The Knimbies who say No Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Just a bit of retro fun, what with it being Olympic year etc. Will the current crop of track and field athletes manage to reach some of the heights their predecessors attained? The obvious candidates for gripping contests are the contests from the 70s and 80s, when world records tumbled etc, and I daresay some will be posted by others if the thread catches on. To kick off, back in Seoul in 1988, Mark Rowland qualified for the final of the 3000m steeplechase, but was not expected to be a serious medal contender, given his relative lack of experience at the event and the fact that over half the field in the final had gone inside the then UK record(which was not set by Rowland). Rowland subsequently ran a time in that race which is still the UK record. I think the commentary is excellent too. Ms cheeznbreed tells me that the shorts on display are some of the worst she has ever seen to boot (1:00-2:00 for those that would like to comment..). The race was run very quickly in the early and middle stages which no doubt helped Rowland's prospects, but a brilliant performance nevertheless: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sewXHxhv_-0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankief Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 His 8.08 is a very good time and he ran his best ever race, but I think that they will have to run close to 8 minutes or under to get a medal in London. It is usual a mental race nowadays, more or less flat out from the gun - there will be 3 Kenyans, 3 Ethiopians, plus the Kenyans now running for Arab countries like Qatar etc. who have been dishing passports out to anyone who can get them on the medals table. Maybe a Spaniard or Italian will make the final. Sadly, I don't think we will have any Brit running sub 8.20/ 8.25 - still awesome times but this is one event that the Africans take very seriously! My favourite was LA 1984, Seb Coe wins 1500m for his second Olympics (Steve Cram won silver). Amazing feat to win gold in Moscow 1980 (plus silver in 800) then hold that form for 4 years and repeat it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gigantic Purple Slug Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Interesting thing about seb Coe was that surely his most awesome performance was that 800m record which stood for ages yet he never won the Olympic event at that distance. Remember watching his runs against ovett as a kid. Fantastic to see those guys come off the bend to power their way through. Seb Coe was a truly amazing athlete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecrashingisles Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 This was one of the great races from Sydney 2000, on possibly the greatest night of athletics ever. Unfortunately the video starts with a slow motion replay of the finish. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxLyLadaHMU Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHERWICK Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Probably the biggest controversy at any summer olympics: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustYield Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 I assume by sterling athletic performances we want to focus on British athletes only? The Coe / Ovett era takes some beating obviously. I'm sure the Bannister / Chataway era was special too, but no mention of them in the Olympic medals. Yes, the US athletes were not there, but Alan won gold in the 100 metres by God!, he won fair and square on the day (without starting blocks?): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RR1stxSOCg Zola Budd deserves a mention in dispatches for her bare-footed duel with Mary Decker in 1984. Daley Thompson: Then there's Steve Redgrave... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustYield Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Daley Thompson would have finished 4th in the 1980 100m final! He was utter class. He run sub 47secs in the 400m which is incredible. Wells' time of 10.25 would have barely made the final if the top athletes hadn't boycotted. But they did, and so I guess he won. Daley was awesome. Somehow he's been under appreciated in my opinion. Yes, Alan Wells' time was slow, but it was windy and wet I think. Anyone who wins a 100m final is special in my book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Knimbies who say No Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 I assume by sterling athletic performances we want to focus on British athletes only? Not necessarily, although I chose one because often great performances are overlooked. Makes you wonder where the next batch of world class UK athletes are going to come from. Mo Farah looks like a great prospect. No doubt the thread will develop in its own manner, enjoying the posts so far. Agree regarding Thomson, Rowland, Coe Ovett etc. The 800m final in Moscow was a great get-out-of-jail performance by Ovett, he was boxed in but somehow muscled his way out. Can't find the full vid. Ovett has held international titles from 800m to 5000m, unbelievable. Radcliffe has a rare longevity for a runner, this will be her 5th games. Here she is making mincemeat of the field in Manchester in 2002: Will she hit top form in London this year after the disappointments in Athens and Beijing? The ladies marathon will be interesting, Mara Yamauchi is no mug, and may be an outside medal contender depending on what happens on the day. Have to suppose that if Radcliffe gets it right, she will be unbeatable. I'd love to see her get gold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustYield Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Well in that case: Carl Lewis. Although, sadly, I suspect his performances were "enhanced", still a beautiful athlete: Then there's Michael Phelps. Swimming's a bit boring to post videos. He was damn lucky to win one of the dead-heats in his 8 gold medal haul in 2008, bloody hell! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gigantic Purple Slug Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Claim to fame. Alan wells was a techician working in the same building when I was doing my phd. Never saw him but apparently he was a big guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccc Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Akabusi. Final of the 4 x400m. He had no chance of beating the flat 400m champ over that final lap. But he did. Pure grit and determination. 1991. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7eYBwY5Ojs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecrashingisles Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Carl Lewis. Although, sadly, I suspect his performances were "enhanced", still a beautiful athlete: No auto-tune in those days! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Knimbies who say No Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share Posted January 24, 2012 Akabusi. Final of the 4 x400m. He had no chance of beating the flat 400m champ over that final lap. But he did. Pure grit and determination. 1991. Brilliant stuff, he'd obviously done his homework and left it to the death to hit home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecrashingisles Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Liz McColgan's finest moment in Tokyo 1991. The full video used to be on YouTube but now there's only a brief clip. The quality of the field she beat was top class and she ran them into the ground. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrTUuMg8n1M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankief Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Liz McColgan's finest moment in Tokyo 1991. The full video used to be on YouTube but now there's only a brief clip. The quality of the field she beat was top class and she ran them into the ground. Are we including World Champs on this thread, or just Olympics? The Olympics to me are special in that they only come round every 4 years. The World Athletics Champs is something they bought in on a 2 yearly basis in 1991, to bring in cash from the TV channels. The Olympics are 'the' athletics medals which mean the most, I think it is the equivalent of soccer's world cup for the sport of track & field. Paula Radcliffe haven't done it at the Olympics. Mo Farah has yet to do it at the Olympics. Just checked : Liz got a silver in Seoul 1988, more valuable than a world gold? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Knimbies who say No Posted February 1, 2012 Author Share Posted February 1, 2012 Are we including World Champs on this thread, or just Olympics?The Olympics to me are special in that they only come round every 4 years. The World Athletics Champs is something they bought in on a 2 yearly basis in 1991, to bring in cash from the TV channels. The Olympics are 'the' athletics medals which mean the most, I think it is the equivalent of soccer's world cup for the sport of track & field. Paula Radcliffe haven't done it at the Olympics. Mo Farah has yet to do it at the Olympics. Just checked : Liz got a silver in Seoul 1988, more valuable than a world gold? Anything you like I suppose. Here's Yvonne Murray putting in a great performance in the 3000m in Seoul: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EVm7PLpyps She's obviously delighted at the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHERWICK Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Akabusi. Final of the 4 x400m. He had no chance of beating the flat 400m champ over that final lap. But he did. Pure grit and determination. 1991. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7eYBwY5Ojs Geez, was that really over 20 years ago ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Knimbies who say No Posted February 23, 2012 Author Share Posted February 23, 2012 Here's a guy keeping a cool head, not easy in an 800m. 1972 Olympics: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Generation Game Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 One of the longest-standing (if not longest) olympic records is that of Bob Beamon in the 1968 Mexico City Long Jump (8.90m). In the 1991 Worlds in Tokyo, the distance was surpassed by two athletes, the only time that the distance has been surpassed in nearly 45 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Generation Game Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Then there was Jonathan Edwards, an athlete I recall spending years jumping sub 17 metres in the triple jump. Then one day in the 1995 World championships in Gothenburg, it just "clicked", and he broke the world record twice in quick succession. No one has got close since AFAIK. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFt9Yzp484c Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Executive Sadman Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_Qc2E89i9E They should make a fat people olympics. The cripples get their own variant, why not the fatties. They are a far more dominant demographic, are denied entry to not only the regular olympics, but also the paralympics. Plus, i find fat people doing incredible feats far more entertaining, and so, unlike the olympics, the fat-o-lympics, would probably make a profit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Miyagi Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 I'm surprised no one has posted this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Knimbies who say No Posted February 16, 2014 Author Share Posted February 16, 2014 Komen, one of the best: The vid is in 2 parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Knimbies who say No Posted February 16, 2014 Author Share Posted February 16, 2014 His 8.08 is a very good time and he ran his best ever race, but I think that they will have to run close to 8 minutes or under to get a medal in London. It is usual a mental race nowadays, more or less flat out from the gun - there will be 3 Kenyans, 3 Ethiopians, plus the Kenyans now running for Arab countries like Qatar etc. who have been dishing passports out to anyone who can get them on the medals table. Maybe a Spaniard or Italian will make the final. Sadly, I don't think we will have any Brit running sub 8.20/ 8.25 - still awesome times but this is one event that the Africans take very seriously! My favourite was LA 1984, Seb Coe wins 1500m for his second Olympics (Steve Cram won silver). Amazing feat to win gold in Moscow 1980 (plus silver in 800) then hold that form for 4 years and repeat it again. London 2012 times: 1 Ezekiel Kemboi Kenya 8:18.56 2 Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad France 8:19.08 3 Abel Mutai Kenya 8:19.73 Seoul 1988: 1 Julius Kariuki (KEN) 8:05.51(OR) 2 Peter Koech (KEN) 8:06.79 3 Mark Rowland (GBR) 8:07.96 The London gold medal time would have been good enough for 10th in 1988. Championship distance athletics seems to be going the way of class kickers like Farah rather than frontrunners like Ngugi/Panetta. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carless Whisper Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 London 2012 times: Seoul 1988: The London gold medal time would have been good enough for 10th in 1988. Championship distance athletics seems to be going the way of class kickers like Farah rather than frontrunners like Ngugi/Panetta. EPOObviously outside of cycling and Eastern Europe/Russia nobody takes or took drugs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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