@ATHLETICSWEEKLY
Seb Coe training on Richmond Hill and, inset, on the
cover of AW breaking the world mile record in Oslo
that would see him etch his name into athletics
immortality.
The first signs that Coe was wintering well
came when he won the UK indoor 3000m title at
Cosford in 7:59.8. In training, meanwhile, one run
saw him whizz around a 10-mile circuit in three-
quarters of an hour (Jos Hermens’ world record
at the time was 45:57) although the effort caused
him to throw up and he later passed out at a
university reception in the evening.
During the spring and early summer he then
showed he had blistering speed to accompany
his stamina as he ran a series of 400m PBs
and a 46.3 relay split. Wisely, he also used a
number of low-key events such as the Northern
Counties Championships in Hull and Yorkshire
Championships in Cleckheaton.
As temperatures rose and the winter of
discontent faded into the memory a vintage
summer of sport began to come alive. In football,
Arsenal beat Manchester United 3-2 with a
thrilling last-minute winner in the FA Cup final,
while Notts Forest lifted the European Cup.
Bjorn Borg and Martina Navratilova were
crowned Wimbledon champions. Bernard Hinault
took the second of his five Tour de France titles
and West Indies beat hosts England at Lords to
win the cricket World Cup.
Yet the summer of 1979 is also remembered
for Coe’s exploits as he finished his degree and
headed into Europe to begin his remarkable
record-breaking spree. He warmed up with a
slick 800m victory in the Europa Cup semi-final
in Malmo on June 30.
Then, five days later at the Bislett Games in
Oslo, he sent seismic waves through the sport
when he smashed Alberto Juantorena’s world
800m record of 1:43.44 with 1:42.33.
Oslo had witnessed many fine world records
over the years. In 1955 the Belgian athlete Roger
Moens broke Rudolph Harbig’s long-standing
800m mark with 1:45.7, whereas Ron Clarke took
more than half a minute off the world 10,000m
record with 27:39.4 in 1965. But Coe’s 800m
record was just as sensational as he chopped
just over a second from Juantorena’s time.
Coe was not expecting to run so fast either.
He relaxed the night before the race by watching
California Suite at the cinema with New Zealand
runners Rod Dixon and John Walker. Then, in the
race itself, followed pacemaker Lennie Smith of
Jamaica through 200m in 24.6 and 400m in 50.6
before letting rip through the final circuit in 51.8.
Coe’s world record at the Bislett Games
created sports headlines around the world. “My
world would never be the same again,” he later
reflected. But following this brilliant breakthrough