1981 Dream MIle - Ovett, Scott, Cram, Walker

The 1981 Dream Mile held in Oslo, Norway. Steve Ovett defeats a field of greats.

[@JacktheDaniels]

Wow. He destroyed them over the final 120m, just pulled away, and made it look so easy. That was beautiful.

[@simonsedwards1513]

As we're those beautiful ladies escorting Steve at 5:55 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@redd605]

He was thinking of waving down the home straight

[@nickprice3605]

Used to watch Dream Mile every year but this was just "before my time". God, Ovett was a thoroughbred, never really saw him at his peak unfortunately

[@daeuri]

Actually, Scott won the Dream Mile in 82 and 83 (In 82, he came within .33 of the World Record). He just had the misfortune of competing during a time when the middle distance talent was great and deep.

[@gpc31]

To natqrn, markgregamy, deano, 1981aLaN: Thanks for all the great videos. I'm viewing them in conjunction with re-reading the autobiographies of Coe & Ovett, along with Pat Butcher's -- a great nostalgia trip!

[@ftsjr]

An impressive field of runners.

[@keithf_]

Yes, Steve Ovett beat a stellar field of milers here. What a truly great middle distance runner he was, from say 1978-1982.

[@TheEctomorph]

Yet another superb performance by the 'big O'. At that time (July 1981) the world's top two 1500 metres runners - or 'milers' - came from the same country: namely, Great Britain (of course). I earnestly hope that one day, that situation will arise again - i.e. the top two 1500 metres runners in the world will both be British. I won't hold my breath, though !

[@musik102]

Well, we're close these days. The current and also the former world 1500m champs are British.

[@Grendel2912]

running clean.

[@tommytempo1]

2 seconds actually. Ovett was well capable of 3:47 in this race.

[@redrum4100]

Yup.

[@ericgeorge5483]

Cram was an "also ran" back then, his best was yet to come!!

[@davidshannon2860]

Eric George cram was young then

[@drrsc]

thnx for posting

[@SC-jh9qp]

Ah the days of Ovett, Coe, Cram, Elliot. Then nothing for decades until Mo Farah. Strange beast middle distance running.

[@dhdavidholloway]

only 35 years ago and not a Kenyan in sight. Things have changed a lot since then

[@thelammas8283]

Kenya is a long way away. Took them a long time to get here.

[@tommytempo1]

Ovett would have run 3:47 here had he taken it seriously over the last 100m. Remember watching this race in awe at Ovett. This was a race and not a time trial.

[@goldenoldiesPete]

If you mean 3:47 flat which is 2.24 seconds quicker than his official/depicted time on the screen, not a chance. His letting up the last 30 feet or so did not even increase his time by a second. Don't forget, 3:47 time equates to about 23+ feet per second on the average. Ovett maybe "lost" about 12 feet or so by letting up.

[@adamd4390]

tommytempo1 prob would looked back 3 or 4 times over the last 100m

[@francishooton3933]

if he had taken off with 400 to 500 m from the finish, rather than 200m to go he might have run 1 to 2 seconds faster. we don't now how good he felt.

[@francishooton3933]

if he had taken off with 400 to 500 m from the finish, rather than 200m to go he might have run 1 to 2 seconds faster. we don't now how good he felt

[@simonsedwards1513]

Had he taken it seriously over the last half mile,,, 800 was reached in 1:55_OVETT if pushed was capable of 1;52 second 800_3;47 mile !!!!!! OVETT WAS IN DEVASTATINGLY RENEGADE FORM!!!!! he should,ve,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[@markgregamy]

any more ovett mate, coe cram also. thanks for posting, brings back great memories, used to watch dream mile every year in some pub somewhere, always seemed to be 9.30pm ish this race.

[@deano27671]

He said himself that he treated it as a race rather than a record attempt when Boit was still with him at the bell. He also said had he gone all out at the bell with that 2:51.9 3/4 split (he'd asked for 2:48!) he'd have run 3:46.5 that day. Anyone running his fastest last 100m at the end in a WR run had a lot left. In addition, his 3:31.9 solo 1500 earlier that season in Stockholm was worth c. 3:27 (equivalent to a 3:44 mile) when 2 things are considered.

[@musik102]

Yes but Coe would have still finished ahead of him. ( as I'm sure you would agree ) And, Ovett used a lot of kidology when he pretends not to be extended or even tired at the end of races.

[@Stacie45]

What?? A 3:32 1500 is somehow worth a 3:27? I don't think so. Extending that fantasy logic you could have him running something equivalent to a sub-3:30 mile. Get real. He was a great runner but he never ran close to a 3:44 mile. That is why they invented a thing called a stopwatch.

[@gwynjames]

Three of the best ever runners were Coe cram and ovett from ENGLAND 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 how amazing

[@deano27671]

When Bayi front run 3:32.2 in '74, that was worth a 3:30 at least had he been paced and received drafting for the first 2 and a half laps. The pacing in the 90's & '00's became an art form. You're entitled to your opinion, of course, but having studied split times for all the top Milers and seen most of the top 1500 races for the past 35 years +, I'm confident I know what I'm talking about, regardless of what other statisticians have to say; despite the fact that they agree with me.

[@deano27671]

As for Cram, his last 100m in Oslo was 12.9, but in actual fact he was slowing down (as his penultimate 100m was 12.7). You also have to remember that the penultimate 440 (3rd lap) was slow at 58.6. So, yes he ran 12.9, but the last 800m was 1:51.3.

[@deano27671]

His Mile WR was a carefully orchestrated job with the most efficient pacing possible (55.6, 56.2, 56.1,55.2) He had the added bonus of having the 1k WR holder up his ass pushing him all the way to the finish. El G even had Ngeny pace him for 1300m of his 1500 WR! That's like having Ovett agree to pace Coe or vice versa. That would never have happened. If Ovett had been in that Brussels race and they went with the pace for 3 equal laps of 56, then the WR would have gone out the window.

[@user-wy8sj3ed3f]

Шикарный забег! Не хватало только олимпийского чемпиона Коу. До этого забега из 3.50: Оветт - 348.80; Коу- 348.95; Уокер - 3.49.4; Оветт- 3.49.57. После: Оветт- 3.48.80; Коу- 3.48.95; Оветт- 3.49.25; Уокер- 349.4; Оветт- 3.49.57; Гонсалес- 3.49.67; Скотт- 3.49.68

[@donfatale]

I realise that I whilst I'm not from the black and white era, I'm definitely from the 4x3 videotape era! But the athletics was golden!

[@deano27671]

If you knew your stuff then you'd know that when Coe set his pb of 3:29.77, not only was his first lap too fast at 54.0 (followed by a 2nd in 58.0, as opposed to Aouita's 57.2, 56.4 - far more economical), but at the bell when the pace maker slowed in front of him, Coe stumbled and had to run wide, costing him about half a second and the then WR of 3:29.46. This was written in T&FN at the time.

[@TheEctomorph]

Did you notice those two Scandinavian blonde lovelies who approached Mr Ovett shortly after the end of that race? I wonder if either - or both - of them tried to pull him, that evening ! Steve (God luv him) may not have been blessed with the classic 'pretty boy' looks of Donny Osmond, David Cassidy - or even Sebastian Coe (!) - but one suspects that his 'pulling' power was not inconsiderable as a young man.

[@simonedwards5564]

His wife (then) was a WORLD CLASS LOOKER...FER SHO !!!!!!

[@deano27671]

Coe chose to just win that race and waited until the last 100 to kick, as he knew that's all he needed to win the race. He said in his biography that had he gone for it at the bell he'd have run 3:46.5. Cram's run was awesome and it was easily his best run ever, but Coe produced runs equally as impressive when taken in context. Cram was probably at full stretch in Oslo, his tactic was always to go as hard as possible from 300 and hang on. Coe's was to wait till the last 100 and kick.

[@deano27671]

Walker is also quoted of Coe, that he thought he could run under 1:40 for 800 after watching his first WR in 79 (Coe & Ovett File P.89), and that he was the greatest 1500m runner he'd seen as of 1992. The likes of Mel Watman (AW editor) was saying Coe should have run 3:28 in Zurich back in 1980. Certainly anyone capable of 1:40 and 3:28 would have no problems running a 3:44 Mile. Would be interested to know the provenance of your Walker claim? ;0)

[@paulwiley1471]

I thought Ovett was gonna waive when he had the race sewn up.

[@paulsolon6229]

Overtt is the runner who, in a big 1500m race, leads the last 300, raises his fist and starts celebrating w 80 to go, competitor comes abreast, startled , O speeds up, gets 1/2 step, celebrates again w raised fist, gets passed at line Ego Humiliation That defeat by 0 teaches us.

[@deano27671]

Will do. Cheers.

[@terrydickinson3296]

The days of the "kick" "rivalries" are long gone , it is all a bit clinical and flat out nowadays.

[@JeremyEricson]

Lots of Steves...

[@deano27671]

It's been calculated that you lose 1 sec per lap (400m) by being in front & receiving no drafting from a rabbit. Had he been given a rabbit right in front of him from 200m - 1300m (what most record setters get) that means he'd have been 2.75sec faster, bringing his time to c.3:27.5 (x 1.08 for Mile conversion & you get 3:44.1). And thats not even considering competition close behind to push him. Really, that 3:31 solo run is one of his most staggering runs, up there with his 1:41 800m.

[@deano27671]

EL G didn't run the circuit to just win, he went to set fast times. Of course sometimes that entailed closer races against the likes of Lagat & Ngeny, but more often he was way ahead of the field. In the early 80's there may be 2 or 3 fast efforts per year. Other than that they ran to beat the fields.

[@deano27671]

They were down to meet in the Brussels race 9 days later, but Ovett pulled out the week before. Coe had asked for 2:48/49 at 3/4 and was given 2:51.9, with Boit right behind him. If he'd gone solely for the record he'd have not left it to pull away 15 m until the last 100. Cram's 85 WR was a competition against Coe and the WR was a byproduct. EL G had a whole harem of rabbits in tow all over Europe.

[@deano27671]

I am a great admirer of Ovett and don't think he reached anywhere near his potential in terms of times. He was certainly capable of breaking 3:30 between '78 and '81 in the right conditions, which is worth 3:46. But then so was Coe. His solo 3:31 in 81 off 52.4 and 1:49 was worth something in the region of 3:28 when drafting and econonomy of pacing are taken into consideration.

[@martinhill9261]

Easy.Absolute class.

[@anthonyforder8501]

Firstly ovett said he over raced in 1981,secondly there was times when ovett wanted to race Coe ,but Coe at the time didn’t want ovett in the race,thirdly ovett raced the man on the day more than fast times,if they had raceed each other the world record would have come down to 3 28 ,but Coe said at the time he didn’t want ovett in the race because ovett would sit in and try and outkick him,ovett best times for 1500 was 1977 to 1981,in 1981 he ran into church railings and I feel this blunted his acceleration .HE did manage to break the 1500 world record in 1983 3 30 .77 and he did beat cram in London road mile in 1985 ,his last majo victory was the commenwealth 5k in 1986 .

[@deano27671]

@oldjoe5 Sorry but I disagree. Having spoken to both Mel Watman & Peter Matthews (co-editors of Athletics International and esteemed statisticians for more than 40 years) on separate occasions, they both concurred that Coe was capable of 3:27-3:28 at his peak. Aouita is also on record as stating that Coe could run 3:27. Excuse me for holding more stock in their opinions than yours.

[@DAVIDMARTINRUIZ]

Buenas noches, ¿porqué no nombrais a José Luis González 🇪🇦? Quedó segundo en esta milla y batió el RÉCORD de España por primera vez ya que 4 años más tarde volvió a batirlo. GRACIAS

[@bootymanager]

Ovett could've easily broken the world record here. He was in awesome form. I think he was capable of 3.46. He would've destroyed Coe had he been here.

[@KryptonitetoallBS]

What a childish comment.

[@davidbaldwin133]

Yes I believe ovett would of outmanouvered coe and won

[@simonedwards5564]

@@davidbaldwin133 IN 1981 ???? NOT A CHANCE!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@daddykornflakes]

No way possible could he have taken 3 secs off his time. He would have known if it were on and pushed harder. He still has some left in the tank, but not enough to make 3.47. I wish athletes would always use up all their energy and make their best time possible down the finishing straight, even if a world record isn't necessarily on.

[@deano27671]

@oldjoe5 "dishonesty in that action". My God, what are you on? I can't even find that quote on this thread, but "no problems" is a figure of speech. Of course he would have to be at his best with ideal conditions to run a 3:44. You really are a pedant. In Coe's 1st WR the pace wasn't laid on for him as his pb was 3:57. His 2nd WR was an attempt (Zurich 81) but it also had all the leading milers except Ovett.

[@deano27671]

@oldjoe5 No, he ran very few Mile races. Between end of 78 & June 83, he ran only 3 mile races; all were world records. He ran 800m far more often. In that same 78-83 period he ran only 6 1500m. One was a solo WR of 3:32, two were within 0.6 of the WR & 1 was the Olympic gold. In the same period at their peak, Cram ran 12 mile races & 20 1500m races between 83-86 & EL G ran 11 miles & 26 1500m races between 96-99. Who do you think had more opportunity of reaching their full potential?

[@deano27671]

There's no "MAYBE" about 3:29.7 being worth 3:46 for 1 Mile; any statistician will tell you that it is. Look at what all the greats were running at or after their 30th b'day. Ovett - 3:33.78 (86), Cram - 3:33.03 (90), Scott - 3:33.71 (86), Aouita - 3:37.6 (89), Morceli - 3:38.41(00)/3:30.91 (99)-29 yrs 5 months. All considerably slower than Coe. The only 2 faster are EL G -3:27.64 (04), still 1.6 slower than his best as a younger man, & Lagat's 3:29.3 (05)- 3 secs slower than his best.

[@brianashmore1529]

Ovett was a warrior

[@deano27671]

1) He was given the most ridiculous pace ever, going through 400 in 52.4 (1k WR pace- the rabbit went 51.5!) & 800 in 1:49.1. There is a quite complex formula (see LetsRun message boards) that equates that to a 3:29.2 had the pace been equally distributed. 2) He ran the entire race in front ( after 200m the rabbit was more than 6m in front & dropped out at 800m), meaning he received no "drafting" effect at all.

[@deano27671]

Coe had crap pacing on his few WR attempts. Whereas EL G had Ngeny pacing him through efficient laps of 55.6, 56.2, 56.1 & 55.2 , & Cram's fastest was with fairly economical 57.2, 57.3, 58.6 & then company pushing him to a 53.2 last lap. in Coe's last WR, not only were the first 3 laps very inconsistent- 55.2, 58.1, 58.6, but he was in front for the last 600m, and only kicked with 100m to go (13.1, compared to El G's corresponding 13.8) to beat Boit.

[@deano27671]

Cram's first 2 laps were very even ~ 57.3, 57.2; (neither particularly fast). He then slowed to 58.6. It was a perfect set up for a very fast last lap. When Coe set his Mile record, the first lap was far too fast, 55.3 (3:41 pace)and then the 2nd lap dropped to 58.0. That's almost a 3 sec differential. So it was a lot less economical than Cram's run. His third was 58.6 (same as Cram), but then on the last lap he treated it as a race rather than a WR attempt, as Boit was right behind him.

[@user-he5ec8st4h]

Obviously out of my depth. Who won?

[@deano27671]

@oldjoe5 Lol! I never stated it was a fact he ran 3:44, I said he was capable of it! In your world all athletes' pbs are their limit!? So when Moorcroft solo ran a 13:00 5k in 82 he wasn't capable of faster had he a pacemaker? Of course he was. He never ran under 13:10 again, but that doesn't mean he couldnt; the opportunity just never arose due to illness or not being in the right paced race again.

[@Mark64W]

Where was Seb Coe ?? At the peak of his game but always avoided Ovett until he had to . Both great runners but tactics are also part of it , not just the stopwatch .

[@littleo353]

most likely THE best field of all time.

[@mathematics5573]

that time would have beaten Hichem EG in a race of his in 2002 or 2001, that he ran in the USA. Ovett could have run 3.48 or 47 if he'd pushed.

[@mathematics5573]

he slows before the line 3.48 was possible. i checked the top mile times in history. Ovett ran more times within 1 second of the WR than Morceli and HeG. and he broke the mile WR more than HeG

[@deano27671]

Compare to Coe's LA 3:32 (worth c. 3:48 for Mile, probably faster as it was a championship race & his 7th in 9 days), in which his 12.7 last 100 was faster than Cram's corresponding time, and he was actually accelerating (previous 100m was 13.0), and this was in the context of a much faster last 800m (1:49.8). Coe's 3:32 in Zurich a couple of weeks later was faster still:- 12.5, off a 25.6 last 200, 53.0 400m and 1:51 last 800m. You also have to look at the economy of pace for the entire race.

[@deano27671]

In addition he was ill for what should have been his best years in terms of age, in 1982 & 83, so he had no attempts then. Likewise, Cram & Aouita were also capable of at least 3:28 & 3:45. For God's sake, Cacho & Baala both ran 3:28 high fully extended when chasing EL G & co off almost metronome rabbits (albeit in an era when EPO couldn't be detected!?). Anyone with a brain can see that Coe, Cram & Aouita were far better and more gifted 1500m runners than those two!

[@evoman1776]

Where was Coe?

[@user-gs3nz8xj5x]

Did Scott EVER beat Coe or Ovett ?

[@deano27671]

Everyone then had run much faster earlier in their careers, but according to you, Coe must be the only anomaly, in that he was at his best at 30, despite all the WRs in 81? That's nonsense. He ran far fewer 1500s and Miles than all others listed. Had he ran more in his prime he'd have run much faster.

[@deano27671]

Lol! Cram didn't slow. He punched the air about 2m from the finish but didn't noticeably slow. I don't doubt Cram was capable of 3:45 that year with perfect pacing. He actually had good pacing for the time he ran that night. His first 2 laps were almost identical at 57.2, 57.3. He then slowed to 58.6 on the third. But what most people don't grasp is that had that 3rd lap been 1.4 secs faster, then his last lap wouldn't have been 53.2. It would probably have been c. 54.2. Giving him 3:45.9.

[@deano27671]

Lets say he'd have run 3:29.3 (what eyewitnesses stated) despite uneconomical pacing. Thats a 3:46.0 Mile (using 1.08). With more even first 2 laps of 56 apiece, 3:45.5 is very reasonable. That was weeks before his 30th birthday in 86, when he was past his peak. Anyone with a bit of savvy can see its reasonable to suggest he could have run at least a second faster when at a peak, say in 81 or 84, with decent pacemaking.

[@deano27671]

Back in the 80's the importance was on winning unlike the Africans of the last 15 years, where its all been about the times. Due you believe that Ryun's 3:33.1 was his limit during a long career stretching to 1972? Anyone with a bit of knowledge would look at that race on cinders with a slow opening lap and know it was worth at least 2 secs faster on synthetic with decent pacing.

[@forest69ist]

Ryun would have run 3:27 if running the circuit in the 90s

[@simonedwards5564]

@@forest69ist TRUE..RYUNS LAST 1200M WAS 2:46/2:47?=EASILY 3:28/3:29 1500M PACE!!!!!!!!! DEFINITELY @

[@kevinfitzsimons41]

Did Wessinhaga ever win one of these races? I’ve seen him in hundreds of races but he never seems to finish in the top 3. ….ever!!

[@malcolmprice9031]

This is why I think Ovett was the better tactician...

[@LPCLASSICAL]

3.49.24 and Ovett easing down having given up on the WR due to poor pacing. If he had been pushed to the line he would have broken the WR. Another lost opportunity due to poor pacemaking.

[@simonedwards5564]

Now that is interesting,,,,,, Tom Byers trys to shake hands with Steve ovett at 1:09 and ovett dismissed him!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOOK,,,,,, WHEN Byers the pacemaker beat ovett and the whole field,,,, that really shook OVETT UP !!!!!!!!! TOM BYERS NEVER WORKED FOR OVETT EVER AGAIN hahaáhaaaa😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@h23love]

He is a relative of mine. Has anyone have a contact number. My hero

[@redd605]

In the days when everyone had cool athletics vest.not like today ,hate that Nike vest that everyone seems to wear from the sponsors,which they have no choice of colours,like the tennis,

[@Krzyszczynski]

Hear, hear! Bring back the good ol' British all-white strip, with the narrow red and blue hoops.

[@redd605]

@@Krzyszczynski look at the Mary Earp's , thing going on , ridiculous by Nike,

[@deano27671]

To run 12.5 at the end of a 3:32 with last lap of 53.0 shows that there was a lot left & he could have run much faster on that last lap & in total, had he needed to. To compare Coe to Cram on that 1race in Oslo 85 is unfair. Coe was not at his best & had been out for a month with an injury. He was brave to run against Cram knowing what sort of form he was in after Nice. Cram wasn't at his best in LA either, but I doubt even Cram in his 85 Oslo form would have beaten Coe that day after 3 rounds.

[@terryhenderson2194]

Fast

[@deano27671]

@oldjoe5 Ok, try this then. "IF" you actually had any understanding of the European middle distance scene in that era, then you "WOULD HAVE" grasped the rudiments of my argument.

[@deano27671]

Don't talk utter rubbish! Look at the closing stats of Coe and Ovett's Mile world records that year. Coe's finishing was far superior to Ovett's. In this race Ovett's last 440yds was 55.8. In Coe's WR, which was 2 secs faster, his last 440 was 55.4. Ovett's last 100m here was 13.9, Coe's was 13.1. Coe would have pulled away by at least 5m.

[@deano27671]

Clearly any subtle argument goes over your head. I used the Ryun analogy to try & simplify things for you! Your inaccurate argument that "Not one of the mile WRs set by Coe, Ovett, or Cram in the 1980s was competetive. In El G's mile WR, he was pushed all the way to the line by Ngeny" completely contradicts your main point & reinforces my point that those 3 weren't pushed or paced as EL G was. All Coe's & Cram's mile WRs were either Dream or Golden Miles where the main goal was to win

[@dalek3086]

not really fair to run with a pacemaker - just saying