I remember sitting up to watch this as a 13 year old, hoping Coe should show he wasn't finished, Cruz was a monster in this race, he gets everything right, Coe goes of slowly, has to run wide on every bend and has an elbow contest with Jones on 2 possible 3 occasions from 130 out, Cruz pulls away from 90 to the end and Coe doesn't have enough to close him down, Cruz the deserved winner.
My first time playing organized basketball in San Diego 5th grade summer going to 6th grade . I had the privilege to be coach by Joaquim Cruz who at that time I didn’t know he was a Gold medalist in 84 Olympics for the 800m in Track and Field . He is a class act and great all around guy . Very professional and just loved to coach the youth to see them grow
Cruz foi um atleta que mereceu as vitórias que conquistou. Um BRASILEIRO ficar entre os 3 primeiros já é uma vitória, levar o ouro e uma grande alegria.
great race by cruz -- he was amazing for 3 straight yrs - he had said he would double but backed out of the 1500..wise...very underrated silver by coe - sick all of 1982 and 1983, came back and really focused on repeating the 1500 moscow gold...remarkable that coe ran 1:43 and nailed silver - would love to have seen 1981 coe vs 1984 cruz in the 800m..or even a 1000m...fireworks....i always thought cruz could have run an amazing 1000m...he ran a 3:36-3:37 1500 at oregon - met him in eugene -- fantastic person - very humble
Coe ran a very poor tactical race. Running wide all the way. You must realise that for every lane width of running wide you run over 6m further every lap. Coe was running in lane 2 all the way. Which means he ran 12.5m further !
@@bfc3057 Yes, Cruz ran wide in lane 1, but Coe was always wide of Cruz. Cruz ran about 5m extra wide in distance over the course of the race, while Coe ran about 10m extra. That 5m difference was about the size of the gap between them at the finish. You have to remember that no one other than Coe had run faster than 1:43.4 ever before, so it probably came as a surprise that Cruz, who had never broken 1:44 before the Games started, arrived in the final in 1:42 form.
@@bfc3057 Look at the comments of the OP and others on here, who agree with me. Coe was slowed by at least 2 elbow clashes with the much heavier Jones on the home straight. It cost him his momentum and about 2-3m. Notice it took another 50m or so to reach top speed, when he then started moving away from Jones as the finish approached. Coe wouldn't have caught Cruz on the day, as he had given away too much of an advantage by running wide (which makes a difference at this level, whatever you claim to the opposite) to someone who was in 1:42 low form, but he would have been a clear 2nd and he would have been closer to Cruz at the finish.
which were Cruz's 3 great years? In 83 Willi Wullbeck won the 800M at Helsinki WC - In 85 Cram totally crushed him over 800 and 1500. In 84 he won gold and ran sub 1.42. I make that 1 great year.
Cruz was never leading until the last 200m. He was always on the shoulder of Koech, the leader. Yes, that means running wide in lane 1, but he wasn’t running in lane 2, as Coe was. Cruz was in the ideal position, on the shoulder of the leader, able to cover any move from behind and an ideal position to launch his own kick, and that was part of the reason why he won.
I must apologize to those that cannot watch this video: a short time ago, I received a notice that some obscure entity going by "Crowley Media" has blocked this video in 9 countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela). This organization "Crowley Media" is claiming ownership of the part of this video 02:30 to 03:04, or in other words the last 200 meters of it.
Cruz ran the best race, on the shoulder of the leader. Although Coe ran ok tactically, certainly much better than Moscow, he still gave away a few metres to Cruz by running wide on the Brazilian's shoulder on every bend. Coe ran about 3m further than the Brazilian over the 2 laps and that was about the distance between them at the end.
An athletics journalist for Athletics Today wrote in the magazine at the time, that he believed had Coe been in a heat with Cruz before the final, thus getting a feel for his power, then possibly the final result could have been different. It should be remembered that Cruz's performance in the final was the best championship performance over 800 ever, until Rudisha's London run. Coe would have had to have been at his very best to beat him. He couldn't afford to run 3m further & get baulked.
It isn't really visible from the angle of the camera on this video, but the BBC later showed a face on (from above) camera angle of the home straight. With about 90m to go, just as Coe started his kick, he clashed elbows with Jones. It happened a couple of times & interrupted his rhythm. By the time he recovered, Cruz had stolen another 2m, though Coe moves past Jones. He said so in an interview straight after, although he did say he wouldn't have caught Cruz but it would have been a lot closer.
Firstly, id say Coe was capable of 3:30 in 79, and more like 3:28 in 84 given even pacing to bell. I agree his LA run was worth around 1:42.5 when the extra distance running wide is taken into consideration. There was an incident at begin of home straight when Coe was about to kick, where he clashed elbows with Jones. This broke his momentum and probably cost him a closer finish to Cruz. Basically they were v evenly matched but Cruz ran less distance. Coe gave away about 3-4 m by running wide.
Coe was out of form, but did some key sessions in the States before the Games. One such session was 25 x 200m in 27-28 with 45 seconds rest. His last rep was 22.5. That showed that he was ready for big performances in LA.@@johnbowden1140
Coes LA 1500M time of 3.32 suggests he was capable of running 1.42.5 800M (his 1979 times for those distances). Is there any way you think Coe could have beaten Cruz that day as his 1500M performance suggests he ought to have done. (he ran 3.32 final after 2 tiring rounds plus the 800M so it is worth faster than his 3.32 1979 WR)
I hear what you're saying but the answer is NO! Coe did everything he could in this 800M. His 3:32.3 off of a pedestrian pace in the 1500M final is incredible, but he just didnt have it in him to win this 800M against Cruz.
@@buckfiden2594 Looking at the race again - I agree with you. Coe was well placed for the whole race but could not live with Cruz's power in the home straight. I think coming into these games Coe was not in his best form but the heats, final of the 800 plus the heats of the 1500 got him into prime condition for the 1500 final. As you may know - Coe lost most of the winter training and was doubtful for the games - losing in the trials, and was lucky to be selected and he was not in top form to face Cruz in that 800.
@@LPCLASSICAL I know the history of late 83' and early 84' as it pertains to Coe. I think he must have been in top shape the whole way because of his 1500m final performance, that's not something that just happens at the games (running a 52 last lap & looking full of run immediately afterward). I'm more impressed with you waiting 8 years for a reply ftankly.
@@buckfiden2594 He was obviously in good form as his 143.6 in the 800 testifies. But he was in even better form in the 1500 final. You can claim his 800 performance was as good but it simply wasn't.
@@LPCLASSICAL Not saying it was as good, the 1500M performance was clearly better. If you've ever run competitively you know that somedays you have that magic feeling and somedays you can be just a little flat. He was a little flat the day of the 800M final, but he certainly was feeling good the day of the 1500M final. A lot of it is mental too. He was probably so pissed off at the press going into the 1500M final and having already failed again in the 800M that he just simply made up his mind that there was no way he was going to los and he would go for broke no matter what, whereas the 800M final he was probably dealing with a little fear and a little optimism but not fully committed.
Coe should have probably gone in front of Cruz at the bell. He had given away 2-3 m to Cruz running wide by the time they reached the last home straight. Then Coe was baulked by Jones with 80m to go. Its at that point Cruz pulls another m away from him & Coe only responds about 40m out. Coe often gritted his teeth when he was about to kick, so I don't think him gritting his teeth at 600 meant he was all out. He did same on crown of bend in the 1500, before proceeding to run the last 100 in 12.6
So in 84 I think Coe's endurance was better than 79, but perhaps his 400 speed was not quite as good. Having said that, Coe specifically used the rounds of the 8 & 15 to reach a peak for the 15 final; he had to due to missed training in winter due to his illness, lack of races in the summer.Had the 8 been second then maybe there would have been a different result. Its a shame Coe got injured in Zurich straight after LA as otherwise he'd almost certainly have run an 800 on circuit against Cruz.
Sorry Deano, Cruz won by closer to 5m than 3m. Do the math, 1:43.00 vs 1:43.64. Coe would not have won this no matter what. He was not at his 800m best by any means and looking at how labored he was in his Oslo run, 1:43.8, as well as here, it's clear he lacked the sharpness of 1980-81. As Coe said in his book, the primary goal was the 15 in 84 and it showed in his prep. He did miracles to win the 1500 given his struggles in 1982-83. Didn't Coleman say, no inquests into 2nd place this time?
Hey, you're right, Cruz won by 5m. I can't see where I said it was 3m, but apologise if I did. I also agree that Coe wasn't at his 800m peak in that race, but I wouldn't call his run here or in Oslo prior to the Games (25.3 last 200 in a 1:43.8) laboured! He was actually very close to his best, and that Olympic final was equivalent to c. 1:42.5/1:42.6 in a well paced race in lane 1. The point I was trying to make is that here Coe ran wide of Cruz the entire way, meaning that he ran about 3-4m further in distance. Had he done this in the Moscow final, he'd have won. But unfortunately he came up against a career peak Cruz, who was capable of 1:42.3/1:42.4 that day. There is also no doubt, as the head on camera shots shown on BBC at the time, that Coe clashed elbows with Jones twice in the last 90m. No, he wasn't going to catch Cruz from that position, but it definitely caused him to check his stride at the moment he was about to launch his final push. A 9st Coe was certainly going to come off second best against a more muscular guy like Jones. I think otherwise Coe would have been a couple of metres clear of Jones at the end. I reckon it cost him 0.2. Coe's last 100m here was 13.0, compared to his 12.6 in the 1500. You can't give someone like Cruz any advantage whatsoever when he was in that shape, certainly not 3m running wide ( and with little drafting), and Coe often had to (or chose to) do this (run wide) due to being slight of frame. I'm taking nothing away from Cruz, he was a worthy champion, got in the best position and ran the perfect tactical race. Had they run again in a paced circuit race after the Games, I think Coe would have been closer.
deano27671 @deano, let me be clear. I do not denigrate Coe's performance. He ran with carefully considered and effective tactics. I thought he ran an intelligent race, maybe one of his best. Perhaps he could have finished faster without contact from Jones, 1:43.40 maybe. But, the take home: Cruz was going to win this race anyway. As for Oslo's 1:43.84, go back and take a look at Coe's form from 150 to go. He's not fluent, in fact he's almost leaden - compared to his very best from 81 - with a truncated stride length and a shorter, choppier arm action in the homestretch. The notable form degradation shows he's nowhere near his speed-endurance best. To visualize, just compare his form there with the same point at another of his races run at the same 600m pace (i.e. the legendary WR kilo, also 77point @ 600) In Oslo, it's astounding that an athlete who looked that mechanical could run what was at that moment the world-leading 800.
KingLiopleurodon Good observations. No one was going to beat Cruz that day. He was at his peak. Coe would have to have been at the peak of his 800 abilities to defeat Cruz here. I think Coe was at or close to his peak 1500 form in L.A., but being at your best at the 1500 doesn't necessarily mean you will be at your best over the 800 as most fans will allow. The sharpness wasn't there for Seb in the 800. Just one of those things - Wilson Kipketer doesn't have an Oly gold in the 800 either. Being the WR holder doesn't mean you'll win the Olympics. I remember watching this race on TV back then. I was at the Coliseum when Coe won the 1500, I'll never forget that.
I was going to say Coe should have made his move earlier, but if you look at him at 600m he is gritting his teeth and close to all out. Nowadays runners would not even attempt the double though.
Ovett was suffering from bronchitis and shouldn't really have been on the track at all. It was a remarkable achievement to reach both the 800m and 1500m finals in the circumstances.
Over....surely you MEAN OVETT was VERY I'll and COE WAS so CRUSHED that he came back a few days later and became the only MAN in history to win gold twice for the Olympics 1500m !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And the only man in history to run 800m in sub 1:42,00 and 1500m sub 3:30 (1986) when waaaaaaaaaaaaaay past his best !!!!!!!!!! DAMN !!!!!!!! COES 100O M KILOMETRE means he should have ran 1500m in 1981 in 3:27/3:28_mile 3: 44/3:45@---- YES !!!!!!!!!!!! DAMN IT @ YES.YES.FUKKIN YES @!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That stokhom run when seb has to hang on after being paced through 800m in a SUICIDE 1:47',7/(1:49.1 ) for seb was the most incredible...FANTASTIC thing any athlete has ever done....you DON'T SEE ATHLETES TODAY PACED THROUGH 800M IN 1:47!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DRAGGED AND STILL COE ran a pb.............running in a pit of sand with 700m to go.....just click on seb COE STOCKHOLM 1981....you wanna see bravery? ?? Watch this........and then oslo 3 days later in oslo.......a run over the kilometre which lasted over 17 YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
All I see here is Coe bottling it once again. He should have gone to the front right from the off, make Cruz go on his shoulder and run wide the whole way. That would have given Coe a 7m start.
Cruz would have still beaten him. Cruz missed coe's wr by 4 100ths after these games. Coe was not in 1.42 shape for the 800. Silver was the best he could have hoped for here. This was not the bottle job of 4 years earlier.
Nope, it's Portuguese, not Spanish. You pronounce a "soft" J at the beginning of his name: Zhwah-kim. (Sorry, hard to transcribe the sound, but it's like the second "g" in "garage"--at least as "garage" is pronounced by most speakers of American English.)
Seb Coe: Had he been race fit for the 1984 final, he would be 800 metre Olympic Champion! These races sharpened him to become 1500 metre Olympic Champion! He overcame serious health issues in 1983: True Champion...Mr Qammar Malik AKA Mr Funky (fitness trainer).
I remember sitting up to watch this as a 13 year old, hoping Coe should show he wasn't finished, Cruz was a monster in this race, he gets everything right, Coe goes of slowly, has to run wide on every bend and has an elbow contest with Jones on 2 possible 3 occasions from 130 out, Cruz pulls away from 90 to the end and Coe doesn't have enough to close him down, Cruz the deserved winner.
I've always wondered a fit Steve ovett , would not of let his title go like that , but the smoggy conditions was terrible,
@@redd605 he’d have to run 1/2 a second faster than his PB to medal, but such a gifted racer, I wouldn’t have bet against him
My first time playing organized basketball in San Diego 5th grade summer going to 6th grade . I had the privilege to be coach by Joaquim Cruz who at that time I didn’t know he was a Gold medalist in 84 Olympics for the 800m in Track and Field . He is a class act and great all around guy . Very professional and just loved to coach the youth to see them grow
Cruz foi um atleta que mereceu as vitórias que conquistou. Um BRASILEIRO ficar entre os 3 primeiros já é uma vitória, levar o ouro e uma grande alegria.
Ele foi realmente um grande atleta!
great race by cruz -- he was amazing for 3 straight yrs - he had said he would double but backed out of the 1500..wise...very underrated silver by coe - sick all of 1982 and 1983, came back and really focused on repeating the 1500 moscow gold...remarkable that coe ran 1:43 and nailed silver - would love to have seen 1981 coe vs 1984 cruz in the 800m..or even a 1000m...fireworks....i always thought cruz could have run an amazing 1000m...he ran a 3:36-3:37 1500 at oregon - met him in eugene -- fantastic person - very humble
Coe ran a very poor tactical race. Running wide all the way. You must realise that for every lane width of running wide you run over 6m further every lap. Coe was running in lane 2 all the way. Which means he ran 12.5m further !
@@bfc3057 Yes, Cruz ran wide in lane 1, but Coe was always wide of Cruz. Cruz ran about 5m extra wide in distance over the course of the race, while Coe ran about 10m extra. That 5m difference was about the size of the gap between them at the finish. You have to remember that no one other than Coe had run faster than 1:43.4 ever before, so it probably came as a surprise that Cruz, who had never broken 1:44 before the Games started, arrived in the final in 1:42 form.
@@bfc3057 Look at the comments of the OP and others on here, who agree with me. Coe was slowed by at least 2 elbow clashes with the much heavier Jones on the home straight. It cost him his momentum and about 2-3m. Notice it took another 50m or so to reach top speed, when he then started moving away from Jones as the finish approached. Coe wouldn't have caught Cruz on the day, as he had given away too much of an advantage by running wide (which makes a difference at this level, whatever you claim to the opposite) to someone who was in 1:42 low form, but he would have been a clear 2nd and he would have been closer to Cruz at the finish.
which were Cruz's 3 great years? In 83 Willi Wullbeck won the 800M at Helsinki WC - In 85 Cram totally crushed him over 800 and 1500. In 84 he won gold and ran sub 1.42. I make that 1 great year.
Cruz was never leading until the last 200m. He was always on the shoulder of Koech, the leader. Yes, that means running wide in lane 1, but he wasn’t running in lane 2, as Coe was. Cruz was in the ideal position, on the shoulder of the leader, able to cover any move from behind and an ideal position to launch his own kick, and that was part of the reason why he won.
Idolo Joaquim. Te recordamos siempre cuando pensamos en el olimpo.
wonderful race
Fantastic race!
I must apologize to those that cannot watch this video: a short time ago, I received a notice that some obscure entity going by "Crowley Media" has blocked this video in 9 countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela). This organization "Crowley Media" is claiming ownership of the part of this video 02:30 to 03:04, or in other words the last 200 meters of it.
cruz had a leg length discrepancy that laid him susceptible to injury
The heats and final of the 800 were good sharpeners for Coe for the 1500.😊
I remember being the only person in a sports quiz who answered the question 'who won the 800m gold at the 84 olympics?'. Most people guessed Seb Coe.
Where has this video been? It was posted for awhile, but then I couldn't find it. One of the all-time classics!
I assume that Crowley Media forced posters to take it down.
Cruz ran the best race, on the shoulder of the leader. Although Coe ran ok tactically, certainly much better than Moscow, he still gave away a few metres to Cruz by running wide on the Brazilian's shoulder on every bend. Coe ran about 3m further than the Brazilian over the 2 laps and that was about the distance between them at the end.
An athletics journalist for Athletics Today wrote in the magazine at the time, that he believed had Coe been in a heat with Cruz before the final, thus getting a feel for his power, then possibly the final result could have been different. It should be remembered that Cruz's performance in the final was the best championship performance over 800 ever, until Rudisha's London run. Coe would have had to have been at his very best to beat him. He couldn't afford to run 3m further & get baulked.
Really? What about Rodahl's 1:42.58 performance in 1996? That beat Crus'z Olympic Record and came before Rudisha's 2012 World and Olympic Record.
man I wish he moved up earlier in the 80 and 84 Olympics. the same thing happened both times.
It isn't really visible from the angle of the camera on this video, but the BBC later showed a face on (from above) camera angle of the home straight. With about 90m to go, just as Coe started his kick, he clashed elbows with Jones. It happened a couple of times & interrupted his rhythm. By the time he recovered, Cruz had stolen another 2m, though Coe moves past Jones. He said so in an interview straight after, although he did say he wouldn't have caught Cruz but it would have been a lot closer.
Firstly, id say Coe was capable of 3:30 in 79, and more like 3:28 in 84 given even pacing to bell. I agree his LA run was worth around 1:42.5 when the extra distance running wide is taken into consideration. There was an incident at begin of home straight when Coe was about to kick, where he clashed elbows with Jones. This broke his momentum and probably cost him a closer finish to Cruz. Basically they were v evenly matched but Cruz ran less distance. Coe gave away about 3-4 m by running wide.
Utter nonsense
Coe would have still lost. Cruz was easily pulling away down the home stretch
Coe was out of form, but did some key sessions in the States before the Games. One such session was 25 x 200m in 27-28 with 45 seconds rest. His last rep was 22.5. That showed that he was ready for big performances in LA.@@johnbowden1140
Look at those long legs on Cruz! How could anybody outrun that stride?
It's a wonder the runners didn't get injured with all those swinging elbows!
Monster!
Coes LA 1500M time of 3.32 suggests he was capable of running 1.42.5 800M (his 1979 times for those distances). Is there any way you think Coe could have beaten Cruz that day as his 1500M performance suggests he ought to have done. (he ran 3.32 final after 2 tiring rounds plus the 800M so it is worth faster than his 3.32 1979 WR)
I hear what you're saying but the answer is NO! Coe did everything he could in this 800M. His 3:32.3 off of a pedestrian pace in the 1500M final is incredible, but he just didnt have it in him to win this 800M against Cruz.
@@buckfiden2594 Looking at the race again - I agree with you. Coe was well placed for the whole race but could not live with Cruz's power in the home straight. I think coming into these games Coe was not in his best form but the heats, final of the 800 plus the heats of the 1500 got him into prime condition for the 1500 final. As you may know - Coe lost most of the winter training and was doubtful for the games - losing in the trials, and was lucky to be selected and he was not in top form to face Cruz in that 800.
@@LPCLASSICAL I know the history of late 83' and early 84' as it pertains to Coe. I think he must have been in top shape the whole way because of his 1500m final performance, that's not something that just happens at the games (running a 52 last lap & looking full of run immediately afterward). I'm more impressed with you waiting 8 years for a reply ftankly.
@@buckfiden2594 He was obviously in good form as his 143.6 in the 800 testifies. But he was in even better form in the 1500 final. You can claim his 800 performance was as good but it simply wasn't.
@@LPCLASSICAL Not saying it was as good, the 1500M performance was clearly better. If you've ever run competitively you know that somedays you have that magic feeling and somedays you can be just a little flat. He was a little flat the day of the 800M final, but he certainly was feeling good the day of the 1500M final. A lot of it is mental too. He was probably so pissed off at the press going into the 1500M final and having already failed again in the 800M that he just simply made up his mind that there was no way he was going to los and he would go for broke no matter what, whereas the 800M final he was probably dealing with a little fear and a little optimism but not fully committed.
That was just a brutal race to watch, a small guy like Coe was always going to struggle in amongst that.
Coe should have probably gone in front of Cruz at the bell. He had given away 2-3 m to Cruz running wide by the time they reached the last home straight. Then Coe was baulked by Jones with 80m to go. Its at that point Cruz pulls another m away from him & Coe only responds about 40m out. Coe often gritted his teeth when he was about to kick, so I don't think him gritting his teeth at 600 meant he was all out. He did same on crown of bend in the 1500, before proceeding to run the last 100 in 12.6
Cruz won fair and square Coe was on his shoulder with 90 meters to go and couldn't capatalise.
Coe wasn’t even close to Cruz missile 🚀
Coe didn't have the zip in his legs to compete with Cruz over 800m by 1984 - he was past his best at that distance.
So in 84 I think Coe's endurance was better than 79, but perhaps his 400 speed was not quite as good. Having said that, Coe specifically used the rounds of the 8 & 15 to reach a peak for the 15 final; he had to due to missed training in winter due to his illness, lack of races in the summer.Had the 8 been second then maybe there would have been a different result. Its a shame Coe got injured in Zurich straight after LA as otherwise he'd almost certainly have run an 800 on circuit against Cruz.
What Station did Larry Rawson?? work for during the 84 games?
Estupendo
Sorry Deano, Cruz won by closer to 5m than 3m. Do the math, 1:43.00 vs 1:43.64. Coe would not have won this no matter what. He was not at his 800m best by any means and looking at how labored he was in his Oslo run, 1:43.8, as well as here, it's clear he lacked the sharpness of 1980-81. As Coe said in his book, the primary goal was the 15 in 84 and it showed in his prep. He did miracles to win the 1500 given his struggles in 1982-83. Didn't Coleman say, no inquests into 2nd place this time?
Cruz was so knackered that he dropped out of the 1500!
Hey, you're right, Cruz won by 5m. I can't see where I said it was 3m, but apologise if I did. I also agree that Coe wasn't at his 800m peak in that race, but I wouldn't call his run here or in Oslo prior to the Games (25.3 last 200 in a 1:43.8) laboured! He was actually very close to his best, and that Olympic final was equivalent to c. 1:42.5/1:42.6 in a well paced race in lane 1. The point I was trying to make is that here Coe ran wide of Cruz the entire way, meaning that he ran about 3-4m further in distance. Had he done this in the Moscow final, he'd have won. But unfortunately he came up against a career peak Cruz, who was capable of 1:42.3/1:42.4 that day. There is also no doubt, as the head on camera shots shown on BBC at the time, that Coe clashed elbows with Jones twice in the last 90m. No, he wasn't going to catch Cruz from that position, but it definitely caused him to check his stride at the moment he was about to launch his final push. A 9st Coe was certainly going to come off second best against a more muscular guy like Jones. I think otherwise Coe would have been a couple of metres clear of Jones at the end. I reckon it cost him 0.2. Coe's last 100m here was 13.0, compared to his 12.6 in the 1500. You can't give someone like Cruz any advantage whatsoever when he was in that shape, certainly not 3m running wide ( and with little drafting), and Coe often had to (or chose to) do this (run wide) due to being slight of frame. I'm taking nothing away from Cruz, he was a worthy champion, got in the best position and ran the perfect tactical race. Had they run again in a paced circuit race after the Games, I think Coe would have been closer.
deano27671 @deano, let me be clear. I do not denigrate Coe's performance. He ran with carefully considered and effective tactics. I thought he ran an intelligent race, maybe one of his best. Perhaps he could have finished faster without contact from Jones, 1:43.40 maybe. But, the take home: Cruz was going to win this race anyway. As for Oslo's 1:43.84, go back and take a look at Coe's form from 150 to go. He's not fluent, in fact he's almost leaden - compared to his very best from 81 - with a truncated stride length and a shorter, choppier arm action in the homestretch. The notable form degradation shows he's nowhere near his speed-endurance best. To visualize, just compare his form there with the same point at another of his races run at the same 600m pace (i.e. the legendary WR kilo, also 77point @ 600) In Oslo, it's astounding that an athlete who looked that mechanical could run what was at that moment the world-leading 800.
KingLiopleurodon Good observations. No one was going to beat Cruz that day. He was at his peak. Coe would have to have been at the peak of his 800 abilities to defeat Cruz here. I think Coe was at or close to his peak 1500 form in L.A., but being at your best at the 1500 doesn't necessarily mean you will be at your best over the 800 as most fans will allow. The sharpness wasn't there for Seb in the 800. Just one of those things - Wilson Kipketer doesn't have an Oly gold in the 800 either. Being the WR holder doesn't mean you'll win the Olympics. I remember watching this race on TV back then. I was at the Coliseum when Coe won the 1500, I'll never forget that.
I was going to say Coe should have made his move earlier, but if you look at him at 600m he is gritting his teeth and close to all out. Nowadays runners would not even attempt the double though.
Coe wasn’t even close to Cruz missile 🚀
Sorry ovett
Ovett was suffering from bronchitis and shouldn't really have been on the track at all. It was a remarkable achievement to reach both the 800m and 1500m finals in the circumstances.
Over was ill and coe was crushed 😪
Over....surely you MEAN OVETT was VERY I'll and COE WAS so CRUSHED that he came back a few days later and became the only MAN in history to win gold twice for the Olympics 1500m !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And the only man in history to run 800m in sub 1:42,00 and 1500m sub 3:30 (1986) when waaaaaaaaaaaaaay past his best !!!!!!!!!! DAMN !!!!!!!! COES 100O M KILOMETRE means he should have ran 1500m in 1981 in 3:27/3:28_mile 3: 44/3:45@---- YES !!!!!!!!!!!! DAMN IT @ YES.YES.FUKKIN YES @!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That stokhom run when seb has to hang on after being paced through 800m in a SUICIDE 1:47',7/(1:49.1 ) for seb was the most incredible...FANTASTIC thing any athlete has ever done....you DON'T SEE ATHLETES TODAY PACED THROUGH 800M IN 1:47!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DRAGGED AND STILL COE ran a pb.............running in a pit of sand with 700m to go.....just click on seb COE STOCKHOLM 1981....you wanna see bravery? ?? Watch this........and then oslo 3 days later in oslo.......a run over the kilometre which lasted over 17 YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
All I see here is Coe bottling it once again. He should have gone to the front right from the off, make Cruz go on his shoulder and run wide the whole way. That would have given Coe a 7m start.
Cruz would have still beaten him. Cruz missed coe's wr by 4 100ths after these games. Coe was not in 1.42 shape for the 800. Silver was the best he could have hoped for here. This was not the bottle job of 4 years earlier.
I agree, Coe had no idea of tactics. Some say Ovett did, but he just pushed everyone out of his way, if he got in a bad position
Coe ran 12,5m further as he ran in lane 2 all the way.
Agreed. Cram was most tactically astute.
Nope, it's Portuguese, not Spanish. You pronounce a "soft" J at the beginning of his name: Zhwah-kim. (Sorry, hard to transcribe the sound, but it's like the second "g" in "garage"--at least as "garage" is pronounced by most speakers of American English.)
Long in tooth 🦷 Steve Ovett 😂
Coe had an off day.
Coe wasn’t even close to Cruz missile 🚀
Seb Coe: Had he been race fit for the 1984 final, he would be 800 metre Olympic Champion! These races sharpened him to become 1500 metre Olympic Champion! He overcame serious health issues in 1983: True Champion...Mr Qammar Malik AKA Mr Funky (fitness trainer).
ABC...
Gutless- didn't have the bottle to face Coe over 1500
We all saw HAPPENED to Cruz a year later against cram
He wasn't a 1500m runner.
😂
That commentator should be ashamed of himself, repeatedly mispronouncing Joaquim. It's pronounced as Wah-Keem. It's embarrasing.
You are mistaken. That is not how Brazilians pronounce it.
He was pronouncing exactly right