0:00:02 > 0:00:03And Wells has done it!
0:00:03 > 0:00:06Isn't she marvellous?
0:00:06 > 0:00:08I cannot believe that Thorpe's done that!
0:00:08 > 0:00:11A fantastic run by Coe. He's done it, he's got the gold.
0:00:16 > 0:00:18The Los Angeles Olympics, 1984.
0:00:20 > 0:00:24Three British runners prepare to contest the 1500 metres,
0:00:24 > 0:00:26the blue riband event of any Olympics.
0:00:29 > 0:00:34Reigning Olympic champion Sebastian Coe will attempt to become
0:00:34 > 0:00:37the first man in history to defend his title,
0:00:37 > 0:00:43against world record-holder Steve Ovett and world champion Steve Cram.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47What a trio to put out in a 1500 metre final.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53We were the dominant force in track and field.
0:00:53 > 0:00:57There wasn't a middle distance title that did not reside in this country.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01The Olympic 1500 metres final
0:01:01 > 0:01:03and straight away Coe goes into the lead.
0:01:03 > 0:01:08To win, Coe needs to be the complete athlete, tactically clever
0:01:08 > 0:01:10with the stamina of a marathon runner
0:01:10 > 0:01:13and the explosive speed of a sprinter.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21With a lap to go, the race takes a dramatic turn.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25And Steve Ovett's dropped out. The world record-holder out.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30Now Coe and Cram race for gold.
0:01:30 > 0:01:32He's the Olympic champion. Can he do it again?
0:01:32 > 0:01:37This would be the pinnacle of British Olympic history,
0:01:37 > 0:01:39but since the modern Games began,
0:01:39 > 0:01:42the 1500 metres has been a global story.
0:01:44 > 0:01:48From unexpected corners of the world, this race has attracted
0:01:48 > 0:01:53the most creative, innovative and exceptional athletes.
0:01:54 > 0:02:00From Finland came a runner who devised the first systematic training regime.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03He was the first to create this training ethos,
0:02:03 > 0:02:05which then became the building blocks
0:02:05 > 0:02:08for a lot of us then into the '60s and the '70s and the '80s.
0:02:08 > 0:02:13From Australia and New Zealand appeared radical new ideas
0:02:13 > 0:02:17that would push human endurance to the limit.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20Pain's good for you. Pain is a cleanser.
0:02:20 > 0:02:24Pain is something which helps you grow.
0:02:24 > 0:02:28And from Africa, the breakthrough of preparing at high altitude
0:02:28 > 0:02:31led to generations of Olympic superstars emerging
0:02:31 > 0:02:33with a will to win.
0:02:34 > 0:02:38TRANSLATION: Losing in life - it shouldn't exist in your dictionary.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42The word "lose", for me, doesn't exist.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48As Sebastian Coe sprinted to the finish line in Los Angeles,
0:02:48 > 0:02:53he was cementing his place in this unique Olympic tradition -
0:02:53 > 0:02:56the 1500 metres, the ultimate race.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17The first great champion of the Olympic 1500 metres
0:03:17 > 0:03:21emerged from a remote and unlikely corner of the world in the 1920s.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33Paavo Nurmi came from Turku in Finland.
0:03:33 > 0:03:35If he'd been running 30 years later,
0:03:35 > 0:03:38he would have been, still, the best in the world.
0:03:38 > 0:03:39He was that good.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42It was what Nurmi did that set the foundations
0:03:42 > 0:03:45for a lot of great distance running afterwards.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47In an era of amateurs,
0:03:47 > 0:03:51Nurmi was the first to bring a level of professionalism to running.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03Nurmi arrived at the Paris Olympics in 1924
0:04:03 > 0:04:06ready to contest the 1500 metres.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11Three and three-quarter laps of the track, the metric mile
0:04:11 > 0:04:15had been a part of the modern Games since their inception
0:04:15 > 0:04:16in Athens in 1896.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22In the Olympic stadium, Nurmi began the 1500 metres
0:04:22 > 0:04:27at a blistering pace, completing the first lap in 58 seconds.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35It was a tactic designed to kill off the opposition.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40Nurmi won comfortably and set a new Olympic record.
0:04:44 > 0:04:46Not content with this victory alone,
0:04:46 > 0:04:50he would return to the track only two hours later
0:04:50 > 0:04:52to compete in the 5000 metres.
0:04:55 > 0:04:57Several people warned him.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00They said, "You shouldn't compete in two events at the same time,"
0:05:00 > 0:05:02but he did it.
0:05:02 > 0:05:06Incredibly, Nurmi won the 5000 metres
0:05:06 > 0:05:09and again set a new Olympic record.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15But that wasn't the end of Nurmi's achievement.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17He went on to win three more races -
0:05:17 > 0:05:21the cross country, the 3000 metres and the cross country team event.
0:05:24 > 0:05:29Five gold medals - an Olympic track record that still stands today.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38TRANSLATION: Paavo Nurmi was totally unbeatable in these events.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41The other runners barely made it to the finish,
0:05:41 > 0:05:45some of them staggered and fell at the finishing line.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47Paavo just said, "They trained poorly."
0:05:50 > 0:05:53And it was Nurmi's training in the Finnish countryside that
0:05:53 > 0:05:55held the key to his success.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02He took his training to a different level.
0:06:02 > 0:06:06He was certainly training harder, by a distance, than anybody else,
0:06:06 > 0:06:08and he really paved the way,
0:06:08 > 0:06:11in terms of just the quantity of what he did,
0:06:11 > 0:06:14for the athletes that subsequently came through.
0:06:17 > 0:06:22Nurmi followed a regime which became known as interval training,
0:06:22 > 0:06:26where he would alternate between running at a fast and then at a steady pace.
0:06:29 > 0:06:34He also realised that in races, sheer endurance was not enough,
0:06:34 > 0:06:37so he systematically trained for speed as well.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41Nurmi carried a stopwatch while he trained,
0:06:41 > 0:06:44so he could time the different speeds which he ran.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50He always had a stopwatch in his hand.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53The stopwatch and Nurmi were an inseparable pair.
0:06:55 > 0:06:59Nurmi even brought his stopwatch into competitions.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01In his record-breaking 1500 metres victory,
0:07:01 > 0:07:04he can be seen with the watch in his right hand.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15Nurmi was the star of a golden generation of Finnish runners.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17At the Paris Olympics,
0:07:17 > 0:07:21they won every event from the 1500 metres to the marathon,
0:07:21 > 0:07:24earning them the nickname 'The Flying Finns'.
0:07:28 > 0:07:36Running had become popular in Finland after the country gained independence from Russia in 1917,
0:07:36 > 0:07:41and a new sense of national identity was forged through the success of Finnish athletes.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47TRANSLATION: A sort of cult of the runner evolved.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49It was considered that Finns had what it took
0:07:49 > 0:07:52to become the best runners of all.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55This myth of the runner was linked to an older ideal
0:07:55 > 0:08:00of the Finnish national character, as humble, hardworking, God-fearing,
0:08:00 > 0:08:04and prepared to sacrifice everything for the county.
0:08:04 > 0:08:09Paavo Nurmi was believed to be the embodiment of this unique Finnish ideal,
0:08:09 > 0:08:12known as 'sisu', literally meaning guts.
0:08:14 > 0:08:16Courage against the odds.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23Finns consider sisu to be something that no other nation has,
0:08:23 > 0:08:27something that has enabled Finns to resolve difficult situations,
0:08:27 > 0:08:29whether in war or sport.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34Sisu is willpower,
0:08:34 > 0:08:37the ability to make almost superhuman efforts
0:08:37 > 0:08:39on the spur of the moment.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47And this could be seen in Paavo Nurmi.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49He was like Mr Sisu.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52Men who have sisu don't generally smile without good reason
0:08:52 > 0:08:57and Paavo Nurmi was a very expressionless runner.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03But Paavo Nurmi's Olympic story would end prematurely.
0:09:03 > 0:09:08In 1932, on the eve of the Los Angeles Olympics,
0:09:08 > 0:09:12Nurmi was caught receiving money for running in competitions in America,
0:09:12 > 0:09:15breaking the amateur rules of the time.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18He was banned from competing in the Games for life.
0:09:25 > 0:09:29With the ban, Nurmi's Olympic dream was over.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35But, in 1952, when the Games were held in Finland,
0:09:35 > 0:09:39he raced into the Helsinki stadium
0:09:39 > 0:09:42at the age of 55 to light the Olympic torch.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44It was a symbol for Finland
0:09:44 > 0:09:48because he was the big running star in the first years
0:09:48 > 0:09:50of the country's independence,
0:09:50 > 0:09:54and it was natural for him to light the Olympic torch.
0:09:58 > 0:10:02Paavo Nurmi won a record nine gold medals
0:10:02 > 0:10:06and became the first great champion of the Olympic 1500 metres
0:10:06 > 0:10:11by dedicating himself to a solitary and systematic training regime.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16But with his retirement,
0:10:16 > 0:10:18Finland would no longer dominate the Games.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29Eight years after Nurmi departed the arena,
0:10:29 > 0:10:33a young runner from Australia arrived at the 1960 Rome Olympics
0:10:33 > 0:10:36armed with a new strategy to win the 1500 metres.
0:10:43 > 0:10:48Herb Elliot had only the year before smashed the 1500 metres world record
0:10:48 > 0:10:52and now had his eyes on his first Olympic gold.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56It was absolutely wild.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59There was a wonderful atmosphere of excitement around the place, yeah,
0:10:59 > 0:11:01which really sharpened the nerves up a bit.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05But unlike Nurmi who trained alone,
0:11:05 > 0:11:10Herb Elliot was coached by an eccentric and brilliant trainer.
0:11:10 > 0:11:14Percy Cerutty had a special plan for winning Olympic gold.
0:11:18 > 0:11:23I could go on for an hour, telling you stories about Percy,
0:11:23 > 0:11:26his volatility, his crazy sense of humour, his eccentricities
0:11:26 > 0:11:28and all that sort of stuff.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33He wasn't a typical coach at all.
0:11:35 > 0:11:37Percy Cerutty was born in 1895
0:11:37 > 0:11:40and he got a nervous breakdown in 1937.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43He made his way back to life by walking,
0:11:43 > 0:11:46eating simple raw food, training, running,
0:11:46 > 0:11:51lifting weights and he tried to qualify for the Olympic in 1948,
0:11:51 > 0:11:56but he was too old - he was 53 years old - so he wanted to train athletes.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01It was three years before the Rome Olympics that Elliot first met
0:12:01 > 0:12:05the unorthodox coach who convinced him to follow his training regime.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11He had just a pair of white shorts on and he started talking about
0:12:11 > 0:12:14being able to fly, and he flapped his arms up and down.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17If he'd taken off, I would have been very impressed
0:12:17 > 0:12:19but he stayed on the ground like the rest of us,
0:12:19 > 0:12:23So I thought he was a bit crazy, but he stirred me, he inspired me,
0:12:23 > 0:12:28he challenged me and, from that moment on, really my career was set.
0:12:36 > 0:12:41Just minutes before the Rome final, Cerutty gave a last-minute instruction to Elliot.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48He said, "Now, when you get into the back straight, I'll be in the crowd
0:12:48 > 0:12:50"and I'll have the Australian Olympic towel,
0:12:50 > 0:12:53"and I'll be waving it like this for two things.
0:12:53 > 0:12:57"One, if somebody's hot on your hammer and you've got to really watch out,
0:12:57 > 0:13:00"or two, you got a chance of breaking the world record."
0:13:00 > 0:13:03I was in a blurred state of mind and I only half-listened
0:13:03 > 0:13:05to what he was saying.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08At the instant the gun went, this light blue singlet,
0:13:08 > 0:13:11I had no idea who he was or even what country he was from,
0:13:11 > 0:13:14shot out like a frightened rabbit. In fact, for a moment,
0:13:14 > 0:13:18I thought maybe the starter's gun had shot him in the arse or something like that!
0:13:22 > 0:13:26He set the pace for maybe the first lap and a half,
0:13:26 > 0:13:27so I just sat in, and as I usually did,
0:13:27 > 0:13:29got a position about third or fourth.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33We got to the point where I was ready to make my move
0:13:33 > 0:13:36in the strategy that my coach and I had planned.
0:13:38 > 0:13:42You'd expect some sort of voice to come up inside you at that stage, saying,
0:13:42 > 0:13:47"This is what you've been waiting for, this is the moment you've been training for.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50"This is the time you're going to show these guys what you're made of."
0:13:50 > 0:13:53"And this little voice came up into my head and didn't say that at all."
0:13:53 > 0:13:55It said, "Herb, you're buggered!"
0:13:58 > 0:14:02It was a crunch moment, but Elliot's mind became flooded with images
0:14:02 > 0:14:07of Cerrutty's training camp on the beach at Portsea in Australia.
0:14:14 > 0:14:16You'd really need a poet to describe Portsea.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19I mean, it's a very beautiful part of the world,
0:14:19 > 0:14:23with limestone cliffs, the Southern Ocean, white sand beaches.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26Percy believed you could absorb the beauty and the strength of nature
0:14:26 > 0:14:29into your system to help you with your running.
0:14:31 > 0:14:35It wasn't just the environment that Cerutty believed was important.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38He was the first coach to put his athlete on
0:14:38 > 0:14:40a strict diet of natural foods.
0:14:41 > 0:14:45In those days in Australia, we had meat and three veg.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48That's what was put on the plate every night.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52Percy was a great believer in the life principle.
0:14:52 > 0:14:56He said, "You have to eat food that still retains the life principle,
0:14:56 > 0:14:59"Don't eat processed food, things like muesli, bran
0:14:59 > 0:15:03"and all that sort of stuff which we were used to being fed to chickens,
0:15:03 > 0:15:08It was so unique in Australia in those days for people to eat this stuff.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11Fuelled by daily raw foods,
0:15:11 > 0:15:16Elliot trained barefoot, sprinting up steep sand dunes at Portsea.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21The whole concept of training was not get your heart rate up,
0:15:21 > 0:15:24or get your lungs operating more efficiently,
0:15:24 > 0:15:26or get your muscles finely tuned.
0:15:26 > 0:15:30The whole basis for your training was mental toughness,
0:15:30 > 0:15:32being outside your comfort zone,
0:15:32 > 0:15:35and pushing yourself to your absolute limit.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40It was an arduous program that Cerutty designed
0:15:40 > 0:15:43to break the pain barrier and develop a mental toughness
0:15:43 > 0:15:47which Elliot would need to win Olympic gold.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52Pain's good for you. Pain is a cleanser.
0:15:52 > 0:15:56Pain is something which helps you grow,
0:15:56 > 0:15:59so there was all this encouragement
0:15:59 > 0:16:03to really train exceptionally intensively.
0:16:03 > 0:16:07The intensity meant that you were a pretty formidable competitor
0:16:07 > 0:16:10when you got onto the track cos you trained that way.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15In Rome, with 500 metres to go,
0:16:15 > 0:16:20Elliot now drew on all the mental toughness his training had developed
0:16:20 > 0:16:22to power himself into the lead.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27I was full of fear. At that stage of the game, your cards are on the table.
0:16:27 > 0:16:31Somebody's going to come up on you, you've got a real battle on your hands.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35As Elliot entered the final 100 metres,
0:16:35 > 0:16:39he caught a glimpse of Cerutty waving the Australian towel.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41just as he said he would.
0:16:43 > 0:16:45I thought, "Oh, my God, what is that supposed to mean?"
0:16:45 > 0:16:48I couldn't quite remember what the reason was
0:16:48 > 0:16:50and I figured out that whatever it was, I had to run faster.
0:16:50 > 0:16:54Into the home straight, Elliott increasing speed,
0:16:54 > 0:16:57almost arrogantly disregarding the rest of the field.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59Elliot broke his own world record.
0:17:03 > 0:17:08He also finished an astonishing 18 metres ahead of the rest of the runners.
0:17:08 > 0:17:12Got there first, won the gold medal, and broke the world record.
0:17:12 > 0:17:16And I do remember at the moment of striking the line,
0:17:16 > 0:17:19it was not one of elation or one of joy,
0:17:19 > 0:17:22it was just sheer bloody relief that the whole thing was over.
0:17:24 > 0:17:28Meanwhile, Percy Cerutty, who had leapt on to the track as Elliot
0:17:28 > 0:17:32crossed the line, had been arrested by the Italian police,
0:17:32 > 0:17:37unaware that he was the coach who had masterminded this world record-breaking victory.
0:17:42 > 0:17:46Elliot's outstanding performance was the only time
0:17:46 > 0:17:50that a new world record would be set in the Olympic 1500 metres.
0:17:52 > 0:17:57After Rome, runners focused on winning Olympic gold, rather than setting new records.
0:18:01 > 0:18:02Back in Australia,
0:18:02 > 0:18:05Elliot was celebrated as a national hero.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09Our population in Australia in those days was 11 million,
0:18:09 > 0:18:10or something like that.
0:18:10 > 0:18:12You know that a hell of a lot of those people,
0:18:12 > 0:18:14they're sharing the moment with you.
0:18:14 > 0:18:19It's a terrific feeling of huge family all enjoying this moment that you've created.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23Herb Elliot retired after this victory.
0:18:26 > 0:18:30But he and Cerutty weren't the only duo from the southern hemisphere
0:18:30 > 0:18:33who believed in the importance of a coaching strategy.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41Across the Tasman Sea in New Zealand,
0:18:41 > 0:18:45their exploits were watched by a coach, Arthur Lydiard,
0:18:45 > 0:18:47and a runner, Peter Snell,
0:18:47 > 0:18:52who were poised to employ their own radical tactics to win Olympic gold.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57Lydiard was the first person that ever told me,
0:18:57 > 0:18:59"Peter, you could be a great runner.
0:18:59 > 0:19:03"You could be even a champion, you could be an Olympian"
0:19:03 > 0:19:07That's music to a high-achiever's ears, to hear someone say that.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14Most runners of this era continued to follow the interval training
0:19:14 > 0:19:16favoured by Paavo Nurmi.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20Lydiard, a former marathon runner, seen here,
0:19:20 > 0:19:25believed completing long distances at an even pace was better preparation.
0:19:25 > 0:19:30He had Snell run over 20 miles a day.
0:19:30 > 0:19:34No middle distance runner had ever done this before.
0:19:34 > 0:19:38Lydiard came along and said, "Well, we need endurance.
0:19:38 > 0:19:43He said, "If you can get to the stage of being able to run my 22-mile course hard,
0:19:43 > 0:19:46"and then come back and do the same thing the next day,
0:19:46 > 0:19:48"then you'll be right for anything.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50And it does get to that.
0:19:50 > 0:19:55You can actually run that 22 hard and feel great afterwards.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01But Lydiard's theory went against all the accepted medical advice
0:20:01 > 0:20:04of the time and put him at odds with the athletics authorities
0:20:04 > 0:20:09in New Zealand, who feared runners like Snell would become burnt out.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14It just didn't seem to make sense to other coaches.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17Running at a slow pace for long distances
0:20:17 > 0:20:20has nothing to do with running for 1500 metres.
0:20:24 > 0:20:29Like Cerutty, Arthur Lydiard believed in using the natural landscape.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32The steep hills leading up to the Waitakere mountains that
0:20:32 > 0:20:34surrounded Snell's hometown of Auckland
0:20:34 > 0:20:39were perfect for testing and building his endurance.
0:20:42 > 0:20:46Running about an hour a day on grassy surfaces
0:20:46 > 0:20:51until I was conditioned enough to be able to handle longer runs.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59The first 10 miles, things are going along quite nicely
0:20:59 > 0:21:05and then the work up the hill starts to get to you and that's good.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09You look to your right and you see the Tasman Sea,
0:21:09 > 0:21:12and you look over to the left and it's the Pacific Ocean.
0:21:12 > 0:21:14It's a great feeling.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19Under the direction of Lydiard, Snell's training
0:21:19 > 0:21:23began to strengthen his heart and lower his resting pulse rate.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26This put him in peak condition.
0:21:27 > 0:21:32The heart is getting bigger and it's able to push more out with each beat.
0:21:32 > 0:21:36The average person - it's about 70 beats a minute,
0:21:36 > 0:21:40and so mine eventually got down to about 36.
0:21:42 > 0:21:44But, also, as one starts exercising,
0:21:44 > 0:21:48there's a long way to go from 36 up to one's maximal heart rate
0:21:48 > 0:21:52which is, for a young person, about 200 beats a minute.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57This meant Snell would have greater endurance.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59He could run faster for longer.
0:22:04 > 0:22:08Going into the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo,
0:22:08 > 0:22:11Snell felt his endurance was so high,
0:22:11 > 0:22:16that he would attempt to win gold in both the 800 and 1500 metres.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22My problem was, would I tire myself in the 800
0:22:22 > 0:22:26and not have enough left for the 1500?
0:22:26 > 0:22:31Snell won the 800 metres and set a new Olympic record.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36Now all eyes were on the 1500 metres.
0:22:38 > 0:22:42Did Snell have enough stamina to win a second gold?
0:22:43 > 0:22:45Three and three-quarter laps of the track.
0:22:45 > 0:22:49Regarded by many, the 1500 metres, as the blue riband of the Games.
0:22:49 > 0:22:55Back in the familiar position, bringing up the rear of the field - Peter Snell, who seems to run...
0:22:55 > 0:22:56The race was relatively slow.
0:22:56 > 0:22:59I felt I needed to be up close to the front.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03And pretty much stayed that way until
0:23:03 > 0:23:07the main action of the 1500 metres in the last lap.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11Look at Snell now. What's Snell going to do?
0:23:11 > 0:23:14He's absolutely caught on the kerb. There's no way through.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16I had to actually push my way out,
0:23:16 > 0:23:19check whether anyone else was doing anything.
0:23:19 > 0:23:21Nothing was happening. I thought,
0:23:21 > 0:23:23"Well, I'm not going to wait any longer."
0:23:23 > 0:23:27Snell's endurance training allowed him to
0:23:27 > 0:23:29unleash an astonishing final kick.
0:23:29 > 0:23:31Look at Snell go!
0:23:31 > 0:23:34The famous New Zealander's kick.
0:23:34 > 0:23:36He exploded then.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39One can only do this sort of kick if you're floating and cruising.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41It's not about speed.
0:23:42 > 0:23:44I only looked to be going fast.
0:23:44 > 0:23:50If you're looking at my running action, I am lengthening my stride
0:23:50 > 0:23:53and I have the energy left to be able to do that.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56And Simpson's moving up. He was in the silver medal position.
0:23:56 > 0:23:57He's still there.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00Snell's going to be champion. Snell wins.
0:24:00 > 0:24:02And Simpson's going to lose it! Snell wins.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05Well, I think if you look at film,
0:24:05 > 0:24:07I look pretty relaxed.
0:24:07 > 0:24:13There's no sort of collapsing over the line stuff, a la Bannister.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17Oh! And Simpson crashes down as he goes across the line.
0:24:17 > 0:24:21Snell's twin victories seemingly vindicated
0:24:21 > 0:24:23Arthur Lydiard's coaching strategy.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31Yet even after this, his methods
0:24:31 > 0:24:35were still mistrusted by the New Zealand athletics authorities,
0:24:35 > 0:24:40so Lydiard accepted an offer to coach in Finland which,
0:24:40 > 0:24:44since Paavo Nurmi's retirement, had not won a single Olympic gold medal.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50TRANSLATION: The Finnish runners didn't train enough.
0:24:50 > 0:24:51What he brought with him
0:24:51 > 0:24:54was that you had to run a minimum of 100 miles
0:24:54 > 0:24:56or 160 kilometres a week,
0:24:56 > 0:25:01and this totally changed the attitude of the Finnish runners.
0:25:05 > 0:25:10At the Munich Olympics in 1972, Pekka Vasala,
0:25:10 > 0:25:13having followed Lydiard's training regime,
0:25:13 > 0:25:16made an immediate impact in the 1500 metres.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21Vasala comes on the outside, but Vasala seems to have the speed.
0:25:21 > 0:25:26And Vasala comes home for another gold medal for Finland.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28Vasala was always the danger.
0:25:28 > 0:25:32When Vasala took the gold medal, it was the first time that
0:25:32 > 0:25:37Finland had won the Olympic 1500 metres since 1928.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42His countryman Lasse Viren also won gold,
0:25:42 > 0:25:45in the 5000 and 10,000 metres.
0:25:47 > 0:25:51Arthur Lydiard was credited with this re-establishment
0:25:51 > 0:25:54of the Finnish Olympic tradition.
0:25:57 > 0:26:01Of course, it meant a lot to me, but even more to the people of Finland,
0:26:01 > 0:26:05who have loved running ever since Paavo Nurmi.
0:26:10 > 0:26:16In the 1970s, Lydiard's methods were being adopted by coaches and athletes from around the world,
0:26:16 > 0:26:21who believed his endurance training held the key to winning Olympic gold.
0:26:25 > 0:26:27But, by 1978,
0:26:27 > 0:26:31a new Olympic power had emerged which would challenge this consensus
0:26:31 > 0:26:36with fresh approaches to training, producing a generation of runners
0:26:36 > 0:26:39who would dominate the Games for the next decade.
0:26:41 > 0:26:46Leading this new golden era for British athletics was Sebastian Coe.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51Coe coming up to the finish line and I think he's got it!
0:26:51 > 0:26:55A new world record for Great Britain and for Sebastian Coe.
0:26:55 > 0:27:01Poetry in motion is an overused phrase but he seemed to float.
0:27:01 > 0:27:07His greatness was the speed to be able to just bury his opponents.
0:27:07 > 0:27:11But it's Sebastian Coe, really making the rest of this field
0:27:11 > 0:27:13look very, very pedestrian.
0:27:13 > 0:27:15He was incredibly difficult to beat.
0:27:15 > 0:27:17Do you go hard?
0:27:17 > 0:27:19Yes, he's going to be able to stay with you
0:27:19 > 0:27:21cos he can run world record pace.
0:27:21 > 0:27:22Do you sit and wait?
0:27:22 > 0:27:24No, he's got great 400 metre pace.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27He can out-kick you over 150, 200 metres.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31Between 1978 and 1980,
0:27:31 > 0:27:33Coe set new world records
0:27:33 > 0:27:36for every middle distance event.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39And he's going to be very close.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42Tremendous run...and he's done it!
0:27:42 > 0:27:47But Coe was hotly pursued by fellow Briton Steve Ovett,
0:27:47 > 0:27:51who matched Coe's 1500 metre world record time.
0:27:51 > 0:27:54So Ovett matches that world record
0:27:54 > 0:27:59and he matches Sebastian Coe every step of the way to Moscow.
0:27:59 > 0:28:04I don't think I probably raced against anybody who was more naturally talented.
0:28:04 > 0:28:08Coe and Ovett would form an intense rivalry.
0:28:08 > 0:28:10But who was the best?
0:28:10 > 0:28:12The Moscow Olympics would decide.
0:28:25 > 0:28:29The Games started disastrously for Coe.
0:28:29 > 0:28:31Despite holding the world record,
0:28:31 > 0:28:33he lost the 800 metres to Steve Ovett.
0:28:36 > 0:28:41My 800 metres was a pretty unspectacular performance
0:28:41 > 0:28:43and I ran very poorly.
0:28:43 > 0:28:48So I then had effectively three days to sort of regroup.
0:28:50 > 0:28:53Coe was written off by the British press but he had one more chance
0:28:53 > 0:28:57for Olympic glory in the final of the 1500 metres.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02Ovett, though, was now favourite to win.
0:29:02 > 0:29:05If I was honest, I would have put my house on
0:29:05 > 0:29:07Ovett winning the 1500 metres.
0:29:07 > 0:29:11Seb was meant to win the 8, so Ovett had won his event. Here we are at 1500,
0:29:11 > 0:29:13an event Ovett had not been beaten in
0:29:13 > 0:29:15up to that point in his senior career.
0:29:15 > 0:29:19Coe, the broken man, you know, had lost the race he should've won.
0:29:23 > 0:29:26We get into the call-up room.
0:29:26 > 0:29:29You get put into this tiny room for 25 minutes,
0:29:29 > 0:29:32before going out into the cauldron of the Olympic arena.
0:29:32 > 0:29:37And everything that you've trained for, and everything that you've dreamed about,
0:29:37 > 0:29:40is going to take place in the next half an hour or so.
0:29:40 > 0:29:44Seb got up at one point and started pacing up and down the room,
0:29:44 > 0:29:47which I took as a sign of nervousness.
0:29:49 > 0:29:51Then Ovett gets up and I thought,
0:29:51 > 0:29:53"Oh, hang on, here we go, Ovett's finally
0:29:53 > 0:29:56"got the confidence to kind of walk up and down with Seb."
0:29:56 > 0:30:01But then I started thinking, hang on a minute, this is maybe not the case. This is somebody who actually...
0:30:01 > 0:30:04It's a bit like when you're going in a dangerous situation,
0:30:04 > 0:30:07you want to hold the hand of somebody who's going to go along with you.
0:30:07 > 0:30:12It was almost Steve wanting to feel as though they were in this together,
0:30:12 > 0:30:16whereas Seb was incredibly focused and didn't want to chat at all.
0:30:19 > 0:30:22And I guess I went into the race knowing that,
0:30:22 > 0:30:27with my 800 metres speed, which had returned, I just thought,
0:30:27 > 0:30:31"Look, the only way I'm going to lose this is if I'm out of contact,
0:30:31 > 0:30:35"because there's nobody in the field who's going to outrun me over 400 metres.
0:30:38 > 0:30:42For me, making my final was my gold medal, if you like.
0:30:42 > 0:30:46I was 19, just delighted to be there, in this massive stadium in Moscow.
0:30:46 > 0:30:50It's full and you are on the start line and this is the Olympic final.
0:30:52 > 0:30:55The gun goes and you're still standing there!
0:30:55 > 0:30:57So I was last, right at the very beginning,
0:30:57 > 0:30:59got into the race and it was slow early on.
0:30:59 > 0:31:04Ovett's in fourth place, covering it nicely. Moving up behind Coe.
0:31:04 > 0:31:08The race was very slow. We got to 800 metres in 2.09, I think.
0:31:08 > 0:31:11The English schoolgirls' 800 metres that year
0:31:11 > 0:31:13was run in a quicker time.
0:31:13 > 0:31:15And then Jurgen Straub,
0:31:15 > 0:31:18as though he'd sort of looked down onto the track
0:31:18 > 0:31:20and picked the imaginary mark,
0:31:20 > 0:31:23suddenly just ran for home over 700 metres.
0:31:23 > 0:31:26So, in essence, we had two warm-up laps and an 800,
0:31:26 > 0:31:29and, of course, under those circumstances, I accepted.
0:31:29 > 0:31:32There was very little way I was going to lose that race.
0:31:32 > 0:31:33Coe is starting his sprint now.
0:31:33 > 0:31:37Coe hits the front, looks around and he's got Ovett on his shoulder.
0:31:37 > 0:31:39And now this is the test, he's got two metres on him,
0:31:39 > 0:31:42and Ovett's going to have to sprint all the way here.
0:31:42 > 0:31:45Coe's away at the front and it looks as if Coe's going to do it.
0:31:45 > 0:31:46Coe is going to win the 1500 metres
0:31:46 > 0:31:49and Ovett's going to get only a bronze medal.
0:31:49 > 0:31:51A fantastic run by Coe. He's got it, he's got the gold!
0:31:51 > 0:31:53In second place, Straub...
0:31:53 > 0:31:57Coe's victory was a tactical triumph.
0:31:57 > 0:32:01The race had been over six seconds slower than his own world record,
0:32:01 > 0:32:04and he had used his devastating final kick
0:32:04 > 0:32:06to speed to the finish line.
0:32:13 > 0:32:17Watching Coe win gold in Moscow was his father Peter,
0:32:17 > 0:32:21who, behind the scenes, had masterminded his Olympic victory.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24Peter Coe had constructed a new training regime
0:32:24 > 0:32:28which rejected the strategy of Arthur Lydiard.
0:32:28 > 0:32:33He was absolutely central to everything I did.
0:32:33 > 0:32:35And he really did do it very differently.
0:32:35 > 0:32:38He made the judgment that I shouldn't be just bashing out
0:32:38 > 0:32:42mile after mile without any real thought behind it.
0:32:42 > 0:32:46So I didn't come from that school of running at the time.
0:32:46 > 0:32:50Like Arthur Lydiard, for instance, genuinely thought that
0:32:50 > 0:32:54you had to be comfortable and almost certainly be able to run a marathon.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57He expected that for people like Peter Snell.
0:32:59 > 0:33:03Peter Coe designed a training method known as speed endurance.
0:33:07 > 0:33:11Unlike interval training, which varied the pace,
0:33:11 > 0:33:15this regime concentrated on extended sprints at high intensity.
0:33:17 > 0:33:20- Inside half a minute now.- Right.
0:33:22 > 0:33:26In the streets and hills around his hometown of Sheffield,
0:33:26 > 0:33:29Sebastian Coe would repeatedly run
0:33:29 > 0:33:32800 metre sprints with one-minute rests.
0:33:33 > 0:33:38This conditioned him to finish races with a burst of acceleration.
0:33:40 > 0:33:44We live in a part of a city where, when you leave your front door,
0:33:44 > 0:33:48almost any direction is up, so that you're not short of hill running.
0:33:48 > 0:33:50If you think of it in terms of speed endurance,
0:33:50 > 0:33:55you are mentally equipping him to go through not so much a pain barrier,
0:33:55 > 0:33:58but to learn that no matter how badly he feels, he can still go.
0:33:58 > 0:34:02And when you're faced with the last lap of solo run in a world record,
0:34:02 > 0:34:05there is no running training, there is no physiological secrets,
0:34:05 > 0:34:08other than that single bloody-minded will to hang on
0:34:08 > 0:34:10and come sprinting through that line.
0:34:12 > 0:34:17But, in 1983, Coe was struck down by a rare blood disorder
0:34:17 > 0:34:20and this illness seemed to have dented his hopes of winning
0:34:20 > 0:34:24a second gold at the Los Angeles Olympics.
0:34:24 > 0:34:29Many in the press questioned whether he should be selected at all.
0:34:34 > 0:34:38I declare open the Olympic Games of Los Angeles.
0:34:40 > 0:34:43Here, at the Coliseum in 1984,
0:34:43 > 0:34:45Coe would renew his battle on the track
0:34:45 > 0:34:51with fellow Britons Steve Ovett and Steve Cram.
0:34:52 > 0:34:55It was hot and humid in LA and the race started
0:34:55 > 0:34:57at a ferocious pace,
0:34:57 > 0:35:00far quicker than in Moscow four years earlier.
0:35:07 > 0:35:09They were very different races.
0:35:09 > 0:35:11They were virtually six, seven seconds quicker.
0:35:11 > 0:35:14There was no stuffing around.
0:35:15 > 0:35:17It was going to take its toll on me.
0:35:17 > 0:35:20It definitely took its toll on Steve Ovett.
0:35:20 > 0:35:25At the bell, with a lap to go, Steve Ovett was forced to drop out
0:35:25 > 0:35:28due to respiratory problems.
0:35:29 > 0:35:34Now the race for gold would be between the two remaining Brits,
0:35:34 > 0:35:36Sebastian Coe and Steve Cram.
0:35:38 > 0:35:41I knew I was in trouble.
0:35:41 > 0:35:43I was tired, so with 300 to go,
0:35:43 > 0:35:46I still tried to do what I knew I wanted to do.
0:35:46 > 0:35:49The pre-race plan was at 300 to go, to go hard,
0:35:49 > 0:35:53so I've tried to take Seb on at that point.
0:35:53 > 0:35:57The race really on now. Coe responds immediately.
0:35:57 > 0:36:00He's the Olympic champion. Can he do it again?
0:36:00 > 0:36:05I'd recognised the big threat that day was Steve Cram because I didn't
0:36:05 > 0:36:07ever want him to be in front of me,
0:36:07 > 0:36:10because he just always grew in stature and strength,
0:36:10 > 0:36:13and loved to see the open track in front of him.
0:36:13 > 0:36:17And you know that when you put your foot on the accelerator,
0:36:17 > 0:36:19and you find a little bit but not a lot,
0:36:19 > 0:36:23but the other guy responds very easily to what you do,
0:36:23 > 0:36:27then the writing was on the wall.
0:36:27 > 0:36:29He's the Olympic champion. Can he do it again?
0:36:29 > 0:36:32Steve Cram in second place, champion of the world, follows him,
0:36:32 > 0:36:34and Coe comes away.
0:36:34 > 0:36:39Cram digs in but Coe comes away to retain the Olympic title.
0:36:40 > 0:36:44Sebastian Coe, back at his best, is the Olympic champion again.
0:36:44 > 0:36:48Cram gets the silver, Abascal the bronze.
0:36:49 > 0:36:54Of course, I crossed the line and Seb was jubilant.
0:36:54 > 0:36:56I was less jubilant.
0:36:57 > 0:36:59My first emotion was just relief.
0:36:59 > 0:37:02Then you sort of recognised,
0:37:02 > 0:37:06"Oh, well, I've won the Olympic title. Let's party a bit."
0:37:08 > 0:37:10Pretty much stuck his fingers up to the press.
0:37:10 > 0:37:14I mean, it wasn't quite... It was one finger that went like that,
0:37:14 > 0:37:15but we all knew what that meant.
0:37:18 > 0:37:23Sebastian Coe had become the only man in history
0:37:23 > 0:37:26to win two Olympic 1500 metres titles
0:37:28 > 0:37:32But this was the last time that he would appear in the Olympic Games.
0:37:40 > 0:37:44PA: The next event on the track, the men's 1500 metres final.
0:37:45 > 0:37:49Four years later, at the Seoul Olympics in 1988,
0:37:49 > 0:37:55Steve Cram and Peter Elliot would attempt to win Britain's third successive 1500 metre gold.
0:37:59 > 0:38:03Lining up against them was a 21-year-old from Kenya, Peter Rono,
0:38:03 > 0:38:07who was in his first-ever international competition.
0:38:07 > 0:38:11Steve Cram was a current world record holder in the mile,
0:38:11 > 0:38:13and obviously a great runner,
0:38:13 > 0:38:17and Peter Elliot had run the fastest time in 800.
0:38:17 > 0:38:20The Olympic final men's 1500 metres under way
0:38:20 > 0:38:23and the two Britons on the inside making sure they're not boxed,
0:38:23 > 0:38:24push up in front.
0:38:24 > 0:38:27So I was what they call the underdog.
0:38:27 > 0:38:29Kenya's occupying three of the last four places.
0:38:30 > 0:38:33Two of the top guys in the world
0:38:33 > 0:38:35and he did exactly what he was asked to do.
0:38:37 > 0:38:38After only two laps,
0:38:38 > 0:38:41Peter Rono passed Cram and Elliot to take the lead.
0:38:47 > 0:38:50They would tell you they didn't expect him
0:38:50 > 0:38:54to be able to maintain that pace right through to the finish tape,
0:38:54 > 0:38:56but we had trained for that.
0:38:56 > 0:38:59Elliott chasing Rono but he can't get there.
0:38:59 > 0:39:01Rono wins, Elliott second.
0:39:01 > 0:39:06Rono crossed the line ahead of the much-fancied Brits to become
0:39:06 > 0:39:12the youngest ever winner of the Olympic 1500 metres, aged 21.
0:39:13 > 0:39:16Winning the Olympics is the greatest feeling.
0:39:16 > 0:39:20I will treasure it forever. It's inspired my children.
0:39:20 > 0:39:24I have a son who I'm always telling people
0:39:24 > 0:39:27that he's going to win the 2016.
0:39:27 > 0:39:30Steve Cram was one of the greatest runners
0:39:30 > 0:39:33never to win the Olympic 1500 metres.
0:39:35 > 0:39:37The three Kenyans go on a lap of honour.
0:39:37 > 0:39:40They've won the 800, they've won the 1500,
0:39:40 > 0:39:43they've won the steeplechase.
0:39:43 > 0:39:46Peter Rono's victory signalled a shift away from an era
0:39:46 > 0:39:50of British supremacy and heralded the arrival of Africa,
0:39:50 > 0:39:53which would come to dominate the Olympic 1500 metres.
0:40:00 > 0:40:05Rono came from Eldoret, high up in the Rift Valley in Kenya.
0:40:10 > 0:40:14It is from this one region that an astonishing number
0:40:14 > 0:40:19of world-class athletes have left their marks on the Olympics.
0:40:20 > 0:40:22If you kind of take Eldoret as a centre
0:40:22 > 0:40:27and you kind of draw a circumference of maybe 50, 60, 70 kilometres,
0:40:27 > 0:40:29all around Eldoret,
0:40:29 > 0:40:34you'll find anything between 25 and 30 Olympic gold medallists.
0:40:37 > 0:40:42This region, which has produced such an extraordinary number of gold medallists,
0:40:42 > 0:40:45is located 7,000 feet above sea level.
0:40:45 > 0:40:48Living in this high-altitude environment
0:40:48 > 0:40:52has a physiological impact on the bodies of these athletes.
0:40:56 > 0:40:59When you go higher up into the mountains,
0:40:59 > 0:41:02the higher you go, the less oxygen there is,
0:41:02 > 0:41:05and the harder your body needs to work as you train.
0:41:05 > 0:41:09Your body responds to this by making more red blood cells,
0:41:09 > 0:41:14your haemoglobin count goes up, your volume of blood increases.
0:41:14 > 0:41:19The extra volume of blood produced by running at high altitude
0:41:19 > 0:41:24improves athletes' capacity to transport and use oxygen.
0:41:24 > 0:41:27This is known as VO2 max.
0:41:31 > 0:41:35These athletes have a higher VO2 max as they have more blood
0:41:35 > 0:41:39and that's because they have lived in high altitude since childhood.
0:41:39 > 0:41:44It was over 40 years earlier that the advantages of high altitude
0:41:44 > 0:41:47were initially discovered with the emergence
0:41:47 > 0:41:50of Africa's first Olympic superstar.
0:41:53 > 0:41:59Born in Eldoret, Kipchoge Keino burst onto the scene in the 1960s.
0:41:59 > 0:42:04He set new world records for the 3000 and 5000 metres
0:42:04 > 0:42:08and he was also a devastating middle distance runner.
0:42:12 > 0:42:15My dad was really keen on athletics and encouraged me.
0:42:15 > 0:42:18I used to run to school, run back home,
0:42:18 > 0:42:21and that's part of the exercise I was doing.
0:42:21 > 0:42:26Apart from that, I also competed in school and I won some of the events.
0:42:28 > 0:42:32It was athletics coach John Velzian who first spotted Keino's potential.
0:42:32 > 0:42:37You knew this boy was a champion. It's the way he placed his feet,
0:42:37 > 0:42:40the way his legs moved, the way the arms moved.
0:42:40 > 0:42:43There was what we probably just call style.
0:42:45 > 0:42:51In 1968, Keino prepared to run for Kenya at the Mexico Olympics.
0:42:54 > 0:42:57Situated over 7,000 feet above sea level,
0:42:57 > 0:43:01the Mexico Olympics would be the first time
0:43:01 > 0:43:03the Games had been held at high altitude.
0:43:07 > 0:43:11Many athletes would struggle to cope in this environment.
0:43:12 > 0:43:16Mexico was the most physically demanding Olympics
0:43:16 > 0:43:18in the history of the Games.
0:43:20 > 0:43:24Despite this, Keino, like the great Paavo Nurmi,
0:43:24 > 0:43:26would enter more than one race.
0:43:28 > 0:43:31In Mexico, I was entered for three events -
0:43:31 > 0:43:34the 10,000, 5000 and 1500 metres.
0:43:37 > 0:43:40But the Mexico Olympics did not start well for Keino.
0:43:40 > 0:43:44Illness forced him out of the 10,000 metres and,
0:43:44 > 0:43:48although he returned to win a silver medal in the 5000 metres,
0:43:48 > 0:43:50medical advice warned him not to compete for
0:43:50 > 0:43:54the title he really wanted to win - the 1500 metres.
0:43:56 > 0:44:00They told me I have a gallstone. I should not run.
0:44:00 > 0:44:03So I told them, "No, I am going to run".
0:44:03 > 0:44:08"I came here to run and if I die, I die for my country."
0:44:10 > 0:44:14For the first lap, Keino stayed at the back of the race,
0:44:14 > 0:44:16biding his time.
0:44:16 > 0:44:19After the second lap, I started to pick up,
0:44:19 > 0:44:22and I opened a gap of about 30 metres.
0:44:27 > 0:44:30Keino hit the front with an incredible surge of pace.
0:44:32 > 0:44:36He was seemingly unaffected by illness and high altitude.
0:44:40 > 0:44:43Keino kept the lead for the final two laps of the race.
0:44:46 > 0:44:51He eventually won by 20 metres - the largest winning margin
0:44:51 > 0:44:53in the history of the event.
0:44:53 > 0:44:57Well, he destroyed the race completely, didn't he?
0:44:57 > 0:44:59If you look back upon that today,
0:44:59 > 0:45:043.34 in a 1500 metres,
0:45:04 > 0:45:10at 2,000 metres altitude - it still, to this day, is an incredible race.
0:45:12 > 0:45:16Never again would the Games be held at high altitude.
0:45:20 > 0:45:24Keino's Olympic victory made him a national icon.
0:45:26 > 0:45:29Kenya had only just thrown off colonial rule
0:45:29 > 0:45:32to become a fully independent country.
0:45:34 > 0:45:35It was a glory for us.
0:45:35 > 0:45:39We felt we had done something for ourselves and for the country.
0:45:40 > 0:45:43At that time, Kenya was a relatively new country,
0:45:43 > 0:45:47having gained independence in 1963, so Kenya looked for a hero.
0:45:47 > 0:45:50They wanted somebody to stand above the crowd,
0:45:50 > 0:45:52somebody whom they could identify with,
0:45:52 > 0:45:56in terms of Kenya taking its place in the world of nations.
0:45:58 > 0:46:02Kipchoge Keino's achievement on the track has been the inspiration
0:46:02 > 0:46:05for successive generations of Kenyan Olympic athletes.
0:46:06 > 0:46:09I remember when I was growing up,
0:46:09 > 0:46:11songs were sung of praise about Kip Keino.
0:46:11 > 0:46:14It's something that is very inspiring.
0:46:14 > 0:46:19I always tell people that Kip Keino can be a very small man,
0:46:19 > 0:46:21but he has a very big heart.
0:46:23 > 0:46:26And, with 40% of people in the Rift Valley
0:46:26 > 0:46:29living below the poverty line,
0:46:29 > 0:46:32running has taken on an even greater significance.
0:46:34 > 0:46:38They saw athletics as a way of getting themselves out of the poverty,
0:46:38 > 0:46:43out of the difficulties which they saw their parents and grandparents struggling.
0:46:45 > 0:46:50This has become the driving motivation to succeed at the Olympics.
0:46:50 > 0:46:55You will see a huge number of youngsters, all ages,
0:46:55 > 0:46:58training out on the roads and the pathways.
0:46:58 > 0:47:04And these young kids are seeing superstars training among them every day.
0:47:04 > 0:47:08They have Olympic champions, they have world champions, world record holders.
0:47:08 > 0:47:12They run after them, two or three kilometres, they'll follow them.
0:47:12 > 0:47:16This determination, combined with the natural environment
0:47:16 > 0:47:20of high altitude, has created a culture of running in Kenya.
0:47:24 > 0:47:28And this tradition has continued into the 21st century.
0:47:28 > 0:47:31Noah Ngeny, in 2000,
0:47:31 > 0:47:33and Asbel Kiprop, in 2008,
0:47:33 > 0:47:36became the latest runners from the Rift Valley
0:47:36 > 0:47:38to win gold at the 1500 metres.
0:47:43 > 0:47:48Today, competition to represent their country at the Olympic Games
0:47:48 > 0:47:51is tougher than in any other nation in the world.
0:47:51 > 0:47:56Well, if you look at a team that's going to the World Championships or
0:47:56 > 0:48:01the Olympic Games, there's a maximum of three competitors in each event.
0:48:01 > 0:48:04And if you take the 1500, in which Kenya has won the gold and silver,
0:48:04 > 0:48:06it means that the fourth, fifth and sixth
0:48:06 > 0:48:09would probably have got those places if they'd also been there.
0:48:09 > 0:48:12It's that level of competition.
0:48:13 > 0:48:17This pool of talent has made Kenya the most dominant
0:48:17 > 0:48:19and feared force on the athletics track.
0:48:22 > 0:48:28But their supremacy has been challenged by one extraordinary runner from another part of Africa.
0:48:31 > 0:48:35This man is Hicham El Guerrouj from Morocco.
0:48:36 > 0:48:38He was the embodiment of everything
0:48:38 > 0:48:41that's needed in a great 1500 metre runner,
0:48:41 > 0:48:43possibly the greatest 1500 metre runner.
0:48:45 > 0:48:49The biggest compliment I can ever pay anybody is that I think,
0:48:49 > 0:48:54if I'd raced against him, he would have been a right bloody handful.
0:48:55 > 0:48:59Hicham El Guerrouj was born in the tough industrial city
0:48:59 > 0:49:01of Berkan on the Moroccan coast,
0:49:01 > 0:49:06and it was here he began dreaming of becoming an Olympic champion.
0:49:09 > 0:49:12TRANSLATION: I started racing very early,
0:49:12 > 0:49:15I started in 1987. I was very young.
0:49:15 > 0:49:18My father and mother didn't want to let me.
0:49:18 > 0:49:22I said to them, "My dream is to become an athlete,
0:49:22 > 0:49:24"my dream is to represent my country,
0:49:24 > 0:49:27"my dream is to mount the podium at the Olympics."
0:49:29 > 0:49:32At 16, El Guerrouj began training at
0:49:32 > 0:49:35the Moroccan national athletics centre in Rabat.
0:49:37 > 0:49:41TRANSLATION: In 1992 we won the World Junior Championship.
0:49:41 > 0:49:44At that time, I noticed his courage in competition
0:49:44 > 0:49:46because talent alone isn't enough.
0:49:46 > 0:49:49You need to have the right character as a runner.
0:49:49 > 0:49:52I knew this boy would go far.
0:49:52 > 0:49:55El Guerrouj rose to prominence in the 1990s
0:49:55 > 0:49:58with a series of outstanding performances,
0:49:58 > 0:50:01and he was considered the favourite to win the 1500 metre title
0:50:01 > 0:50:04at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996.
0:50:08 > 0:50:12When I went to Atlanta, I dreamt of only one thing.
0:50:12 > 0:50:16That was to come first, but I had no strategy in mind,
0:50:16 > 0:50:20no idea how I was going to run the race,
0:50:20 > 0:50:21and then the drama happened.
0:50:21 > 0:50:24El Guerrouj is right there and there he goes.
0:50:29 > 0:50:30And El Guerrouj has gone!
0:50:30 > 0:50:31He's down.
0:50:31 > 0:50:33The bell is ringing.
0:50:33 > 0:50:34I couldn't believe it.
0:50:34 > 0:50:38I got up and carried on but it was too late.
0:50:38 > 0:50:41That was really hard, quite traumatic,
0:50:41 > 0:50:46but I have to say it taught me a lesson, a lesson in every sense.
0:50:50 > 0:50:54After this defeat in Atlanta, El Guerrouj and his coach Abdelkader
0:50:54 > 0:50:57returned to their high altitude training camp
0:50:57 > 0:51:00in Ifrane in the Atlas Mountains.
0:51:04 > 0:51:08Hicham trained there nearly all this career, about 14 years in all.
0:51:08 > 0:51:12The first two months of the training would start in Rabat,
0:51:12 > 0:51:15then he'd go up to Ifrane to get used to the altitude.
0:51:17 > 0:51:20Around March, we go up to high altitude.
0:51:20 > 0:51:24It's a huge effort, you are in physical agony sometimes,
0:51:24 > 0:51:29but when you go back down to sea level, you run really fluidly.
0:51:31 > 0:51:34Conditioned by his high altitude training,
0:51:34 > 0:51:38El Guerrouj set a new 1500 metre world record
0:51:38 > 0:51:41of 3 minutes and 26 seconds,
0:51:41 > 0:51:44a record which still stands today.
0:51:47 > 0:51:51And going into the 2000 Sydney Olympics,
0:51:51 > 0:51:54he had been unbeaten in the 1500 for three years.
0:51:57 > 0:52:00El Guerrouj was the odds-on favourite to win.
0:52:00 > 0:52:02And he's in the pole position.
0:52:02 > 0:52:06It's getting faster and faster and El Guerrouj is in the driving seat.
0:52:08 > 0:52:12But hot on his heels were Noah Ngeny and Bernard Lagat,
0:52:12 > 0:52:15the finest Kenyan runners since Kipchoge Keino.
0:52:17 > 0:52:20Just make sure that all the steps that you was taking,
0:52:20 > 0:52:24each lap, each step that you was taking, I was just a metre away.
0:52:24 > 0:52:26So for me, I just followed him.
0:52:26 > 0:52:2950 metres to go, I started to strike.
0:52:29 > 0:52:31Lagat is still there.
0:52:31 > 0:52:33This is going to be a right fight to the line.
0:52:33 > 0:52:34El Guerrouj is not going to make it.
0:52:34 > 0:52:35Ngeny is going to get there.
0:52:35 > 0:52:37El Guerrouj is going to lose.
0:52:37 > 0:52:39Oh, I can't believe it! Ngeny wins it.
0:52:39 > 0:52:42El Guerrouj... This, for me, is the biggest surprise that
0:52:42 > 0:52:46we've seen on the track at these Olympic Games, Brendan.
0:52:46 > 0:52:51For me, he deserved to be the Olympic champion in 2000.
0:52:51 > 0:52:56We were great rivals and I hope we will always be friends.
0:52:58 > 0:53:02After two Olympic defeats, Athens in 2004
0:53:02 > 0:53:05would be El Guerrouj's last chance
0:53:05 > 0:53:07to prove he had the mental resolve to win.
0:53:09 > 0:53:12But only months before the Games,
0:53:12 > 0:53:15illness threatened his Olympic dream.
0:53:17 > 0:53:20I discovered I had asthma and I underwent medical treatment
0:53:20 > 0:53:26for four months for my asthma, and I also lost a race. I came eighth.
0:53:26 > 0:53:31It was a disaster for me psychologically. It was hard.
0:53:33 > 0:53:38Also challenging for the gold medal was Kenya runner, Bernard Lagat,
0:53:38 > 0:53:42who had finished just behind El Guerrouj in Sydney four years earlier.
0:53:45 > 0:53:49I had only one thought in my head - that was to be brave,
0:53:49 > 0:53:52to commit fully and never hold back.
0:53:54 > 0:53:57They get underway, the 1500 metre final,
0:53:57 > 0:53:59three and a half minutes for El Guerrouj
0:53:59 > 0:54:01to fulfil what everybody thinks
0:54:01 > 0:54:03is his destiny - to win this.
0:54:03 > 0:54:06I kept myself in check. I didn't want to be in the group,
0:54:06 > 0:54:09to avoid accidents, to avoid falling.
0:54:09 > 0:54:12At 300 metres, in my head,
0:54:12 > 0:54:18I started to say, "Hicham, now you have to go. Now you have to go."
0:54:22 > 0:54:26What came next was one of the great feats in Olympic history.
0:54:26 > 0:54:30Over the final two laps, El Guerrouj, pursued by Bernard Lagat,
0:54:30 > 0:54:36accelerated constantly, running the remainder of the race in controlled
0:54:36 > 0:54:42100-metres bursts, each one run quicker that the previous one.
0:54:44 > 0:54:48It was a perfect 1500 metre race, the way he ran it.
0:54:48 > 0:54:51He was strong, he was so, so strong that every single move he made,
0:54:51 > 0:54:52you couldn't see it,
0:54:52 > 0:54:55because it was seamless and it was just a progression.
0:54:55 > 0:54:59It was just a brilliant piece of distance running.
0:54:59 > 0:55:03But the race was about to become even more astonishing.
0:55:03 > 0:55:07At the bell, El Guerrouj and Lagat increased their pace further,
0:55:07 > 0:55:10as they started their final kick for the finish line.
0:55:12 > 0:55:14El Guerrouj striking for home,
0:55:14 > 0:55:18chasing the gold medal he so wants, for himself and for his country.
0:55:18 > 0:55:22300 metres remaining and he kicks again,
0:55:22 > 0:55:25and this time he's accelerating.
0:55:25 > 0:55:28Lagat was still behind me because he too had a dream.
0:55:28 > 0:55:31His dream was to become Olympic champion,
0:55:31 > 0:55:35to beat me once again, but I didn't want to lose.
0:55:35 > 0:55:38I absolutely had to win that medal
0:55:38 > 0:55:42because I knew that medal would change my whole life,
0:55:42 > 0:55:45my whole sporting career.
0:55:45 > 0:55:49And he's still got more. Round the top bend.
0:55:49 > 0:55:52El Guerrouj is truly testing them.
0:55:52 > 0:55:55El Guerrouj coming under pressure from Bernard Lagat of Kenya.
0:55:55 > 0:55:56Lagat looks comfortable.
0:55:56 > 0:55:59Rui Silva finishing like a train on the outside as well.
0:55:59 > 0:56:02El Guerrouj needs to fight here if he wants this one.
0:56:02 > 0:56:04Lagat's coming on the outside.
0:56:04 > 0:56:07Has El Guerrouj got anything left? It's going to be close.
0:56:07 > 0:56:09And when Lagat overtook,
0:56:09 > 0:56:13I pictured those losses in Sydney and Atlanta all over again.
0:56:13 > 0:56:18I was telling myself, "Hicham, don't lose. Hicham, don't lose."
0:56:18 > 0:56:22Has El Guerrouj got anything left? It's going to be close.
0:56:22 > 0:56:26El Guerrouj is fighting back. El Guerrouj is going to get there.
0:56:26 > 0:56:29Come on, El Guerrouj! He's got it!
0:56:29 > 0:56:32He's got it, the gold medal!
0:56:37 > 0:56:38It was extraordinary.
0:56:38 > 0:56:42I can tell you - that victory changed me.
0:56:42 > 0:56:44I relaxed, I felt light.
0:56:51 > 0:56:54This would be El Guerrouj's last 1500 metre race.
0:56:59 > 0:57:03But he retuned to the track three days later
0:57:03 > 0:57:05to win gold in the 5000 metres,
0:57:05 > 0:57:11the first man since Paavo Nurmi in 1924 to win both Olympic events.
0:57:14 > 0:57:18El Guerrouj retired as the greatest 1500 metre champion
0:57:18 > 0:57:20in the history of the Olympics.
0:57:20 > 0:57:23I didn't want to lose.
0:57:23 > 0:57:27I wanted to bring hope to my life, to my children,
0:57:27 > 0:57:31hope to the generations of young people watching the race.
0:57:31 > 0:57:36Losing in life, it shouldn't exist in your dictionary.
0:57:36 > 0:57:38The word "lose" doesn't exist.
0:57:38 > 0:57:42The word "lose", for me, doesn't exist.
0:57:50 > 0:57:55On the 7th August 2012, in the Olympic Stadium in London,
0:57:55 > 0:57:5912 men will take their marks for the final of the 1500 metres.
0:57:59 > 0:58:03DAVID COLEMAN: Three and three-quarter laps of the track.
0:58:03 > 0:58:06Regarded by many, the 1500 metres, as the blue riband of the Games.
0:58:06 > 0:58:07To win gold,
0:58:07 > 0:58:11one runner must have the qualities of the great champions of the past.
0:58:11 > 0:58:14Look at Snell go! The famous New Zealander...
0:58:14 > 0:58:18The endurance of Paavo Nurmi,
0:58:18 > 0:58:20the acceleration of Sebastian Coe...
0:58:20 > 0:58:22And Coe comes away!
0:58:22 > 0:58:25..and the will to win of Hicham El Guerrouj.
0:58:25 > 0:58:28El Guerrouj is going to get there! Come on, El Guerrouj!
0:58:28 > 0:58:32Only then can they win the greatest Olympic race of all.
0:58:55 > 0:58:58Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd