World Athletics Championships 10,000m Final, Helsinki 1983

[@simonedwards5564]

Alberto cova ran 53 SECONDS for the last 400m !!!!!!!!!!!! Back in 1983!!!!!!!!! Sub 54 seconds,,,in a 10000m METRES RACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@kaliandatiger]

Juha Vaatainen did 53.8 & 53.0, in the last 400m of the 10K & 5K respectively, at the 1971 European Championships in Helsinki. Both great races too.

[@DCBatman76]

When a world class distance runner runs 67 seconds a lap for 24 laps, it shouldn’t be much of a strain to run that last lap in 53.

[@cesarpug]

Great! one of my favorites race of all time!

[@222mozart]

together with Helsinki '71

[@timrobinson100]

Love athletics the drama the strategy the tension the commentary

[@redd605]

That was a fantastic last lap in a great atmosphere in a great athletics stadium Finland . this was a great first ever world championship . and one of the best ever.

[@Maixo]

Best 10000m finish I ever saw!!

[@stevedynell3330]

West Germany's Christoph Herle shook hands with Britain's Nick Rose shortly after the race. What a simple and yet cordial demonstration of camaraderie and respect!

[@tufanalatan]

one of the best races ever !

[@murkymurk8305]

Depends on your definition of best but certainly one of the most unexpected.

[@crwnikeboy]

AWESOME finish!!!

[@tommytempo1]

This is when there were heats for the 10,000m. One of the heats was won in 27:45!

[@johnstirling9120]

I have a soft spot for Mamede, whenever I watch him run championships I keep hoping he will come good ,but just not to be.

[@brunofogagnolo6699]

normally the time in a final counts less than nothing, and mostly in a final of 10000 meter... for records in 10000 there are other events...

[@dr.socrates1426]

@@johnstirling9120 I agree. But Mamede had psychological problems and so he couldn't present his talent in international competition. In Germany we had the same with Karl Fleschen, an outstanding long distance talent who wasn't able due to psychological problems to win an international title

[@tommytempo1]

@@dr.socrates1426 I remember Karl Fleschen mainly from 1977 when he finished just a second behind Dick Quax in Stockholm over 5000m, when Quax broke the WR. Fleschen ran 13;13.88! He also ran in the 5000m at the World Cup in Dusseldorf that year. Fleschen ran in the 1500m heats in Montreal and missed out on Moscow 1980 due to the boycott. To be fair to Fleschen, he did win two European Indoor titles over 3000m. Most of the runners viewing these races could only dream to operate at that level!

[@dr.socrates1426]

@@tommytempo1 Thank you very much for your answer. You are right. Karl Fleschen won two indoor titles and I saw this races on television. Karl Fleschen told also that he often trained too hard so that he wasn't able to perform in international outdoor championships. Nevertheless in my opinion he was like Fernando Mamede a great runner. I started running in 1976 when I was 16 years old and my pb is 1:54 on 800m. So in this years Fleschen and Willi Wülbeck were my favorite runners. But it was Dave Wottle and his race in Munich 1972 who inspired me to start middle distance training with an delay of 4 years.

[@eoinMB3949]

What a race! Ive never seen this before

[@delroysmith9794]

Good old days

[@normanlinden5786]

I was in the stadium every day. It seems like yesterday.

[@ishowinertia]

Look at Cova! LOOK AT COVA!!!

[@darrenshaw767]

I think Schildauer decided to make a long run for it after he got out kicked by Cova in Athens a year earlier in the European championships. It nearly worked but he still got pipped .

[@user-ro7ee7]

Run you Great.... Very-very good Video...

[@kinuux]

Olympics secret formula = power + tactics + perseverance + purposes

[@dr.mohamedaitnouh4501]

crazy historic finish 53s

[@trackandfieldarchive]

Surprised Lopes didn't push the pace, especially after his Oslo win.

[@seanofafrica]

Never understood why Nick Rose, a former half-marathon world record holder, with his lack of basic speed but phenomenal endurance, didn't concentrate on marathons. I'm sure he would have made more of a name for himself.

[@doktorisachsen8263]

Rose chrashed himself, a really bad runner. OK stoma, but he fex in 1984 10000 meter he run and in front, and then a very bad taktik

[@Alex-pr6zv]

They were all tying up in the home straight after blasting the penultimate 200 except for Cova, who won by distributing his effort perfectly on the last lap (I reckon he did it in 53.8).

[@Ruda-n4h]

Legally this race should probably have been Cova Shahanga Lopes Legally and ethically Shahanga Lopes Rose

[@playthatgeetar]

I linked on from this and just learned that Cova was blood doping. I have not followed athletics for many years - miss it too much - but Nick should have got SILVER! I saw him win the National at Leicester (?) in 79 (?). He was awesome. Nothing to do with having no finish, seanofafrica, just that he was clean and couldn't compete.

[@doktorisachsen8263]

Vainio not really doped. I not agreed. He used primobolan because overtranined. And also not really doped. Vainio did many very good 10000 meters in 1981-194, and 1986 and 1988 and in 41-47 years athletics. Cova run in 1982-1984 and where was he then?

[@sidecar7714]

Blood doping was not illegal until 1986

[@CanadaMath]

Before the might of East Africa took over the 10,000m.

[@uhegbu]

Classic, classic race. So the current coach of Olympian Mo Farah appeared in the first ever World Athletics Championships.

[@jormaterasahjo2254]

I wish I was there .i was then 30years old.And i was born in Helsinki.

[@ernesttubb]

Difference between 1st and 5th: 0.89

[@playthatgeetar]

I ran a XC race in Chartres, France, in about 1984. I was 19. I ran pretty well - finished 25th or so in a great field (there was a huge crowd and they kept shouting "allez le jeune" as I went by - felt amazing). Gary Crowther was 8th, I think. One of the Bishops was fifth or sixth. Any road up, I stood on the line and who should come jogging down and stand next to me but ALBERTO FUCKING COVA!!! I almost passed out :) The race winner was about my age and I had no idea who he was. But he was on the other side of me. Some Francesco Panetta guy. Did he ever do anything? Whatever happened to European distance running?

[@doktorisachsen8263]

Norwegian runners as well Swedish and Vasala, vainio, Viren some of the best of Nordic athletics

[@jussitarponen1919]

Sääli Mamedea, komea alkueräjuoksu, olisi ollut pienemmässä kilpailussa varma voittaja, mutta hermot olivat todella heikot suurissa kisoissa.

[@secrethousemate]

This was the human equivalent of Red Rum getting up to beat Crisp 😄

[@nelsonkimunai]

who is watching this in 2023?

[@vinniex3098]

What a finish! Cova ran the last 100m like a sprinter!

[@jussitarponen1919]

Vainio oli varmaan ME- kunnossa, jos tämä juoksu olisi tehty toisenlaisella taktiikalla, hän olisi voinut voittaa, mutta ei pärjännyt taktiikkajuoksussa Covaa tai Schildhaueria vastaan kiritaistelussa

[@jakkeven]

their slowest lap was 73sec, that's 19.7km/hr or 12.3mph. perhaps you'll let us know when you've managed to run 100m at that pace

[@Hever73]

Where was Craig Virgin?

[@tommytempo1]

He didn't make the team.

[@carlobrotto7132]

Before the might of East Africa drove all that to bore & global flat mediocrity ! This 10000 m is an all times evergreen of track& field . Pure class

[@bogdanbabic1083]

At that ime, already 3 suspicious athlets on the podium : Alberto Cova, suspected of blood transfusion, GDR athlets : well, suspicious. Thought, I like Udo Beyer, 800m specialist. You can see him on KZbin running a 1000 meters in less than 2'50 for his club where he is a trainer when he is close to 50. Otherwise, I like nick Rose. I suspect him to be clean. His style of running is economic, pragmatic. You can also see him on KZbin running an half marathon in a very good time after 50. I am a fan of a clean athletics.

[@carlobrotto7132]

That's true about Cova doin' blood transfusion : at the time was perfectly legal and largely practiced by many athletes, so where the suspicious about him ? GDR were more than suspicious , they were doped. As x Rose, he was just good in the average, no tactic ability he really had no chance vs outclass champs like Cova .

[@mikenealon4042]

cova '83 cova '84

[@rwenji22]

All first 4 runners were blood dopers. Shame. Gidemas Shahanga was the real winner.

[@MrAlvaroFurtado]

Lopes, Shahanga, ...

[@playthatgeetar]

Oh, and Schildhauer, Kunze and Vainio were all on drugs. Cova would have won this by a street if it had been a clean race and Nick Rose would have got bronze.

[@doktorisachsen8263]

No maybe the east european and Cova and Vainio. But lets see how Vainio didi it. Not really doped but used primobolan. Its a drug used when You did a very hard and many hours of training. Not really doped.So Vainio run very well when he was 39-49 years old. In senior class and a worlds best talented athletics.

[@markboardman4308]

EPO

[@scp1904]

Como de costume o Mamede em último…😂😂😉

[@stoli0001]

They were talking something else ....African runner are the truth master....

[@brianrobertmccabe9893]

Coleman said Cova was done lol

[@tommytempo1]

"Cova doesn't seem to be able to get there."

[@stoli0001]

They were talking some thing else ....some pills....oh yes..how come they don't even finish in 10th place..