AAA champs 1500 Coe v Ovett + interviews - 1989

AAA champs 1500 Coe v Ovett + interviews - 1989
Seb Coe and Steve Ovett were two of Britain’s most inspirational runners, and given the fact that they came to prominence around the same time meant that head-to-heads were an athletics promoters dream. They happened very rarely, and the outcomes were invariably unexpected.
For those of you who don’t know the history (track performances only):
They met in the European 800 metres in Prague in 1978. Coe lead through a very fast first lap, before being overhauled by a stronger Ovett late on. And that was that until………. Both were overhauled by East German Olaf Beyer, close to the finish. Beyer produced nothing of note before, or after.
They met in both the 800 and 1500 metres in Moscow in 1980. Coe was the favourite for the 800, being the world record holder, and super miler Ovett was favourite for the 1500. In two very tactical battles, they each won the other’s favoured event.
In 1984 in Los Angeles, Coe again won silver at 800 and gold at 1500, but in more predictable and happy times. Sadly, however for Ovett, respiratory problems brought on by the prevailing smog led to him being a shadow of himself, and he spent many hours in hospital.

This last meeting, in the AAA Championships of 1989, was the most controversial meeting of them all. The race was a trial for the upcoming Commonwealth Games (in January 1990 in Auckland). Coe was in pretty good shape, but Ovett was not. The race itself was, like many championship 1500 metres, a tactical event, with lots of pushing and shoving, with an inevitable fall. The interviews which followed show a side of the sport you don’t often see.

Seb Coe gave a really polished performance, and you can see the speed of thought and diplomatic awareness which were to become a hallmark of his future political career.
Steve Ovett, by comparison, was an emotional wreck. The 1980s were a pivotal time in our sport. The 1970s had still being primarily amateur, but here you had Ovett being paid and Coe not being paid. If you think that’s bizarre, let me explain that part of the attraction of these two is the fact that they didn’t race each other. So, to get them together, even in the twilight of their careers, was huge!
The final interview is with Andy Norman, easily the most influential person in UK athletics at the time.

The 1980s were often described as a golden decade for British Athletics, but there was much to worry about in our sport (Olympic boycotts in 1980 and 1984), endemic drug abuse, highest profile Ben Johnson, but don’t forget the Berlin Wall didn’t fall till virtually the end of the decade, so Russia and East Germany were regarded as two athletic superpowers.
This tape is included for its symbolic content, rather than it being an outstanding contest. Coe and Ovett never met in track competition again. Coe did go to the Commonwealth Games, but was unwell and did not medal.