Perhaps Ryun's loss is more notable in this instance because he
clearly had the prerequisite to win an Olympic final--ability to kick
off a fast pace. Clarke was in a class by himself as a setter of
records, but his closing speed was his weakness--to the extent that he had any.
The tactic Keino employed in the '68 1500m final was to run the field
into the ground from the gun with the help of his teammate
Jipcho. The psychology of it, given the expectations for a race at
altitude, was brilliant. You can watch it on YouTube (two different calls):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ric1DJJ5WAg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6Lo7A9y9pU
For most of the race, he was on or ahead of WR pace and simply
couldn't/didn't hold it. The 400m split was 55.98 with Jipcho leading
Norpoth and Keino. Keino cruised by both at 700 m, split 1:55.31 for
800m and was gone...
It's an unanswerable question whether Ryun could have done any better
than he did under those conditions - whether he committed a tactical
error by letting Keino slip away when he might have kept in close
enough contact to run him down on the last lap, or whether altitude
and the sketchy air quality of Mexico City did him in. Who knows?
Regardless, the time had nothing to do with a tactical (= slow in
some people's minds) pace at the start.
Bill Bahnfleth
At 09:26 PM 8/1/2008, uri goldbourt wrote:
Roger,
Anyone not training or living at low altitude was at a disadvantage. Why
select Jim Ryun over, say, Ron Clarke one of the greatest runners in the
history of long distance.
As for Keino running "only" 3:34/9 to Run's WR of 3:33....come on... that's
an Olympic race for victory. The last time a 1500M Olympic runner broke a WR
was when the most fantastic of them all, Herb Eliot, smashed his own WR in
Rome, 3;35.6. Nothing even remotely resembling such a feat was seen in
tactical races for victory.
Regards,
Uri(soon to be on my way to smoggy Beijing...)
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Roger Ruth
Sent: Saturday, August 02, 2008 2:59 AM
To: t-and-f@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: t-and-f: Smoggy Olympics
The considerable publicity that has been given to the high smog levels
in Beijing has caused me to speculate on a world record holder who
would not have been able to compete in the Olympics if they had been
held there in 1968. If I'm wrong in the details, maybe someone will
offer correction.
I'm thinking of Jim Ryun, world record holder in the 1500 meters
(3:33.1) from 1967 to 1974 and notably handicapped in some venues by
chronic asthma. I don't think he was ever called upon to compete under
such severe smog conditions as those shown at Beijing, but I can't
imagine any severe asthmatic even attempting that level of hazard--Los
Angeles would have been bad enough.
Of course, the 1968 Olympics weren't held in Beijing, but in Mexico
City, where high altitude posed another kind of threat to asthmatics
and others with breathing disorders. The consequence for Ryun was
apparent: He trailed Kip Keino by a full twenty meters at the finish,
with Keino's time nearly two full seconds off Ryun's year-old record.
Anyone know whether disadvantages a given venue may pose for some
athletes ever enter into the considerations of the IOC in selecting a
location for the Olympic Games?
