Pat Butcher is one of the most prolific, opinionated, and colorful writers in Athletics. Pat wrote The Perfect Distance: Ovett and Coe, The Perfect Rivalry, Quicksilver, the Mercurial Emil Zatopek, and The Destiny of Ali Mimoun, all fine athletics books that should be on the shelf of every fan, coach, and athlete.
Pat sent me this story this morning, and yes, I am posting his wonderful synopsis of the Metric Mile, coming up in Paris in about one week!
STUFF OF LEGENDS, Part One
The roll-call is the stuff of legends! Paavo Nurmi, Jack Lovelock, Gundar Haegg, Arne Andersson, Roger Bannister, Herb Elliott, Peter Snell, Jim Ryun, Kip Keino, Filbert Bayi, John Walker, Seb Coe, Steve Ovett, Steve Cram, Saïd Aouita, Noureddine Morceli, Hicham El Guerrouj, and Jakob Ingebrigtsen. Olympic champions or world record holders, in some cases both. And their forte was/is the Mile and 1500 metres, the Metric Mile. The event used to be the Olympic blue riband, but with the advent of Carl Lewis and the doomed Ben Johnson, and all the publicity, good and bad, that that engendered, abetted by the glamorous rocket-propelled Flo-Jo, followed by the long reign of the meteoric Usain Bolt, the focus switched to the sprint. But with Ingebrigtsen looking to underline his status later this week in Paris, in a much-heralded face-off with Josh Kerr, the middle distance event can assume centre stage again.
To read the entire story, in its original splendor, please go here: https://thepatbutcher.wordpress.com/2024/07/29/stuff-of-legends-part-one/
