Brendan Foster- 5000m.Rome,1974 European Championships

Probably Foster's greatest competitve run,leaving both Kuschmann,who had won the 10000m gold earlier in the week. and double Olympic champion Viren in his wake.The extreme humidity likely cost him a world record in this run...pity,too,it wasn't an Olympic year!

[@SuperEino]

Early in the afternoon before that race in the evening I was in one of our team's hotel room. Foster and a few others were there too. All us were chatting and laughing. Somebody asked Brendan what his plans were for the race and he came straight out with it. "I going to lead from the start and around half way I'll stick in a 60sec lap" He did exactly that. Some balls.

[@Muninman]

Poor old John has left us now RIP

[@Ruda-n4h]

That Geordie boy along with Steve Ovett was Britain's most versatile runner. World class at 1500/3000/5000/10000 which are all specialisms in themselves. That's why he was such a great commentator as he could speak with authority.

[@tommytempo1]

1974 was a great year for Foster, probably his best year. His fantastic 3000m WR of 7:35.1 was arguably his best performance.

[@simonwoods8809]

As I type this on 23/04/17 the day of the London Marathon and Brendan Foster announces his retirement from broadcasting. A fine commentator and a great athlete - you were one of my sporting heroes as a child Brendan - happy retirement!

[@tufanalatan]

Beatiful run !!! Pity for 76 :(

[@AthletixStuffChannel]

I remember Foster being asked that question....long time ago,but I think he said the humidity was awesome that day and he decided to make sure of the medal rather than take a chance of blowing up chasing the record.

[@jeffallinson8089]

That was an incredible run. To put such a massive gap between a group of world class athletes is simply astonishing.

[@Zndwls]

The complete results: 1. Foster (Britain) 13:17.2; 2. Kuschmann (East Germany) 13:24.0; 3. Virén (Finland) 13:24.6; 4. Hermens (Netherlands) 13:25.6; 5. Floroiu (Romania) 13:27.2; 6. Arne Kvalheim (Norway) 13:27.2; 7. Hoffman (Czechoslovakia) 13:29.0; 8. Hildenbrand (West Germany) 13:32.0; 9. Zatonski (Soviet Union) 13:39.6; 10. Svet (Yugoslavia) 13:41.6; 11. Börö (Norway) 13:45.8; 12. Penkava (Czechoslovakia) 14:00.6; 13. Päivärinta (Finland) 14:14.2; 14. Knut Kvalheim (Norway) 14:19.0; 15. Polleunis (Belgium) 14:23.2.

[@jackgamer8562]

Didn't Kuchman win he Gold in the 10,000 ahead of Simmons , by a hairs breath

[@jackgamer8562]

Didn't Kuchman win he Gold in the 10,000 ahead of Simmons , by a hairs breath

[@AthletixStuffChannel]

Yep...elsewhere on this channel kzbin.info/www/bejne/o3bTepWOat-EkLM (bit of self promotion there...)

[@KristianVinales]

How did Polleunis make the final, when Charvetto (Gibraltar ) run faster than him in heat 1?

[@ivansanders8459]

What a great great runner Bren. was! No male British runner of recent times (bar Moh.) has ever displayed such utter self-belief, grit, and determination. That mid-race 60 sec. lap reminded me of the king - Zatopek.

[@jackgamer8562]

His opponents learned much from this race for the Olympics two years later

[@simonedwards8888]

Yes they had to blood dope or something cos they had nooooooooooooooo chance,,, big bren was that good!!!!!!

[@cesarcoelho7227]

Ivan Sanders Mo Is Somalian and He is Doper

[@tylsimys67]

@@simonedwards8888 Whatever, the time wasn't that remarkable in either race in Montreal.

[@nickbamber268]

@@tylsimys67 Tekosyy tekosyy.

[@seanofafrica]

Aye, he says as much in his bio: "Shall I have a go here? [with a lap to go, needing 59s]...Oh, bugger it, I only want to win [the title]". He later writes: 'I have often wished that I had gone a little faster and tried to break the world record, but on the day it as so hot and humid that I might have risked blowing up instead.' Hence, on reflection, my first post should probably have been: What a shame a title was at stake, or Foster would have gone for, and perhaps got, the world record.

[@mansikkarahka-tn4ml]

ABSOLUTELY NICE

[@jeffreyharris3887]

2 years later Lasse Viren retained both Olympic titles .He was a man for the big occasion

[@Ruda-n4h]

He had also recovered from his operation in 1974.

[@garymacdonald7165]

The days of brilliant commentary!

[@LEIJONALEIJONA-ow8tm]

ONE OF MY IDOLS IS FOSTER AND ONE IS VIREN

[@jonbuls4999]

Two of the greatest of all time.

[@djangorheinhardt]

Viren,??...hmmmmm?

[@Ruda-n4h]

@@djangorheinhardt Viren the GOAT.

[@OMENAHILLO-zv5eo]

foster is my idol along lasse viren

[@mandykhoo2473]

Foster was hungry here ...73..74...on fire but missed Olympic peak

[@davidkelly1455]

Possibly a better run than the Commonwealth Games 1974 even though it was slower time wise

[@seanofafrica]

What a shame Foster didn't go all out on the last lap. He might have broken the world record.

[@nickbamber268]

Records come and go. Medals are forever.

[@seanofafrica]

If Foster were around today he would be running their times (do you seriously think Coe would have run 1:41 had he been born in 1900?), so wouldn't get dropped. As for guts, Foster was renowned for his guts far more than his talent, which in itself was considerable.

[@tylsimys67]

A great man and a great gentleman, and had very good relations with our hero Virén (look who's congratulating him right away). Unlike frinstance that Dutch crybaby Jos Hermens who always had some bitter comments about his superiors.

[@mahtivaari72]

Lasse Viren has been accused of using blood doping because he didn't run well between the Olympics. This video tells that it's not true. Most of the best distance runners were from Europe at that time. Foster's winning time was only 4.2 seconds worse than the world record and you can see that he could have run several seconds faster the last 100 m. This was a fast run where Viren won the bronze medal. Thus, he was in a hard condition in 1974.

[@PaulVinonaama]

mahtivaari72 To be sure, Viren was even better in Olympic years, but the blood-doping hypothesis has no merit in explaining this. If blood-doping were the explanation, why did he not blood-dope in non-Olympic years as well? In 1972 and 1976 he was in a superb condition for an extended period of time, so did he blood-dope several times in those years? If he did, and if it was so easy, why not also in non-Olympic years? In 1974 he had an injury, and was operated after the summer, and this is the real explanation why he could not compete with Foster here, even though he ran surprisingly well.

[@mahtivaari72]

Viren's bronze medal time in this run (13.24,57) was better than his winning times in Olympics (Munchen 13.26,42 and Montreal 13.24,76). Thus, this was Viren's fastest 5000m in big games.

[@PaulVinonaama]

mahtivaari72 Yeah, but in 1972 he was easily capable of 13.16 (WR), as he showed after the Olympics. Viren of 1972 vs. Foster of 1974 would have been an exciting race.

[@jonbuls4999]

That is true, but also, Foster could run fastest in the middle of the race. I don't know of anybody before or since then who could do that, and it is very tough to run against. In any case, blood doping was legal back then.

[@cesarcoelho7227]

Everyone dopes. Do You think Hermès from Holland was clean ?

[@ewaf88]

What a run - I was only 16 at the time but had already become a real fan of athletics. He is a real ambassador for the sport and I remember how upset he was when David Jenkins was revealed as a drugs cheat.

[@AthletixStuffChannel]

+ewaf88 I was seventeen and it was this race more than any other that caused me to fall in love with middle distance running. 40 odd years on and it still looks awesome! Winning is what it's all about,sure,but it's got to be exciting,too,to become a classic.All those boring Diamond League paced races?. No thanks.Few races in my life have been this thrilling.

[@gakaface]

This is one of the earliest races I remember as a kid. Foster was awesome and he did this quite a few times in the early 70s. If I remember correctly, Foster ran in the 1500m in the Commonwealth Games behind Bayi's World Record run and John Walker, and he broke the British Record at 3:37 point something. So he was the 1500m British Record holder until Steve Ovett broke it in the 1977 World Cup, which is also on here on KZbin.

[@MARMELADIKAKKUAFYTA]

my idol

[@johmcg64]

Viren is tightening up.

[@djangorheinhardt]

Yeah,running out of blood, whoops, ! er I mean breath !

[@bradoneil536]

Whoa… beardless Viren!

[@hermes3430]

viren out of blood-i.e. gas.

[@TIGERO-tw4bs]

ONE OF MY IDOLS IS FOSTER

[@gezza7560]

Drug free!

[@djangorheinhardt]

Yes I do not think Viren was using his special " aids " here and see what happens? He is good here ,but not the superman of the Olympics, when they roll round !

[@ollivaisala9254]

@@djangorheinhardt Viren was injured in 1974 and could not train 100%. That he was not quite at his best here has nothing to do with some "special aids" lacking.

[@mandykhoo2473]

great days...before the hell of big money and drugs

[@tylsimys67]

And Africans. Let's be honest for once as Europeans.

[@timrobinson100]

Viren was ordinary outside of Olympics, apparently he used to change his blood

[@MarkThompson90]

No offense, but its difficult to say for sure. You see it happen time and again where guys with great personal bests get shot to bits because the race wasn't right for them. You also see people get huge personal bests by hanging on to the coat tails of better athletes. Ultimately I'm saying its very hard to cross examine eras in athletics or any sport because as a competition your really only driven by your rivals...

[@timrobinson100]

viren used to change hisblood in olympic years [ not sure if that was legal,

[@SuperAteisti]

and what about foster and others, you fucking idiot. Foster did run 5000m better in Rome than Viren in Munchen and Montreal. Check your facts!

[@popeyedish]

@@SuperAteisti never been any allegations against Foster...Viren on the other hand ran like a donkey most of the time and suddenly became a world beater in Olympic years.

[@SuperAteisti]

@@popeyedish Well allegation is always allegation. It does not mean anything if you have no evidence at all! Im sure you have brain and eyes so you can see that Viren run better in Rome than in Munich and Montreal! If Foster had run in Munich and Montreal same result than in Rome he would have been superior. And still Viren was only athlet who did use doping. What a fucking joke. Check in wikipedia and you will see that Viren did run good results between 72-76.

[@popeyedish]

@@SuperAteisti I never said he did. Viren may well have been clean but blood packing definitely went on back then. As for Foster, he was and always has been strongly against doping, no one has ever even suggested that he took anything ( apart from you)

[@SuperAteisti]

@@popeyedish What the hell youre talking about. Foster was clean because he has been strongly against doping. Youre funny guy! The fact is every athelet does use doping. My point is that it is a verry stupid idea accuse only Viren because he was not superior comparing others. He just had a good and strong menthal capabilities which did help him to focus in olympic games. People are just envious when someone is better than others. By the way Viren did win his three olympic gold metals only with one or two seconds. Where is this famous superiority?

[@OMENARAHKA-pt7zl]

viren is my idol other one is kuschmann...

[@timrobinson100]

i always peferred dave bedford, yet he was considered a big head[ foster wasnt as friendly to me, as dave Bedford

[@nickbamber268]

What was the context?

[@djangorheinhardt]

Viren did not show very well there.He looked leaden footed and pedestrian.Then Olympics 1976 there he was,2 gold medals and looked great..Amazing what a transfusion of blood can do for you.!!!

[@djangorheinhardt]

Thankyou.That was a very sweet and eloquent reply.Actually i was a Police Officer in the UK for several years and later became a (mediocre) jazz guitarist Funnily enough Martin Liquori (if it is the same person) is one of the leading jazz guitarists in America!I have never heard of any slurs or garbage that Liquori(liqueri?) has supposed to have said .If you can, please enlighten me.

[@mahtivaari72]

Viren's time in this bronze medal run was faster than his winning times in the Olympics. Viren was in a very good condition in 1974 but Foster was in incredible condition and that's why it looks like Viren is not running as well as in the Olympics. Sorry for Foster that this wasn't an Olympic year.

[@PaulVinonaama]

Also, Viren was somewhat injured and could not train maximally in 1974. Besides, if blood tranfusions made the difference, why not use them every year? This explanation simply makes no sense in accounting for Viren's superior performance in Olympic years.

[@xxthatpookieeditsxx]

@@PaulVinonaama Don't you think that Viren took easy on training between Olympic years? He did not want to burn out fats so he did not train so hard in 1973 - 74.

[@PaulVinonaama]

@@xxthatpookieeditsxx I think he had less motivation in 1973, but in 1974 he would have liked to be in the best condition for the EC, but could not quite reach it because of some injury (don't remember exactly what).

[@jordanevans9031]

Chris Thompson has faster times than Brendan Foster for the 5 and 10 thousand meters - yet he is a 'nobody' by today's standards. He's not even in the team for the World Championships in Moscow. No disrespect to Brendan of course, he was a fantastic runner in his time. But it's not really fair to assume he was more determined or gutsy than today's athletes. It's not all about guts - it's about ability. In a fast paced Olympic 10000m final today Foster would probably get lapped I'm afraid!

[@therespectedlex9794]

They seem such a better athlete, sort of. Yet for decades they have been an overweight TV presenter.

[@PaulVinonaama]

they?

[@therespectedlex9794]

@@PaulVinonaama Brendan Foster

[@PaulVinonaama]

@@therespectedlex9794 Why plural?

[@therespectedlex9794]

@@PaulVinonaama It isn't n necessarily plural, it can be singular. Did you leave school when to you were eleven. You're awfully tedious.

[@PaulVinonaama]

@@therespectedlex9794 Perhaps you should understand that English is not the native tongue of all people in the world. In my schools, I was taught that "they" is plural, and I believe that's the way in most schools in the world (at least used to be). I find it strange and confusing to use it as a singular (without any reason), making the meaning difficult to understand.