Steve Cram & Steve Ovett - 1983 Crystal Palace 1 mile Videos

minolta7i Says:

Jul 7, 2008 - Any chance you have video of Steve Cram's run at the 1983 world championship. He beat Steve Scott, Said Aouita, and Steve Ovett. One of the great races of the 80's.

sweatershiho Says:

Jul 7, 2008 - The homestretch sprint was perfect.

sweatershiho Says:

Jul 7, 2008 - Could somebody upload the race of Sydney Olympic Men's 800 meters? Thank you.

Dementedhighlander1 Says:

Jul 7, 2008 - Clash of the titans this was. The pair of them hammered the rest of the field.

TheFlyingInspiration Says:

Jul 7, 2008 - yep, the jarrow arrow at his best.he always had a better finish than coe and ovett, pity he didnt get an olympic gold.

ToniLite Says:

Jul 7, 2008 - I love the way Cram was never afraid to take other runners on! What a race! Nothing better than two arch rivals battling it out down the finishing straight

dwmpbird Says:

Jul 7, 2008 - Ovett was lacking racing experience in 83 but great Cram for never declining a chalenge from anyone.

basilcruncher Says:

Jul 7, 2008 - a real classic

hitman261 Says:

Jul 7, 2008 - 20 years later in 2003 this was voted "Race of the Century" by Athletics Weekly readers(according to author Pat Butcher of "THE PERFECT DISTANCE - OVETT and COE:THE RECORD BREAKING RIVALRY")

coulhandluke Says:

Jul 7, 2008 - Thanks 1981aLaN Good Work ! Always an Ovett man and remember bein gutted when he lost this . He was never as dominant after missing the 82 season through injury though .

ianzanshin Says:

Jul 7, 2008 - Yes cant add much to the comments. Great race between 2 champions. Wish we had seen more of Coe in races like this against these 2. Just seemed to get together in Olympics etc.

ShootingStarProds Says:

Jul 7, 2008 - Thoroughly enjoyed it. Middle distance running at its absolute best.

deano27671 Says:

Jul 7, 2008 - Rubbish! He didn't have a finishing kick as good as either Ovett or Coe. He was excellent at winding things up from 300 or 400m out, but statistics show that he couldn't run as fast over the last 100m as the other 2!

mouldsie Says:

Jul 7, 2008 - First time I've seen this race since that night, when I was there. Had seat up on end of home straight and will never forget the run to the line - the crowd was going nuts. What a race and a heyday for British middle distance running with Coe, Ovett and Cram. Unbelievable.

HitlersHomeMovies Says:

Jul 7, 2008 - LACKING racing experience in 83?! He was Olympic Champ at 800m and had already broken several world records by then.

milerman Says:

Jul 7, 2008 - That's because he was moving hard from farther out. Coe could not finish as fast as Cram in a fast race. Look at Coe's splits in his mile WR and in his fastest 1500. Coe was a better 800 man than Cram, but Cram was a better miler. It's amusing because Coe couldn't win the Oly 800 and Cram never won the Oly 1500. Cram was definitely gutsier. When in shape he raced everyone. Coe and Ovett were picky even when in shape.

deano27671 Says:

Jul 7, 2008 - I take issue with both these comments. Coe finished as fast as Cram in fast races; Cram finished very fast at the end of his 3:46 Mile (53.0, 25.5, 12.9), but that was because the penultimate lap was comparatively slow at 58.8. Coe's finishing splits in Zurich 84 (3:32) were 53.0, 25.6, 12.5! and the penultimate lap was 57.6. In LA, they were 53.2, 25.7 and 12.7, with a penultimate lap of 56.6. So Coe's last 100m were marginally faster in both races than Cram's.

deano27671 Says:

Jul 7, 2008 - The faster the 3rd lap, the more difficult it is to "kick" in the closing stages. You also have to remember Coe tended to kick only in the last 200m, so his last lap times do not indicate his full potential, whereas Cram's raison d'etre was to kick from 300/400m out & maintain it. Also, Cram ducked Ovett a couple of times in 83 & Coe put his neck on the line twice against Cram; in 83 when ill, & in 85 when coming back after injury in Cram's Oslo WR, knowing he had just broken the 1500 record.

deano27671 Says:

Jul 7, 2008 - That certainly isn't indicative of someone who was "avoiding" others! Moreover Ovett dropped out the Golden Mile against Coe in Brussels at the last minute in 81 and Aouita avoided Coe in Zurich 84, so I think its swings and roundabouts.

deano27671 Says:

Jul 7, 2008 - Also, it doesn't just come down to the last lap time. The distribution of effort is important in recording fast times. Cram had 3 fairly steady laps of 57.3,57.2 & 58.7. He hit 3/4 in a relatively comfortable 2:53.2 and then ran all out with Coe behind him to 200m, generating an exceptional 53.0 last 400m. When Coe set the record in Brussels, the pace was far less economical (55.3, 58.1 & 58.5) This gives a differential of 3.2 compared to Cram's 1.5.

deano27671 Says:

Jul 7, 2008 - Coe eased round most of the last lap, ensuring he won the race, only kicking in the home straight, recording 13.1 for the last 100. He said in his biography, that had he really gone for it at the bell it would have been 3:46. The 2 races are so different in their component parts that you cannot compare them cold just by looking at the last lap times. Moreover, it's just as impressive to run fast at the beginning of the race & hang on to record a fast time than it is to do it at the end.

deano27671 Says:

Jul 7, 2008 - When Coe ran 3:31 in 81, his 1st lap was 52.4 and he passed 800m in 1:49.1. He ran the entire race solo and was given no lap times. Now imagine if the race was ran "in reverse" as it were!? Coe's endurance was such that I believe he was capable of running the last lap in a 1500m race faster than anyone else regardless of the pace. LA and Moscow are testament to this. Both races just got faster and faster from 700m, and in both he was far the quickest over the last lap.

DMen3 Says:

Jul 7, 2008 - Great race

wayzotoichi Says:

Jul 7, 2008 - Yeah I was too young, but I mean people would actually go to see Coe, Cram, Ovett etc. like a heavy-weight fight, end of season tussle between Liverpool & Man U or tennis final Wimbledon! As people feel lukewarm ..it was on a level parring with the most popular sports, depending on who's running even higher profile than the league. I thought they were the same height but the young Cram looks shorter than Ovett, I imagine the ground's unlevel..or Cram's not reached his full height.

wayzotoichi Says:

Jul 7, 2008 - *I mean people feel lukewarm about the sport today..in recent years which kid could recite how fast Paula Radcliffe, Kelly Holmes or El Gerrouj ran last season, let alone last week?