The Perfect Distance: Ovett and Coe: The Record-Breaking Rivalry

by Pat Butcher

Book Overview

Steve Ovett and Sebastian Coe presided over the golden era of British athletics. Between them they won three Olympic gold medals, two silvers, one bronze, and broke a total of twelve middle-distance records. As far apart as possible in terms of class and upbringing, their rivalry burned as intense on the track as away from it. The pendulum swung between the pair of themeach breaking the other's records, and, memorably, triumphing in each other's events...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0753819007
• ISBN13: 9780753819005
• Release Date: July 2005
• Publisher: Orion Publishing Group
• Length: 306 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.1" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

British Miling and epic battles: Get to know the real Coe and Ovett...

I was a high school runner when Coe and Ovett burst upon the world Track and Field scene. I was awed by their performances and read everything I could about them, which wasn't much on this side of the Atlantic. Seeing them (and Steve Cram) compete head-to-head in person at the 1984 Olympic Games was such a thrill for me and my late father, who was also a huge T & F fan. Butcher's excellent writing truly took me back to those exciting times. This outstanding book also provides clear, fascinating and entertaining insights into Coe's and Ovett's rise to the world stage of T & F. Their personalities, how they got into running, the discovery of their talents, the ups and downs of their training and careers, the relationships and people who influenced them - it's all here in this eminently readable short book. As an added bonus, Butcher also recounts the "British Tradition" of miling, its rich history as well as other famous pairs of nineteenth and twentieth century milers. This is a fun read and a fantastic contribution to the small but growing genre of T & F books.

A book for aspiring middle distance runners

This was a very enjoyable book about the great Ovett/Coe rivalry. The book delves into the roots/family influences of the two very talented middle distance runners including Ovett's very influential mother and Coe's father and coach. The author captures the excitement of breaking world records, running in the Olympic games and the expectations associated with being athletes at thier prime. Two very different personalities are contrasted both in their private and public impressions. A fascinating read.

Deep Biography of Coe and Ovett at the Height of Britain's Middle D

This is a very detailed and rich biography not only of Ovett and Coe but of history of the mile particularly from the British view point. As the author notes, the emergency of Ovett and Coe strides right into British middle distance runners dominating the world scene in the late 70s and early 80s with Cram, Elliott and Moorcroft. The Ovett and Coe duo are so different in racing styles, personalities and family life as Ovett emerges from blue collar roots with a very strong guarded mother and wonderful grand parents while Coe comes from a more upper class conservative family coached by an efficient and strong willed father. Butcher captures both athlete's abilities in detail with Ovett's amazing ability to run the sprints and high jump at early age to running events aside from 800 and 1500 to the 5K ,cross country and even jumping into a half marathon. Coe develops slightly slower but run as if a greyhound taking the pace to avoid contact with his 119 pounds particularly dominating the 800 while he and Ovett trade the 1500 and mile back and forth. The differences in mental and emotional make up between the two men is captured well in an excellent photograph of the two after a surprise loss to a relative unknown in a championship 800 where Coe literally looks crushed while Ovett has dangled his arm around Coe while looking off with chin up as in "well another day". The comparison between the Hagg and Anderson (includes interviews) and Ovett and Coe are well done as Ovett and Coe dominates the English sports news. Americans may require a little more patience as the author does discuss the world's best milers that include Walker, Bayi, Wessingham along with the US's Scott and Maree but the focus is on the English with running clubs and their depth of great runners at that time. Also, unlike Coorder Nelson's great book on Jim Ryan, this book has more depth into the history of middle distance running and the athletes' personal lives. Amusing that the author identifies Kenny Moore as an excellent writer but identifies him as a fourth place marathoner at the Montreal games when it was actually at Munich and he confuses the details of the New York and Boston Marathon's of Rosy Ruiz into one race. The book also contains some interesting British humor and phrases. I wish there was a more detail on the races in Moscow particularly the 1500 as Coe steals one from Ovett to avenge his 800 upset. It is quite tragic that Ovett became so ill at the LA Olympics that he became hospitalized but continued to compete and make he finals in both the 800 and 1500. He literally looks like death going into the last lap of the 1500. And Coe comes back from devastating illness to get in world class shape after being written off to be the only man to win successive Olympic 1500 titles. This was a glorious time for Track & Field when these two men from the same country seesawed world records back and forth almost weekly. As the author notes, these two were such amazing comp

The Race of Their Lives

Mr. Butcher has produced an outstanding book. All great books start with a great story and this a great story. This rivalry began in the mid '70's and carried through to the '84 LA Olympics. Mr. Butcher has a runner's knowledge of the sport and a writer's command of the language. This book was meticulously researched , many of the principles have participated in the telling of this tale. The "British" slang is sometimes is difficult to follow but does not detract from the telling of the story. I like the fact that Mr. Butcher does not hesitate to share his opinions. This is a GREAT READ for any track fan.

On the mark ... get set, go

The Perfect Distance is an extremely fascinating look at one of the most intriguing athletic rivalries of the last generation. In the early 1980s, the drama represented by the races -- both real and virtual -- between Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett were on par with the more or less contemporary rivalries between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, between Mohammed Ali and Joe Frazier, between Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe. As author Pat Butcher -- a fair middle distance runner in his own right -- points out, as with all great rivalries, the battles between Mr. Coe and Mr. Ovett attracted attention as much because of the athletes' personalities as because of their prodigious talents. Mr. Coe -- now Lord Coe -- was the refined and cultured middle class boy, compared to Mr. Ovett, the muscular and brash son of market trader. Based on his world record for 800 meters that lasted for an amazing 16 years and his successful defense of his 1500-meter title at the Los Angeles Olympics, Mr. Coe was probably the most successful of the two. But such comparisons are really not relevant with a rivalry like this one. These two men traded world records -- some of which stood for mere hours before the other crushed them half a continent away -- in a way that entranced any sports fan in the early 1980s. Each won the other's specialty at the Moscow Olympics in 1980, and Mr. Ovett once won 45 races in a row over nearly three years, a record unlikely to ever be duplicated at the highest level. As a high school and university-level middle distance runner at that time, the battles between these two great athletes had no small influence on me, which is why I decided to buy this book the moment I saw it. But the thing that pushes this volume over the top is the way Mr. Butcher interprets the men's dominance. Why has the drama of the middle distance never approached the pitch it had during Mr. Coe and Mr. Ovett's best years? Mr. Butcher points the finger at the two champions themselves. As someone who closely followed the sport 20 or more years ago, I was amazed to find that Messrs. Coe and Ovett raced each other only seven times in the 15-year span during which they were both active, and four of those were in Olympic finals. In addition to avoiding serious competition outside the biggest of races, they pioneered the use of professional pacemakers in world record attempts, a still-used strategy that harvested them a combined 17 world records but also turned the middle distances into a mechanical and predictable exercise that has virtually eliminated serious competition outside of the world championships and the Olympics. In the end, The Perfect Distance forced me to reconsider my romanticized view of the careers of these two great champions, which is in itself significant. It is an original effort, compellingly written, with an insider's understanding of the sport. And yet it remains accessible to the casual sports fan looking for some insights into what might be the most