Dave Moorcroft - 3000m European Record, Crystal Palace 1982

[@stuarthandley7102]

what a runner one of the greats

[@scrumpymanjack]

What an incredible athlete. Talented, fast and gutsy - the complete package. What a man. What a hero!

[@gakaface]

Moorcroft's European 3000m record run - I remember it particularly well as I was in the stands at the beginning of the home straight that evening. Dave was flying that night. The difference between watching it on the television and watching it live is you see how incredibly fast they really are running as they fly past you. That impression stays with you for life. That makes you want to run.

[@LPCLASSICAL]

Yes it does make you want to run - until you hit the streets and see your stopwatch on 8 1/2 minutes as you go through the first mile.

[@MAOLALAIDH]

@@LPCLASSICAL you need to train more....

[@keirbateman267]

Stuart that time would motivate me these days

[@Ruda-n4h]

WHAT a line up of 70's and 80's stars.

[@redd605]

I was in the jubilee stands,

[@johnsrous1616]

Knowing what I did about Moorcroft I knew he his event was the 5,000m. I never considered him a factor for 3,000m. It just seemed a Sydney Maree distance. As a US citizen and runner I always respected Dave Moorcoft. Was really glad to watch this race on replay. Good video. Thanks

[@LPCLASSICAL]

I had the same shiver down my spine watching this now as I did in 82 on television - I thought Moorcroft was beaten - but gritty English determination did it. This is Moorcroft's greatest race. he was also the nicest gentleman of the UK middle stars in those days.

[@npm2457]

Nice.

[@clivedale2349]

A very underestimated British athlete!! In the same class as Ovette, Coe & Cram.

[@SirPeter6464]

Thanks for putting this up. Fantastic stuff. David never gets the credit he deserves. Could and maybe should have taken the WR that night.

[@simonedwards5564]

DEFINITELY....MOORCROFT HAD 7:27/7:28 IN HIM THAT NIGHT....LOOK AT HOW HE FINISHED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@JamieMonk]

Shame Moorcroft had just that 1 amazing year. Unstoppable. I was at Palace for that race, so many great names in one race!

[@musik102]

He got stopped at the European Camps.

[@michaelmcginley7930]

What a year he had

[@mauriziocavazzoni7045]

Straordinaria reazione sul rettilineo finale da parte di Moorcroft.

[@athleticscoach2012]

One of the greatest examples of front running you will see

[@athleticscoach2012]

Thanks for putting these up - tommytempo you are a legend!

[@runningshoe1]

Never thought I`d get to see this particular Moorcroft race again. If you`d told me then it would still be standing in 2014, I`d never have believed it. Back then we were measuring the lifespan of records in days.

[@runcaz7802]

Alex Wilson: Still standing? Daniel Komen ran 7:20 in 1995 or 95.

[@tommytempo1]

UK Record.

[@adamd4390]

Moorcroft forgotten man of British athletics

[@jeremyhomewood9573]

Never forgotten !!!!! LIVING LEGEND !!!!!!!!

[@LPCLASSICAL]

Not forgotten - achieved great things and but for bad luck would have done much more.

[@simonsedwards1513]

How many injuries and operations did moorcroft have to endure????????????? Countless,,,,,, I wish ovett and moorcroft were fit in 1984!!!!!! We would have seen history in the making!!!!!!!!!

[@lanagorgeous9485]

If Moorcroft had this year in 1984, he would be Olympic champ in the 5,000. IN 82 he was invincible!

[@brettwilkinson9529]

Old man Walker still runs 3rd. What a durable athlete he was.

[@brettdavies4953]

'Old'? He's only a year older than Moorcroft.

[@WithBACON]

Ovett truly had off-the-charts natural talent...

[@brettdavies4953]

He was one of the great talents. Olympic Champion at 800m, Commonwealth Champion at 5000m, 1.05 half marathon, He was the complete distance runner. If you wanted to create the perfect middle distance runner in a lab, he would come out just like Ovett. The power and speed, combined with unbelievable endurance made him almost unbeatable at his peak. That church railing robbed us of possibly another half dozen world records and a few more major championships. He probably could have run 3.28/3.46 given the chance.

[@MrYFlyer]

Geb has a much better range.

[@Ruda-n4h]

@@brettdavies4953 Indeed, if could break the World Record for 1500m in 1983 with 3:30.77 when he was passed his best, he should have been able to have run 3:29 in about 1981.

[@Muninman]

@@brettdavies4953 In his autobiography he mentioned times like this which he felt he was capable of. I have to say he looked amazing at the start of this video - a truly natural runner

[@Muninman]

Agree - he looked amazingly fluent in this video

[@seanofafrica]

I agree he could probably have broken the 10K record, given his ability over cross country. Shame here that the earlier pace wasn't a little more speedy, as the way he finished - like a train - suggests he could have not just broekn the 7.32.1 world record but also dipped under the 7.30 barrier.

[@sedwards8870]

Had moorcroft had better pacemaker he definitely would have run 7,27 7,28 and his 5000 in Oslo his solo run(65 second lap!) Would have been 12, 55 12, 56 definitely even though he smashed it by six second !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I remember the 1982 national cross country at leeds that year when dave finished fourth the first four were flying ! Sub 4, 30 first mile !!!!!!!!!!!!! Over mud n, hills!!!!!¡! Then that fantastic road relay beating fosters time !!!!!!!!! No wonder when the European champs came along that year he was a spent force coz wessinhagae who beat him finished nowhere in this race, truth !!!!!! Dave moorcroft was something else !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!😀😀😀😀😀😀😀

[@simonedwards8888]

Jobber Bob. Thanks Bob!!!!!!!! I remember dave winning the mile in oslo prior to los Angeles in3,50, and bits!!!!!!!!! Then got hurt,,, again!!!!!!!!!just before the Olympics!!!!!!!!! He would definitely have got silver, not taking anything away from Markus ryfel and our tim Hutchings and the other guy,,, can't remember his name! Fantastic days!!!!!!!

[@LPCLASSICAL]

Wessinhage was smart - timed to peak at the euros. But who remembers the Euros form 1982 it was all Moorcroft and Cram.

[@jeremyhomewood9573]

Didn't moorcroft in the 1982 national get left behind the whole field??? He had to weave his way through over 2,000 athletes to finish 4th !!!!!!!!!!!! WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT A RUNNER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@LPCLASSICAL]

Imagine if Coe and Ovett had been fit for this race. Moorcroft running fast to neutralise the kick of those two - would have been sub 7.30.

[@petekadenz9465]

Coe was a fabulous 800m and 1500m runner, but could he run close to world record pace for the 3000m?

[@ЭдгарГольцов]

Судя по составу участников-это неофициальный чемпионат мира по бегу на 3000 м.Не хватало только рекордсмена мира Хенри Роно, но он в 1982 году ,не был так хорош как в 1978.Итог:Муркрофт 732.79 -рекорд Европы,Сидней Мэйри 733.37-рекорд обеих Америк,Джон Уокер 737.49-рекорд Океании.Результаты очень высоки и по сегодняшним меркам.

[@petekadenz9465]

Fantastic run against to tip top world class field. If the pace for the first 300m had been faster, he might have broken the world record.

[@seanofafrica]

I'm envious of you being in the stands for this race! Thanks for sharing that, can you tell us what other races were on? PS Fantastic athlete that he was, I'm not so sure about Elliot being the 4th "greatest" (unless you meant 4th 'fastest'). In terms of greatness, I'm assuming you're putting him behind Ovett, Coe and Cram (???) but would you put him above, for instance, Bannister, Lowe and Hill? I'm not having a go, I just enjoy fresh opinions and talking athletics.

[@patsquires3654]

I was in the stands that night I was 14 and my brother 8 it was a glorious night for british althletcs even thogh I have been to the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 and the London Olympics in 2012 there was something VERY special about the apmostphe at crystal palace and this this meeting, dave Moorcroft was SUPERB and its a great meeting a will NEVER forget

[@ChristopherCudworth]

Runner and writer Kenny Moore described the race in which Moorcraft first broke 13:00 for 5k as an instance of going "wonderfully mad."

[@jeremyhomewood9573]

He didn't break 13:00 , said aquita was the first !!!! Sorry to say !!!!!!

[@uhegbu]

I remember the original BBC Athletics tune that ran into the 1990s, too.

[@WilfChadwick]

Stacked AF!

[@gary1961]

At 2:01 - ' .... and also from the states, Sidney Maree, the coloured South African, who moved to America to run.' Now there was a 'sign of the times.' Due to apartheid, South African sportsmen and women were banned from international competition so Maree had to move to America and compete as an American.

[@andrewdeacon8315]

This was Moorcrofts year he long lived in the shadow of Coe/ovett at 1500m but 82 they both had injury/illness issues and he found success at 5000/3000m. Incidentally this was supposed to be the 3rd in a series of Coe/Ovett races , fascinating to think how it might have turned out if they were both on top form , no doubt Ovett could have been amazing at 3000m after beating Rono in 78 over 2 miles , maybe over distance for Coe (at least at WR pace)

[@samhardy6319]

Ovett was the 800m Olympic Champion, not the 1500m Champion. Trivial point though - brilliant race and a great run from Moorcroft.

[@nickbamber268]

Mike Boit running 3000m?!

[@Ruda-n4h]

A natural runner like Kip Keino.