| There was disappointment before the event began when world record holder Sebastian Coe was forced to withdraw with illness. Olympic Champion Steve Ovett would have been a willing substitute for Great Britain, but it was too late to make such a change to the entry. Another shock followed in the opening round when 1976 Olympic Champion Juantorena broke a bone in his right ankle at the end of his heat. All this news was forgotten after a terrific final which brought one of the surprise results of the championships. The two youngest finalists, Cruz and Elliott, set a fast pace from the start. The Brazilian raced through 200m in 24.4 before Elliott took over by the bell (50.58). The rest of the field, headed by Ferner and Wülbeck, were in touch but running in single file. Elliott refused to be overtaken despite pressure from Cruz. The Briton held the kerb all the way round the final bend before the Brazilian finally regained the lead. Wülbeck then made his move, catching Elliott and passing Cruz 70m from the finish. Druppers also finished strongly, coming from 5th place to pip Cruz for the silver medal. The 28 year-old German became the fifth-fastest man ever |
|
These are the official results of the men's 800 metres event at the 1983 IAAF World Championships in Helsinki, Finland. There were a total of 60 participating athletes, with eight qualifying heats, three semi-finals and the final held on 9 August 1983.
From the gun, World Junior Record holder and NCAA Champion Joaquim Cruz went out fast to get the lead, with Peter Elliott in lane 1 accelerating when he saw Cruz ahead of him, passing the break point swinging wide to go around Cruz but Cruz would not let him by. Coming off the turn, Elliott accelerated and ran past Cruz to take the lead at the bell in 50.58. Hans-Peter Ferner was next behind them, followed by Willi Wülbeck and Rob Druppers. Coming off the third turn, Cruz again accelerated to try to take back the lead. Down the backstretch, Cruz and Elliott ran shoulder to shoulder. Gritting his teeth, Elliott would not concede the position, Cruz running the final turn outside of Elliott still shoulder to shoulder with now Wülbeck watching the battle from two steps behind. Off the final turn, Cruz accelerated again to pull away from Elliott but Wülbeck went around the outside to sprint past both of them, unleaded to victory. Druppers came off the final turn several metres back, passed a fading Ferner and began sprinting, picking off Elliott and then Cruz just before the finish line.
|
SOM
GUI
GBR
AUS
URS
KUW
USA
SUI
FRG
BRA
NOR
IRQ
ROU
BUL
SEY
FRA
GRE
SEN
RWA
ITA
CAN
SUD
KEN
SOL
SWE
POL
GDR
BAR
CUB
AHO
MAR
STP
FIN
KOR
MAD
ESP
GIB
NED
JAM
NZL
TTO
TUN
ISR
NCA
BIZ
VEN
