800 metres, Men

The Americans boycotted Moskva and took over 60 nations with them but the British athletes defied their government’s wishes and competed at the 1980 Olympics. This allowed the two best 800 metre runners in the world to compete – Steve Ovett and Sebastian Coe. They had raced at the distance only once before, at the 1978 European Championships, with Ovett winning silver and Coe bronze, both beaten by the GDR’s Olaf Beyer. The only top runner missing in Moskva was American Don Paige, who would have challenged in both the 800 and 1,500. Coe was the world record holder, having recorded 1:42.4 in Oslo at the 1979 Bislett Games. He had also broken the 1,500 and mile world record in 1979, but in 1980, Ovett bettered both those marks prior to the Olympics. Coe was a slight favorite with Ovett considered better over the longer distance. The pace was very slow in the final, led by Brazil’s Agberto Guimarães on the first lap. Soviet Nikolay Kirov then took the lead thru 600 metres when Ovett moved up on the final curve. He had the lead at the start of the stretch, with Coe far back and unable to make up enough ground, although he closed quickly to get the silver medal.