Paige would have won the 800m in Moscow as he was on fire in 1980, and Scott would have likely won the 1500m as he was just entering his best years. Walker may well have gotten a medal in the 1500m as well. The 1980 boycott was one of the greatest "what ifs" of American distance running as there was a genuine possibility of Americans sweeping all of the men's distance events from 800m through to the marathon.
Did Paige race Coe and Ovett (or other top Europeans/Africans) at 800 in ‘79 or ‘80. What was the outcome? I always thought that T&F News ranking Paige #1 in the 800 in ‘80 was a bit generous.
Hoady has claimed that Ovett wouldn't even have medalled if it wasn't for the boycott. 50.5 second last lap whilst being blocked in at the bell.
My gay admirer turns up again - as he always does. It is never about the thread.
But YOU turn up on EVERY thread - that is the problem, and make most threads unreadable because of it. Seriously, what is your mental disorder? Enquiring minds really want to know. Apart from spewing invectives, as that is all your arguments boil down to, since there is no point to them otherwise, we really don't understand why you post incessantly? Your history is flawed, but you simply don't, nor will you ever, understand that. So why do you post?
Another obsessed with my posts. You need to give your obsession a rest.
3:35.6 on cinders, he won by nearly 3 seconds, taking the lead before the 800m mark.
He had basically taken 1959 off to focus on his family and studies, and only began serious training (and 'stopped smoking') in the winter.
Still, he had barely raced anybody of note since 1958.
Six weeks before the Olympics he had become ill and had been vomiting, and two days before the final he developed a sore throat and swollen glands.
Yet still crushed the field and broke his own WR.
And he was still only 22.
On the Paris track and supershoes, he would probably have run 3:27 conservatively.
Although his coach Percy Cerutty was obviously ahead of his time in some respects, a lot of his coaching ideas were a bit cookie too. And as far as I know, Elliott never did any high-altitude training (unlike Michel Jazy in second). And all this was before blooddoping was a thing, let alone EPO.
Keino's dominating win in 1968 was magnificent--considering the altitude, probably the greatest 1500 run to that point--but the likelihood that he had received a blood transfusion taints it somewhat.
The thing that impresses me most about Elliott's run is that he clearly was running on fumes in the homestraight...and yet he extended his lead over the others. Jazy, who said it was his toughest race ever, was just able to walk off the track afterwards.
Keino's dominating win in 1968 was magnificent--considering the altitude, probably the greatest 1500 run to that point--but the likelihood that he had received a blood transfusion taints it somewhat.
The thing that impresses me most about Elliott's run is that he clearly was running on fumes in the homestraight...and yet he extended his lead over the others. Jazy, who said it was his toughest race ever, was just able to walk off the track afterwards.
Yeah, you can see that he was really hurtin' for certain. But the others were worse!
He said later he couldn't hear the lap times because of the noise of the crowd and he had no idea how fast he was going. He also said he felt really tired but stuck to the plan he and Cerutty devised. He saw Cerutty frantically waving a towel in the final lap, which was an indication the record was on. Herb said he essentially retired after Rome because he had accomplished his goals, he had recently married and he needed to gain qualifications for a job - and he had also had enough of the pain that his training and racing required of him.
There was a nice post a few years back from a runner who joined the Cambridge University running club in 1961 and he said he went to talk to a chap sitting by himself and asked him if he had done much running. The fellow replied he had "done a bit". When asked, he replied he had run in Rome. "The Olympics?" Yes - the 1500, came the reply. It was Elliott.
This post was edited 43 seconds after it was posted.
El G's victory was a great race but because he only just made it it wasn't as great a victory as Elliott's, who absolutely crushed his competitors, as did Snell. The degree of superiority these great runners had over their competition is one of the factors that emphasizes their position in the sport.
7 years later, Elliott's WR was bettered by 2.5 seconds. 26 years later, 59 athletes have bettered his WR.
26 years later, El G's WR still stands.
with the superspikes + tracks and wave lights
The whole thread smell the bias. People were saying for ages we should differentiate periods...
7 years later, Elliott's WR was bettered by 2.5 seconds. 26 years later, 59 athletes have bettered his WR.
26 years later, El G's WR still stands.
with the superspikes + tracks and wave lights
The whole thread smell the bias. People were saying for ages we should differentiate periods...
Paavo Nurmi god 9 Olympic Gold Medals in 1920...
They know what this mean...
If Herb Elliott had had full throttle EPO, hgh, roids, from the age of 16, his WR on cinders would still not be broken.
ArmstomgLivs is pointing out that Elliot crushed his competition in the Olympic final, and you two keep coming back with EL G's EPO WR? Go back and read the title of this thread.
EL G was so dominant he lost two Olympic 1500 finals, before finally winning gold by fractions of a second, the year before he retired when EPO testing came in.
Elliott won by nearly 3 seconds at the age of 20, despite coming into it not at his best.
The whole thread smell the bias. People were saying for ages we should differentiate periods...
Paavo Nurmi god 9 Olympic Gold Medals in 1920...
They know what this mean...
If Herb Elliott had had full throttle EPO, hgh, roids, from the age of 16, his WR on cinders would still not be broken.
ArmstomgLivs is pointing out that Elliot crushed his competition in the Olympic final, and you two keep coming back with EL G's EPO WR? Go back and read the title of this thread.
EL G was so dominant he lost two Olympic 1500 finals, before finally winning gold by fractions of a second, the year before he retired when EPO testing came in.
Elliott won by nearly 3 seconds at the age of 20, despite coming into it not at his best.
It's hard to argue against this. A WR 3.35.6 in this era running the way he did, in the Olympic final - epic. Without factoring in important nuances etc it's like Jakob going out and running 3.25.8 in the Paris final.
Keinos 3.34.91 at Mexico City's 7400ft altitude was a pretty impressive victory (even though it's pretty clear his upbringing at approximately the same altitude probably helped that). His victory (2.98 seconds) was actually even slightly bigger than Elliots (2.8) but accounting for HT v ET it was probably almost identical.
Only thing I might disagree with, I don't know if the track and spikes is quite that much of an automatic bump, but no doubt a time much quicker than the 3.35 he posted.
Excellent answer Salvitore.
Mexico was the first Olympic Games with a synthetic track.
And of course there is the dubiousness of Keino jumping out of his Mexican hospital bed after supposedly being seriously ill to get to the final. There is probably a reason Aouita spent a lot of time training in Mexico.
Still, it's crazy to think that we could have had Elliott, Snell, Ryun, and Keino - all still in their 20's - in the 68 final.
And of course, if the sport had been proffessional back then, not only would Elliott likely not have retired, but he wouldn't have been smoking, and only seriously training 6 months before the Games.
If Herb Elliott had had full throttle EPO, hgh, roids, from the age of 16, his WR on cinders would still not be broken.
ArmstomgLivs is pointing out that Elliot crushed his competition in the Olympic final, and you two keep coming back with EL G's EPO WR? Go back and read the title of this thread.
EL G was so dominant he lost two Olympic 1500 finals, before finally winning gold by fractions of a second, the year before he retired when EPO testing came in.
Elliott won by nearly 3 seconds at the age of 20, despite coming into it not at his best.
Always excuses for the white runners. Boring
What excuses am I making for a guy who set the WR at 20 in an Olympic final, demolishing the field by 3 seconds?
I'm just pointing out the stupidity of idolizing El G.
There is not a chance that El G would beat Herb Elliott if both had the same training, tracks, shoes, and 'diet'.
There is a big chance he would beat him, because he is much faster - around 5 seconds. Elliott was 22, Mr. facts.
The thread is not about who is the greatest 1,500m runner, it's about which 1,500m final was the greatest performance.
Coevett is right in saying that Herb Elliott's performance stands out a little bit more than all the rest, and there have been some great ones.
I just replied to this nonsensical statement of this insane poster: "There is not a chance that El G would beat Herb Elliott if both had the same training, tracks, shoes, and 'diet'." Almost 10 seconds faster PB, WR holder since 26 years - there is a chance that El G would beat Elliott. An extremely high chance of probably 95%. As he has beaten all the others regularly over almost 10 years.
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