett ran a great tactical race (unlike Coe in the 800), was practically level with Coe at 100m to go, and was left in Coe's wake (12.1 to 12.6). Ovett never finished an international 1500m with a faster last 100m than Coe did that day.
Coe was beaten by Paige (who was actually ranked World No. 1 that year, above Ovett, so no slouch) 2 weeks after the 1500 final, not 10 days later, and in between that he easily won an 800m in 1:45 and the Zurich 1500m, beating all those athletes that were missing in Moscow, missing the WR by just 0.16secs! He was then down to run an 800m at Viareggio less than 24 hours later, expecting an easy run while honouring a commitment to the event organiser (he had run there the previous 2 seasons). Once he arrived he was told that Paige, who had been absent from Moscow, was down to run, and for him it was his Olympic final. Paige won by 0.03 and Coe ended his season after discovering shortly after that he had a pelvic displacement. That was Coe's only other loss over 800m (the Moscow final being the other) betweem Aug 78 and Sep 82.