1978 European Athletics Championships – Men's 800 metres
at the 1978 European Athletics Championships | ||
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Track events | ||
100 m | men | women |
200 m | men | women |
400 m | men | women |
800 m | men | women |
1500 m | men | women |
3000 m | women | |
5000 m | men | |
10,000 m | men | |
100 m hurdles | women | |
110 m hurdles | men | |
400 m hurdles | men | women |
3000 m steeplechase | men | |
4×100 m relay | men | women |
4×400 m relay | men | women |
Road events | ||
Marathon | men | |
20 km walk | men | |
50 km walk | men | |
Field events | ||
Long jump | men | women |
Triple jump | men | |
High jump | men | women |
Pole vault | men | |
Shot put | men | women |
Discus throw | men | women |
Hammer throw | men | |
Javelin throw | men | women |
Combined events | ||
Pentathlon | women | |
Decathlon | men | |
These are the official results of the Men's 800 metres event at the 1978 European Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia.[1][2] The final was held on 31 August 1978.[3]
The two favourites for the race were Steve Ovett[4] and Sebastian Coe[5] Ovett had won silver at 800 m at the previous European Championships in 1974 in Rome,[6] and had won the 1500m, in spectacular fashion, at the IAAF World Cup[7] the previous year (he was to remain unbeaten at that distance until the 1980 Olympics).[8] Coe was the new British record holder at 800 m and the fastest man that year leading into the race at 800 m.[9]
The race was billed in the press, the British press in particular, as a 'Coe versus Ovett' contest - a race that was the start of a rivalry that was to dominate not only British and European but World middle-distance running over the next few years.[10][11] However, by concentrating on Coe and Ovett the press were ignoring the other talents in the race, including East Germany's Olaf Beyer.[12]
In the race itself, Coe led from the front setting a blistering first lap pace, going through the bell in a suicidal 49.32 s. At 700 m, he was spent and Ovett kicked past him for home. However, the fast-finishing Beyer first caught Coe and then Ovett to strike gold, in doing so recording the fastest time that year.[13]
Medalists[]
Gold | Olaf Beyer![]() |
Silver | Steve Ovett![]() |
Bronze | Sebastian Coe![]() |
Results[]
Final[]
31 August
Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
Olaf Beyer | ![]() |
1:43.84 | CR |
![]() |
Steve Ovett | ![]() |
1:44.09 | |
![]() |
Sebastian Coe | ![]() |
1:44.76 | |
4 | Anatoliy Reshetnyak | ![]() |
1:45.79 | |
5 | ![]() |
1:46.24 | ||
6 | Andreas Busse | ![]() |
1:47.1 | |
7 | ![]() |
1:47.4 | ||
8 | José Marajo | ![]() |
1:53.4 |
Semi-finals[]
30 August
Semi-final 1[]
Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sebastian Coe | ![]() |
1:47.44 | Q |
2 | Andreas Busse | ![]() |
1:47.6 | Q |
3 | José Marajo | ![]() |
1:47.7 | Q |
4 | ![]() |
1:47.8 | Q | |
5 | Markku Taskinen | ![]() |
1:47.9 | |
6 | Uwe Becker | ![]() |
1:48.2 | |
7 | Detlef Wagenknecht | ![]() |
1:48.5 | |
8 | ![]() |
1:49.2 |
Semi-final 2[]
Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Steve Ovett | ![]() |
1:46.51 | Q |
2 | Olaf Beyer | ![]() |
1:46.74 | Q |
3 | ![]() |
1:46.94 | Q | |
4 | Anatoliy Reshetnyak | ![]() |
1:47.2 | Q |
5 | Hans-Peter Ferner | ![]() |
1:47.4 | |
6 | ![]() |
1:47.9 | ||
7 | Roger Milhau | ![]() |
1:48.9 | |
8 | Günther Hasler | ![]() |
1:49.3 |
Heats[]
29 August
Heat 1[]
Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Steve Ovett | ![]() |
1:47.80 | Q |
2 | Hans-Peter Ferner | ![]() |
1:48.1 | Q |
3 | Markku Taskinen | ![]() |
1:48.3 | Q |
4 | Detlef Wagenknecht | ![]() |
1:48.4 | q |
5 | Vladimir Malozemlin | ![]() |
1:48.6 | |
6 | Carlo Grippo | ![]() |
1:48.6 |
Heat 2[]
Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Olaf Beyer | ![]() |
1:47.72 | Q |
2 | ![]() |
1:48.1 | Q | |
3 | Günther Hasler | ![]() |
1:48.5 | Q |
4 | Justin Gloden | ![]() |
1:49.0 | |
5 | Peter Hoffmann | ![]() |
1:49.3 |
Heat 3[]
Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Andreas Busse | ![]() |
1:49.08 | Q |
2 | José Marajo | ![]() |
1:49.4 | Q |
3 | Anatoliy Reshetnyak | ![]() |
1:49.5 | Q |
4 | Milovan Savić | ![]() |
1:50.0 | |
5 | ![]() |
1:50.5 | ||
6 | ![]() |
1:51.6 |
Heat 4[]
Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sebastian Coe | ![]() |
1:46.82 | Q |
2 | Roger Milhau | ![]() |
1:47.07 | Q |
3 | Uwe Becker | ![]() |
1:47.13 | Q |
4 | ![]() |
1:47.18 | q | |
5 | ![]() |
1:47.19 | q | |
6 | ![]() |
1:47.23 | q | |
7 | Jón Didriksson | ![]() |
1:50.4 |
Participation[]
According to an unofficial count, 24 athletes from 15 countries participated in the event.
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See also[]
- 1974 Men's European Championships 800 metres (Rome)
- 1976 Men's Olympic 800 metres (Montreal)
- 1980 Men's Olympic 800 metres (Moscow)
- 1982 Men's European Championships 800 metres (Athens)
- 1983 Men's World Championships 800 metres (Helsinki)
- 1984 Men's Olympic 800 metres (Los Angeles)
- 1986 Men's European Championships 800 metres (Stuttgart)
References[]
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjzR8AOvEzc 1978 European 800m - men, youtube.com. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
- ^ European Athletics Championships Zürich 2014 - STATISTICS HANDBOOK (PDF), European Athletics Association, pp. 427–435, retrieved 13 August 2014
- ^ http://home.swipnet.se/athletics/resultat1978.htm Archived 2012-09-29 at the Wayback Machine European Championship 1978. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
- ^ Steve Ovett at Sports Reference Steve Ovett biography, Sports-Reference.co. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
- ^ Sebastian Coe at Sports Reference Sebastian Coe biography, Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU9Gqhoqno4 'ROMA 1974: 800 MASCHILI - LUCIANO SUSANJ', youtube.com.
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0W7GogWlv7Q 1977 World Cup 1500m - Steve Ovett, youtube.com.
- ^ http://www.uka.org.uk/e-inspire/hall-of-fame-athletes/steve-ovett/ Archived 2009-06-17 at archive.today Steve Ovett, United Kingdom Athletics biography.
- ^ http://www.uka.org.uk/e-inspire/hall-of-fame-athletes/sebastian-coe/ Archived 2012-05-15 at the Wayback Machine Sebastian Coe, United Kingdom Athletics biography.
- ^ http://www.sportsjournalists.co.uk/sja-news/sja-1948-2008/we-will-never-see-their-like-again/ "We will never see their like again.", Randall Northam, 9 June 2008, Sports Journalists' Association. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
- ^ http://www.sportinglife.com/olympics/history/story_get.dor?STORY_NAME=others/00/07/05/OLYMPICS_Coe_and_Ovett.insdat "Olympic greats - Coe and Ovett", Richard Gibson, sportinglife.com. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
- ^ Olaf Beyer at Sports Reference Olaf Beyer biography, Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
- ^ http://digilander.libero.it/Mennea/Stagionali/WRL/1978/800.htm 1978 800m performances. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
Other Links[]
- Results 1978 European Championship Results
- Events at the 1978 European Athletics Championships
- 800 metres at the European Athletics Championships