1983 World Athletics Championship Men's 1500m final
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- Опубліковано 4 вер 2024
- 1983 World Athletics Championship in Helsinki Men's 1500 metres final,
Finalists:
Jose Manuel Abascal (ESP)
Said Aouita (MAR)
Uwe Becker (FRG)
Mike Boit (KEN)
Andreas Busse (GDR)
Steve Cram (GBR)
Pierre Deleze (SUI)
Jan Kubista (TCH)
Steve Ovett (GBR)
Steve Scott (USA)
John Walker (NZL)
Dragan Zdrakovic (YUG)
I found this article online and thought it was very interesting especially regarding how Aouita's times improved dramatically from 1984 onwards.
"Aouita avoided racing against Ovett until Ovett was an old man moving up to the 5000m. He did race against Cram in the famous Nice race in 85, but after that went out of his way to avoid him, even choosing the 5000m at the 87 world championships, and only dropping back down to the 800 and 1500m in 88 when it appeared Cram was burnt out, as well as Coe past his best and Elliot and Bile injured.
He dodged Coe, Cram, and Ovett in 84, preferring to take on a 1500m icon from a decade earlier - John Walker - in the 5000m. He even backed out of a head to head with Coe immediately after LA, choosing to run the 2000m instead of racing in the 1500m against Coe.
But more disturbingly is the doping scandal he was involved in as national coach of Australia, in which he was accused by several of his athletes of encouraging them to use PEDs, claiming it was the only way to win. Instead of defending himself at the subsequent enquiry, he elected to flee back to Morocco, where he astonishingly was appointed as national athletics director.
Others here have detailed how he was at best an average b-level runner on the European circuit for several years in the early 80's, only transforming into the superhuman capable of running WRs at any distance in 83 (at nearly 25 years of age) after he moved full-time to Italy, where blood doping was rife in the 1980s. Later, he switched managers and was coached by Norwegian Vincent Modahl, husband and coach of Dianne - later to become the first British female athlete to ever fail a drugs test.
Although Aouita was the first ever world class male athlete from North Africa, in his wake followed a stream of runners recording incredible times, coinciding with the availability of the most powerful endurance drug ever - EPO.
Does this make Aouita the greatest villain in track and field history? Arguably, if Aouita did dope to the eyeballs as seems almost certain, it was he who killed our sport by normalizing the use of PEDs, particularly in Africa, and hence destroying the legitimacy of athletics.
In the mid-eighties, athletics - and in particular middle-distance - had never been more popular. The sport had been blessed by a string of legends from Snell, to Ryun, to the Golden Brit generation of Coe, Ovett, Cram and Elliot. Along came Aouita, running extraordinary times from 800 to 10000, constantly denigrating the British runners whose popularity had almost single-handedly transformed athletics from an amateur past-time into a professional multi-million dollar global sport, and yet refusing to back up his words by meeting them on the track. In his wake, followed a plethora of obviously drugged up Africans, in particular a slew of North Africans that put WRs out of reach, records that are now seen as so obviously fake that the whole history of athletics is on the point of being put in the trash can amid calls to start all over again with a 'year zero'".
Interesting. I never knew that cloud hung over Aouita. Can I just say that the Irish contingent deserve a mention in that golden age of middle distance. Eamon Coghlan, Ray Flynn, Marcus O’Sullivan and Frank O’Mara were all championship contenders.
I was 17 and loved watching these events on TV.
Cram was a beast in this race. It takes guts to go hard as early as he did. But he kept up the speed to the finish. Very entertaining race.
This was 37 years ago, wow I was just 8 but I remember these races like it was yesterday and Britain did well in a lot of things!! 🙂
I am from Morocco. I was 14
@@rayanrayan9167 Seychelles, 114
I remember watching this with my dad.
Ditto
Perfect tactics from the Jarro Arrow.
Ovett ran the last lap in 51.0. I heard. Fastest of them all.
Ovett knew he was cooked early and didn't kill himself. Run again the next day he could have won. That is the talent of the man.
@@SirPeter6464 Really? He seemed desperate to make up lost ground on that last lap!
@@SirPeter6464 the disappointment was that Sebastian Coe , never did a world championship this was a fantastic first world championship in Finland at the peak of the seb Vs Steve . drama
I've known about this race ever since it happened, but had never seen it. And didn't realize Aouita was third. Thanks, UA-cam.
Heartbreaker stayer. Just keep churning it out. Can't go with that. Even if you are a sprinter, you can't get on the shoulder. Had something left at the end, that is frightening.
If Ovett was placed off Aquita's shoulder with one to go EASY WIN!!!!! Tactics and Positioning IN Championship Racing Are Key!
Shane Lavell It's always the same with Ovett, though. When he's not feeling confident (such as here, because he'd missed lots of training due to injury), he doesn't give himself a chance tactics wise.
Agree with you, he let himself get too far back on that last lap, had too much ground to make up....
Red Rum that’s why Coe didn’t have more gold medals. He was great running against the clock but struggled tactically in big finals. Ovett and Cram loved the competition of facing the best opposition.
Easy win? Don' be daft Ovett's weakness was the long run for home. ( think Moscow 1500m) As has been said,. Ovett was in great shape in 1983 and broke the 1500m record BUT he still couldn't beat Cram-- with a long run for home- in the London Mile race that year.
@@musik102 Good point.
That was some field.All legends.
This is one SSott best races !!! Legend of the distance
i actually hate watching this race-its like ovett was sleepwalking and then suddenly wakes up.however,by the time he did,the medals were already taken.i mean what the f was he playing at-his speed on that last lap was untouchable but he was so far off the pace.....i know he wasnt 100% fit but still....its a race that still baffles me to this day.steve scott was second,ovett could and did always beat him with his eyes closed
That last lap looked scary fast
Another 'might have been' for Ovett along with Prague 800m, Moscow 1500m and Los Angeles 1500m.
Another jog, jog and kick race
What a lad. Happy days
Scott running out to Lane 3 was kinda wild! 🤯
I think only three runners from this race (Ovett, Scott and eventual winner Cram) made the final in Los Angeles the next year. Of course, Aouita and Walker decided to move up to the 5,000 and Aouita wound up winning that race.
Abascal made the final too and won the Bronze medal with a fantastic display.
Aouita has admitted that he avoided the 1500 because he knew if Coe was fit he couldn't beat him. Coe was fit and even World Champion Steve Cram had absolutely no chance when he was right behind Coe with 120 to go. Coe stepped on the gas and the race was over in 10 strides!!!
Hats off to Steve Scott. Got competitive even with the best. The hard luck man. Loved to race and did a lot of it. Maybe too much. Best of the runners from planet earth.
I think these was the best years to watch 74-1988 with Alberto Juantorena, Walker, Bayi, Ovett, Coe, Cram, Peter Elliot, Cruz, Aouita & Scott.
@@APBCTechnique 100% right!
Shame the Olympic title illuded Cram. But he had a lot of injuries and never got to these kind of heights again. 😞
@@large4u I understand Bob what you are saying. But I think if Steve Cram was honest he would still rather of been an Olympic Champion than a World Champion or World Record holder. It is the highest achievement in a track and field Athletes career. Similarly to a rower, swimmer, gymnast or cyclist etc. And the one you are most remembered by at the end of your career!!
Well he did get to these heights and arguably higher but sadly in a non-Olympic, non-World Championship year.
Off this slow pace a fit Coe would have absolutely destroyed this field assuming he was in the top 3 with 200 to go. Such a shame we didn't see more of him in his heyday due to injury and illness!!!
i think coe would have been buried in the too large field just like ovett,probably worse due to his slight frame.it was a srtange race.id agree tho-IF coe or ovett were in the top 3 with 200 to go they would have won
I think you mean Ovett
@@kevinjames7012 No, Ovett was in this race. Coe was injured and couldn't take part.
This was Ovett's for the taking. Rarely for him, his positioning was poor. He should have won it at a canter
He was past his best years and aimed to get the world record back. He probably didn't peak for the championships.
@@mathematics5573 Aimed to get the world record back? He'd swap that world record for a world champs gold medal any day of the week.
@@musik102 You don't know what you are talking about.
@@mathematics5573 Oh dear. Let's try a different tack. When Ovett set a new 1500m record in 1983, it was Sydney Maree's record that he broke. Now, if given the choice, would Sydney have preferred have set that 1500m world record or win the gold medal at a World Championships?
@@musik102 I have heard Morceli. Coe, Cram, Ovett, Rudisha, Kipketer, and other greats, say that setting world record was just as important as winning golds. Take it up with them if you don't like it. By 83 Ovett had all the medals. It was the 1st world champs . Cram was younger and in better fitness to win
still come back:( ovetts race was over as early as 1:52,even he isnt getting out of that cage-too big a field,8 is enough for a final....look where cram is at 1:52,very clever on that slow a pace
I think ovett broke world record later that year in rieti but no video here? Cram beat ovett in classic 1500 layer that year at c palace. Ovett my favourite. I dont think he ever the same after 1981 injury.
Aouita inexpérimenté se comporta , à ses dépends, comme lièvre pour Kram et Scott
Stronketti baleno e molto fabricante Bolognese.
Ovett got boxed I was willing him to win
hmm to comments below and agree,but ovett who i actually think was the best of that era was coming off the back off bad seasons and the railings incident.a 1980/81 steve ovett would have won that easily.ovett said he lost his kick after the railings,i think he did too but i also think he lost his ability to keep up mid/late race where he would have been on their shoulders and given himself a chance,after the railings he sort of had to make a long run for home and here he was too far back altho he made up tons of ground.for me natural running talent-1.ovett.2=coe/cram.achievements coe,cram,ovett.ovett was so good...........................
What was the railings incident? B
@@brianmcgrevey9832 he ran into some railings training on the streets of Brighton,got impaled and nigh on lost his leg.he was never the same after that really
Joe McMullen .....cheers Joe, l’d forgotten that. Brian
@@brianmcgrevey9832 there is documentary about Ovett on UA-cam. Really good stuff. Easy to find. Explains in detail.
Of course, Brendan Foster was the key to Cram's win. Bren had heard that Aouita was planning a long run from home. and, you can see, that the instant that Said broke Cram was immediately right on his heels, and, of course, Steve Scott was trailing Cram and so he was in a good position.
Now, Ovett! What an idiot! In such a slow run race, it was obvious that a long run for home was on the cards, and so why Steve was in such a stupid position is just hard to imagine. AND, Steve O was in terrific shape, and broke the world 1500m record not long after this race.
musik102 that’s true and we can say Ovett was tactically poor but the same could be said of Coe in the 800m in Moscow. That’s what makes you a champion. You have to perform on the day. You have to get the tactics right. But the true race that season was between Cram and Ovett at Crystal Palace after over the Mile which is my all time favourite race.
Cram was European, Commonwealth and World 1500m Champion and Ovett had just broken the 1500m world record. A truly great race between two fierce competitors that loved to race.
In my opinion Cram injury free was the best out of the three of them. When injury free he didn’t lose. He was willing to take on all comers all the time.
@@lennoxmate4064 Cram never beat an injury free fully fit Seb Coe. He only ever beat a Coe coming back from injury or suffering from illness. The closest they were to both being injury free was 1984 Olympic 1500 metre final. Coe the Olympic champion v Cram the World Champion. Result?......Never in any doubt!!!
Neutral Observer. Cram was far from being fully fit in 84. 86 was the closest we got to seeing them both fully fit at the same time.
@@lennoxmate4064 Coe ran his fastest 1500m time in 86, and so Cram beating Seb at the 1986 European Champs 1500m was very impressive.
@@musik102 Coe was almost 30 then. Cram was 25. As Coe said in his book it was getting much harder at that age to run heats and finals of both 800 and 1500. Tbf to him he did win Gold in the 800 beating Cram and was closer to Cram @ the finish than he was with 400 to go in the 1500 but he ran a poor tactical race. He put that down to tiredness.
If Coe had only ran the 1500 it could very well have had a different outcome but I reckon Coe wouldn't change a thing as he got the 800 he'd always wanted.
Cram did run well though, he got his opportunity and he took it.
Legend has it... his ancestors were in Dunkirk.