Seb Coe indoor 800m WR 1983, Cosford
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
- On 12th March 1983, the same day Torvil & Dean won gold for the Free Dance at the World Championships, Seb Coe set his 2nd indoor World Record over 800m on the wooden indoor 200m track at the RAF hanger in Cosford. It was his second outing indoors that winter/spring, having won the 1500m in a match against France at the same venue a month earlier. This meet represented the annual match between England and the USA, and in the race Coe was paced through 200m in 25.3 (Coe's estimated split) and 400m in 51.3, before hitting the front before 500m and running the remaining 300m some 15m ahead of the rest of the field, including Peter Elliott; who finished second and went on to place 4th in the outdoor World Champs later that summer. Coe went through 600m in 1:18.33 and finished with 1:44.91, which broke his existing record of 1:46.0 set in 81.
For Coe, it was the 10th world record of his career. Unfortunately, his great early season form shown here was not carried on to the summer, where he unexpectedly lost several races he shouldn't have. It was later diagnosed that he had contracted toxoplasmosis, and he was forced to pull out of the inaugural World Athletic Championships in Helsinki, Finland.
This video also includes an interview with Coe after the race. - กีฬา
Who’s watching in August 2024. Still love watching Seb Coe! Loved the 80’s
It's hard to explain to people that didn't experience the Coe,Ovett and Cram era just how bigger superstars these guys were and the magical times they gave us.
Absolutely right! They were superstars but didn't behave like them 🤣.
I was 16 this year and middle distance running was just everything to me at that age. It was amazing to watch Coe, Ovett, Elliott and Cram on TV, absolutely a golden era of GB athletics!
Cram wasn’t in there league Coe best for me
Don't you just love the way SEB just glides along effortlessly straight away after the race,,,,, FANTASTIC!!!!!!!
It was wonderful to watch.
Number 5 Colin swedz the pace maker is my partners dad, this is the first time I’ve seen any of his races some 35 years later and I found myself cheering him on. Well done Colin, all your family are so proud of what you achieved in this sport. Top man. 👍
Simon Garbett to have raced against coe and a world record in the race.wow.he can take that with him throughout his life
Yes Colin Szwed I was there. Still remember his bent little fingers put some great curves on ten pin bowling balls lol.
@@VictorOctavian lol yes he is defenitely tall no bendy legs. Strange the things you remember from back then.
Beast, seriously how can you be this dominant, this smooth and this strong
What a delight he was. What pride he gave us
Great athlete and a Great commentator
Big up for posting this. Just amazing seeing Coe in his prime. Just a force of nature. Nijinsky of the track.
Yes, I think he was actually referred to as the "Nureyev of the track" by one British newspaper.
@@deano27671 well the writer you are quoting is hardly informed. Nijinsky is always considered the greatest for his light footed displays.
@@APBCTechnique typical skewed summary that takes no consideration of the vastly different eras they competed in.
800m:
Olympics:
Rudisha - 2 golds;
Coe - 2 silvers;
Kipketer - 1 silver, 1 bronze.
World Champs:
Rudisha - 2 golds (2011, 2015), 2009 -7th in semi; did not attend 2013, 2017 and 2019 due to injury. So 2 golds out of 6 times he could have attended.
Kipketer - 3 golds (95, 97, 99), did not attend in 93 or 2001. Came 4th in 2003. So, 3 wins out of 6 possible attendences.
Coe - only held every 4 years during his career and the inaugural champs occurred half way into his career. Did not attend 2 due to illness (83) and injury (87). Had the World Champs been held in 77, 79, 81, 85 and 89 as well, then I am confident Coe would have won at least 2 golds over 800m and probably another couple of medals. His 81 World Cup victory in 81 was considered a 'World title' at the time by the IAAF.
World Records:
Rudisha - 3 - improving the time by 0.2 secs;
Kipketer - 1 tie and 2 sole Wrs- improved the previous record by 0.62 secs;
Coe - 2 - improved the previous record and #2 on all time list by 1.71secs; the biggest margin of improvement since Harbig (running on a 500m track) had a 1.8 secs margin in 1939
European Champs:
Coe - 1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze;
Kipketer - 1 gold, 8th.
Rudisha - zero medals!?
Longevity:
Rudisha - in world's top 10 from 2007 to 2016 = 10 seasons;
Kipketer - 1994 - 2004 = 11 seasons;
Coe - 1978 - 1989 = 12 seasons.
So, in terms of improvement in world records, longevity and European medals (yes I know that Rudisha was not eligible, just making a point), Coe's record is superior to both Rudisha and Kipketer. In terms of Olympic medals, Coe has a superior record than Kipketer.
In fact, the only area that Rudisha and Kipketer have better records, is in the World Champs, which is a moot point as it is the only area in which there was not a level playing field. Coe had 2 opportunities to win medals, the 2 Kenyans had 6 each!
I would add here that I believe (overall) that Rudisha has to be regarded as the greatest ever 800m runner due to his double Olympic gold, world record in the final, and number of fast times (which is more relevant in his era to say Coe's or Snell's). I think there isn't much between the next 3 - Snell, Coe and Kipketer. Your analysis isn't anywhere near thorough enough.
@@APBCTechnique LOL. Always know when one has won the argument if the other person resorts to personal remarks. :)
That sure was a golden era. Most people don't get that excited about track nowadays.
Got to feel for Peter Elliot. Always the bridesmaid to Coe, Ovett, and Cram. But he was still an outstanding runner in his own right
Though he was the number 1 middle distance runner in Britain in 1989-91, until injury.
Coe is one of those athletes that have a true aura about them, like mark spitz the swimmer, Ali, Bruce lee, and Henry Cooper!!
Yes I agree. At his best I think he had already won quite a few races on the start line due to the rest of the field knowing they were running for 2nd!
@@deano27671 yeah but not in the 800m Olympic finals in 80 and 84 unfortunately, he got his wrecked both times badly. After seeing Coe being smashed in Cologne in 1989 by the mighty Paul Ereng, I'm glad Coe did not get sent to Seoul, he would have been trounced badly. If I'm not wrong Ereng decimated and totally annihilated Coe's indoor record in 1989, and please take note Ereng has much longer strides than Coe so I would presume it would be much harder for him to round the bends. If I am not wrong Coe set the indoor record in 83, it was broken in 89 by Ereng, and Kipketer made it unbeatable with his 1.42.67 in 97. Ereng truly was in the company of legends such as Kipketer and Coe, in his prime he was hard to beat. Definitely too hard for a washed up Coe who deservedly missed the 1988 Seoul Olympics.There is a debate on who is the better 800m runner, Kipketer or Coe, but according to some running aficionados, you're a crap runner unless you win an Olympic medal. Therefore, it appears that Ereng is better than both Kipketer and Coe, when it comes to who is the better 800m runner. Seeing that Kipketer missed his shot at a gold medal because of citizenship issues, whereas Coe missed his shot at a gold medal only because he had nerves and ran like ass, I think we can concur that Kipketer should be second out of all 3. So that leaves Ereng the Olympic Champion and indoor world record holder for 8 years which is 2 years more than Coe the indoor world record (even though coe was a short bugger and should had it easier running indoors). Secondly Kipketer who has held the world indoor record for 23 years (which is longer than Coe had the outdoor record which was only for 16 years) further more Kip deserved that Olympic gold in 96 got a narrow silver in 00 that matches Coe's silvers and a bronze at 04 but if you take note that Kip was turning 32 that year and Coe was 32 as well in 88 and sitting at home watching the Olympics on his tv while lamenting the inevitability of old age, you realise that Kipketer did well in 04 with a bronze due to his advanced age. Lastly Coe gets ranked dead last, no actual 800m Olympic gold like Ereng, no deserved Olympic gold that was snatched away due to citizenship issues like Kipketer, shortest period of time holding the world indoor record (6 years vs 8 years vs 23 years and counting), lastly if I'm not wrong Coe was the shortest bugger among the 3. Being so bloody short, you'd expect this little bugger to run faster indoors, instead he was running the 800m in a mere 1.44.91, that's 3.18 seconds slower than his outdoor world record. Kipketer ran 1.54 seconds slower than his outdoor world record 1.41.11, which was even faster than Coe's outdoor world record, hence seeing that the difference between indoor and outdoor records is less, Kipketer is ahead in this comparison as well. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, Ereng is close behind Kipketer with his difference between outdoor and indoor timings being only 1.68 seconds, considerably less than Coe's massive 3.18s differential. All in all with an Olympic 800m gold, longstanding indoor world record (longer than Coe), better differential between indoor and outdoor timings, better 400m pb compared to Coe of 45.6 HT. Lastly, Ereng is superior to Coe because Ereng was more consistently under the barrier of 1.43.83, I use this timing as that was the third place timing in the 1984 Olympics, the fastest ever bronze medal timing in an Olympic final at the time Coe and Ereng were in their primes in 89 (Ereng was in his prime, Coe was washed up), either way Coe had run under 1.43.83 5 times in his whole career (which pretty much was over after 89, even though he should have retired after 86), while Ereng ran under 1.43.83 7 times, as they both were competing in the same era, I think that proves that Ereng was way more consistent in running fast times than Coe. Therefore, in the contest of who is the best 800m runner of the 3, first comes Ereng, second comes Kipketer, and in the last place, the runt of the litter, the try hard that never accomplished much (NO 800M OLYMPIC GOLDS, SHORTEST TIME HOLDING 800M INDOOR WR, BIGGEST DIFFERENTIAL BETWEEN 800M OUTDOOR AND INDOOR PBS, LEAST TIMES UNDER 1.43.83 AMONG THE THREE INCLUDING KIPKETER AS WELL AS ERENG AND LASTLY THE SHORTEST BUGGER AMONG THE THREE WHO STILL COULD NOT RUN FASTER THAN THE LANKY KENYANS INDOORS) Not sure why Coe underperformed to such an extent, one European Indoor championship win against pretty pedestrian competition, really Coe underperformed badly in terms of 800m running, especially indoors. @deano27671 you have any reasons for Coe's lack of standard in the 800m especially indoors, but outdoors as well (NO OLYMPIC GOLDS AND WORLD CHAMPS GOLDS AS WELL EVEN THOUGH 83 AND 87 WERE WHEN HE WAS STILL SUPPOSED TO BE IN HIS PRIME AND CAPABLE OF WINNING THE SEOUL OLYMPICS???) Hope I am not pissing you off Deano, you mind answering my questions? I've tried to be respectful as possible Deano, hope you don't "have a bug up your arse" I believe that is how the brits say it? Anyways please get back to me Deano, hope you don't.... have a bug up your arse mate.
@@batumalairajakumar3450 yet another name? Anyone would think you have something to hide!
Yes, you clearly have too much time to waste with long winded comments. Just thought I'd point out that Coe has broken 1:43.83 SIX times, not 5, the same as Ereng, who HASN'T broken it 7 times as you claim. Strange that you made such a mistake! And Ereng did that within a 3 year window (88-90), while Coe set his times in 6 different seasons during a window of 11 years (79 - 89). And why take 1:43.83? Quite a random reason really! If you go to 1:44.5, then Coe broke or equalled that 18 times and Ereng only 12. So, it really depends how you slice it and dice it, don't it! But clearly Coe's longevity and consistency was better than Ereng's. And all this despite Coe also running 1500m, while Ereng was a pure 2 lap guy.
@@batumalairajakumar3450 No need to shout
@batumalairajakumar3450 Thanks for the mini-novella, especially since you're right.
deano, you never run out of suprises! thanks for this!
Thanks for posting this - I last time I saw it was on the news in 1983. I still remember "and Coe is flowing and Coe is flying!!"
Always wanted to rewatch this race. OMD! Absolutely flowing or what!? 🏃♂️👍
Excellent! Thanks for posting this Deano!
Fabulous post, thank you. What a performance that was. I had only read about this WR before now. The size and reaction of the crowd is fantastic too. Coe looked so smooth on that final 200m lap. You can tell he was pushing it but it was controlled so well. Great post race interview.
Yes, he did look smooth on the last lap and at the end. Cheers.
🐐
Amen
Great race!
What a wonderful stadium!
Compared to his 1977 European win in 1:46.54, he was 0.56 up at lap 3 (1:18.33 compared to 1:18.89) yet finishes 1.63 seconds faster here, so here he did the last lap over a second faster - in fact, 1.07 seconds faster.
Brutal running
Watching this again, I do wonder if we ever saw his full potential, despite the 1:41 800m and the 1k record. Three months later, he was noticeably struggling
richard141724 yes, I agree. When you think he ran a 1:46.0 on the same track in early 81, and what that lead on to, one has to say that this 1:44.9 looked just as easy. He should have been at his peak in 82/83, when he was 25/26, but had both seasons blighted by injuries and illnesses. I don’t think we saw his full potential over his best distances, but glad he still managed to achieve so much; indeed, enough to make him the greatest 800/1500 athlete of all time IMO.
It almost beggars belief that after the awful latter part of 1983 he suffered he managed to pick himself up and have the self-belief to come back and win the 1500m gold and 800m silver at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
@@deano27671 This didn't look easy, did you not see the grimace on Coe's face? His stride was terribly short toward the end, he absolutely busted a gut and was on the ragged edge. It was the first lap been far too fast of course but to say this looked easy is just patently nonsense!
@@APBCTechnique Snell was amazing, but the depth of nationalities and talent competing in his era was restricted. Which all-time greats did Snell compete against? Coe had to compete for medals alongside Walker, Ovett, Cram, Cruz, Scott, Gonzales, etc.
Coe's 2 golds and 2 silvers in successive Olympic Games is comparable to Snell's 3 golds. But in all other areas Coe has a better record: Coe broke 8 individual outdoor world records, Snell 4. Coe broke WRs at all 4 middle distance distances - 800, 1000, 1500 and 1 mile, and held them simultaneously. Snell never managed to break the 1500m WR. Snell improved the 800m WR by 1.4 secs, Coe by 1.71secs. Snell was the co record holder for 11 years, Coe the sole WR holder for 18 years.
Snell broke the mile WR 2 times, Coe broke it 3 times, the only athlete to do so since WW2.
In terms of World Rankings, Coe was ranked in the top 3 13 times, with Snell appearing only 6 times. Coe was ranked in the top 10 from 1978 to 89, Snell from 1960 - 64.
The clincher however, is that Coe's combined performance points using WA/IAAF's tables for 800m and 1500m times, is still the highest score of any athlete, ever. In the 40 years since he was at his peak, no athlete has surpassed his combined points score, and he remains the only man to have run sub 1:42 and sub 3:30, and is the only athlete to have FAT pbs of sub 47 for 400m and sub 3:30 for 1500m.
Coe's overall record is superior.
@@ynotnilknarf39 Nonsense. His stride didn't shorten towards the end. Coe often showed a bit of effort or anxiety on his face during a race, but he was hardly breathing at the end and looked as fresh as a daisy. The first 400m was 51.3 for Coe, pretty much spot on for a 1:44 clocking. He was not 'ragged' at the end. If you bothered to analyse the race with any type of scrutiny, then you'd notice that while his 3rd 200m was 27.0, his last was 26.6; so he was speeding up towards the end. The gap between him and Elliott got bigger over the last 100m.
A middle-distance runner nonpareil: Seb Coe.
Agree! The goat of the classic middle distances; 800 - 1 mile
COE FOREVER 👍👍👍👍👍
This was a sign he was ready to comeback at the 1984 Olympics after that illness filled and traumatic 1983 track season.
That comment makes no sense - a comeback from a season that hadn't even taken place yet?
Great job, Deano!
Since I am a great fan of Coe and I had never seen this race, thanks for the upload. Just a small point: Coe looked dangerously close to running on the line of his lane at the end of the first bend.
If you look at comes indoor world record 1981 he doe's that exactly as the gun blasts them off,,,watch closely,,, seb steps into lane three from the outside lane 4 he's in !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry, if you look at coes world record!!!!!!
@@simonsedwards1513 which world record? Could you copy a link?
@@mickeymouse7861 coes world record from 1981 1:46'0 AT COSFORD , ITS ON YOU TUBE!!!!!!!
@@simonsedwards1513 yes he did! Never noticed that before. It didn't gain him any advantage in distance though, as it was still on a straight.
God Bless you Deano.
Seb Coe is a majestic runner. The announcer is so wrong when he says "He made it look so easy." In fact you can see the grimace of pain on his face at one point of the race...which fits the nature of the 800 meter.
Imagine if Coe had the training and technology that is around in 2021?
When I was at secondary school we had to do running every week.
No surprise then that there was not a country on the planet that could touch us in middle distance events.
We used to have every record and win almost every gold.
Proudest thing I've even seen is Coe,Ovett & Cram leading a race.
Look at the crowd.
If that was any other stadium it would of been pack out twice over.
The oldest sport and by far the best.
How did you find this? Haven't seen this since that day. Thanks very much Deano.
This race pretty much marked the end to Coe’s imperial period of record breaking.
This was a frustrating 1983 world record form but missed the world athletics championship.in Helsinki , when overt was in world record form and cram in brilliant form,i remember when small being so disappointed , a year later overt had his illness in the LA smog , when ,coe overt cram 1-2-3 going into last lap dream of the century ,but overt illness.robbed us of it .that would never be in the same race again.
It was such a shame that both Coe and Ovett were dogged by injury and illness in the seasons following their Olympic duels of 1980 and their marvellous individual performances and records of 1981. No-one would have believed after all that that we would hardly ever see them in the same race again.
But there were also, of course, the additional complications brought about by having so many other great middle distance runners emerging eg. Elliott, Cram, McKean, whose arrival meant that not even Coe and Ovett could be certain of a place in the GB team at the next few international championships. I remember it being said at the time that the really difficult thing about being a GB middle distance runner in the men's events at that time was getting into the GB team in the first place - if you got in the team you knew you were good enough to have a great chance of winning the gold medal!
@@denisej4813 and it was good last year's world 3 men making the final and challenging for medals in 1500m again blue ribbon event all three had good tactical race
Seems to have worn his sister's shorts; not sure Pickering read it right at the beginning about Coe's main aim was to win the race...looked like the record was what he was after.
We'd have valued Elliott more had he been born in a different era.
After shattering a world record in that manner you would expect Coe to have collapsed but he was far from that
26? He looks 16.
What time did Elliot run, it must have been close to the old record…
Peter Elliot ran 1:46.71, which was his personal best for the 800m indoors.
@@TheEulerID thank you - he looked like he was right on it.
How good was Peter Elliot ?
Very, and he ran 1:46.71 in that race, which is his personal best for the 800m indoors. Perhaps more impressive is his outdoor best, which is 1:42.97, only just over a second behind Coe's 1:41.73 and third on the UK all time list (less than a tenth of a second behind Steve Cram). Coe himself only ran faster than 1:42.97 twice, and Cram only once, making that outdoor time of Elliot's the fourth fastest by a British athlete.
The track at RAF Cosford was not a fast track either.
No, it was made of hard sooden boards. Not like the trampoline indoor tracks that they have now!
51s for the first 400, too quick and Coe paid for it, you could see how hard it was and his stride really shortened toward the end.
Would have been a low 44 if that had been run better, Coe destroyed the existing record but it could have been by so much more.
He had to step out of his line to avoid hitting the idiot photographer on the back straight
what's the % Oxygen with all these hundreds of people shouting and cheering?