MEMORIES

‘THE DAYS WHEN OVETT AND COE RULED THE WORLD’

Part Two: All Roads lead to Moscow

(but not for everyone)

I was ten years old and I was watching as much Athletics on television as my parents would tolerate. Fortunately, they were usually amenable to my newfound TV watching. I presume that they were glad I had an interest. My father was glad I was getting into sports at all, he would comment over the years of seeing Zatopek, Chataway Herb Elliott and Ron Clarke, down the years on the 'box'. So we had a shared interest. I digress:

 

The year is 1980 and that meant it was Olympic Year, the Moscow Olympics to be specific. I had formulated a dream line-up for the Men’s 1500m final that would comprise of the three Brits, (Ovett, Coe and John Robson), a Tanzanian (Filbert Bayi), a Kiwi, (Walker), a Yank, (Scott) and Irishman, (Coghlan), and the two Germans - one from the West, and one from the East, (Wessinghage and Jürgen Straub). I could envisage Ovett winning by yards on the 1st of August 1980, while Wessinghage and Walker went past a struggling Coe. Let's say this. I had a lot to learn! However, to see those nine men in the same race would have been beyond words, (and let's face it, I know a lot more words now, but even so I'm struggling to express the emotion to have seen that race). To get to August I had a lot of days to get through, days that took forever to get to the one I wanted. It was worse than waiting for Christmas, honestly.

 

Here's what happened: Before Moscow, (and before July, even) my start-list was decimated: The Americans boycotted the Games over the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December of 1979. The New Zealanders, Kenyans West Germans joined the boycott. Filbert Bayi, (ex-World record-holder at both 1500m and the 1 mile went back to the 3000m steeplechase. He felt that years of illness due to malaria, a life in the military, and with a young family, allied with the emergence of Ovett and Coe, that the 1500m was not going to bring him success. This decision alone, took the idea of a fast pace right out the window. David Moorcroft and Eamonn Coghlan went to the 5000m, (the 3rd and 2nd placers in the 1978 Europa 1500m final); Moorcroft was easy to explain as he couldn't guarantee even making the Olympic team at 1500m, but at 5000m he had a chance of doing well. Robson had a nightmare season and never had a sniff. That left Ovett, Coe and Straub, and 'a bunch of no-hopers'.

 

Seb Coe, since breaking the World 1500m record in Zürich in August 1979, suffered a hamstring pull and took time to get into his best shape. Since running 3rd behind Beyer and Ovett at Praha, he had ran sixteen 800m finals and won them all. At the 1500m/Mile he had ran eight since the last Olympic Final, (but three of the last four had included the Emsley Carr Mile run over Bayi in '77, and the two World record races in 1979). Coe was born in Chiswick on the 29th of September 1956. His family moved to Sheffield and he became inspired to join the local running club (Hallamshire Harriers), after watching the 1968 400m Hurdles final and seeing David Hemery and John Sherwood win medals (Gold and Bronze). He started as 1500m, 3000m runner in his Colt, Youth and Junior days. Once he hit 20, he took to speed work and found more success at 800m and 400m, (second in AAA 400m in 1979).

           

Ironically, Steve Ovett, (born: Brighton 9th of October 1955), was primarily a 400m, 800m runner in his formative years: Europa Junior 800m champion in 1973, (pipping Willi Wülbeck in the penultimate stride), with Ivo Van Damme 4th; Europa, (senior), runner-up in 1974, (aged 18); Europa Cup winner (1975), culminating in the Olympic 800m final at Montréal, in 1976. There, a giant of a man, Alberto Juantorena Danger, (that really is his last name, by the way). Kind of cool, I thought, 'strode' to the Gold medal in a new World Record, (1:43.50), Van Damme won the first of two silver medals in 1:43.86, and Wohlhuter of the USA took bronze. Wülbeck came fourth, Ovett 5th, (in a personal best), and Luciano Susanj, (the 800m Europa Champion-1974) took 6th. Ovett felt in a hundred and three seconds that he was better off doing the 1500m from now on. Since then he had ran 17 800m finals and lost three. At the 1500m/Mile: he would have 41 wins out of 42 in finals by the time he got to Moscow and with the best 'kick' in the business. However, the 'Coe' factor was one that was going to run and run (!!) and cause him some annoyance.

 

A trip to Oslo, on the 1st of July, saw Coe and Ovett in their first 'double-act performance. They were not exactly Morecambe and Wise, but they did get people watching and talking. First up Coe: in the 1000m. He ran through the 400m split in 51.0, got to the 800m split in 1:45.2! (That time would have won the Olympic title three weeks later!!), and carried on to the finish line in 2:13.4. He beat Wülbeck 7-8 yards, (as both went past Van Damme's European record). He now had four World records: the 800m, 1000m, the 1500m and the 1 Mile. Henry Rono still held the 3000m, 5000m, the 10000m and the Steeplechase bests. Only John Walker's name, (2000m from 1976), prevented the Coe-Rono clean-sweep of records. Less than an hour later, it was back to three records for Coe: Steve Ovett, following on from his 3:49.57 at Crystal Palace, clocked 3:32.11 at the 3rd Van Damme Memorial meeting at Bruxelles, (second fastest ever), and then broke the British 1000m record at Koblenz two days later, (6th September 1979). He ran a carefully-crafted record attempt in Oslo. Basically, Dave Warren, (a hare), led through in 55.5 and then 1:53.5. Ovett had no-one to help him from 600m out. He went through three-quarters in 2:51.0, (2.4 seconds ahead of schedule), and 30 metres clear of poor field, (significant fact: Steve Cram, who fell in the UK Champs/Olympic Trials, was in a run-off with Graham Williamson. Whoever finished ahead would take the 3rd spot at the 1500m. Cram ran a P.B. of 3:53.8 to a gritty Williamson 3:56.4 - running in borrowed kit). Ovett went past the 1500m mark in 3:32.7, (6th fastest time ever), 0.1 seconds faster than Coe ran in Golden Mile the previous year, but rallied a bit down the home straight to clock 3:48.8. a fifth of a second quicker than Coe's record. It was not an enjoyable race to watch in terms of competition, but I do recall bouncing off the sofa the closer Ovett got to the line.

                                                                                                  

Coe would not race again until Moscow. He had a lot of media expectation to live up to and a father-coach who was determined not to let his charge disappoint under the global limelight. He also had a lot of training miles between then and Olympic Gold. Ovett returned to Oslo, two weeks later, on the 15th of July. Now this was a race. A mini-final, a taster of what might have been, perhaps. Or merely a demonstration of how to run a 1500m race. After a first lap of 57.8, Steve Scott lost his patience and took over on lap two, (1:53.6), and reached the 1200m point in 2:50.6, (Coe had clocked 2:49.5 in an uneven race in 1979 at Zürich, Ovett 2:50.8 at Bruxelles). Scott, frustrated at losing out and not going to Moscow, was determined to make sure he would be missed. In truth he was missed. Steve Scott, barrel-chested, long-haired, the last man to beat Ovett, (in 1977), was running on empty. Ovett kicked at the precise moment that Thomas Wessinghage made his move. It was no contest. Upon entering the home-straight, Ovett slipped in a rain puddle, but still had the momentum and the composure to continue to the finish line, (waves and easing-back as of before). Breaking Coe's World Mile record had relaxed Ovett. He knew he could compete and with the times to boot. Ovett's time was 3:32.09. It equalled the world record by Coe, because the IAAF still rounded up middle distance times to the next tenth of a second, (so Coe's 3:32.03 and Ovett's 3:32.09 both become 3:32.1. Ovett's 3:32.11 from Bruxelles was a 3:32.2!). However, from the 1st of January 1981, electronic timings would take precedence, (ergo Coe's 3:32.03). Trust me, it was confusing and I was trying to follow this. Wessinghage ran a new National record of 3:33.16, to beat Walker 3:33.33. Lacy followed in 3:33.99, Williamson a good 3:35.72, just ahead of promising newcomer, Todd Harbour from the USA, (3:35.87). Scott? Scott gave up. He 'jogged' in, in a 3:36.20 clocking. He wasn't happy. He publicly criticized Walker and Wessinghage for not doing anything to contribute to the race, for towing on to the pace in the hope of fast times, (which they got), and for not doing anything to test Ovett. Scott had a point. He alone, of the Olympic-boycotters was prepared to 'do-or-die', but he left Oslo with nothing, except a bit of respect from a lad in Blackpool watching on the proceedings. Ovett's left shoe was ruined by the slip, but that's just a footnote.

 

Let's get to Moscow:

           

July 24th: 800m heats. Ovett won heat 1 in a cautious 1:49.4; Coe won heat 4 in 1:48.5. Olaf Beyer, the European Champion of 1978 won heat 5 in 1:48.9. July 25th 800m semi-finals: Ovett doing enough to win heat 1 in a decent 1:46.6. Coe won heat 3 in 1:46.7. Beyer in heat 2 ran 1:47.6 to finish fourth, and was eliminated.

 

For 24 hours the British media were predicting a GBR 1-2 (Coe then Ovett). There would be no repeat of what happened in Praha; not now Beyer was out.

 

Well, not quite...On July 26th, the eight finalists took to their marks in the first 'race of the century'. It was slow, and it got messy. Ovett and the giant Detlef Wagenknecht, (6’ 4”), collided. The East German ran into the smaller Frenchman Jose Marajo. Ovett had to bide his time. Entering the middle of the home straight, Ovett panicked slightly. He tried to get nearer to the lead by passing through the gap between Wagenknecht and the Soviet Kirov. There was no gap, and the Brighton man found himself blocked off again and 6th at the bell in a pedestrian 54.55, but with a wall of runners in front of himself and a clear track. Seb Coe merely kept himself out of trouble and, running slightly wide, was last in 55.3, but looking comfortable. We knew he had an impressive turn of speed, and even more so at this pace. Ovett was looking like a man trying to pick a fight in a pub with everyone around and was losing. Dave Warren, the 3rd British runner, made a move. It was Warren's moment and he had to try. Inevitably, the increase of speed made Kirov chase after him, Ovett slipped through in third halfway down the back straight. Coe was still monitoring the situation from a distance. Kirov took the lead and Ovett followed three yards back. Coe was 6th, 10 yards behind Kirov, with 200m to go. Seb Coe was only just starting to pick up speed. Ovett latched onto Kirov's shoulder and kicked past in the home straight and ran, determined, to the tape. Only now was Seb Coe racing. He flew past four men in moments, ran right past Kirov with 40 metres to go, and finished nowhere near Ovett. A half-second in 800m is a significant margin. More so for an Olympic title. Ovett was Olympic Champion!!

           

I was on clouds nine-ten-and-eleven. Then I heard that the French, the Soviets, and the East Germans were appealing to get Ovett disqualified! That irked me. How could they? The appeals were turned down. Ovett would remain as Champion. In hindsight, Ovett probably would have lost on appeal if the race was run these days but not because Ovett was especially vicious. He was certainly aggressive, and in a no-messing mood, but there was quite a bit of that going on by all, (except Coe) in one form or another. In today's world there is an element of pampering that would have worked against Ovett now.

                       

Coe was distraught. His coach, Peter Coe, lambasted Seb in public and bemoaned his son's 'stupidity'. Seb, in moments, had gone from 'golden boy' of the British media to being its whipping boy. Ovett was on a high. The double was there for the taking. All bets were off. I could not wait. AT ALL. I had six days to endure until the 1500m final. Forget dreams of scoring the winning goal in the World Cup Final, I could almost taste the tension of being on the start line myself.

 

July 30th. Seb Coe finished 2nd in heat 3, (3:40.1) behind the Italian Vittorio Fontanella, (same time). Ovett won heat 4 in a fast 3:36.8, from Jürgen Straub, (3:37.0), July 31st. Ovett won the 1st semi-final in 3:43.1, Steve Cram crept into the final in 3:43.6. Coe took heat 2 in 3:39.4, just from Straub.

                       

The nine finalists, who took to the track on the 1st of August for the 1500m final, had a sense of expectation about them. Most of them would not expect to have any chance against Steve Ovett, at any pace. Seb Coe was a beaten man, the pressure, the media attention, the fact that he had never beaten Ovett in a race, and he was not a true 'miler'. Sure, he had the times, but had not tested himself against the best over the years. Ovett had. The first lap was slow: everyone jogged and jostled and sauntered one lap nearer to the last lap in 61.6 seconds with Jürgen Straub at the head of the pack. The second lap slowed further, (63.3). The 800m time was 2:04.9. Straub still led just ahead of Coe, with Ovett stride for stride with the other two. 700m to go. I had the image of "Steve Ovett, double Olympic Gold Medallist" in my mind. There was no other end result possible. Then, Jürgen Straub, the East German, did something remarkable. He took off! From 800m to 1200m he ran in 54.2 seconds. The pack quickly dropped off the back, except for Coe, who was running cleanly, for the first time in about a week. Without hindrance and with a 'pace-maker' ahead to fix on, he ran on instinct. Ovett remained a step behind, biding his time approaching the last back straight. Somewhere between then and 200m out he would sprint for home. Straub kept on going, head down, shoulders hunched, uninterested in what was going on behind him. He was 4 metres ahead of Coe and 6 up on Ovett. Then with 170m to go, Ovett made his move to pass Coe. With 170m to go Coe made his move to pass Straub. They both made their move simultaneously, and going at the same pace. However Coe was in the best place and caught the East German at the crown of the bend and went away with 80m to go. Ovett had had to run just as far and as fast to catch Coe, so that by the time Ovett had got neck and neck with Straub, Coe was three metres down the track and flying. Now was the time for Ovett to move. The kick never happened. Coe, arms outstretched in his own personal resurrection, nothing left to give, but closing to the tape on pure adrenalin was going to be crowned winner. Ovett was on his way to the silver when his legs could take him no further; he conceded and took third place. Straub, his tactic working to, (almost perfection), gained a second wind and sensing that Ovett was a spent force, rallied, to move away from Ovett to capture silver.

                       

I was stunned. I did not watch this race for 8 years and nearly 2 months. I couldn't. I think when you're young, that if something you can't comprehend happens, you have a tendency to dismiss it. I didn't see it. It didn't happen. I mean, if you thought finding out that Darth Vader was Luke Skywalker's father was traumatic, that was nothing compared to this!! I felt empty. In truth, I have to give Jürgen Straub his due. He had worked hard ran some fast solo times, including a 3:33.68 German record on the 31st August 1979. As a former steeplechaser, he was used to tough regimes. With this background, he was able to resolve himself to get the best out of himself even against the two best middle runner in the world. He would never race again. Leg injuries were to put paid to his ambitions, but for this race alone, he merits a footnote. It still took time for me to forgive him, mind you. As I said 8 years but that I’ll explain in a later part. The pace for the last 700m was run at a 1:46.9 pace, with a 52.2 last lap for Coe.

 

Oh, by the way, Filbert Bayi finally won his Olympic, (silver), medal at the 'chase, hauled back on the last lap by Poland's Bronislaw Malinowski. This was the only time I would ever see the great Polish runner race.

 

Leaving Moscow, the two protagonists, came home with each other's gold medal. The world was still none the wiser as to who was the best, but the expectations of new clashes and records would have to do for the time being.

 

Sebastian Coe, renewed after his 1500m gold, (first win over Ovett), had just three more races, an 800m win at the IAC/Coca-Cola meet at Crystal Palace, (1:45.81), another trip to Zürich to win the 1500m, (in the 5th fastest time: 3:32.19) and then a narrow 800m loss to Don Paige at Viareggio, (1:45.05 to 1:45.07). He then discovered that a back pain he had suffered all season was in fact a slipped disc. He missed the IAAF Golden Mile at the 'Palace’. His season was over.

 

Ovett went to the IAC meet ran the 5000m, and won. Well actually, no he didn't. He won the 4998m, and eased off. John Treacy pipped him on the line, (13:27.9). The IAC meeting occurred on the 8th of August. There was a mile race that John Walker won in 3:54.4. Over in West Berlin, Thomas Wessinghage took the ISTAF mile in 3:55.04. These two races produced 25 sub-4 minute miles times in one night and without either Coe or Ovett involved! After another 5000m race, (in Budapest), Ovett went to Lausanne to improve the 1500m world record. However, the rain and the cold put paid (3:35.4) to his hopes. At Bruxelles, (22nd August), he won the mile in 3:51.6, with Scott and Walker dead-heating, (3:52.7). Bayi came 6th in 3:57.1. Then came the IAAF Golden Mile on the 25th of August at London which saw the world's best milers, (Coe and Straub, excluded), line up. The pace never quite lived up to expectation, but the race was enthralling. Ovett won in a blanket finish in 3:52.84, from Scott, (3:52.92), Walker, Wessinghage (3:53.19 - 3:53.20), with Waigwa 6th, Bayi 7th, and Cram 8th. Coghlan and Moorcroft, (after their Moscow disappointments), were both struggling to keep any race shape.

           

On the 27th of August, (Wednesday), I saw the Koblenz meeting. Following on from all these meets, it was another chance for Ovett to get the 1500m record. At that age, you're always optimistic. I didn't have to do the training he had to do, so it was easier for me in that respect.

                       

Koblenz has, (or had in those days), a six-lane track, and was good for atmosphere, and for getting good performances out of athletes. This however, was merely the third year that the Rot-Weiss Club would host this meet, and everyone in town was talking about Ovett's record attempt. A few eyebrows were raised by the end of the race. Garry Cook, took the early pace making duties, (55.51/400m and 1:53.00/800m), and managed to hang on to 1000m. When Thomas Wessinghage took over, he kept the tempo up with a 57.7 second lap, which got him to 1200m in 2:50.69. Ovett was close behind, (of course). There were also two other Germans and Omar Khalifa from the Sudan in close attendance, and still the pace seemed to be maintained. Ovett couldn't kick. He was running too fast, for too long, to have a kick. He inched past the German doctor at the top of the home straight, and Wessinghage, briefly looked in danger of being passed by Wülbeck, but in the closing stages it was Wessinghage who closed in on Steve Ovett. Ovett won by a stride. He waved at the crowd, smiled and seemed happy with the win. Then he saw the time. In the heat of competition, he had become focused on the win, and forgot about the record attempt. The close proximity of runners had made him feel the pace was slower than it was. Steve Ovett had captured the World 1500m record. On his own! He had run 3:31.36 (3:31.4), for a magnificent new record. In second place Thomas Wessinghage clocked 3:31.58, (3:31.6) for a new West German record, and second fastest runner ever. Third came Harald Hudak in 3:31.96, (3:32.0), and the 3rd fastest man (Hudak, 23, had ran a P.B. for the mile at Bruxelles-3:55.1 for 5th, and had burst onto the world scene in 1977, when he ran an amazing 3:36.1 at Düsseldorf, but was hampered by injuries, but for five days in August 1980, Harald Hudak came of age: and promptly vanished, hindered by more injuries. For a year, however he was faster than Seb Coe, and John Walker, and Filbert Bayi, (and Steve Scott, Jim Ryun, Ben Jipcho, and so on). Willi Wülbeck finished fourth in a time of 3:33.74, not bad for a half-miler of his vintage, and in a time that would have earned him the West German record just seven weeks earlier. Moorcroft finished 6th in a poor 3:39.70, behind Khalifa's 3:34.11. Ovett finished the year with his 5th AAA title, (1 mile in Centenary year), and spent the Autumn and Winter preparing for more records and wins in 1981.

 

                        ...and Seb Coe would be doing the very same thing.

 

Phew! 1981 would have a lot to live up to, but I had no reason to doubt it wouldn't...then again, 1980 was only my second full year following this sport, and I still had a lot to learn about...well, everything in fact...but more of that later.

 

Written by: Tom Hurst

Submitted: 6th May 2008

Edited by: Chris Young