1981 Seb Coe(WR)1000m.Oslo

Coe,in perhaps his finest run in his finest season.Three decades on and it still stands as the second fastest time of all.

[@sergelu]

Still the second fastest performance of all time 40+ years later!!!

[@redd605]

If he had the pacemaker for a little bit longer he would still be world record holder this was 2.10 pace ,outside world record at the bell next 200 metres well inside , and using that amount cost him in the home straight .b

[@ZeldaFitz]

As a kid of between 8-10 years old from 79-81 I absolutely loved Coe & Ovett, this was a golden era for Britain.

[@veridicusmaximus6010]

1:44.56 at 800 in a 1000m race - DAMN! That man is the BOSS!

[@redd605]

Only one person has beaten that time and he had a pacemaker for 850m and was behind that 1.44.56 time at that point but because Coe ran almost 500m on his own cost him a even greater time when you think of the athletes that was around at that time Cruz, Johnny Gray, said A.mike boit. Alberto juan.cram . overt.walker.scott. saying I don't fancy that pain and mostly there personal best at 800m is mostly that 800m split plus 200m personnel best on top of it

[@deano27671]

One of the greatest athletic performances of all time. To be able to run a 1:44.5 800m, which only 3 athletes (Cruz, Boit & Beyer) were able to better that year (apart from Coe of course), and then carry on for another 200m in 27.6 is incredible. All the more so considering he had front run a 3:31 less than 4 nights earlier and had a large blister burst on his foot during the race.

[@jeremyhomewood9573]

Mmmmmmmm that purposely disastrous pace making FUCK UP by James Robinson and ANDY NORMAN ??? 52/400m 1:49 800 m 2:48 1,200 m seb absolutely FANTASTIC over the last 300m flogging a DEAD HORSE in 43 and STILL running a pb (3:31'95) _(OVETT ⭐ ran the exact same time 24 hours later !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ) He had all that anaerobic bacteria in his legs and 3 night's later runs this !!!!!!!! One can only hope that after that 1500m in Stockholm he bathed in a BATH full of ICE CUBE'S 💡 or something !!!!!! Imagine if he,d BEEN ALLOWED to rest for another few days of running the first sun__3:30__ 1500 in history ?????? SEB would Definitely still hold the record today at __2:10__'9/__2:11__' 2 !!!!!!!!! It took an suspect EPO sports era to beat it -18 years LATER - a drug Which the tester's weren't testing him or HICHAM for and guess what???? Nobody after Noah has got near coes time ,,,in 38 YEARS ????? Then Noah niyeng a few weeks,,days??? Runs the mile in__3:43__ behind hicham !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Going through 1500 in __3:28__ ? /_ his 1500 pb was 3:28 low wasn't it DEANO????? And really shows us EXACTLY what SEB and CRAM (2:12,8 1000 m in windy conditions in Gateshead 1985) was capable of !!!!!!!!!! OVETT ⭐ never achieved anywhere near what he should have over 800 m and the fact that Peter Elliott ran1:42'9 (1990) and still the fastest 2nd lap in history in Moscow Olympics 50'6 says it all DUNNIT!!!!!!!!!!! lol 😂😂😂 that Day in Moscow if I'm convinced (especially after THAT timeless last lap) ovett was capable of 1:42 ?/ 1:43,0 !!!!! 1976 Olympics and the European 1978 champs had instilled an absolute FANTASTIC MONSTER in OVETT and it would have taken COE FROM 1981 to beat him, coe was not in that FANTASTIC form he was in twelve months earlier and only managed 1:44'7 that year getting beaten by don Paige in the end of 1980 !!!!!! The whole world on his shoulders saying of course SEB just has to step on the track and win the 800 m after watching OVETT equal his 1500 record in oslo waving (remonstrating?) To the world with 60 yards to go didn't just make sebs blood run cold !!!!!!!! As was evident in the Moscow 800 metres !!!!!!!!! Huh!!!!! YOU can see exactly why Paul RADCLIFFE (over 5/6 minutes faster than her closest rival) fouled up literally a mile better than the nearest contender !!!!! Pressure can make or break you,,, COE came back in 1981/1984/1986,800m European champs / RADCLIFFE that brilliant world championships 2005 marathon (2:20'5 7 ?) Sebs kilometer is right up there with bob beamon, Jonathan Edwards/ RADCLIFFE'S 2:15 ,25 And dare i say it kipchoges unofficial attempt at the first sub 2 hour marathon 2:00'25 !!!!! For Usain bolt to equal sebs run he would have had to run 200 in under 19,00 !!!!!!!!! We all know he was capable of doing it,,, Michael Johnson from a flying start ran well under 19'00 for 200 metres i!!!!!!!!!! Its on you tube somewhere just Google it,, FANTASTIC MONSTER of a run !!!!!! Of all the world records set back in the day the kilometer stands out as Joaquim Cruz and David Rudisha found out !!!!!! The UK record for the mile will go one day but I tell anyone this the UK record for the 800 metres and the 1000 metres are still gonna UK records in ANOTHER ,,,,,,,,35/40 years !!!!!!!!!!!!!! LONGER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THAT'S how FANTASTICALLY enigmatic these accomplished feats were,,, sorry ARE !!!!!!!!!!

[@patsquires3654]

I believe that no one that year in 1981 ran 800m in 1:44.5 or faster apart from coe making this a superp world record

[@deano27671]

@@patsquires3654 Cruz ran a hand timed 1:44.3 to = the World Junior record, Olaf Beyer ran 1:44.31 and Boit 1:44.49, so in essence only 3 men ran marginally faster than Coe's 800m split in his 1000WR.

[@APBCTechnique]

No doubt a good run even at today’s standards

[@carlpeterkirkebo2036]

@@APBCTechnique Today's standards are way below Coe's performance. No one near 1.41.73 in the 800 m and they are all miles away coming close to 2.12 in the 1000 m.

[@UKsoldier45]

These were golden moments when all stopped to watch these events.

[@markgregamy]

you can see he was dying over last 25 metres but still hung on, massive effort, he ran with more pain than any other. yorkshire grit

[@simonsedwards1513]

Seb was dying over the last 150 more like ,after only 3 days after the Stockholm disaster and his body totally reeling from just going through 800m in 1:44'56 !!!!!!!!!!!!! here he really looked like collapsing before he reached the finishing line,,,like that FANTASTIC Marathon man from Scotland in the Commonwealth games HAWKONS !!!!!!

[@redd605]

this record and 1,500 record 1979,and when he went for 1,500 & 1 mile record at Zurich 81,are one of my favourite races, watching on TV back then because ,the built up and atmosphere, and crowd was incredible

[@porksniffer]

One of the fastest men in history running one of the fastest times in history (still) and this has only 8761 views?

[@markgregamy]

i have to agree this is the greatest world record run ever, the effort and pain required was incredible. komens 3ooo metres only one close, and gebs 11 seconds off the 5k mark was the other remarkable one,

[@simonedwards8888]

Komens 7:58 2 miles ?????? Is as good as his 3 k!!!!!! But you are correct mark !!!!!!!!!! Fantastic!!!!!!!!!

[@KingLiopleurodon]

@tommy, never mind @deano's customary ranting. I remember Cram's 2:12.86 in the howling wind at inhospitable Gateshead as well. If Cram had run that 1k in Zurich (instead of that 800 where he beat Cruz) he might have been closer. But I'm not sure he could beat Coe's astounding mark here. We've all run these races and although the 800 is a true torment, this one is much worse. A hard 1k is the toughest of all and this is the greatest. I am suspicious of Ngeny's apparent PED-boosted 2:11....

[@peterturnball8310]

Incredible. For Coe to run more than an entire lap completely on his own and take more than a second off the world record almost defied belief. He really drove himself in those last 50 metres, and the pain of pushing himself so hard really showed toward the end. This run, and his 800 metre world record of 1.41.73 (that lasted 16 years) are probably Coe's two most amazing performances. How much faster would he have run on modern tracks, with modern equipment, modern training methods, etc??

[@patsquires3654]

seb coe is the only runner to hold all 4 middle distance world records, this record was from 1981 , when he broke the 1000m world record in 1980 he held all 4 records, sadly this was only for 45 minutes as steve ovett broke the mile record in the same stadium 45 minutes later.

[@msp5138]

what is "sad" about Ovett breaking his mile record? and what is sad about not holding all four records forever?

[@tomthumb3500]

1.44 through 800m incredible.

[@colinjennings3661]

Coes finest run. Incredible.

[@tiriri64]

i' remember When I run The first 1000m of m'y Life at the âge of 14 th. I made 3'20"", at The same moment COE made 2'13", i was a little desapointed ! It was in 1980! Four years after, i back from a dancing club and i saw The final of the 1500 m of The Olympics Game of LA, i was Happy for him !

[@brianwyse5810]

tiriri64 still a good time

[@KingLiopleurodon]

I've watched this and reflected again on Coe's run here - after watching it live in 1981 and being blown away back then... and then revisiting this performance and commenting here 6 years ago - and I think maybe I underestimated it. In spite of my customary reluctance to cipher deano's opinions, and my respect for Peter Snell's legendary 1962 WR run over 800/880y.... THIS...is THE GREATEST RUN OF ALL TIME. It's better than Bolt's 200. Only EPO fiend Ngeny beat the time - just - and now we're almost FORTY years on. This will remain the UK NR for another century and if YT doesn't delete this vid or cancel this account, you readers in the year 2100 will know how we felt, then (1981) at this time as I write (2019) and at your time. And guess what, we know even then none of you reading this will have beaten Coe's time.

[@simonedwards5564]

SOOOOOOOO TRUE, EXACTLY MY SENTIMENTS,,,,,,WELL SAID !!!!!!!! SEBS UK RECORDS FOR 800m 1000m will still be UK RECORDS in 40 years time,,,,,aaaaaat least!!!!!! Hicham el g and Noah nyeng got away with EPO coz they were not being tested for it,,,,imagine if Coe used,,,,,,2:10'9 for the KILOMETRE and1:39'4_800m!!!!!!!! 3:25/3:26 1500m 3:42,5 /3:43mile =the fact that after epo cheat noah only beat coe,s time by two tenths ,FANTASTIC PACEMAKERS ,still had company right up until 150 to go!!!!!!!!!!! Then again gets DRAGGED TO A 3:43'4 MILE SHOWS EXACTLY what coe had in those lungs/legs!!!!!!! HUH,,, TO RUN 3:29'77 1986 WHEN WELL FUKKIN PASSED HIS BEST (1981-3:31:95 AFTER JAMES ROBINSON DRAGGED COE THROUGH 800m in 1:47,7_coe 1:49-18/) says EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!! THAT NIGHT IN ZURICH 1984 COE WAS READY TO RUN 3:27_3:28!!!!!!!!! COE REGRETS TERRIBLY NOT GOING FOR IT IN THE FINAL 500M GOLDEN MILE 1981,,,,,LOOK AT HIM CRUISING WAITING ON OLD MAN MIKE BOIT,,,,TEARING UP THE LAST 150M,,,THE COMMENTATOR SCREAMING "WHERE IS THE COE KICK??? LOOK HOW MUCH HE HAD LEFT!!!!!!!!!THAT NIGHT (AND EPO HEAD NOAH N PROVED IT COE SHOULD HAVE,,,,,,OK 1979 WHEN COE WENT AT 550 PASSING STEVE SCOTT THEN JOGGING IN, IN 3:48'95(oslo golden mile) at the time was a PB BY NINE SECONDS FOR SEB !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! STEVE CRAM THAT NIGHT IN OSLO 1985 HAD HE GONE THROUGH THE BELL IN 2:49/2:50 INSTEAD OF THE 2:53(EXACTLY WHAT SEB RAN IN 1979 GOLDEN MILE) COULD CRAM HAVE HUNG ON AND RUN A 54 LAST 400M ENDING IN 3:43/344?DEFINITELY!!!!!!!!!SEB WILL STILL HOLD THE UK RECORDS FOR ANOTHER 60 YEARS !!!!!!!!!! WHOEVER'S READING THIS IN THE FUTURE (I LOOOOOOONG TIME DEAD ) REMEMBER WHAT I SAID!!!!!!!!!! IT'S BEEN AN ABSOLUTE HONOUR CONVERSING WITH SUCH KNOWLEDGABLE AND SEASONED CAMPAIGNERS!!!!!!!!!!! FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@mandynixon7667]

Probably the greatest middle distance runner ever

[@deano27671]

I think that last 25 metres was probably partly due to the solo 3:31 in his legs from 4 days earlier. His dad said in Running Free that without that it would have been even faster. Personally I think 2:11.5

[@paulfletcher7211]

I really can not see a run four days earlier making too much difference. Don't get me wrong Deano, I think Coe is the greatest. He needed more competition, he just did not have any !

[@deano27671]

Paul Fletcher 4 nights earlier he’d run a 3:31.95 in Stockholm, just 0.6sec outside the WR, in what was meant to be an orchestrated attempt to not only break the WR, but to run sub 3:30. In the event, the hare, James Robinson, went through 400m in 51.5! With Coe running in a vacuum some 8m down and going through 400 in 52.4 and 800m in 1:49.1; by which time Robinson dropped out 15m ahead, while the rest of the field were 30-40m behind Coe. So, Coe basically ran the entire race solo with no drafting at all. One can only imagine what the lactic build up must have felt like from 800 onwards. The fact he managed to finish in such a time is testament to his endurance conditioning, but he was furious such an opportunity had been squandered ( rumours were that Robinson was paid to go out too fast by Head Supremo Andy Norman!?). Coe said in his latest autobiography that had he been paced to 800 in 1:52 off even laps, that he believed he would have run 3:28 that night. Anyway, the Oslo meet 4 nights later had always been intended for an 800m WR attempt, but (no doubt also influenced by his unexpected 1:41 in early June) when asked by the press post Stockholm run if he was still going for the record in Oslo, he replied, “No bloody way”, staying it would be hard to recover enough to do it justice after such a draining run in Stockholm. Subsequently, the Oslo promoter set up a 1000m and asked him to have a go at (a relatively weaker) the WR. During the Stockholm race he’d also developed a blister on the ball of his foot, which subsequently burst during the Oslo 1k. All in all it wasn’t the best build up to a WR attempt, and in his first biography, Running Free, Peter Coe alludes to the fact it would have been faster without the Stockholm race and subsequent blister it caused.

[@kevinkilduff2064]

WR ii the 800, 1000, 1500, mile and a near record in the 2000. The Secretariat of middle distance running!

[@simonedwards5564]

Gosh when you really think about it SEBS time at 800m was on 1.1second BEHIND the FASTEST time ALBERTO JUANTARENO ever achieved 1:43'40 now IMAGINE Somali doing THAT to today the 800m would be 1:41'90=AND WHAT SEB COE DID BACK IN 1981 WOULD BE 2:09!!!!!!!!!!!!! WITH A 27, LAST 200 METRES THAT'S BASICALLY WHAT SEBASTIAN'S 1KILOMETERE EFFECT HAD ON THE ATHLETES AROUND THE WORLD IMAGINE 2MINUTES AND 9 SECONDS EFFECT BACK IN 1981 NO WONDER HE FINISHED OVER 50 YARDS IN FRONT AND BURST A BLISTER ON HIS FOOT AFTER EXTINGUISHING WORLD RECORD 1500M HOPES IN STOCKHOLM JUST 3 DAYS BEFORE HE WAD STILL EXHAUSTED FROM THAT TERRIBLE PACEMAKER JOB THEN RUNS THIS FANTASTIC TIMELESS FUTURISTIC RECORD WELL DONE SEB

[@simonedwards5564]

Sorry I said Somalia ,Somali when was supposed to say SOMEBODY.....

[@peteralainszpiriev4750]

For him to run so quickly is so natural.Tuzszekerek 2.

[@varietylife6847]

My favorite of all time!

[@KingLiopleurodon]

I often disagree with deano...not so much on the significance of Coe's performances but absolute their absolute all-time merit. But here deano is right. This is the greatest performance of Coe's glittering career and it is one of the greatest runs of all time. Absolutely un-f%%%-ing-believable! 1:44.56 @ 800 enroute. The way he went for this in an absolute and uncompromising commitment regardless of what others did...this is why, thirty years ago, whitey was hard but now he/she is not.

[@cosmicwarlord2002]

A MONSTER performance

[@bearsmartdurango]

I was there.

[@deano27671]

Lucky you!!

[@jeremyhomewood9573]

YOUR A STAR !!!!!!!!!! I ENVY YOU !!!!!!!!! BRILLIANT !!!!!!!!

[@redd605]

Was you there for the moorcroft 5,000 metres and Which was your best

[@harrishardy5632]

He was on pace to run a 2:10.7 though 800 meters.

[@LPCLASSICAL]

This 1K run of Coe perhaps illustrates well what you have been saying was missing in Coes WR attempts - good pacing in this race took him 1 sec faster than the previous record in which he was faster after 600M

[@jeremyhomewood9573]

In actual fact seb was about 4 tenths down at 600 m 1:17'8 _1980/ 1:18'2-1981 !!!!!! Then he ran that FANTASTIC 26'2 backstraight (1:44'56 800!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) No wonder nearly 40 YEARS later only one man has beaten sebs time,,,,,,,epo wasn't tested for or internationally known back then ,,,,,,, SEB COE, legally- still holds the world record !!!!!!! À

[@Julietalenzi7899]

Seb coe 1000 mi video favorito de toda la vida

[@BillyBob-yb5ht]

He mentioned in his autobiography that in the last few strides his right leg “simply stopped working”.

[@simonedwards5564]

In 40 years only 1 man has beaten this ..and that was when E.P.O. wasn,t tested FOR HARDLY known SEBASTIAN C0E IS STILL THE WORLD RECORD HOLDER FOR THE KILOMETRE (1000M)=40 YEARS!!!!!!!!

[@jamesfitz2000]

I reckon this is the hardest distance of all , and the current record hardest of all to break

[@APBCTechnique]

It was a great run no doubt about it

[@capt.lovestarii2752]

From experience I think the 1000m, run flat out, is possibly the most brutal distance in track. You`re going through 800 maybe just 2 seconds outside your pb and hanging on for grim death after 900. Coe legs were so full of lactic acid you can see he had nothing at the end.

[@tommytempo1]

Fantastic run but Steve Cram's 2:12.88 in windy conditions at Gateshead in 1985 was more impressive.

[@deano27671]

tommytempo1 I don't think there is much between them, but I question that the wind would have slowed Cram down by 0.7sec, which is about 5m. The thing with wind is that while it will slow you down when running into it, it will also be an advantage when it is behind you (in the back straight I believe). The wind readings in other events were always negative ones blowing down the home straight, and ranged from - 0.7 to - 2.7m/sec. Cram was drafted by the pacer and therefore partially blocked by the wind, for the first 2 stretches down the home straight, before then having it behind him on the last back straight. The only time it would have really affected him was in the last 100m. Surely the one will cancel the other out. There were also 2 Commonwealth records set there that night ~ men's 300m (Clarke - 32.09), and the women's 1000m (McDermott - 2:33.69). The wind didn't seem to affect their final times. Also, if you look at the context of the two performances, this was Cram's 1st race in 5 days. When Coe ran his 1k WR it was his 3rd race in 6 days, and came 4 days after running that solo 3:31 1500 in Stockholm, going through 400 in 52.4 and 800 in 1:49.1! The lactic acid in his legs on the last lap must have been horrendous. He had been down to attack the 800m WR in Oslo, but after the draining run in Stockholm, he told British journalists there was no way there would be a record attempt 4 night later in Oslo. Harvik the promoter persuaded him at the 11th hour to have a crack at the 1000m, in which he burst a blister. Both great performances in less than perfect scenarios.

[@gakaface]

+deano27671 Like his 1:41.724 800m in Italy in 1981, this is my favourite Coe performance because he put his all into it. He left every last ounce of his energy on that track. 1:44.56 for 800m and then another 200m in 27.62. Incredible. He was really treading water in that last 50m.

[@deano27671]

+gakaface Yes, it was an incredible run. I think his 'treading water' was more due to the fact he still had the draining effort of that solo 3:31 in his legs from Stockholm 4 days prior. He was asked by journalists after the Stockholm run if he were still going to have a go at a WR (originally an 800m not 1000m) in Oslo later that week. To which Coe laughed at them and said, "No Way!" The Oslo promoter, wanting a bit of the action with Coe in such great form, and a WR performance, persuaded Coe to change from an 800 to a 1000m race instead, and also managed to get him to have an attempt on the less impressive 1000m WR (Coe's already at 2:13.4). Moreover, Coe had picked up a blister on the ball of his foot during the Stockholm 1500, which burst! during this 1k. But for these 2 little hindrances, I think Coe would have held his form a bit better in the last 100m and probably have run 2:11.5, which would still stand as the WR. Another interesting and little known anecdote about this race, is that on the eve of this Oslo meet, realising he wasn't really up for an all out attack on the 800m WR, Coe tried switching to the Dream Mile and a race with Ovett. Andy Norman, probably the most influential promoter/agent in Europe at the time, and Ovett's friend and manager, stopped Coe from running in the mile, with the promise of a clash between the two in the Golden Mile in Brussels at the end of August instead. Ovett subsequently won the Dream mile, but later dropped out of the Golden mile, where Coe won in a new WR, in Brussels, choosing to run in a low key 1000m in Norway instead, on the same evening. Shame! If both had been in the same field in Brussels, with good pace making, the WR would probably have gone out the window and we possibly may have seen a 3:45 or 3:44 mile in 81.

[@jeremyhomewood9573]

deano27671 DEFINITELY !!!!!!!!!!

[@paulfletcher7211]

@@deano27671 Wind slows runners down, You need to be a track runner to appreciate what happens while running round the track.

[@rc2869]

Magnificant

[@patsquires7625]

no runners in 1981 run a 800m race in less the 1 44 .56 apart from coe he done it en route to a 1000m world record

[@jeremyhomewood9573]

I think mike boit did and some one else,,, james Robinson???

[@jeremyhomewood9573]

Cruz, mike boit and olaf Bayer, THAT'S ALL !!!!!!!!!!

[@carlpeterkirkebo2036]

@@jeremyhomewood9573 1 1:41.73 Sebastian COE Firenze (ITA) 10 JUN 1981 2 1:44.06 Sebastian COE London (GBR) 03 JUN 1981 3 1:44.31 Olaf BEYER Jena (GDR) 08 AUG 1981 4 1:44.49 Mike BOIT Lausanne (SUI) 14 JUL 1981 5 1:44.55 Mike BOIT Milano (ITA) 08 JUL 1981

[@markgregamy]

i agree he could have ran 2 secs faster down the final 75 yards. however his speed down the back straight on final lap was beautiful, like a rolls royce there

[@jeremyhomewood9573]

markgregamy what ???? After A1:44 6 800 you think seb could have run 25 seconds for the last 200 !!!!!!!!! No way!!!!! He was dying with 150 go and still ran 27"6 last200 !!!!!!! Burst blister and still not recovered from that physical killer1500 in Stockholm 3 days before other wise seb would have run 2:11'2/ 2:11 4 with more recovery but never anther two seconds in the last 75 !yards!!!!!!!!! Even today you wont see top runners going through 800 in 1:44 !!!!! And finishing in 2:10 which is what you meant right??????? We will not see anyone do that for a oooooooooooo time !!!!! Thats1:43 800- last 200 27 !!!!!!!!!! ONE DAY!!!!!! It will happen !!!!! Clean we hope !!!!!!!

[@redd605]

@@jeremyhomewood9573 I agree he should still have this record the person who beat it had the pacemaker near in the home straight and he was on his own the last 150m. To beat coe incredible record,

[@momoben9899]

Bravo super.

[@lusardi01]

the best

[@jeffiles7953]

My hero but god he was dead at the line

[@mathematics5573]

why didn't he run under 2 minutes for 1000m. just 2 600m runs in under 60 seconds. easy!!! Coe was amazing.

[@MrJeandezert]

Very good pharma in those times.

[@deankeith830]

Jean Dezert bollocks

[@jeremyhomewood9573]

No !!!!! Never !!!!! Clean!!!!! Seb Coe the greatest !!!!! never mind the bollcks !!!!!!!!