The release of emotion is clear to see as Seb Coe claims 1500m gold at the Moscow Olympics
PICTURES: MARK SHEARMAN
AS KIRK DUMPLETON sped to gold at the English Schools Cross Country Championships at Hillingdon in 1972, who could have imagined that the two boys who finished back in second and tenth place would go on to create the greatest head-to-head rivalry in the history of athletics eight years later in Moscow?
As the 16-year-old Dumpleton strode to victory, Steve Ovett finished almost half a minute behind, while Sebastian Coe was a further half a minute back. Yet the defeated duo would ultimately mature into the world’s premier middle-distance men with a double clash in Moscow that produced one of the most eagerly-awaited match-ups ever seen at the Olympics.