Thank you for this great comment, Mark. I'm glad you enjoyed it. You may also like my other full documentary video on Ian Stewart? Feel free to check it out?
I loved this as well, thanks so much for the effort and care in putting it together! I idolized these guys as a schoolboy in the 1980's, and Byers' win remains one of my all-time favourite track stories.
I remember watching this race live, Byers set the correct pace, but the field behind him were all top runners so they did not follow him. When the race over Ovett was interviewed, was asked what happened, he said at least I finished second look at those guys behind me. Very funny.
Thanks for the great comment, Derek! I think I vaguely remember that, now that you've mentioned it! I think that must've been the beginning of his colourful excuses for this!
Wow, that era was even better than I remember, and I got into athletics because of these guys as I grew up with them and I’m British and we had quite a few world class runners who won everything it felt like. Never realised how good the foreign contingent were…
Thanks for the great comment, Seneca's Adoptive Son. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Yes, it was my era too. I'll be doing more videos like this in the future, and please check out my other full length documentary on Ian Stewart?
Thank you for your comment, Kadim. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Feel free to check out my other athletics documentaries on my channel. And I'll be making more in the future, as time permits.
Tom Byers was not only one of the most talented runners I met, but also one of the most amiable and unassuming. I remember Bill Dellinger putting him through repeat 1200s at about 2:55. I would bleed to have that kind of talent. Didn't know the guy well, but even so he was one of my favorite "stud" runners in Eugene in the early 80s. There may be some truth in Steve Scott's "reckless nut case" comment, but Tom was sure entertaining to watch.
Thanks for the great comment, John. In his interviews in T&FN, he does come across as an emotional man and thus lacked some control and discipline. That's unfortunate, because his Prefontaine Classic win, as shown in the video, showed what tremendous talent he had, closing the last 200m in 25 seconds flat while easing up in the last few strides. If he had held back for another 100m in the US Trials he could have beaten Scott in the same way, but you just see him strike with 270m left which gave Scott enough time to react. Scott could never close the last 200 in 25s.
@@PrentisHancock1 He was probably sick at the way he failed to perform but it is possible his slow pace was due to being off form on the day - but that would still leave a pretty disgraceful performance by the rest
You raise a couple of very good points. Runners do have good days and bad days and you never know exactly how your body is going to perform when you get out of bed in the morning. On that day, there were several conspiring factors at play: Ovett not in the mood, the rest of the field following Ovett, erroneous lap times being called out and of course, Byers being in the mood. At that level, the difference between running a 56 lap and a 62 lap is quite hard to tell. The pack were stuck in a collective delusion. The more likely scenario we could have expected in this situation is to see two packs develop. But they had too much respect for Steve. Steve and Tom summed up their perspectives perfectly.
What a great documentary and explanation. I was a kid when I watched this live. Most of the summer athletics were broadcast live on a Friday night for that golden period.
Thanks for the great comment, Paul. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Yes indeed, and athletics was so popular then; I remember the stadiums were always packed.
Same, he did fantastic pacemaking at Zurich,I remember when smaller, being very disappointed that seb Coe only broke the mile record that evening because he was going for both overt record 1,500 3.31.36 and 3.48.8..the atmosphere on the TV at Zurich Switzerland was unbelievable and David Coleman on BBC was brilliant during the race ,and you could see the support of the athletes on the outside of the track was packed , the commonwealth games in 1974 was the start of that middle distance golden period 2004 was the end
@anfield8 : Yes, I remember thinking that too. If you look carefully at the race in the video, you can just about see the officials at the 1500m mark and just to their left is the electronic timing camera. Coe was quite a bit off hitting the 1500 record with 3:33.28.
@@PrentisHancock1 Yes and in Brussels few days after he was ,2-3 second up on course to run 3.46 or faster the 1,500 was 3.32 which he ran 3.47 , which was a great time but not a balance run should of had both record in that race
3:32.93. It was a statistical rarity that number as Coe achieved it twice and Ovett also achieved it once. Coe and Ovett also achieved a 3:31.95 1500 one day apart in 1981!
Great piece on a special hare. The talented and hard working athletes that set the pace for the very best are quite under appreciated, and this video does a great job of telling the fantastic story of Byers!
Tom Byers was a total running stud. I was doing a long run one afternoon in 1982 in Alton Baker Park, doing my typical 7:00 pace, and he flew past me like I was standing still. You could always tell it was him, by the hair, it was a lion's mane.
Thanks for the upload. I remember watching Byers' victory in 1981 on 'Sportsnight'. It's only taken me almost 40 years to watch it again! What a great era of middle distance runners.
@@PrentisHancock1 I was 14, I remember the realization that Byers might actually pull of the shock as he came round the bend before the bell. Incredible race, glad he hung on for the win.
I was 15. To me, it brought home the excitement of athletics - that the favourite doesn't always win - that there will always be surprises, like when Steve Ovett comprehensively beat Seb Coe in the 800m in Moscow. I'm putting the finishing touches on another full athletics documentary on a great British athlete from the 1970s. I'll be releasing it in a few days.
Thanks so much for the video Prentis, I was a huge Ovett fan, and remember this race and story vaguely, and do remember Tom as a contender in this era but as I was a child at the time this video puts context to it all for me, so thank you, what an era that was for athletics!! Very much looking forward to your Ovett video.
Thank you for the great comment, Ed. Yes, it was a great era, and I'll be telling more athletics stories from it, as well as covering more interesting angles on athletics that are not usually covered by other channels. My Ovett video is still some way away and I've actually now got in mind three videos I hope to do on him, which I hope will be interesting for viewers. However, they do take me a long time to do. And in between I'm also gearing up to increase my athletics focus on the channel with some smaller videos. Thanks for watching and I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Those mile races back in the late 70s, early 80s were epic with Ovett, Coghlan, Scott, Coe, Maree, Masback.....and Byers was involved in most of them. The races just seemed surreal because they were overseas and always at night it seemed.
Thank you for the great film footage. I'm from the same era as Byers and Scott and I'd have to agree with Scott's evaluation of Tom Byers. Yes, he was "flaky" but I'd say in a good way, but I do believe he had the most natural talent of all, and I mean ALL top runners at that time. I'm not sure what was missing but if I were to guess, I'd say his free spirit attitude would interrupt often with his goals and workouts. The spartan attitude that is needed at world class running was counter to this free spirit mindset.
Thanks for the great comment, Dash. Well, he did achieve five major circuit wins. And he qualified for the World Championships and made it to the semis. And his times are still good even by today's standards.
Tom was a great runner in his own right, no matter what others may think or say. I was on the Ohio State track team with him. In the 1974 Big Ten championship indoor meet he ran 2:06.6 for the 1000 yards, I believe an American record. Like all athletes he had some injury problems. His most famous faux pas was in the 1976 Olympic trials. Just went out too fast in the 1500… When I asked him why, he thought for a minute and said, hey listen I didn't see you at the trials...I'm sure he was tired of being asked that question. I only wish I had the success he had! I thought he was an amazing runner and the excitement he gave fans including myself was incredible! Not to mention he and his family saved my bacon at our orientation at Ohio State as my vehicle broke down. If he reads this, you were amazing Tom, and your accomplishments were nothing short of amazing! I'm proud to have known you!
Thank you for the great comment, David. It's great to have someone who knows Tom, or who knew Tom, leave a comment. I didn't know about the 1000 yards time he did - that's very impressive. That converts to 920m, which equals a 1:50 800m, and a 2:17.6 1000m. That's excellent for 1974, when he was 19! At his peak in 1982, I think his mile time of 3:50.84 was worth a 3:32.8 for the 1500m, so he always performed better over the mile than the 1500.
Thanks for posting the videos. I learned a great deal as I lost touch with all of the distance runners. The video shows Steve Scott calling him a flake yet he beat Scott twice in the fifth Ave mile... Thanks again.
I like the way the commentator in the US Trials race says Byers had had an "enigmatic and erratic career". He ran Scott really close that day and could have won if he held back his kick until the last 150m.
I mentioned his 2:16.1 1000m win in the video - but it wasn't an American record it was the second fastest by an American at the time, and it is still the third fastest. The fastest is by Rick Wohlhuter, whom, funnily enough, I made a video about and posted only a few days ago, please see: th-cam.com/video/COC4wuDjkGE/w-d-xo.html
Fantastic storytelling. I remember Tom Byers around 1981, at the USA National Relay Championships in Toms River, New Jersey, trying to hitch a ride after the Meet. Tom shared a car ride with my family. He had the physique of a miler, but his early successes were far behind him. He took a big risk moving his family to Eugene, Oregon, where it eventually paid off earning him a coveted spot on the Nike Athletics West Team. From there, his running career blossomed. In life, you have to take risks others refuse to take and commit your best effort. Then you can look back without regrets. And who knows, maybe you might surprise yourself and others. Maybe they should rename that town to Toms River Byers, NJ.
Thank you for the great comment, James. I find your point about the "physique of a miler" interesting. There are many different physiques and the 1980s era epitomised them particularly well. You had Coe, at 5'9" and barely 9 stone looking like a skinny waif, and you had Cram at 6'2", tall and long-striding. But one thing they all had in common was that they were very light. Even Tom, at nearly 6'2", and with a huge barrel-chest, comparing him against Coe, was still barely 10 stone. The metabolic rate of top class athletes is quite extraordinary.
@@PrentisHancock1 I was in a 800-meter race in Via Reggio, Italy, where Don Paige defeated Sebastian Coe, the 800 meter Olympic silver medalist and world record holder, by 0.03 seconds. Later that year, Track & Field News magazine ranked Don number one in the world for the 800m. Not to take anything away from Don's accomplishment--he could have been an Olympic Medalist---but Coe and his father had to be convinced by Paige to run that race, since Coe was still recovering from a 1500M race he ran a few days earlier, whereas Don was coming off an 800M race he had run a few days earlier.
You ran in that race? Wow, you ran in quite some company there! I do recall reading about that rare defeat for Coe by Paige, and it was quite a ridiculous ranking by Track and Field News. There is no way any athlete would not rate the Olympic Champion in that year as the top ranked athlete. That should have made Steve Ovett number one in the 800m in 1980, with Coe at number two. But certainly not Don Paige.
Hi James, I've found this page of stats which shows YOU at 87th over 800m in 1979 in 1:47.76 but there's no record of this performance on World Athletics' Stats Zone? Have you thought about contacting them to register your historic performances? digilander.libero.it/Mennea/Stagionali/WRL/1979/800.htm
So down to earth guy,heard him say if we ran the race 10 times I might win 2 of them.My cousin said he saw him at a track in Maumee Ohio.Asked to see his olympic gold,so he went home and got it to show them.One of my fond memories watching him run.
Another very good video, very well researched, and very informative. I have mixed feelings on races where pacemakers or rabbits are used, if an athlete is good enough he or she should have the talent to do it themselves. A case I will cite is the 1968 1500 metres Olympic final won by Kip Keino, Ben Jipcho his team mate basically sacrificed his chance of a medal by being a front runner or rabbit for Keino, they conspired to mess up Jim Ryuns chances, although Keino has always denied it. Getting back to Byers ,he was a good enough athlete in his own right to not just be a pacemaker. Keep the videos coming
Jipcho was never seriously going to get a medal in '68 and I'm not sure if he really helped Keino. But Ryun seriously misjudged the race and Keino, despite his own issues at the time ran a fantastic race. I loved the commentary where Coleman says the Kenyans have taken Ryun for a ride. But there were other cases of championship pacemaking as well. All totally unwarranted - and irrelevant. Thank you for another great comment John M!
Do you know Tom Byers? It would be fantastic if someone who knows him could tell him about this video so he can watch it and remember his glory days! Who knows, maybe he could even post a comment here to give us some more personal insights? Tom, it would be great to hear from you!
I was the same age as Tom, and was an NCAA 3 mile and 6 mile qualifier while at Ball State (in Indiana). After college, I moved to Louisville to train with British Olympian Nick Rose and his roommate, Swag Hartel. We ran a cross country race in Atlanta against several other clubs, and hung out with Tom afterward. Tom seemed interested in joining our club and moving to Louisville, and we talked about rooming together there. He ended up moving to Oregon, and his career really took off again! I loved watching this video!
Thank you for the great comment, Dave! You're about the third or fourth athlete who knew Tom who has commented in recent days! And you knew Nick Rose as well! Another very interesting athlete, whom I remember making a very bold move during a 5000m race, though I can't remember exactly which one now. I'm glad you enjoyed the video.
"We thought the world record pace was remarkably easy" yeah dummy cos you weren't going at it, Byers was and you didn't trust him. Can't believe Ovett had the gall to blame being ill rather than admit it was his own mistake that made him lose...
Thanks for the great comment, Regiseal33. Check out my other doco on Ian Stewart for more surprising racing tactics. What events do you run? Good luck in your athletics career.
@@PrentisHancock1 I run cross country in the fall (8k-10k), and I run 1500m/3k/5k during indoor and outdoor track. The Ian Stewart video surprised me because I pulled a similar tactic during my high school career, at the cross country state championships when my competitors deferred to me for the pace. I ended up placing second only behind my teammate and friend, and we won the team race, so it worked out!
@@PrentisHancock1 I dropped the pace. About 2000m into the ~5200m cross country race, I noticed I was in 1st or 2nd and a large pack was lurking a few meters behind, keying off my pace since I was the favorite to win. I slowed down and waved them on, not wanting to do all the work on my own. I tucked in behind them for 1200m or so, and then myself and my teammate kicked past them, making a long drive a mile from the finish to take 1st and 2nd.
That's an awesome story, Regiseal33! Unlucky you didn't pull off the win as well. But it's great to have memories like that, of races that you enjoyed.
Tom Byers was a darn good runner while at Ohio State. If I remember correctly he got injured just before his Senior year and never hit his full potential. So even though he was a pacemaker in this race, he still was no slouch.
Thanks for the great comment , Robert. Agreed. I think his 2:16.1 for the 1000 metres and his 3:50.84 for the mile are testament to his talent. These performances have very rarely been surpassed by American athletes in the last 40 years.
Certainly in Britain we only knew Byers because of his win in the Bislett 1500m race. There were no news stories, neither on TV nor in the newspapers, of any of his other wins, so what Ovett said is perfectly true. But Ovett knew differently and had more respect for Byers than that so what he is saying here is what is known as "teasing", or "joking", or "ribbing". The amount of comments about Steve being a sore loser is quite amusing.
Same thing Happened from what I have seen and read of the 1992 or 1993 LA marathon where nobody could keep up in the heat and the pacer who just locked on and could not stop due in part to some heat issues the pacer had set a then course record, not world but course. Also prompted the runner to come out of retirement from racing and run at some events and pace at others.
@@PrentisHancock1 It was 1994 and I know very little as it was only Mentioned in the NBC nightly news when I was 4. Paul Pilkington is the guy who won and it was in a small article on the guy in 2010's when that female teacher semi-Elite won the LA marathon racing from within the regular average person starting point and they did not giver her the win, not a course record if she won due to that being from starting gun for older pre timing mat races. It was later in same article added to a lot of Marathon and 1/2 races as well as some 10k and 5k events that are bigger/more prestige meaning faster racers/fast race course in the USA to warrant the need to have a Smi-elite group to start behind on both elite male and female sides if they did not have one already or one had been sort of formed by the racers themselves petitioning wanting it/need for Semi-Elite racers before the LA women's mistake.
Even as a Brit I LOATHED OVETT He could never acknowledge the wins of other athletes, he ALWAYS had an excuse for losing & was a big headed arrogant & often troublesome man not particularly liked by his fellow competitors. It was in stark contrast to fellow Brits Coe & Cram who are still highly regarded. It's great to see John Walker, he was a great champion & another exemplary athlete
Hi Jacqui, your perspective on Steve Ovett may be a little unfair. On many occasions, he acknowledged and praised his rivals, including Wessinghage, Coe, Cram, and several others. The way he was portrayed in the press at the time was very unfair and was borne out of his reluctance to give them "the story", "the scoop", as he was a very shy and introverted man and liked to keep his privacy to himself, which they resented, and cast him as the villain. Even Coe eventually gave a vicious "F U" to the press when he crossed the finish line in the Olympic 1500m final in 1984. No one has done more for popularising British track and field athletics in the last 50 years than Steve Ovett. I'll actually be making a video about this some time in the future. Thanks for watching.
@@PrentisHancock1 Yes, in this wonderful documentary, i thought that the interview with Ovett was one of the highlights... he came off surprisingly personable, interesting, articulate, with a great smile...!
Tom could have benefitted greatly from having a coach teach him better racing strategies. Maybe Bill Dellinger did teach him these things but maybe Tom didn't listen or didn't learn? It would be interesting to hear Tom's own testimony.
@@PrentisHancock1 I was mistaken. This Tom Byers’ full name is Thomas Byers Jr. However, it was his son, Thomas Byers III, that died by getting hit by a train. The fact he gave his son nearly the same name confused me. RIP Tom Byers’s son then.
The problem is that if the runners in a race believe that the pacemaker s going to drop out, then they effectively rule him out of the equation i.e. they are not going to include him in their race tactics. I imagine these days, in the diamond league circuit, pacemakers are told that they must drop out...or not get paid!
If you were a race organiser wouldn't you love to have a pace setter who can potentially win the race? This way everyone is on their toes and are more likely to follow the pace.
A runner who sets out with running a fast pace as their race plan can win easily and there are many examples. Think David Rudisha in 2012, or Timothy Cheruyiot in 2019, or Filbert Bayi in 1974.
In 1980, I ran an 800 Meter race in Houston, TX the week after the Penn Relays. I boarded a crowded elevator in the hotel parking garage. When we reach the lobby, Steve Ovett squeezes himself into the elevator. His facial expression and body language evoked a feeling like you better not be running the mile. I chalked it up to different cultures. In the USA, there's the three-foot rule. I guess in the UK it's the three-meter rule.
Thanks for the great comment, James! Believe it or not, Steve is a very shy man so I suspect it was not disdain but rather he felt very uncomfortable in that elevator.
@@PrentisHancock1 It was more akin to a hilarious pre-fight staredown. Maybe he recognized my face from Track & Field News where I ran a 1200 meter lead-off leg (2:51.7) on Georgetown University's World Record Distance Medley Relay Team at the 1980 Penn Relays. Even though Villanova won the race by less than one second, their team was comprised of mixed nationals (Sydnee Maree was still a South African citizen). According to USA TAC, it was the only undisputed running world record on American soil that year. Greta Waitz had run the fastest ever marathon for a woman by more than four minutes at the 1980 New York Marathon, but the course distance was later disputed.
Thanks for putting this together. There used to be a good video of his victory as a pacemaker on youtube but I don't see it anymore, unfortunately. Had you seen it or know what happened to it?
In his autobiography (more reliable than a biography written by a journalist who never talked to Ovett?) Ovett says that the times being shouted at the main field each lap were Byers' times and not theirs. They all thought they were having that day of days when WR pace came so easily! More likely that when everybody realised that Byers was not being followed they sort of forgot about him and concentrated on beating those athletes that they were really there to beat. Take Byers out of it and you have a really good race!
Hi Mark, well, that matches with what I said in the video at 9:22. Really, though, Steve should have known, and should have been asking himself, "why are all these runners able to keep up with me when normally they drop off my pace?"
I’ve watch athletics for 40 years and never heard them called ‘rabbits’ in the uk, never. Also if you are a pacemaker you are specifically paid for that job and not in the race so you can’t win it, plus the other runners can ask you to set any pace they want they don’t have to follow that pace it’s up to them. There are so many wrong assumptions here, lots of people that are fast don’t make good tacticians or racers and lots of racers that never get near a fast time especially in the longer running events win plenty of races because they are smart. Obviously it’s good if you are both
Hi Christopher, maybe you've not been paying much attention? It's been very common for over 40 years. Pacemakers can, and do, win races. There is no contractual obligation on them to drop out once they have completed the specified distance at the agreed pace. After that, a pacemaker is an ordinary competitor in the event, and is eligible to finish. What you said is correct, the favoured runner, or runners, might ask for a specific pace and then not go with it - that's what happened with the Byers 1500m race. The only assumption is to make no assumptions. That's the beauty of racing.
99th fastest miler of all time and 68th fastest 1km of all time. And only 87 men have bettered his mile time in the last 39 years - that's an average of 2.23 new men a year. I'd say that's pretty good, wouldn't you?
In that race against Scott and Maree, Tom used up too much energy with that burst down the final back straight. If he had waited a while, he could have won the race.
If you were sick, why did you compete? Surely a bad performance would ruin your image and reputation. I don't buy it. How ungracious in defeat. Obvious envy, fake laughter. I can see why he aint the People's Champ....
Thank you so, so much for this video. It was like a great history class on a brilliant runner whom I clearly did not know enough about before.
Thank you for this great comment, Mark. I'm glad you enjoyed it. You may also like my other full documentary video on Ian Stewart? Feel free to check it out?
I totally agree Mark .
I loved this as well, thanks so much for the effort and care in putting it together! I idolized these guys as a schoolboy in the 1980's, and Byers' win remains one of my all-time favourite track stories.
I'm glad you enjoyed it, Mark W.
I'm glad you enjoyed it, Julius.
I remember watching this race live, Byers set the correct pace, but the field behind him were all top runners so they did not follow him. When the race over Ovett was interviewed, was asked what happened, he said at least I finished second look at those guys behind me. Very funny.
Thanks for the great comment, Derek! I think I vaguely remember that, now that you've mentioned it! I think that must've been the beginning of his colourful excuses for this!
Ovett looked really salty in that interview haha
Wow, that era was even better than I remember, and I got into athletics because of these guys as I grew up with them and I’m British and we had quite a few world class runners who won everything it felt like. Never realised how good the foreign contingent were…
Thanks for the great comment, Seneca's Adoptive Son. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Yes, it was my era too. I'll be doing more videos like this in the future, and please check out my other full length documentary on Ian Stewart?
Thank you for bring bhis name back to life.keep up the good work
Thank you for the great comment, Malakye. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Holy Moly!!! You could supply an entire country for a decade with the amount of Salt Steve Ovett has produced over that loss!!
I don't know where this phrase has come from - "salty" but it is funny to me :-)
So glad this is back up. One of my favorite races.
Thanks for the great comment, Harry. It certainly was a most memorable race. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
I met Tom on high street ,Columbus ,Ohio near my apartment on E. Weber -- I was running on High Street and so was he -- cool memory
Good memories, Nimrod Nasmith. Can you remember what year it was?
Lovely to see the golden age of middle distance running in particular the grace & majesty of Sebastian Coe
The great tribute of the underdog.
Thanks for the great comment, Benjamin.
This was before my time, I had never even heard of Tom Byers. Thank you for making this.
Thank you for your comment, Kadim. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Feel free to check out my other athletics documentaries on my channel. And I'll be making more in the future, as time permits.
Tom Byers was not only one of the most talented runners I met, but also one of the most amiable and unassuming. I remember Bill Dellinger putting him through repeat 1200s at about 2:55. I would bleed to have that kind of talent. Didn't know the guy well, but even so he was one of my favorite "stud" runners in Eugene in the early 80s. There may be some truth in Steve Scott's "reckless nut case" comment, but Tom was sure entertaining to watch.
Thanks for the great comment, John. In his interviews in T&FN, he does come across as an emotional man and thus lacked some control and discipline. That's unfortunate, because his Prefontaine Classic win, as shown in the video, showed what tremendous talent he had, closing the last 200m in 25 seconds flat while easing up in the last few strides. If he had held back for another 100m in the US Trials he could have beaten Scott in the same way, but you just see him strike with 270m left which gave Scott enough time to react. Scott could never close the last 200 in 25s.
Lol ovett. You don't close in 52, then have ANYONE believe you were"sick".
Lol! That is his character!
Anyway, he didn't say he was "sick", he said he was "ill"!
@@PrentisHancock1 He was probably sick at the way he failed to perform but it is possible his slow pace was due to being off form on the day - but that would still leave a pretty disgraceful performance by the rest
You raise a couple of very good points. Runners do have good days and bad days and you never know exactly how your body is going to perform when you get out of bed in the morning. On that day, there were several conspiring factors at play: Ovett not in the mood, the rest of the field following Ovett, erroneous lap times being called out and of course, Byers being in the mood. At that level, the difference between running a 56 lap and a 62 lap is quite hard to tell. The pack were stuck in a collective delusion. The more likely scenario we could have expected in this situation is to see two packs develop. But they had too much respect for Steve. Steve and Tom summed up their perspectives perfectly.
You did amazing in creating this video
Thank you for your kind comment, Persono6. I'm glad you liked it.
What a great documentary and explanation. I was a kid when I watched this live. Most of the summer athletics were broadcast live on a Friday night for that golden period.
Thanks for the great comment, Paul. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Yes indeed, and athletics was so popular then; I remember the stadiums were always packed.
Same, he did fantastic pacemaking at Zurich,I remember when smaller, being very disappointed that seb Coe only broke the mile record that evening because he was going for both overt record 1,500 3.31.36 and 3.48.8..the atmosphere on the TV at Zurich Switzerland was unbelievable and David Coleman on BBC was brilliant during the race ,and you could see the support of the athletes on the outside of the track was packed , the commonwealth games in 1974 was the start of that middle distance golden period 2004 was the end
@anfield8 : Yes, I remember thinking that too. If you look carefully at the race in the video, you can just about see the officials at the 1500m mark and just to their left is the electronic timing camera. Coe was quite a bit off hitting the 1500 record with 3:33.28.
@@PrentisHancock1 Yes and in Brussels few days after he was ,2-3 second up on course to run 3.46 or faster the 1,500 was 3.32 which he ran 3.47 , which was a great time but not a balance run should of had both record in that race
3:32.93. It was a statistical rarity that number as Coe achieved it twice and Ovett also achieved it once. Coe and Ovett also achieved a 3:31.95 1500 one day apart in 1981!
Great piece on a special hare. The talented and hard working athletes that set the pace for the very best are quite under appreciated, and this video does a great job of telling the fantastic story of Byers!
Thank you for the great comment, Ohbe18. I'm glad you liked it.
Thank you. I enjoyed watching.
Thanks for your comment. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Tom Byers was a total running stud. I was doing a long run one afternoon in 1982 in Alton Baker Park, doing my typical 7:00 pace, and he flew past me like I was standing still. You could always tell it was him, by the hair, it was a lion's mane.
So you saw him at his peak.
Thanks for the upload. I remember watching Byers' victory in 1981 on 'Sportsnight'. It's only taken me almost 40 years to watch it again! What a great era of middle distance runners.
Yes, indeed. We forget how good they were. How old were you when you originally saw this race?
@@PrentisHancock1 I was 14, I remember the realization that Byers might actually pull of the shock as he came round the bend before the bell. Incredible race, glad he hung on for the win.
I was 15. To me, it brought home the excitement of athletics - that the favourite doesn't always win - that there will always be surprises, like when Steve Ovett comprehensively beat Seb Coe in the 800m in Moscow. I'm putting the finishing touches on another full athletics documentary on a great British athlete from the 1970s. I'll be releasing it in a few days.
Thanks so much for the video Prentis, I was a huge Ovett fan, and remember this race and story vaguely, and do remember Tom as a contender in this era but as I was a child at the time this video puts context to it all for me, so thank you, what an era that was for athletics!! Very much looking forward to your Ovett video.
Thank you for the great comment, Ed. Yes, it was a great era, and I'll be telling more athletics stories from it, as well as covering more interesting angles on athletics that are not usually covered by other channels. My Ovett video is still some way away and I've actually now got in mind three videos I hope to do on him, which I hope will be interesting for viewers. However, they do take me a long time to do. And in between I'm also gearing up to increase my athletics focus on the channel with some smaller videos. Thanks for watching and I'm glad you enjoyed it.
What a brilliant documentary.Thanks to all who made , posted and shared.
Thanks for the great comment, Billy Bob. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Wonderful story thank you for sharing.
Thank you for the great comment, Naresh. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Those mile races back in the late 70s, early 80s were epic with Ovett, Coghlan, Scott, Coe, Maree, Masback.....and Byers was involved in most of them. The races just seemed surreal because they were overseas and always at night it seemed.
That's true. They were on quite late. Some meets still are. They are designed to coincide with peak TV viewing times.
@@PrentisHancock1 Are their still epic 1 mile races now a days.....
Rarely. The one with Stewy McSweyn was really, really good earlier this season.
Wow... great stuff... (and i hope that Coe gave Byers a commission, for each WR he got after drafting off of Tom...!)
I'm glad you enjoyed the video, UlloMark. Thanks for watching.
I really enjoyed this documentary. I didn't really know anything about this runner. Learned a lot! Very well done.
Thanks very much, dcnole! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you for the great film footage. I'm from the same era as Byers and Scott and I'd have to agree with Scott's evaluation of Tom Byers. Yes, he was "flaky" but I'd say in a good way, but I do believe he had the most natural talent of all, and I mean ALL top runners at that time. I'm not sure what was missing but if I were to guess, I'd say his free spirit attitude would interrupt often with his goals and workouts. The spartan attitude that is needed at world class running was counter to this free spirit mindset.
Thanks for the great comment, Dash. Well, he did achieve five major circuit wins. And he qualified for the World Championships and made it to the semis. And his times are still good even by today's standards.
Tom was a great runner in his own right, no matter what others may think or say. I was on the Ohio State track team with him. In the 1974 Big Ten championship indoor meet he ran 2:06.6 for the 1000 yards, I believe an American record. Like all athletes he had some injury problems. His most famous faux pas was in the 1976 Olympic trials. Just went out too fast in the 1500… When I asked him why, he thought for a minute and said, hey listen I didn't see you at the trials...I'm sure he was tired of being asked that question. I only wish I had the success he had! I thought he was an amazing runner and the excitement he gave fans including myself was incredible! Not to mention he and his family saved my bacon at our orientation at Ohio State as my vehicle broke down. If he reads this, you were amazing Tom, and your accomplishments were nothing short of amazing! I'm proud to have known you!
Thank you for the great comment, David. It's great to have someone who knows Tom, or who knew Tom, leave a comment. I didn't know about the 1000 yards time he did - that's very impressive. That converts to 920m, which equals a 1:50 800m, and a 2:17.6 1000m. That's excellent for 1974, when he was 19! At his peak in 1982, I think his mile time of 3:50.84 was worth a 3:32.8 for the 1500m, so he always performed better over the mile than the 1500.
Thanks for posting the videos. I learned a great deal as I lost touch with all of the distance runners. The video shows Steve Scott calling him a flake yet he beat Scott twice in the fifth Ave mile... Thanks again.
I like the way the commentator in the US Trials race says Byers had had an "enigmatic and erratic career". He ran Scott really close that day and could have won if he held back his kick until the last 150m.
@@PrentisHancock1 Byers also ran 1000 in 2:16.1, an American Record... He was not a completely unknown.
I mentioned his 2:16.1 1000m win in the video - but it wasn't an American record it was the second fastest by an American at the time, and it is still the third fastest. The fastest is by Rick Wohlhuter, whom, funnily enough, I made a video about and posted only a few days ago, please see:
th-cam.com/video/COC4wuDjkGE/w-d-xo.html
There's my childhood right there... David Coleman, Coe/Ovett rivalry. Memories.
There were some Colemanballs in the video too. Did you notice them?
This is a very well put-together video!
Thank you, Ollie!
Fantastic storytelling. I remember Tom Byers around 1981, at the USA National Relay Championships in Toms River, New Jersey, trying to hitch a ride after the Meet. Tom shared a car ride with my family. He had the physique of a miler, but his early successes were far behind him. He took a big risk moving his family to Eugene, Oregon, where it eventually paid off earning him a coveted spot on the Nike Athletics West Team. From there, his running career blossomed.
In life, you have to take risks others refuse to take and commit your best effort. Then you can look back without regrets. And who knows, maybe you might surprise yourself and others. Maybe they should rename that town to Toms River Byers, NJ.
Thank you for the great comment, James. I find your point about the "physique of a miler" interesting. There are many different physiques and the 1980s era epitomised them particularly well. You had Coe, at 5'9" and barely 9 stone looking like a skinny waif, and you had Cram at 6'2", tall and long-striding. But one thing they all had in common was that they were very light. Even Tom, at nearly 6'2", and with a huge barrel-chest, comparing him against Coe, was still barely 10 stone. The metabolic rate of top class athletes is quite extraordinary.
@@PrentisHancock1 I was in a 800-meter race in Via Reggio, Italy, where Don Paige defeated Sebastian Coe, the 800 meter Olympic silver medalist and world record holder, by 0.03 seconds. Later that year, Track & Field News magazine ranked Don number one in the world for the 800m. Not to take anything away from Don's accomplishment--he could have been an Olympic Medalist---but Coe and his father had to be convinced by Paige to run that race, since Coe was still recovering from a 1500M race he ran a few days earlier, whereas Don was coming off an 800M race he had run a few days earlier.
You ran in that race? Wow, you ran in quite some company there! I do recall reading about that rare defeat for Coe by Paige, and it was quite a ridiculous ranking by Track and Field News. There is no way any athlete would not rate the Olympic Champion in that year as the top ranked athlete. That should have made Steve Ovett number one in the 800m in 1980, with Coe at number two. But certainly not Don Paige.
Hi James, I've found this page of stats which shows YOU at 87th over 800m in 1979 in 1:47.76 but there's no record of this performance on World Athletics' Stats Zone? Have you thought about contacting them to register your historic performances?
digilander.libero.it/Mennea/Stagionali/WRL/1979/800.htm
This is so interesting! God bless!
Thank you Joel. Glad you liked it. :-)
Best hair of that era. I idolized Tom Byers. So cool.
He certainly had big hair days!
@@PrentisHancock1 Hair was BIG back in the day.
Thank you for this video
So nice of you, Great Greebo!
So down to earth guy,heard him say if we ran the race 10 times I might win 2 of them.My cousin said he saw him at a track in Maumee Ohio.Asked to see his olympic gold,so he went home and got it to show them.One of my fond memories watching him run.
Thanks for the comment, Richard. I'm a little confused though. Who are you referring to? Tom or Steve?
@@PrentisHancock1 I screwed up,watching all these races.Ment to comment on Dave Waffle's Olympic gold.Sorry.
Great video and rescue of an almost forgotten runner. Congratulations from Chile.
Thanks very much, Odraude! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Appreciate your time and effort you put in this video, I watched all of it!
Thanks for the great comment Hayden. I'm glad you liked it!
Another very good video, very well researched, and very informative. I have mixed feelings on races where pacemakers or rabbits are used, if an athlete is good enough he or she should have the talent to do it themselves. A case I will cite is the 1968 1500 metres Olympic final won by Kip Keino, Ben Jipcho his team mate basically sacrificed his chance of a medal by being a front runner or rabbit for Keino, they conspired to mess up Jim Ryuns chances, although Keino has always denied it. Getting back to Byers ,he was a good enough athlete in his own right to not just be a pacemaker. Keep the videos coming
Jipcho was never seriously going to get a medal in '68 and I'm not sure if he really helped Keino. But Ryun seriously misjudged the race and Keino, despite his own issues at the time ran a fantastic race. I loved the commentary where Coleman says the Kenyans have taken Ryun for a ride. But there were other cases of championship pacemaking as well. All totally unwarranted - and irrelevant.
Thank you for another great comment John M!
Do you know Tom Byers? It would be fantastic if someone who knows him could tell him about this video so he can watch it and remember his glory days! Who knows, maybe he could even post a comment here to give us some more personal insights? Tom, it would be great to hear from you!
I was the same age as Tom, and was an NCAA 3 mile and 6 mile qualifier while at Ball State (in Indiana). After college, I moved to Louisville to train with British Olympian Nick Rose and his roommate, Swag Hartel. We ran a cross country race in Atlanta against several other clubs, and hung out with Tom afterward. Tom seemed interested in joining our club and moving to Louisville, and we talked about rooming together there. He ended up moving to Oregon, and his career really took off again! I loved watching this video!
Thank you for the great comment, Dave! You're about the third or fourth athlete who knew Tom who has commented in recent days! And you knew Nick Rose as well! Another very interesting athlete, whom I remember making a very bold move during a 5000m race, though I can't remember exactly which one now. I'm glad you enjoyed the video.
"We thought the world record pace was remarkably easy" yeah dummy cos you weren't going at it, Byers was and you didn't trust him. Can't believe Ovett had the gall to blame being ill rather than admit it was his own mistake that made him lose...
Or he was just not feeling in the mood and couldn't tell the difference.
I was always a big admirer of Steve Ovett , but I think it was his arrogance that lost him the race . ' Never underestimate the underdog ' .
Ovett is full of it...lol. He led the charge once they realized they had screwed the pooch...and almost caught him which is amazing. Byers earned it.
Awesome story! As an NCAA athlete going into my final year of collegiate running I hope to surprise upset a few competitors as well.
Thanks for the great comment, Regiseal33. Check out my other doco on Ian Stewart for more surprising racing tactics. What events do you run? Good luck in your athletics career.
@@PrentisHancock1 I run cross country in the fall (8k-10k), and I run 1500m/3k/5k during indoor and outdoor track. The Ian Stewart video surprised me because I pulled a similar tactic during my high school career, at the cross country state championships when my competitors deferred to me for the pace. I ended up placing second only behind my teammate and friend, and we won the team race, so it worked out!
Which of Stewart's tactics did you do? Dropping the pace and confusing your opposition, or going all-out from 600m?
@@PrentisHancock1 I dropped the pace. About 2000m into the ~5200m cross country race, I noticed I was in 1st or 2nd and a large pack was lurking a few meters behind, keying off my pace since I was the favorite to win. I slowed down and waved them on, not wanting to do all the work on my own. I tucked in behind them for 1200m or so, and then myself and my teammate kicked past them, making a long drive a mile from the finish to take 1st and 2nd.
That's an awesome story, Regiseal33! Unlucky you didn't pull off the win as well. But it's great to have memories like that, of races that you enjoyed.
A very talented guy.
The voice is on tops.... Great content bro
Thank you!
great vid
Thanks, Peter. Glad you liked it.
"i beat records"
"i was ill"
Thanks for watching Verlisify!
ovett was only ill after he lost.
Tom Byers was a darn good runner while at Ohio State. If I remember correctly he got injured just before his Senior year and never hit his full potential. So even though he was a pacemaker in this race, he still was no slouch.
Thanks for the great comment , Robert. Agreed. I think his 2:16.1 for the 1000 metres and his 3:50.84 for the mile are testament to his talent. These performances have very rarely been surpassed by American athletes in the last 40 years.
Ovett laughing whilst bitterly digging Byers out 😡
‘Only won one race’
He was only teasing - he knows Tom won lots of races.
@@PrentisHancock1 he was graceless
It was a dick comment for sure. Punching down and showing no respect. Such an ego.
Ovett's comment was very unsporting .
Certainly in Britain we only knew Byers because of his win in the Bislett 1500m race. There were no news stories, neither on TV nor in the newspapers, of any of his other wins, so what Ovett said is perfectly true. But Ovett knew differently and had more respect for Byers than that so what he is saying here is what is known as "teasing", or "joking", or "ribbing". The amount of comments about Steve being a sore loser is quite amusing.
Same thing Happened from what I have seen and read of the 1992 or 1993 LA marathon where nobody could keep up in the heat and the pacer who just locked on and could not stop due in part to some heat issues the pacer had set a then course record, not world but course. Also prompted the runner to come out of retirement from racing and run at some events and pace at others.
Hey Casey, this is interesting. I don't know much about the particular race you are referring to. Do you have more details?
@@PrentisHancock1 It was 1994 and I know very little as it was only Mentioned in the NBC nightly news when I was 4. Paul Pilkington is the guy who won and it was in a small article on the guy in 2010's when that female teacher semi-Elite won the LA marathon racing from within the regular average person starting point and they did not giver her the win, not a course record if she won due to that being from starting gun for older pre timing mat races. It was later in same article added to a lot of Marathon and 1/2 races as well as some 10k and 5k events that are bigger/more prestige meaning faster racers/fast race course in the USA to warrant the need to have a Smi-elite group to start behind on both elite male and female sides if they did not have one already or one had been sort of formed by the racers themselves petitioning wanting it/need for Semi-Elite racers before the LA women's mistake.
The 1994 LA marathon is the first race I mention in the video, starting at 1:11.
Even as a Brit I LOATHED OVETT
He could never acknowledge the wins of other athletes, he ALWAYS had an excuse for losing & was a big headed arrogant & often troublesome man not particularly liked by his fellow competitors.
It was in stark contrast to fellow Brits Coe & Cram who are still highly regarded.
It's great to see John Walker, he was a great champion & another exemplary athlete
Hi Jacqui, your perspective on Steve Ovett may be a little unfair. On many occasions, he acknowledged and praised his rivals, including Wessinghage, Coe, Cram, and several others. The way he was portrayed in the press at the time was very unfair and was borne out of his reluctance to give them "the story", "the scoop", as he was a very shy and introverted man and liked to keep his privacy to himself, which they resented, and cast him as the villain. Even Coe eventually gave a vicious "F U" to the press when he crossed the finish line in the Olympic 1500m final in 1984. No one has done more for popularising British track and field athletics in the last 50 years than Steve Ovett. I'll actually be making a video about this some time in the future. Thanks for watching.
@@PrentisHancock1 Yes, in this wonderful documentary, i thought that the interview with Ovett was one of the highlights... he came off surprisingly personable, interesting, articulate, with a great smile...!
Thank you UlloMark! I'm glad you liked it!
If byers had a pace setter he could have won more races
Tom could have benefitted greatly from having a coach teach him better racing strategies. Maybe Bill Dellinger did teach him these things but maybe Tom didn't listen or didn't learn? It would be interesting to hear Tom's own testimony.
@@PrentisHancock1 Gary was making a joke.
I'm not sure I can remember what the comment originally said; I can see it has been edited.
RIP Tom Byers, a true legend
What do you mean? Please can you give a reference to an article saying he's passed away?
@@PrentisHancock1 I was mistaken. This Tom Byers’ full name is Thomas Byers Jr. However, it was his son, Thomas Byers III, that died by getting hit by a train. The fact he gave his son nearly the same name confused me. RIP Tom Byers’s son then.
Understood. I was aware of that. Another commenter mentioned that a couple of years ago. Thanks for clarifying.
The problem is that if the runners in a race believe that the pacemaker s going to drop out, then they effectively rule him out of the equation i.e. they are not going to include him in their race tactics. I imagine these days, in the diamond league circuit, pacemakers are told that they must drop out...or not get paid!
Hi Musik102 - I don't think that is true. Pacemakers are allowed to complete the race, just as Byers did, and still get paid their bonus.
If you were a race organiser wouldn't you love to have a pace setter who can potentially win the race? This way everyone is on their toes and are more likely to follow the pace.
A runner who sets out with running a fast pace as their race plan can win easily and there are many examples. Think David Rudisha in 2012, or Timothy Cheruyiot in 2019, or Filbert Bayi in 1974.
@@PrentisHancock1 Can "easily?"! My God, get a grip man!
And Athing Mu, winning the 800m final yesterday, with ease.
In 1980, I ran an 800 Meter race in Houston, TX the week after the Penn Relays. I boarded a crowded elevator in the hotel parking garage. When we reach the lobby, Steve Ovett squeezes himself into the elevator. His facial expression and body language evoked a feeling like you better not be running the mile. I chalked it up to different cultures. In the USA, there's the three-foot rule. I guess in the UK it's the three-meter rule.
Thanks for the great comment, James! Believe it or not, Steve is a very shy man so I suspect it was not disdain but rather he felt very uncomfortable in that elevator.
@@PrentisHancock1
It was more akin to a hilarious pre-fight staredown. Maybe he recognized my face from Track & Field News where I ran a 1200 meter lead-off leg (2:51.7) on Georgetown University's World Record Distance Medley Relay Team at the 1980 Penn Relays. Even though Villanova won the race by less than one second, their team was comprised of mixed nationals (Sydnee Maree was still a South African citizen). According to USA TAC, it was the only undisputed running world record on American soil that year. Greta Waitz had run the fastest ever marathon for a woman by more than four minutes at the 1980 New York Marathon, but the course distance was later disputed.
Wow, that's a world class 1200 you ran! And you were in Track and Field News? Did you keep a copy?
@@PrentisHancock1 Yes.
Good job, James. You must have some great memories.
Thanks for putting this together. There used to be a good video of his victory as a pacemaker on youtube but I don't see it anymore, unfortunately. Had you seen it or know what happened to it?
Did you watch this video?
What a boss
They were very colourful races, full of character!
Did Ovett say that was the only race Byers ever won? Did i hear that correctly?
Yes, you heard that correctly! He was joking, of course!
Where can I find the footage at 10:05?
In his autobiography (more reliable than a biography written by a journalist who never talked to Ovett?) Ovett says that the times being shouted at the main field each lap were Byers' times and not theirs. They all thought they were having that day of days when WR pace came so easily! More likely that when everybody realised that Byers was not being followed they sort of forgot about him and concentrated on beating those athletes that they were really there to beat. Take Byers out of it and you have a really good race!
Hi Mark, well, that matches with what I said in the video at 9:22. Really, though, Steve should have known, and should have been asking himself, "why are all these runners able to keep up with me when normally they drop off my pace?"
I’ve watch athletics for 40 years and never heard them called ‘rabbits’ in the uk, never.
Also if you are a pacemaker you are specifically paid for that job and not in the race so you can’t win it, plus the other runners can ask you to set any pace they want they don’t have to follow that pace it’s up to them.
There are so many wrong assumptions here, lots of people that are fast don’t make good tacticians or racers and lots of racers that never get near a fast time especially in the longer running events win plenty of races because they are smart. Obviously it’s good if you are both
Hi Christopher, maybe you've not been paying much attention? It's been very common for over 40 years. Pacemakers can, and do, win races. There is no contractual obligation on them to drop out once they have completed the specified distance at the agreed pace. After that, a pacemaker is an ordinary competitor in the event, and is eligible to finish. What you said is correct, the favoured runner, or runners, might ask for a specific pace and then not go with it - that's what happened with the Byers 1500m race.
The only assumption is to make no assumptions. That's the beauty of racing.
what a talented guy ?
99th fastest miler of all time and 68th fastest 1km of all time. And only 87 men have bettered his mile time in the last 39 years - that's an average of 2.23 new men a year. I'd say that's pretty good, wouldn't you?
Is this the story of a pacemaker with a pacemaker?
Well at least Ovett can look back and have a good a laugh at the race
I believe that he had a son who was a talented runner.
In that race against Scott and Maree, Tom used up too much energy with that burst down the final back straight. If he had waited a while, he could have won the race.
Agreed! Tom had a better finishing kick than Scott. If he had held back for another 100 - 150m before kicking, he could have got the jump on Scott.
If pacemakers don't have to go through the same heats to qualify for the finals then pacemakers should not be allowed to win.
In championship races all participants go through the rounds, including those that sacrifice their own chances for a teammate in a subsequent final.
I believe the race he rabbitted was not a championship meet. Therefore a rabbit was used.
Great vid, but get a proper mike, audio quality of narration is pretty bad
Thanks. I'll be working on improving sound quality in the near future.
Almost all Pace setters drop out at some point in the race. I guess he forgot to.
Lol! Good one!
If you were sick, why did you compete? Surely a bad performance would ruin your image and reputation. I don't buy it. How ungracious in defeat. Obvious envy, fake laughter. I can see why he aint the People's Champ....
So, he hired a guy to pace him when "he was ill"? Was he trying to se a world record for the fastest ill man?
I think he decided to do his job.
Pace-setter.
Is that fair to y’all?
also theyre called pacers not pacemakers
Pity about awful accompaniment music when you speak ruins video almost impossible to hear conversations with stupid music get rid please.