Which also brings us nicely to the top 10, they will come individually with some intro.
I'm away at the european indoors so i'm not promising but i will try and get some posted this weekend
This was my #3. It was the fastest and slowest 40.82 seconds in my life. Twas a thing of beauty that I replay in my mind in slow motion, and it still seems blindingly fast. And to have the Jamaican team so close behind, or was it light years behind?!
One thing still amazes me ... that Jeter, while at full speed, focused on the win, KNEW that it was a WR even as she closed on the finish line. T&FN totally nailed it with their Olympic Issue cover photo.
She probably thought that because the US team stated they thought for sure they could get the Olympic record. However the world record came as a surprise.
Undoubtably bolstered by the brit contingent and it being very fresh in our minds (i didn't vote for it) Mo Farah's home Olympic escapades give him another accolade to add to his recent achievements
Rog wrote:The Cram of 85 and 86 was awesome, running world records in actual races, not solo runs. His 800 in the 86 Commonwealth Games impressed me more than anything Coe ever achieved at the distance - a 1:43 off a negative split in a championship final in poor conditions.
I was there and can confirm it was blowing a gale and bloody freezing!!
Undoubtably bolstered by the brit contingent and it being very fresh in our minds (i didn't vote for it) Mo Farah's home Olympic escapades give him another accolade to add to his recent achievements
I voted for the 5000 as my #1. The 10000 was wonderful but wouldn't make my Top 10. I've never experienced an atmosphere like that Saturday night. I've seen plenty of games at Wembley and was in the Sydney stadium when Cathy Freeman won but even that didn't come close. Similarly, nothing apart from the birth of my kids has touched me so deeply. Several factors were at play (in no particular order): • The Games had exceeded everyone's expectations (even mine - and I'd been telling anyone who'd listen it would the week of our (British) lives). • The crowd was full of people who had waited 2 long weeks for the opportunity to shout themselves hoarse. It was Saturday night. Drink had been taken (personally I was too nervous). • Mo is a London boy and the perfect embodiment of multi-cultural Britain. After the 10. EVERYONE knew him and knew what a great bloke he was. Personally, when not in Oregon he lives in my town and trains in our local park. For the athletics fans: • There is an apreciation of what a double means and where it puts him in the history of the sport. • We knew the 5000 was going to be much tougher with a DEEP field (half the all-time top 10 having been re-written earlier in the year) • The slow early pace created so much tension. • The gradual wind up over the last mile added to it. • I was level with Mo when he took the lead and realised I'd peaked too soon (I was already shouting at my maximum volume). One lap later I'd got louder and noises were coming from me that were barely human. With 100 to go I couldn't hear myself. • One-by-one they'd queued up to have a go: Koech, Lomong, Gebriwot, Iguider, Longosiwa and finally Gebremeskel. For 2 horrible seconds I though teh latter was going to 'Do a Jeylan' but then came the most unbelieveable surge of relief and emotion.
Just when I thought the memory couldn't be topped I watched Crammy's commentary. The single greatest piece of bradcasting in the sport's history. I watch it at least once a week.
Olli wrote:Sorry, I am still not sure whether I got your logic. Will you return to the Munich 10,000m later or or is it now time to comment on it?
Now is the time to comment on anything Viren related
OK, I confess it is still a bit difficult to fathom your logic, as Montreal 5000m, which completed the double double, was ranked separately and the rest of it together. But never mind.
When I collected my list, I chose numbers 2–20 rather hastily, almost haphazardly, according to what popped into my mind. But for MY FAVORITE MOMENT #1 there was honestly but one serious contender: Viren, and more specifically the legendary 10,000m in Munich.
The reasons for this choice are, to be sure, largely personal; sorry if the following explanation is too long. The Munich Olympics were the first I followed. I was eight and my track&field enthusiasm at its peak. In the previous summer, Juha Väätäinen had won the 5,000m and 10,000m EC double, making wild the home crowd in the Helsinki stadium (I was not there on those days, although I did watch some of the events with my dad and sister). This created something of a national self-confidence that we Finns can once again excel in distance running.
Already in 1971, I followed how Viren and Väätäinen took turns in improving the 5000m NR: first Viren 13.35, the Väätäinen 13.32 in the EC, then Viren again 13.29 (seven-year-olds can learn such figures with little effort). Then, in 1972, I remember my excitement in listening to a radio broadcast of Finland–UK international, in which Viren made it 13.19, just three seconds over Clarke's WR. There was also the 2-mile WR run, where Viren showed he could compete with anyone.
So, Viren's condition was solidly improving towards the Olympics and he was establishing himself as a favorite. By the way, this is something that some present-day commentators, who even call him a surprise winner, do not seem to realize. (This issue also has some bearing on the notorious blood-doping charges. I do not claim to know the truth in this issue, but Viren's consistency in 1972 does not actually support such charges.)
I also remember seeing some average Finns, interviewed on TV before the Olympics about their expectations, telling that perhaps Väätäinen will again bring home some medals. I wondered how ignorant they were: Viren was surely now our No. 1.
For a young Viren fan with trembling with excitement, there could not have been a more perfect fulfillment of expectation than what actually took place. Even for non-fans, the race offered, I assume, a perfect piece of sports entertainment and drama: Bedford's crazy opening pace (first 400m in 59s) and surges, with some (especially Yifter) wasting energy in trying to follow each surge. Viren running a wiser and more peaceful run – until the inexplicable fall, which also took down Gammoudi (what might he have done at the end?). The moments of awful disappointment (for the Viren fan) followed by the incredible comeback. At the end: the grueling long struggle between Viren and Puttemans, their heartly hug after the race, and on top of all the new WR. (Viren would certainly have been capable of much better times with better pacing and without falling, but those were the good old days with less rabbitted races.)
For a long time I played Lasse Viren while running, and even today my kids – to whom I naturally have shown youtube video of this classic event – sometimes play Viren and Puttemans (whereas I have to be content with the role of Yifter).
Undoubtably bolstered by the brit contingent and it being very fresh in our minds (i didn't vote for it) Mo Farah's home Olympic escapades give him another accolade to add to his recent achievements
I voted for the 5000 as my #1. The 10000 was wonderful but wouldn't make my Top 10. I've never experienced an atmosphere like that Saturday night. I've seen plenty of games at Wembley and was in the Sydney stadium when Cathy Freeman won but even that didn't come close. Similarly, nothing apart from the birth of my kids has touched me so deeply. Several factors were at play (in no particular order): • The Games had exceeded everyone's expectations (even mine - and I'd been telling anyone who'd listen it would the week of our (British) lives). • The crowd was full of people who had waited 2 long weeks for the opportunity to shout themselves hoarse. It was Saturday night. Drink had been taken (personally I was too nervous). • Mo is a London boy and the perfect embodiment of multi-cultural Britain. After the 10. EVERYONE knew him and knew what a great bloke he was. Personally, when not in Oregon he lives in my town and trains in our local park. For the athletics fans: • There is an apreciation of what a double means and where it puts him in the history of the sport. • We knew the 5000 was going to be much tougher with a DEEP field (half the all-time top 10 having been re-written earlier in the year) • The slow early pace created so much tension. • The gradual wind up over the last mile added to it. • I was level with Mo when he took the lead and realised I'd peaked too soon (I was already shouting at my maximum volume). One lap later I'd got louder and noises were coming from me that were barely human. With 100 to go I couldn't hear myself. • One-by-one they'd queued up to have a go: Koech, Lomong, Gebriwot, Iguider, Longosiwa and finally Gebremeskel. For 2 horrible seconds I though teh latter was going to 'Do a Jeylan' but then came the most unbelieveable surge of relief and emotion.
Just when I thought the memory couldn't be topped I watched Crammy's commentary. The single greatest piece of bradcasting in the sport's history. I watch it at least once a week.
If I had been there I might have been tempted to watch John G rather than the race! Sounds like you were in danger of spontaneous combustion!
Olli wrote:Sorry, I am still not sure whether I got your logic. Will you return to the Munich 10,000m later or or is it now time to comment on it?
Now is the time to comment on anything Viren related
OK, I confess it is still a bit difficult to fathom your logic, as Montreal 5000m, which completed the double double, was ranked separately and the rest of it together. But never mind.
I can't fathom it either not sure what i've done
I'll check it out when i get home on tues but i assume the earlier post was a mistake of some sort
Bolt is mine. When I saw Johnson run 19.32 in Atlanta I thought that record would stand for the foreseeable future. Little did we know that a superman called Bolt would arrive on the scene. This performance was as astounding as MJ's.
Bolt's 200 in 08 was high up on my list. I thought Michael Johnson's 19.32 was the greatest of all track world records, a quantum leap in performance that seemed set to last for generations. Even after Bolt's magnificent performance in the 100, this record still looked too tough. Bolt looked tired, and the record just seemed too good.
The way Bolt attacked the race, with full commitment from the start, to storm home so far ahead of an elite Olympic field, impressed me nearly as much as his 100. To break the greatest of all track records, into a headwind, was to my mind to that point the greatest performance of all time.
Not all world records are equal. David Rudisha reaped deserved praise for breaking the 800 record in last year's Olympics, yet that record has only improved by about 0.8 since 1981. In the same period, ignoring altitude performances, the 200 record has improved by about as much. Given that the 200 is a sprint event, the expectation would be that records should be improved by much smaller margins (by contrast, the 1500 record has improved by about 5 seconds since 1981). Rudisha's impact in London was tremendous, yet dwarfed by Bolt in Beijing, and Bolt's level of performance shows why. That he was able to improve further is a mark of his unequalled talent.
Both are on my list. Beamon (my #6) ... how many performances in T&F become adjectives? I was in 9th grade, and that amazing Long Jump was one of the defining moments that turned me into a lifelong T&F fanatic. All of us on the cross country team were following the Olympics, mostly in print ... but the coach pulled us in for a TV recap, and the long jump just blew us away. What still amazes me is how high he jumped. It seemed that he was still going up when he finished his hitch kick. A side note ... in a culture of feet and inches, I always knew that 8.90 was 29' 2 1/2".
Bolt (my #13) will certainly grow with time in my memories. Had MJ never run 19.32, this would be higher on my list. Same as Daisy, I never thought I would live to see MJ's record broken. But then along comes a lightning Bolt, and as Rog said, he attacked that 200 with everything he had. Equal parts of effort, strength, and relaxing. And then the joy that makes him so special. Wow!
Babe Ruth hit many home runs, but one of the best remembered was the apocryphal "called shot" home run. Bolt's 19.30 is a track and field equivalent of the "called shot" as is Rudisha's WR which itself deserves more acclaim. these men didn't just break another WR they either broke records that people had thought were unbreakable (Bolt) or in a place, the Olympics, where it was believed that the record was unbreakable (Rudisha). And, they did it not because of the competition but because they chose to. MJ missed the WR at 400m though he was clearly gunning for it. He already held the WR at 200m but was vulnerable to a loss if he wasn't at his absolute best. Bolt and Rudisha WILLED their way to the WR and for that reason I believe them to be superior to 19.30 - even without the passage of time.
Beamon was my number one. I had a poster (don't know if I still have it) of beamon with a quote about doing things people said are impossible. That performance is still mind boggling regardless of the conditions.
I had Jess as part of my Super Saturday vote. No-one in the UK in any sport at the Olympics had to bear the brunt of so much pressure as Jessica Ennis. She had one of the most competitive events and had lost the Worlds, but to the British public she was the face of athletics, even ahead of Mo and Dai Greene. As we know, she coped brilliantly and was one of the stars of the whole athletics tournament.
It's interesting to see how things have developed for her since. Her coach is no longer funded, and the track at which she trains is to be closed down. It's typical for the UK that our greatest athlete gets let down like this. Of all British athletes, though, I would trust Jess to cope with setbacks and still find a way to fight back. I'd love to see her win in Moscow and score over 7,000.
Unbelievable, I thought that was one of their center pieces? I remember seeing Jon Drummond win the World student games there. It was a really good facility, from what I remember.
You'd think that Coe would have some clout in trying to keep it open, didn't he grow up in Sheffield?
Unbelievable, I thought that was one of their center pieces? I remember seeing Jon Drummond win the World student games there. It was a really good facility, from what I remember.
You'd think that Coe would have some clout in trying to keep it open, didn't he grow up in Sheffield?
A friend of mine who lives in Sheffield and was on the 1984 Oly team with Coe, raised the same question. I guess he can't be bothered. He hasn't even commented on it.
My understanding is that Jess doesn't train there at all but at the track down the road
Don Valley was a stadium of 25,000 people that hasn't held a track since the 2nd british GP moved to B'ham years ago !! obviously i would prefer it stayed open but it can't only be done on sentiment
This was VERY high on my list. It is the personification of never giving up, she eventually got it right at exactly the same time.
After her breakthrough in '93 when she equaled row English record while reaching the WC semi. she consolidated in 94 becoming CG champ and Euro Silver medals behind Rogarchova and made it to true world class in 95's with 2 medals in Gothenburg. Great things were expected but injury put pay to our hopes for Kelly
With lots of medical help she was 4th in the Atlanta 800 she and then limped through the 1500
She was world No1 going into Athens 97 and should have been world champ but got injured in her last training session and dropped out in her 1500 heat, got back just in time to win the 98 CWG but she was never the same again.
From 98 she managed a few more medals but never The Big G and was always struggling with injuries but come Athens 2004 everything changed
An move to train with Maria and coach Margot Jennings gave her a new lease of life and i've always thought gave her the skills to train smart rather than hard. And Athens was a revelation.
I was lucky enough to be in the stadium that night and it was just amazing, i was supposed to be working but i bunked off to celebrate, after the 800m
the 1500 was a shoe in and she totally dominated the race. If only she'd got it together earlier the debate over the rather weak field of w1500 GOAT would be decided
Last point if we were speaking about specific 'moments' e.g. split seconds then Kelly's face as she crossed the line would be my No1. She crosses the line arms a loft and then thinks better of it and her face drops as she's can't quite believe it's actually happened there are a few seconds before someone on the infield confirms that she has won and festivities can begin
mump boy wrote:6th Kelly Holmes Double 2004 145 points
She was my 4th Brit behind Thompson, Ovett and Ennis. Her racing savvy was very impressive in both races, you felt she was in control the whole time. Best, while I expected her to be in the hunt, I never expected the dominance she showed.
I voted for Kelly Holmes. I think until 2012 Kelly's gold medals stood out as the most popular in British athletics history, and even now they've only been equalled, not surpassed. Kelly was always a popular athlete, and there was a lot of sympathy for her that injuries had prevented her ever reaching her full potential. That she was finally able to overcome them and triumph on the greatest stage of all was just reward for her perseverance.
In the UK the BBC runs a competition every December for Sports Personality of the Year. It's voted by the public and it covers people from all sports. When Kelly won the 1500, I remember reading a pundit's opinion that the identity of that year's winner was now settled - no-one would be able to beat Kelly. He was right!
mump boy wrote:4 Points 31st Super Saturday 45 points
For some unfathomable reason I placed this at #11??? Now obviously it was great and all but if I'm honest I think I put it there out of duty more than actual affection. I know I'm alone in this but the 2012 Olympics fell a bit flat for me and 4 Gold or not Team GB underperformed. This was a fantastic night but none of the individual moments stand out for me in the way previous Olynpic wins have.
mump boy wrote:18th Flo Jo 200m 88 75 poins
My #8
As a teenage gayer it goes without saying that Flo Jo was my favourite athlete in the world. She has 4 inch nails, wore one legged cat suits and lycra hoods. I'd loved her for years so when I first heard she'd run the 10.49 I was overjoyed and remember jumping around the playground at school after reading about it in AW.
She didn't disappoint in Seoul and easily won the 100m running away smiling, but it was the 200m that was most mind blowing. 21.32 is insane. Way better than either MJ or Bolt's 200m WR's. I also loved that the classy Grace Jackson got silver in sucha fast time.
Obviously with hindsight I don't hold her performances or her in such high esteem but I was judging this on how I felt at the time. There has never been an athlete that so entranced me and there probably never will be again.
Such a shame she's more or less ruined womens sprinting for a generation.
mump boy wrote:6 Votes
15th
w100mh 92 51 points
My #10
Twas fantabulous. I love a shocker and this has to be amongst the biggest in T&F history. Even if Gail hadn't fallen Patoulidou would still have run the race of her life, as it was she ended up with the gold. Met her many years later at the WI's in Lisbon. I was super excited and she couldn't understand why we wanted her picture taken with her. I was far less enthused when I met Carl Lewis
As a teenage gayer it goes without saying that Flo Jo was my favourite athlete in the world. She has 4 inch nails, wore one legged cat suits and lycra hoods. I'd loved her for years so when I first heard she'd run the 10.49 I was overjoyed and remember jumping around the playground at school after reading about it in AW.
She didn't disappoint in Seoul and easily won the 100m running away smiling, but it was the 200m that was most mind blowing. 21.32 is insane. Way better than either MJ or Bolt's 200m WR's. I also loved that the classy Grace Jackson got silver in sucha fast time.
Obviously with hindsight I don't hold her performances or her in such high esteem but I was judging this on how I felt at the time. There has never been an athlete that so entranced me and there probably never will be again.
Such a shame she's more or less ruined womens sprinting for a generation.
s'funny, as a teenage gayer (or almost, anyway) Heike was totally my icon. i maintain to this day a better lane draw would have seen her get closer to Flo-Jo!
Flumpy wrote: I know I'm alone in this but the 2012 Olympics fell a bit flat for me and 4 Gold or not Team GB underperformed. This was a fantastic night but none of the individual moments stand out for me in the way previous Olynpic wins have.
I read lots of comments from you and your brother in the run-up to The Games and worried for you both! You reminded me of myself whenever bands I've loved have become famous.
Flumpy wrote: I know I'm alone in this but the 2012 Olympics fell a bit flat for me and 4 Gold or not Team GB underperformed. This was a fantastic night but none of the individual moments stand out for me in the way previous Olynpic wins have.
I read lots of comments from you and your brother in the run-up to The Games and worried for you both! You reminded me of myself whenever bands I've loved have become famous.
I said exactly that when we first got the games
Although the whole atmosphere in london was amazing over the summer the actual games fell a little bit flat for a number of reasons. Firstly we won too much across too many sports, i became blasé about winning gold never mind lesser medals. Also i love the excitement of having your whole world turned upside down and getting jet lag in your own living room when a champs is the other side of the world instead of a mile down the road.
Having said that last year was probably the best of my life and London 2012 contributed to that immensely. In fact most of the highlights (meeting Mary Rand and Tommie Smith) were directly related to 2012 if not specifically part of it)
I've just realised the reason last year was the best ever wasn't because i got married, had a child or the job of my dreams etc it was because i met Betty Cuthbert
I would imagine that this would make me quite sad person in many people eyes but i couldn't be happier
Flumpy wrote: I know I'm alone in this but the 2012 Olympics fell a bit flat for me and 4 Gold or not Team GB underperformed. This was a fantastic night but none of the individual moments stand out for me in the way previous Olynpic wins have.
I read lots of comments from you and your brother in the run-up to The Games and worried for you both! You reminded me of myself whenever bands I've loved have become famous.
I said exactly that when we first got the games
Although the whole atmosphere in london was amazing over the summer the actual games fell a little bit flat for a number of reasons. Firstly we won too much across too many sports, i became blasé about winning gold never mind lesser medals. Also i love the excitement of having your whole world turned upside down and getting jet lag in your own living room when a champs is the other side of the world instead of a mile down the road.
Interesting for the same reasons the Athletics Golds meant more to me last year. We didn't win any gold until Wednesday and had a couple of big misses, then a bit ofa flood of golds in sports I only cared about for a month last year. So by Saturday I was nervous enough and if I wanted one Gold to make the Olympics I would have been stuck between Grainger and Ennis. And if I ha to pick Ennis because a home games almost needs an Athletics Gold to make it a great Olympics. London 2012 needed an Ennis Gold basically.
not sure what i've done 
