1,500 metres, Men

The 1976 Olympic 1,500 was one of the most eagerly awaited races among track fans. There were two leading contenders, with diametrically different running styles. On 2 February 1974, Tanzania’s Filbert Bayi won the greatest 1,500 run to that date, at the Commonwealth Games. His time of 3:32.16 was a world record, and he needed it to defeat John Walker of New Zealand, who placed second in 3:32.52, also surpassing the previous record. On 17 May 1975, at the International Freedom Games in Jamaica, Bayi then broke the world mile record with 3:51.0, but that mark would not last long. In Göteborg, Sweden, on 12 August, Walker became the first runner to break the 3:50 barrier, winning the mile in 3:49.4. Walker was a solid middle-distance runner with an excellent kick, while Bayi was an almost maniacal front runner who set what seemed to be suicidal paces. The Olympic match-up between them was highly anticipated.

But it never happened. Tanzania joined the African boycott of the Montréal Olympics and Bayi could not compete. In his absence, Walker seemed a cinch for the gold medal. But his 1976 form was not what it had been in 1974-75. He suffered from chronic compartment syndrome in both his lower legs, which would later require surgery, and he had to back off on his training, running shorter distances but of very high quality. Among the nine finalists in Montréal, only Ireland’s Eamonn Coghlan was a top miler, with many of the others being better known as 800 metre runners. The pace was quite slow, with Coghlan leading thru 800 and 1,200 metres in 2:03.15 and 3:01.23. Walker then took off on the backstretch and led out a 300 metre sprint. He quickly took the lead and his anerobic capacity held off the runners to win the gold medal, with Belgium’s Ivo Van Damme adding a silver medal to the one he had earned earlier in the 800. Before the end of the year, Van Damme was killed in a car crash. In his honor, the Ivo Damme Memorial athletics meeting is held annually in Brussels.