Wilson Kipketer 800m world record

Former world record holder Wilson Kipketer finally breaks Seb Coe's long standing 800m world record. Weltklasse Zürich GP on 13 August 1997.

[@CentsTwo]

A world record with such relaxation, amazing.

[@szymon6207]

Do 1:40.77 is next ?

[@suhasa9772]

The 800m is the most talked-about, toughest event in the history of the athletics..1500 taking close order.. (though the 100 & 200 have been bloated up in the media..) It involves pacing alongwith the pacemakers, timing, class n ofcourse keeping in mind the timing of the World Record Holder.. And Wilson Kipketer's pacing was superb..beating Seb Coe's record must've felt amazing..

[@matthewgibbons4525]

48 1st lap 53 2nd lap is not 'superb pacing' lol

[@alansamuel2454]

Kipketer is a great, unbelievably talented but his pacing in this race was practically non existent. However to start with a 48 second lap(Something only him, Amos and Gray have done) and still hang on to bet Coe's record is truly nothing short of a miracle.

[@Fit_AF_123]

You're wrong buddy. It's the 400m.

[@alansamuel2454]

@@Fit_AF_123 The 400 and 800 are the most painful events for track, not including the hurdles. I personally think 800 m is worse. It's running double the distance at close to 400 m speed.

[@alansamuel2454]

@Newromantic999 Yup! That was wonderful.

[@RavishingSailor]

my god!!! I have seen this video 100's of times and after being a competitive runner Iam just bewildered at how Mr Kipketer can run this insanely and magical time, finishing the race and not even breaking a sweat let alone breathing hard.

[@fredrickchelule9255]

he's Kenyan

[@jacure123]

But Danish citizen.😁

[@mwendapoleee]

His shaking hands like huh 😉

[@jeremyhomewood9573]

@TakeAShowerStinky fukkin idiot camera man !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@ynotnilknarf39]

EPO

[@suhasa9772]

"And he's knocking 1/2 a sec off a record tat they thought would stand 4ever.." !!

[@Luke-mq6mn]

10 years ago, the age of text speak.

[@yung4evr]

A beautiful runner Kipketer was indeed.

[@KitagumaIgen]

The most beautiful running-stride ever! (If I were the judge at least...)

[@headache203]

Thats great running he didn't break a sweat or take a deep breath after the race amazing

[@a_melly]

Commentator *record gonna stay forever. * David Rudisha : hold my beer. 🍻

[@garyhamilton1981]

The best 800m runner. He was unfortunate with contracting malaria and injury otherwise in my opinion he would have smashed the 1:40 mark

[@dash0173]

+Gary Hamilton He contracted malaria?!?!?!? woahhhh

[@mihaiadriana2850]

Gary Hamilton cxacxxxxaxxxxaxxaxxaaaaaaaaxxaaxxaaxxxxaaxaacxcxaaaaaaacxaaacxacxaaacxaaaaaaaaaaaaacxaaacxacxacza x. 🏌🏏🏌🏏yhsn

[@jeremyhomewood9573]

@newromantic888 22*8 at 200 metres !!!!!!! You are sooooooooo right !!!!!!! 48*10 400 metres ?????? Whaaaaàaaaaaaaaat the !!!!!!!!

[@ynotnilknarf39]

@@jeremyhomewood9573 Doped to the fucking gills

[@carolinehirst4921]

Coe woulod have run faster if not for injuries and his blood disorder so its all ifs and buts.

[@LazyAssWins]

He didn't even look out of breath!

[@kimutaicheruiyotgilbert8189]

Exactly! This guy was so strong

[@runcaz7802]

A record "they thought would stand forever". No record stands forever. Not a single one.

[@bernardliu8526]

What about women's 400 metres ? Madam.Kock(?) was faster than a rocket !

[@jeremyhomewood9573]

@@bernardliu8526 DRUGS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@ccx806]

@@bernardliu8526 The womens 800m world record is even older (Jarmila Kratochvilova 1983)

[@user-ui6kv2np8i]

@@ccx806 Marita Koch's indoor 100m WR is even older than Jarmila's outdoor 800. (That 100m time still stands today btw)

[@ericgeorge5483]

If Coe was around today on the top quality tracks we have these days he undoubtedly would still be the 800m king.

[@Okwash1]

He would be caught for doping. 100% sure the guy doped. Kenya is pure raw talent, they just work on speed.

[@simonsedwards1513]

@@Okwash1 COE was tester thousands of times,, NO HE DIDN'T NEVER DOPED PURE TALENT DETERMINATION AND PERSEVERANCE,,,, COE KIPKETER RUDISHA CLEAN !!!!!!!

[@isaaclangat568]

Coe was great but kipketer was more talented more than even the current world record Holder

[@blackpill6470]

@@Okwash1 even though kenya has the most drug related running busts lol, coe is still the greatest middle distance runner to grace the planet

[@random-zb7fp]

@@blackpill6470 Daniel Komen

[@berylotieno276]

Kenya all the way. Wilson kipketer is Kenyan by birth, tribe ,heritage. genetics, a kalenjin by tribe.

[@nicholaskirui4123]

But he was running for Denmark 😢

[@jeremyhomewood7740]

Two world records in ELEVON DAYS !!!!!!!!!! Unbelievable!!!!!! Truly unbelievable !!!!!!!

[@hansdekorver7365]

Rudisha two world records in Seven days , 22-8 and 29 - 8 / 2010 , 1.41.09 and 1.41.01 .

[@nicolaslacrampe459]

Perfect , light , fast ... just as a dream

[@jimbeen1771]

gotta love these people who come on here and arent runners, and then talk about it like they know XD. running alone is soooo tough

[@julioggg2744]

Dude he is not even tired, EPO for sure ... remind me Asbel Kiprop that did 3.26 at Monaco finishing exactly the same and yet didn’t do a WR, caught for EPO a couple of years later

[@carolinehirst4921]

You mean drug man.

[@carolina5131]

Look at the state of the "track" that Seb Coe ran on, and the one that Kipketer ran on. If Coe had run on what either Kipketer or Rudisha run on/ran on, Seb Coe would (probably) still have the WR.

[@eluceanlestelle]

You are right! The Florence track's condition Seb Coe ran on his best time were not comparable to modern tracks. Yet I must say athlets have always good pleas for pointing out they could get a better time only if..... ...:It was very hot ,the pacemaker got me faster/slower than the ideal time,I was tired because 3 days after I ran in another meeting,I got injuried this spring so I did not complete my training session properly, and so on. I was an amateur runner too and in my youth ,my best time on 800m was just 2'03''...You are allowed to laugh at it. My best plea for that miserable performance was I ran it after 8 hours of working standing and I was not trained for 800m. The truth is my best time on that distance was my limit. So 1'41''72 was Seb Coe's limit on 800m ! I am a great admirer of Seb Coe,Kipketer,Rudisha and all the other human beings struggling for running faster and faster!

[@runcaz7802]

Kal el: If the pacemaker hadn't led through 400 in 48 sec (faster than Rudisha s record by a full second) Kipkeiter would have run even faster.

[@ericgeorge5483]

You make a very good point, also, training is much better nowadays too. Had Coe been active today, I think he would be top dog.

[@abdallahkilume6598]

Those are ifsss

[@barnbersonol]

I'm reading Seb's autobiog right now and his training facilities were laughable. Winter training consisted of his dad following in his Cortina so Seb could benefit from the headlights. He didn't even have access to a floodlit track!! If he was running today he'd slaughter the opposition.

[@brendanphillips7018]

48.1 at 400m means a second lap of 53. That's a huge differential. If he went through in 49, his lactic acid levels in the second 400m would have been lower and as a front runner anyway in the second half, didn't need to chase anyone down to win and get his best time. 49/51 would then be really on the cards making him a 1:40 and probably in front of Rudisha with that time. Imagine them running against each other at full pace... Both front runners pushed to the limits... 1:40 will be broken in the next 4 years I predict. It is long overdue.

[@666zerowolf]

good writeup...u know running intimately!

[@User-do1hx]

Brendan Phillips Not necessarily... it's an 800. Basically an extended sprint. There are two types of 800 runners. Sprinters (400) who tend to go out fast and slow down, or 1500 specialists who try and aim for more even splits.

[@666zerowolf]

ok Bob...that is true too..The dirty little secret of running is to get off the track before the lactic acid and oxygen debt take effect. Seems odd to me that Rudisha is a front runner who never slows down and is not even out of breathe at the end of his 800...most of the 800 winners...especially Tom Courtney 1956 Melborne,Australia Olympic Games go deeply into oxygen debt and collapse at the end of their runs. Rudisha trains with the cross country runners of Kenya...He might have a heartbeat of 38 per minute and just be cruising....certainly a new breed of "cat"!

[@User-do1hx]

John Rogan Indeed....

[@666zerowolf]

viola!

[@sarahkarimi5390]

Great man,proud of you

[@felosopha445]

He doesn't look tired at all.

[@mugwanja]

At least Denmark didn't force him to change his Kenyan name like Bahrain does.. Proud of your Kenyan origin.. to think that Rudisha would top this over a decade later 😲😲 just unreal!

[@BensonNyasae]

This was amazing

[@kennyj851]

It's not unbelievable, it's absolutely believable!

[@Will-xx4qs]

I still believe that if coe was training today with all the training diet etc he would be the greatest ever. Better than rudisha or kipketer not taking anything away from them since what they have done is amazing I just feel coe is really special when its comes to the 800m

[@user-ui6kv2np8i]

Just look at the piece of shit track that Coe ran his time on, it was like running on quicksand compared to today's springy trampolines.

[@chankfreng]

What's more amazing than Kipketer's great run is the number of people somewhat close behind him. He wasn't running alone like Rudisha has been.

[@luispastor8089]

Close? 20m is close to you?

[@StewartJsR]

If Kipketer goes through 400m in 49.0 here he runs 1.40.7-.8 Oh what might have been.

[@bronenalladin]

smooveXXX Can’t really multiply like that. Rudisha’s first 400m were 0,5 second slower for his sub 41run than his 41:09 time

[@StewartJsR]

@Newromantic999 Haha I do! I can't believe you remember this! Better still was 2 breakfasts in the Olympic village with the man talking about all things 800m running. One of the great memories of my life.

[@user-xq6dm4fx4n]

His running style is more beautiful than David Rudisha's.

[@RavishingSailor]

I agree with you man.

[@rootykazooty351]

True.

[@wss33]

Lol I can't tell because the video qualitly is so bad.

[@kiswahilikitukuzwe2547]

Kipketer and Rudisha both went to St. Patrick's High School, Iten.

[@lapluie8933]

The quality is too bad to see

[@zaksblaze]

Le plus beau 800m du monde;)) Alexandre. Bonsignore.

[@stevemartin7798]

great athlete wonderful actio he just floats

[@QOOQ8808]

I cant share this on Facebook ? Mambo gani hii ? OK nitaweka record za Rudisha.

[@otsilemosesbarei4121]

Graceful running, similar style to Rudisha’s. Looks like the best 800m are a bit tall so long legs plus a bit of speed and stamina like the perfect combination. Same as the next World Record holder prospect Emmanuel Korir (that slight limp might work against him though). If only Nigel Amos had the same build, he would probably run 1.39.50

[@kerrywoods8144]

Beyond amazing!!😅

[@yogalesson]

Wilson was great but to me Sir Sebastian Coe is the ultimate middle distance runner, the greatest ever! Besides he is a very intelligent man and a great sport diplomat - he was the head of the organizing comette of the London Olympic Games! Full respect!

[@kimuei]

rudisha to me is

[@michaelhawkins92]

A great sport diplomat…. This might be the most idiotic statement on KZbin. Look at what went on with the IAAF with Coe at the helm. A disgrace

[@cubeyes2000]

iron lungs,

[@runninginukraine4135]

and legs

[@iayyam]

Cool as the other side of the pillow!

[@mikaelgardelin6365]

Andreas Almgren brougth me here

[@deano27671]

The video of Coe's 1981 WR at the beginning of this is a strange one. I've never seen a version of this race with a running clock on the screen! I didn't know one existed. There were problems with the auto timing that night and they had to use photo cell equipment to verify a time of 1:41.72, which a year or so later was changed to 1:41.73. I'm wondering if they added the running clock after!?

[@carlylebernard3394]

He'll always be Kenyan

[@maxhesselager5261]

No, he´s a dane! i am proud to be a dane, because of Kipketer. YNWA

[@arapkimala146]

Absolutely, Kenyan to the core!!

[@KryptonitetoallBS]

Schmeichel put Denmark on the map along with bacon and Carlsberg!! GGMU.

[@alexs1007]

This was perhaps the best shape any 800m runner was ever in. He went through 200 and 400 way too fast. A more conservative start he would have went sub 141.

[@andreaselleri400]

Coe un fenomeno

[@666zerowolf]

48.10 first lap...not even breathing hard at the finish...wtf....seems impossible but then he might be getting off the track prior to lactic acid buildup and oxygen debt....hard to know if drugs are involved but the head back seems to draw in more oxygen..kipketer...danish via Kenya....just no way of knowing if it is legitimate.

[@ynotnilknarf39]

EPO loaded to the gills. If he'd have run 49 something or even 50 first lap he would have steamed home closer to 1:40.5 running 48.1 and then 53.1 just shows you how bad a paced 'race' this was.

[@robinbauer1975]

Kipketer is the most talas middle distance runner ever King of the 800m with the nost efficient running form in History. I wonder what would be if Kipketer, Komen, Bekele, and Seb Coe could run in this era of T&F eith better shoes, better tracks, more scientific coaching, and improved salary and food I bet the 1:40 barrier would have been shattered for the 800m and 12:30/26:00 for the 5.000m and 10.000m

[@GoodDeedsEveryday]

Kenyan running for Denmark.

[@martin777xyz]

Do the camera operators know they are filming an historic race? Poor coverage :-(

[@user-tb4lj6zv5p]

i guess wilson kipketer is of kenyan origin

[@fredrickchelule9255]

he's Kenyan and from the Kalenjin tribe just like me.

[@user-tb4lj6zv5p]

kipketer is a kalenjin name

[@fredrickchelule9255]

yes it is.

[@user-tb4lj6zv5p]

***** can see so!

[@fredrickchelule9255]

after all his record was still smashed though by our very own maasai warrior...rudisha..a name that means 'bring it back' in swahili...it's more of a coincidence..it's relevant

[@lawrencekyle1980]

a legend men

[@pegasusp1569]

So much drugs for Coe that's why was so tough and hard to beat

[@iballzerson]

The greatest ever not to win an Olympic Gold you mean?

[@mvvenkataraman]

Edison lived and also Graham Bell Einstein's greatness we must tell Like this many athletes do well Every flower has its own petal Every athlete creates a record Because he works damn hard He is supported by the Lord For toil, God will always nod.

[@gtrdoc911]

LOL. He said "but this man"

[@jasonstewart9919]

Few things - 1) if that first lap hadn’t been so crazy (more like 49.0) Kipketer runs 1.40.7/8 here, I have zero doubt of that. 2) Nothing will ever beat the old Letzigrund stadium in terms of atmosphere and noise. 3) Kipketer isn’t the greatest 800m runner ever - Rudisha is, but he’s the best ever in terms of his peak abilities. Kip at his best takes Rudisha any way you want to run the 2 laps.

[@richardmilliken8705]

Unfortunately, he never won an Olympic Gold Medal in the 800m.

[@jasonstewart9919]

@@richardmilliken8705 absolutely - just wasn't meant to be. Tragic

[@declar1981]

best never

[@Okwash1]

Well, i'm Kenyan and i do not want to discriminate.....They are all great Kenyans.

[@9Ballr]

That is a long sprint.

[@benjaaboy92]

DENMARK FOREVER!!! Nobody can't beat a Danish guy, it is just impossible! Danish people are too damm good. c(;

[@davidbett7002]

Denmark and Kenya alright

[@benjaaboy92]

***** Dude, get a life. You really keeps stalking me here on youtube looking for my comments.!? you are a sad kid. But lets take it then. You keep calling Mo Farah British, and if Farah is British, Wilson Kipketer is true Danish. So stop calling Farah British and i will stop calling Kipketer Danish. allright? And just to finish your other comment. Listen to this video. Wilson Kipketer is Unbeaten over his 21 races and has set 3 World Records. How many World Records has Mo Farah set? Ohh yeah thats right, NONE!

[@666zerowolf]

he is from Kenya...think running at altitude in Africa got the time, not skiing in 30 feet of snow...

[@aggynjogu7541]

+benjaaboy92 this is a kenyan right/ hahahah we rented for you..hahahah

[@666zerowolf]

Never won an olympic gold...4 tries! gets that beaten dog look after every final!

[@sirpown]

What is harder, being the first to do something they thought no one could do, or to be the second to do it.

[@dianeselves8299]

Yo

[@mateuszpartyczny3283]

Jeszcze się kurwa uśmiechnął na mecie, zero zmęczenia. 🤷‍♂️😱

[@StewartJsR]

sad thing is if he had gone through in 48.8 - 49.0 he would have run 1.40.5...

[@mattchoge686]

NOT EASY AS IT LOOKS, IT INVOLVES HOW THE RABBITS PACE THE RACE.

[@dash0173]

+smooveXXX ayyyee but thats EXACTLY what rudisha diiddddddd

[@StewartJsR]

not quite - he ran 49.3 and 1.40.9. 1.40.9 is very different to 1.40.5 my friend.

[@dash0173]

smooveXXX that 4 one hundredths of a second... thats not much of a difference. especially at longer mid distance races such as the 800... if it were a sprint like a 100 or 200m race, that'd be a different story but in this case, 4/100th's of a second is nearly nothing.

[@StewartJsR]

Bro you are having a laugh right? It's 4 TENTHS of a second - not 4 one hundredths. And to put that into perspective the record has only dropped 8 TENTHS of a second since 1981. So I would say if Kipketer had dropped 1.40.5 back in 97 it would have been something pretty darn special. Are we done with this "argument" btw or are you going to make yourself look even more stupid?

[@hassanbensidi6047]

Younes yasssine yeh nice massaye

[@Okwash1]

Even greater than Rudisha who broke his record?

[@x2thezful]

no one thought this record could be broken and it was?

[@deano27671]

@amine2659 What bullshit am I spreading!? I have left plenty of comments about Kipketer on many videos of his races. I mentioned Coe on here because there is a video of his run at the beginning of this recording, and it is a piece of film I have never seen before, as there is a running clock on the screen. So I haven't brought him up from nowhere, and unlike others I have not compared him to KIpketer on THIS video.

[@sokha326]

beside Rudisha.

[@iamclayful]

wow

[@stephan6063]

Its a jog for him

[@kiwaculiaoperkin3968]

vamos pezoagore , tu puedes ganar

[@janetmwangi3868]

Kipketer, why not run for your country-Kenya?

[@turk0582]

no it is 1:41:11

[@bootymanager]

He's a Dane, not a Kenyan

[@Okwash1]

We can supply the whole world with Athletes but they'll still be born in Kenya. Deep in your heart you know that he's Kenyan, that piece of paper in the name of a passport does not change much.

[@GOATAli]

Is in his arse a Dane!

[@naomirutto351]

Brett .Davies He is a kenyan from eldoret town. We were in thesame school.

[@mwendapoleee]

Kipketer is a Kenyan name!

[@kimuei]

yeah until he decides to live in your neighbourhood

[@shargal]

One guy doesn't fell the lactic acid running througt his body. :p

[@219790]

@3:17 did he say a " a bush man" lol

[@jon-snow-GOT]

Any Africans hate how they pronounce his name?

[@sandyacombs]

An extremely poor quality video, of a great race.

[@nmakala9]

Keep-kay-tay-rrr, not Keep-keeter

[@desmann96]

Deeeeeeeenmark! :-D

[@sympaticoo1]

He could have ran faster in his prime if he had put his mind into it

[@kelvinketer789]

I think the track sebestian coe ran in was shorter though

[@deano27671]

Equally interesting is the fact that he crosses the line at 1:41.4 in this veraion, and the clock continues on to about 1:42.0 and then reverts back to 1:41.72! I have a high quality version of the race without a running clock, and whenever I time it, I get 1:41.5. It makes one wonder if he was, in fact, actually faster than 1:41.73 that night after watching this. Perhaps because they didn't have the actual auto timing of the race they erred on the side of caution & gave a less reliable reading?

[@andrewdeacon8315]

Apparently there were 3 photo electric cells all below torso height so yes he did run slightly faster , the average of the 3 was 1:41.726 hence the time was rounded to .73 , I wonder if originally they took the fastest but later erred on side of caution, there’s an article on the world athletics site called Coes monumental 800m , I tried posting a link but my message just gets deleted. In some publications it was shown as .71 , also on the 800m at Zurich in 1984

[@deano27671]

Not sure I’ve seen that article. I wrote my own article of that race which can be found on AW, but I think you might have to subscribe to be able to access it. They also had 3 official hand timers at the start /finish line, and they got 1:41.6, 1:41.6 and 1:41.7, and they (IAAF) could have ratified it as the average of those 3 times (1:41.6), but I think they were embarrassed at the mess up with the timing and wanted to give Coe a time to nearest 100th. The embarrassment was compelled because Firenze was the home of the IAAF’s chief statistician at the time, Roberto Quercetani. Without Coe having to run wide in 3rd bend to pass Konchellah, then it would have been 1:41.4/ 1:41.5

[@lydia001wambui2]

Cute

[@tkdcow9911]

He ran 800 mph?

[@alieb_]

+TKD COW 800m means 800 meters, which is half a mile.

[@s.abugaarisa7597]

Irritating that you cant pronounce our names properly

[@jeansilvas]

Danish ....LMAO

[@coolro3684]

***** if he were just a working class regular guy most people in EU would call him a freeloader stealing resources from whites. Double standard much.

[@hassanbensidi6047]

Uganda hhh2

[@ynotnilknarf39]

EPO for the win, hardly breathing at the end after running a ridiculous first lap, we all know that records set in the latter part of the 80s and into the late 90s are tainted as fuck.

[@julioggg2744]

Couldn’t say less when you explode the world record by half a second with a first lap in 48, you must be tired at the end, that’s the purpose of the 800 .... the fact that he just so fine at the end is definitely EPO

[@ynotnilknarf39]

@@julioggg2744 it was same for Koch's 400 WR, she ran the first 200m in under 23s and still smashed it. Running 23s 200, 48.1for 400m to then finish in 101.2seconds is ridiculous. A 53s, second lap just goes to prove he would have run 1:40 with a more balanced approach. Doped to the gills

[@michaelhawkins92]

@@ynotnilknarf39 hope his lawyers read your comments

[@ynotnilknarf39]

@@michaelhawkins92 Good luck with that, I hope they do. Read again muppet because I did not specifically state that Kipketer cheated did I? But if you think that running that time and be utterly unphased at the end doesn't bring any doubts as to the performance, that says more about you than me!

[@michaelhawkins92]

@@ynotnilknarf39 read again muppet… you stated ‘doped to the gills’. That and your earlier post using profanity says everything about you

[@kelvinketer789]

I think the track sebestian coe ran in was shorter though

[@jeremyhomewood9573]

The track seb Coe ran on was exactly 400 metres !!!!!!!!!!!!

[@jeremyhomewood9573]

You think ???????

[@mockinghyena960]

No