Aug 11, 1984: Seb Coe Repeats as Olympic 1500m Champion

It was on August 11th 1984 that Sebastian Coe became the only man ever to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals in the 1500m. In a race that saw American Steve Scott make a risky mid-race move to quicken the pace, Coe stayed close to the front and then, as Scott faded, pulled away from teammate Steve Cram and Spain's Jose Abascal to win in an Olympic record time of 3:32.53.



The race is interesting for a number of reasons. There is the early move by Steve Scott, designed to neutralize the dangerous kicks of Cram and Coe. There is the presence of all three of the superb middle distance specialists from Great Britain -- Coe, Cram, and Steve Ovett -- who dominated the 800 and 1500 in the early 80's. As mentioned, Coe was the defending Olympic champion at 1500, Cram was the defending world champion, and Ovett (who went undefeated at the 1500m and mile for almost four striaght years before Coe beat him at the 1980 Moscow Olympics) was the defending 800m Olympic champion. Ovett suffers in this race, dropping out with just under a lap to go after suffering breathing problems related to a respiratory illness. There is also the fifth place finish of American Jim Spivey.

At the end of the race, after Coe crosses the line, he gestures angrily toward the stands by the finish line. Leading up to the Olympics, the British Press -- well known for abusing and mis-judging their best middle distance runners (see Bannister, Roger) -- considered Coe to be past his prime, and gave him little chance at a medal, let alone a gold medal. After winning, Coe's gesture seems to express not only his triumph over the other runners, but over the doubters in his own country.

Interestingly, a similar scenario played itself out four years later. After running a lifetime best of 3:29 for 1500 in 1987, Coe was left off the British team in 1988 for the Seoul Olympics, denying him the chance to medal one more time.

Here is an excellent video summary of the Coe vs. Ovett rivalry in the early '80s, with clips from various world record efforts. The announcing is priceless.