L'innoculateur wrote:
The guy is doubting of your runners, accusing 40 years of history for doping and you throw to him flowers?
No flowers thrown for a runner that run only 2 times under 1:43 in the 800m and wasn't particularly consistent.
Someone like Johny Gray or Rudihsa are more freak for that distance.
You keep saying this, but Coe only had 2 or 3 800m races in a season to run fast times. Coe was running the 1000m, 1500m, mile. In 81 when he ran 1:41.7 in his only 800m time trial at the absolute peak of his powers, he spent more time responding to Ovett's 1500/mile WR exploits, as I guess he felt he had to otherwise people might have said his victory over Ovett in Moscow was a fluke.
There was nothing inconsistent about Coe between 79 and 81, three solid years (other than his Moscow 800m performance, which was clearly down to bad tactics).
In 81, he ran 1:41.7 in an unpaced race in Firenz which was supposed to be a tune up for a real attempt at his WR in Oslo a week later. After he broke his WR, he decided to try to break back the 1500 or mile WR in Oslo (can't remember which off the top of my head). He was also way ahead of the competition in those years, so didn't have anyone to push him to fast times in non WR attempts.
Kipketer and Rudisha had 8 or 9 sub 51 second paced 800m races on the circuit every season.