Mile WR(HQ)Steve Ovett, Koblenz,1981

[@rustyjake840]

Of course all these great races wouldn't sound the same without the David Coleman effect. What a commentator that man was.

[@boywonder6659]

“He opens his legs and shows his class” Inspired.

[@garryb8081]

Coleman was the best , his football & Athletics commentary were fantastic.

[@LVPAcharn]

The best middle distance runner that ever drew a breath in his time !! My boyhood hero !!

[@siypic]

Mine also...

[@LVPAcharn]

@@siypic just watched it again after your comment :)

[@stanmonzon5788]

One word…Seb Coe

[@1964karlos]

@@stanmonzon5788that’s two words…

[@stanmonzon5788]

@@1964karlos SebCoe

[@DrCrabfingers]

Amazing to hear the crowd shouting Ovett! Ovett! Surely this was the golden age of middle distance running. Ovett, Coe, Cram, Morecroft...other nationalities enjoyed success too but the Brits smashed it in this era. I grew up watching these races.....these guys made me proud to be British. The amount of work that went in to making these race day times must have been awe inspiring....the pain and punishment of dawn runs, pounding out the metres to hone down the time to world record pace.....

[@seanlarge5716]

Steve Ovett and Sebastian Coe really pushed each other. It was a great time and real treat for track fans.

[@paulwilliams8389]

Just a shame they didn't race each other at all apart from at the Olympics. I remember around the 1981 season there was an attempt to get a big money series of three races between Coe and Ovett over 800m/3000m/Mile but sadly nothing came of it.

[@johnmc3862]

​@@paulwilliams8389They avoided each other. They couldn't in the Olympics

[@johnmoorely7275]

Although I was born only a few miles from Sheffield, Coe's home base, I was always an Ovett supporter. Ovett was brilliant and pure joy: Coe seemed effecively mechanical and intense. The other hero is David Coleman whose commentaries were informative, articulate and respectful. Coleman's articulacy in building to race climaxes have never been bettered though possibly equaled by Agnew on cricket.

[@jeffallinson8089]

The gap between Ovett and the rest of the filed was simply staggering!!

[@APBCTechnique]

Ovett was a gifted athlete 77-81 brilliant.

[@martyn26.2]

If only he hadn't hit that church railing.

[@7523dave]

The greatest commentary and the greatest middle distance winner ever

[@johnbilverstone4160]

Steve Ovett a true great

[@michaelsundell2422]

Man, I mean watching Ovett run is like watching Michael Jordan play basketball or Federer play tennis. Some may have won more or set more records, but no one looks like they do it quite so well.

[@Chucklea9]

Marvellous, just absolutely marvellous

[@luapsirrah]

I remember this race well as a big Steve Ovett fan...

[@Revolver1981]

Paul Harris Steve Ovett is the greatest of them all pal.

[@adamd4390]

Footballs loss was athletics gain

[@MrYFlyer]

@@adamd4390 for which football club?

[@LPCLASSICAL]

One of my favourite coe/ovett WR videos from that era - very atmospheric.

[@redd605]

There was something about 81 in sports that year , everyone at the beginning where angry the Royal wedding gave everyone a belief

[@markhiggins8315]

@@redd605 The royal wedding was an embarrassing outdated fiasco. The idea that two upper class people had an arranged marriage was of no consequence to many struggling families in 81. To think that an irrelevant side show was in in any way a boost to moral was an establishment con job.

[@sundromos9456]

The crowd there...madness! Probably the most intense situation I've seen...with so many people shoulder to shoulder at ground level, spilling onto the track even. European audiences are the best.

[@ProfessorChomsky]

Absolutely, every soul inside that stadium willing the record to be broken, brilliant x

[@alanthomas6947]

Golden era..çoe,ovett and cram

[@siypic]

It was a golden era in Middle distance running in the UK..... right down to club level

[@tiriri64]

Robinson helped Ovett to make a huge race !

[@jeffallinson8089]

He most certainly did.

[@graemestarkey7524]

The other pacemaker was excellent as well.

[@briancuthbert4508]

Pure grace was ovett

[@DJ_Hadez]

"He loves to race, but there's no-one left to race against". Bone-chilling stuff from the late, great David Coleman.

[@jeremyhomewood7740]

Best pace making Robinson ever did !!!!!!!!!!!!

[@jeremyhomewood9573]

Coz every time he was a pacemaker for seb Coe he fucked it up,BIGTIME !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@redd605]

Yes I agree,I remember coe race in Sweden,and one in Zurich,of bad pace making I think

[@jeremyhomewood9573]

@@redd605 Stockholm 1981 !!!!!!!!

[@MrBrynmair]

Jeremy Homewood but it wasn’t a race was it

[@simonedwards5564]

@@MrBrynmair what was it then,,, oh ,I get it, a TIME TRIAL!!!!!!

[@pretzelberger2125]

What an amazing sound in the stadium - like at a football match! And I always liked Ovett as opposed to the unsporting fancy-lad Coe - who, of course, later became a Tory MP.

[@andywright8803]

I was 16 when this happened. So inspirational

[@MikeFloutier]

Thank you! 🏃‍♂️🍾❤️

[@redd605]

1981 athletics was fever pitch on BBC and ITV both showing this drama from meeting in Europe.it was unbelievable the tension I seem to remember everyone was talking about the head to head,evey meeting was packed,all the athlete was always cheering there races pitch side and around the outside off the track,like a school sports day . this will never happen again this kind of fever pitch between middle distance runners

[@martinhill9261]

The golden era.Amazing times that I will never forget.

[@walterchambers9842]

Simply the greatest !!!!

[@ProfessorChomsky]

Down the back straight there especially, check all the folk totally cheering him on, it's marvellous to see that x

[@1964karlos]

Aah the golden days of Athletics. The big meetings: Zurich, Brussels and Oslo would be shown live on prime time BBC1 and called by the great team of David Coleman, Ron Pickering and Stuart Storey.

[@mathematics5573]

Steve Ovett actually still holds a world record!

[@redrum4100]

Which?

[@mathematics5573]

@@redrum4100 You probably won't agree, but he is the prolific 1500m and mile WR holder in history. His name is on 5 WRs in total.

[@redrum4100]

Gunder Hagg held the 1500m and mile records three times each, for a total of one more than Ovett. Since this is before Steve's time, then Ovett didn't ever hold this record.

[@mathematics5573]

@@redrum4100 I stand corrected. You are right. But Ovett is the most prolific WR holder since WW2 at 1 mile and 1500m.

[@jeremyhomewood9573]

OVETT STILL THE 2ND FASTEST LAP IN 800 M HISTORY _MOSCOW 1980 !!!!!!!!!! 5O,6 !!!!!!!!!

[@roddersfiftynine]

Wunderbar !!

[@garryb8081]

Ovett was the real deal.

[@Colster1001]

I think Ovett might have ruined himself by running in LA 84 when he had severe respiratory problems, he was never the same, in the 1983 World Championship 1500M he is unusually badly placed, but if you want him over the last lap, he finishes as fast as anyone, he just left himself to much to do

[@siypic]

It was that railing in Brighton... he was never really the same

[@martyn26.2]

@@siypicAgreed

[@Chucklea9]

@@siypic indeed

[@johnedwards2117]

Happy days

[@christopherlerude4]

The night air always feels thinner

[@APBCTechnique]

I believe Steve Cram is the real WR holder in the mile - these Africans since had EPO and HGH. HGH not available until 85 and EPO 1990.

[@thegee001ify]

The unforgiving finger.

[@colinbrigham8253]

Coleman was no kipling but i always enjoyed his enthusiastic commentary

[@iancollinge2254]

I was always a ovett fan, not coe. I don't know why but guess i chose right👍🏻

[@paul-oy6xz]

When athletics was great

[@GordHerrema-rs1rj]

Overtime was the best. He had more wins over a longer period of time.

[@martinhill9261]

The noise and atmosphere is off the scale.

[@GordHerrema-rs1rj]

Overtime won a lot more than Coe did.

[@Jeff-xy9ci]

James Robinson, unerstandably, seemed to run w/abandon (chip on his shoulder for those of you in Rio Linda) after being denied chance to medal in '80 games cuz of boycott. Tend to agree, he had a physique or somatotype perhaps better suited for the decathlon than 800m. Always liked his stylin' when he competed tho, candy stripe singlet, high sox, wrist bands, bling around his neck. But as motor cycle enthusiasts would say, "the chrome don't getcha home."

[@martinirving3824]

Robinson really lacked the smooth grace of Coe, Ovett or Cram. His form always looks muscle-bound and choppy like he's simply working too hard.

[@colinbrigham8253]

Mr Robinson did his best, Ovett was a truly great athlete

[@sundromos9456]

The socks. Seriously, they can change the way we perceive the look of a stride.

[@johnmoorely7275]

Ovett was my hero with his carefree insouciance: Coe with his intense application was not. I wish Ovett had won the Moscow 1500m to confirm that he was the greater runner.

[@mathematics5573]

John Moorely He won the 800m, beating the WR holder. That did it. If seb hadn't been their, he'd have won both and vise versa

[@johnstirling6597]

Tom Byers , pre big Oslo upset race😂

[@johnanderson5031]

Two rabbits

[@archiewoosung2800]

Another crappy commentary by Coleman

[@markpennington160]

Magnificent David Coleman Commentry

[@kiwinesss]

@@markpennington160 Yep David Coleman was the best of them!

[@APBCTechnique]

Love David Coleman

[@paulwilliams8389]

Best athletics commentator ever, bar none. Just not the same without him.

[@siypic]

(And Ron Pickering...).@@kiwinesss