東京でのマラソン・陸上・駅伝・・・・・体を鍛えて、環境を守ってエコマラソン

Famous Races in History

Tell me about your favorite races! Salazar versus Beardsley, the famous "Duel in the Sun"?

Or? Well, whatever, tell me! Here is mine!

Helsinki 1952, Emil Zatopek, the Czech Steam Engine, rolls over the unforgettable hero of La Grande Nation, Alain Mimoun, also starring Sir Christopher John Chataway and German runner Schad. A great moment in the history of running, and the beginning of a great friendship.

Video

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Permalink Reply by Owain Vaughan Lewes on February 17, 2010 at 1:27pm

Probably my favorite race is Lasse Viren's "last stand" against the Ethiopians: Yifter and Kedir, in the Moscow Olymics 10k final. Viren just scraped through to the final. And what a race that was; a street fight between the Finns and the Ethiopians ( Viren, Maaninka and Vainio vs Yifter, Kedir and Kotu) Plenty of surging from both sides, Yifter "the shifter" hanging back until the final 300 metres when he unleashed his devastating kick. And Viren right in there until the bell. An absolute classic.

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Permalink Reply by juergen wittstock on February 17, 2010 at 5:49pm

Results of the race above:
1. Miruts YIFTER (ETH) 27:42.69
2. Kaarlo MAANINKA (FIN) 27:44.28
3. Mohammed KEDIR (ETH) 27:44.64
4. Tolossa KOTU (ETH) 27:46.47
5. Lasse VIREN (FIN) 27:50.46
6. Jorg PETER (GDR) 28:05.53
7. Werner SCHILDHAUER (GDR) 28:10.91
8. Enn SELLIK (EST) 28.13.72
There is a great video on U-tube!
Watch here!

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Permalink Reply by Owain Vaughan Lewes on February 18, 2010 at 11:08am

Thanks for that Juergen.
What a fantastic race. The Finnish commentary adds that extra touch of drama. Viren totaly ran himself out. Subsquently Maaninka, the Finn who was 2nd won a silver in the 5k and later admitted to blood doping. So 10k would have been an Ethiopian clean sweep.

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Permalink Reply by juergen wittstock on February 18, 2010 at 11:08am

On the forum about books Owain mentioned this one:

East German Olaf Beyer is an interesting character. Built like a horse, he ran down Coe and Ovett in the 1978 European 800 metre final which was held in Prague. As soon as he finished he didn't do the usual lap of honor or shake hands with his competitors, instead he went straight for the tunnel. This raised eyebrows especially as he was an East German.
He still competes in veterans races, and at a good level too. So I'm sceptical regarding claims that he was "juiced up" especially as a majority of his fellow athletes from the East German machine such as the sprinters, field athletes, and swimmers have succumbed to health issues from the stuff that they had been taking.
Watch the 1978 European 800m Finals here!

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Permalink Reply by juergen wittstock on May 7, 2010 at 5:56pm

Obviously, being German, I would like to add one race, the 1992 Olympics. German athletes seem to have a preference for Triathlon now, who knows when a German runner will make the podium again.
At the Olympics in Barcelona, the 5000 m final started at a fast pace, but then slowed, increasing Baumann's advantage due to his finishing kick. However, he got boxed in amongst four African runners in the back straight of the last lap, and was only able to get out into the clear coming into the home straight. From there, Baumann launched into a devastating sprint, passing each of the four runners in turn to just win the gold medal.
Video: Baumann wins Olympics!

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Permalink Reply by Owain Vaughan Lewes on May 9, 2010 at 5:05pm

Two other athletes with phenominal kicks were the Italian Alberto Cova who won the 82 European, 83 World and 84 Olymic 10,000 metre titles, and Andy Lloyd who ran down John Ngugi to win the 1990 Commonwealth Games 5,000 metres. Both these two athletes were classic kickers and could run the last 400 metres of a 10k race in under 55 seconds. Cova's 83 world title was the prime example of sitting until the final 80 metres and outkicking the likes of Werner Schildhauer (East Germany), Marti Vainio (Finland and Carlos Lopes (Portugal). If you can hunt down both races which are available on Youtube (Lloyd's 1990 Comonwealth Games 5,000 metres is run over 3 parts, all of which are compulsory viewing in order to witness the scale of his triumph) you'll be in for a treat.

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Permalink Reply by Owain Vaughan Lewes on May 9, 2010 at 5:19pm

And talk about kickers, let's not forget Finland's Juha Vaatainen, a guy with absolute blistering speed. He was a sub 11 sec 100 metre runner who moved up, and was the first guy who ran the last lap of a 10,000m race in under 55 seconds.
Prior to the 1970 European Championships which were held in Helsinki, Dave Bedford, the world record holder, and the then wildman of British athletics and a rather outspoken character, was asked by Finnish journalists his thoughts of Vaatainen; to which he replied, "Who ?"
Anyway come the final and predictably Bedford took the race on, but was taken apart by the Finn on the last lap, as just didn't have the arsenal to deal with the fast finishers.
I think that race, the 1970 European Championships 10,000 metres is also on Youtube.

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Permalink Reply by juergen wittstock on May 9, 2010 at 8:21pm

Whouw, what an expert input! Will try U-tube tomorrow!

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Permalink Reply by juergen wittstock on May 11, 2010 at 8:43pm

Juha Vaatainen at Mt. Kenia.

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Permalink Reply by juergen wittstock on May 10, 2010 at 2:06pm

Well, I found it on Youtube!
Part 1
Part 2
Inspiring performance!

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Permalink Reply by Owain Vaughan Lewes on May 10, 2010 at 3:26pm

You star!
Andy Lloyd is an interesting character. He first made a name for himself as "the King" of the Australian fun run circuit in the late 70s early 80s. Among many of his notable early wins were the Big M Melbourne and Gold Coast Marathons. He also won Australia' s biggest race; the City to Surf, five times- a record that has yet to be surpassed.
Unfortunately in 1985 in what should have been the peak of his career, he lost his first wife in a car accident, in which he himself was fortunate to escape with just a broken leg. However even though he recovered, he was plagued by "demons" for several years and developed a reputation for dropping out of big races such as the Seoul Olympic 10, 000 metre heats.
However things started to click in 1989. By now he was developing a reputation for his blistering kick which served him so well in that classic 5,000 metre final that you've just watched.
A couple of footnotes: no one least of all him expected him to win that race, and how many athletes with his fun run background were able to clock these times: 3:36 (1,500 metres) and 13:24( 5,000 metres) in their 30s?