Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett: The 800-Metre Duel

At the 1978 European championships, Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett met in a race for the first time. The two up-and-coming British runners, keenly aware of each other, approached the event as if it were a two-man affair, and they learned a hard lesson when East Germany’s Olaf Beyer outran them both. From then on Coe and Ovett deliberately avoided running in the same races. Despite this, they staged a furious battle in the record books for much of the next two years. They leapfrogged each other as world record holder in the mile. Just weeks before the 1980 Games in Moscow, Coe became the first Briton in 76 years to hold four world records simultaneously (800 metres, 1,000 metres, 1,500 metres, and mile) when he ran the 1,000 metres in 2:13.4 at Oslo, Norway. Less than an hour later, Ovett shaved two-tenths of a second from Coe’s mark in the mile.

The British sporting world eagerly anticipated the inevitable Coe-Ovett showdown in the 800- and 1,500-metre events that the Moscow Games promised. Adding to the drama were their contrasting personalities and styles. Coe was consistently outspoken and made a point of expressing his displeasure with his country’s wavering stance on the U.S.-led boycott of the Games. Ovett avoided the public eye as much as possible, remaining an enigma of sorts. The smaller Coe trained with an eye toward speed. Ovett concentrated on strength.

Coe, favoured in the 800 metres at Moscow, ran by his own admission “one of the worst races” of his life. The pace during the early stage of the race was rather slow, and Coe, near the back, looked uncertain about which tactics to follow. Meanwhile, Ovett elbowed his way to the front of the pack. A late sprint by Coe couldn’t push him past Ovett, who took the gold medal. That put the pressure on Coe in the 1,500 metres. Ovett held the record and hadn’t lost in the event in more than three years. Even the reserved Ovett had practically predicted his own triumph in the press. Nevertheless, still stinging from his futile late burst in the 800, in the 1,500 metres Coe took the lead after 200 metres and cruised to victory.