The final should have been a battle between world record holder Filbert
Bayi (TAN) and John Walker, the Mile record holder. However, the
anti-apartheid boycott took care of that, leaving Walker a big favourite.
The New Zealander won his first round heat in a startling 3:36.87, with
Britons Clement (3:37.53) and Steve Ovett (3:37.89) the next fastest.
Walker won his semi-final in 3:39.65, while Coghlan won the other
semi in 3:38.60 ahead of Wohlhuter (3:38.71), both winners running 53
for their last laps. All told, 25 clockings of sub-3:40 were achieved in
the preliminary rounds (1972 had six similar marks).
The field was frightened of Walker - and seemed to be aiming for sil-
ver rather than trying to win the final. The race started slowly with the
first 400m in 62.48, followed by laps of 60.67 and 58.08. From 800m
Coghlan was in the lead, and at 1200m Walker, like Lovelock before
him, struck. His next 100m was covered in 12.5, with Coghlan,
Wohlhuter and Crouch in the slipstream; the pace was upped to 12.2 for
the next 100m, and 800m silver medallist Van Damme moved from
fifth to second. The last 100m was the survival of the strongest, and
Walker reached the sanctuary of the tape under a metre clear of Van
Damme, with Wellman finishing fast to edge Coghlan for the bronze
medal. Walker’s last 400m was completed in 52.7, and his last 800m in
1:51.0.
New Zealand
Belgium
West Germany
Ireland
Great Britain
United States
Australia
Hungary
Portugal
Canada
France
Sweden
Netherlands
Finland
Denmark
Marocco
Romania
Liechtenstain
Nicaragua
Poland
Iceland
Saudi Arabia
Puerto Rico
Haiti
Italy
Switzerland
Cuba
Norway
Greece
Pakistan
