This was an interesting competition between a sprinter and a long-distance athlete competing in a middle-distance event:
Does anyone remember the competition between Willie Gault and a triathlete in the 1 mi run? This was back in the 80’s. It was a very exciting race. Willie Gault was behind for the first 3 laps, but he opened up in the final 440 yards and won easily. Does anyone remember who the triathlete was?
A mile is not a good test for most triathletes, except maybe Olaf and a couple of others. 3000m would have been a better test. A mile is not that aerobic.
You’re right. A sprinter wouldn’t stand a chance in the 3000m. Traditionally speaking, middle distance events include the 880 (800m), 1500m, 1 mile (1600m).
The 1 mi would seem like a good distance to meet halfway.
A sprinter would stand a better chance in a 1500 than most elite triathletes would stand. I would go at least 2000m to make it fair. with a sprint distance triathlete and 3000 for an IM triathlete. IMO only.
A mile is not a good test for most triathletes, except maybe Olaf and a couple of others. 3000m would have been a better test. A mile is not that aerobic.
“Not that aerobic”? Even at world record pace, about 75% of the energy will be derived aerobically. The percentage would be higher still at the pace that most could run the distance.
FWIW, I was a pretty decent miler in HS. I also ran x-country (here in the us that’s 3 miles) and the 2 mile in track. I always struggled with the 800 meter guys that would come up and try the mile…they typically had more top-end speed and could out kick me if they were close on the final turn. My only hope was to run them off my heels early. However, I would usually eat their lunch over 2 miles.
I think part of it is mental. Racing for 4-5 minutes is a lot different mentally then 9 or 10.
Different training and different physiology, too.
I might be wrong about all my assertions. someone get together a bunch of sprinters and Triathletes and run them at a mile, 2000 meters, and 3k. Might be interesting.
I think it was the Superstars and it was Scott Tinley. Tinley looked “slow” compared to Gault at that distance.
I don’t think many pro triathletes could beat many elite pro athletes in a 1 mile race, but not because the race is suited more for sprinters. It’s unlikely many pro triathletes can run a mile faster than 4:20 or 65 second 1/4s. They are not elite runners. A top sprinter can run the 400 in 45 seconds. So slowing 20 seconds per quarter is possible. Willie was an elite sprinter. It was comparing apples and oranges.
That being said, a 1 mile race IS much more about endurance than top end speed. Willie wouldn’t stand a chance against an elite miler and many elite milers become elite marathoners. So taking a good runner and putting them against a world class sprinter isn’t really fair.
It really depends on what you consider a fair halfway point. From a sprinter’s standpoint, anything over 400 meters is an endurance event. I don’t think there are a whole lot of 100m sprinters that could do so well at the mile–most would bonk out after 400m.
In this day and age of ultramarathons and ironman, many endurance athletes don’t have much of an appreciation for the shorter events. Distances that traditionally were considered “middle distance” are now viewed as relatively short events by comparison. Look at term “Sprint Triathlon” (400m swim, 12mi bike, 5K run). That’s not a sprint by any stretch of the imagination.
but did you struggle against 100m guys? An 800m guy is an entirely different athlete than a 100m guy which Willie was.
That being said, I think people are just underestimating how fit and athletic Wille Gault is. He was/is a freak athlete. I would be willing to bet given proper training the guy could have broken 10 hrs in an IM in his prime.
but did you struggle against 100m guys? An 800m guy is an entirely different athlete than a 100m guy which Willie was.
That being said, I think people are just underestimating how fit and athletic Wille Gault is. He was/is a freak athlete. I would be willing to bet given proper training the guy could have broken 10 hrs in an IM in his prime.
Yeah, Willie Gault was a freakishly gifted athlete. Pretty decent football player too. Ronaldo Nehemiah was another one. And I’ve always admired Edwin Moses.
To answer your question, I never ran a competitive mile against a pure sprinter so I can’t say. My point was that the short/middle distance guys (400m/800m) had another gear that I couldn’t match. Their all-out speed was just faster than mine and if they had it in reserve with a couple hundred meters to go, i was toast.
Just different physiological makeup and training…
Speaking of freakish athletes. How about Rod Dixon? World-class runner at every distance from 1500m to a marathon.
Seaking of freakish athletes: 
LSU Quick start to new full-time profession for Xavier Carter July 25, 2006
Former LSU star Xavier Carter has made a name for himself in his short time as a pro. (Olivier Maire/AP)
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Powered by Topix.net By Dick Patrick
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As a part-time track athlete, Xavier Carter produced national youth titles in the sprints, 100-, 200- and 400-meter Florida titles in high school and made NCAA history at LSU.
Now that the former wide receiver has dropped football and recorded the second-fastest time in the 200, the sport is abuzz about his potential as a full-time professional.
In the past 1 1/2 months, Carter, 20, has produced two of the most astounding performances of the track season.
The first came at the June 7-10 NCAA championships in Sacramento, where he won the 100 and 400 meters, an unprecedented double made more impressive by the 400 final coming 30 minutes after the 100.
“Honestly, there were a lot of coaches who thought we were complete idiots” for attempting the double, says LSU coach Dennis Shaver, who remains Carter’s coach.
With legs on the winning 4x100 and 4x400 relays, Carter matched Jesse Owens’ 1935 and 1936 performances of four wins in the meet.
Afterward, Ato Boldon, a TV commentator and Olympic sprint medalist, talked privately with Carter.
“I told him I thought his performance at the NCAAs would be talked about for another 50 years or more,” Boldon says. “I was struck that maybe he himself had no clue how good he could be then because he seemed almost surprised I sought him out. I knew anyone who could run 10.09 and less than an hour later run 44.5 was a once-in-a-lifetime talent.”
Out of the blocks
Carter started track in fifth grade, prompted by his father, who had seen his son’s speed in other sports. He won his first national titles, a 100-200-400 triple, as a rising eighth-grader.
His last two years at Melbourne (Fla.) Palm Bay High School, he won state titles in the 100, 200 and 400 and was named national prep track athlete of the year by various organizations. As a senior, he also was a consensus all-America wide receiver by recruiting publications.
“He was always playing other sports,” says his father, Ken, an engineer. “He was always going to another season.”
Not anymore. The NCAA performance was enough to prompt Carter to turn pro, hire agent Mark Block, sign with Nike through 2012 and obtain a passport. He took a well-deserved break, bypassing the USA Championships, and then headed for the European circuit.
He delivered stunner No. 2 on July 11, winning a 200 in Lausanne in 19.63, the second-fastest time behind Michael Johnson’s world-record 19.32 at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
“Right now, 19.63 at 20 years of age says he is the best 200 talent ever,” Boldon says. “But time will tell. He is the only man alive that I think has a legit shot at 19.32, which I didn’t think I would see broken in my lifetime.”
Just as he had done in Sacramento, Carter didn’t act as if he had done anything special in Lausanne.
“I was just trying to break 20 because I had never done it,” he says. “I take (19.63) as a huge accomplishment. But I also want to get Michael Johnson’s record, so I can’t dwell on the 19.6. I’m shooting for 19.3.”
What makes the time more impressive is that it was only his second 200 of the season and Carter was running in lane 8 with no sense of where the competition was during the first 100 meters.
“It’s not an easy race to master,” Shaver says. “You can go out hard and not finish too good, or you can go out too slow and have too much left at the end.”
Carter might have started too slowly. At the 100 mark, he was fourth (10.33) and well behind leader Tyson Gay (10.11), who wound up second (19.70). That means Carter’s second 100 was 9.30, impressive but not as mind-boggling as Johnson’s 9.12 at the '96 Atlanta Games.
“He’s just an extremely powerful runner,” Shaver says of the 6-3, 205-pound Carter. “He’s improved significantly technically his two years here but has room to grow. Sheer raw power and belief in what he’s doing are his strengths.”
World-class experience isn’t a strength. Carter got a lesson a week later in Rome.
Facing a star-studded 400 field, he finished second (44.76) as Olympic and world champ Jeremy Wariner ran away from everyone with a personal-best 43.62.
“It was a learning experience,” says Carter, who made Shaver laugh by disparaging his form in the last 50 meters. "You’ve got to really know how to run your race. You can’t say, ‘Well, I’m just going to run fast all the way around.’
“This is the elite level where people study the race so much they know when to preserve and when to let loose.”
Olympics trumps NFL
Carter has learned from losses since fifth grade. His father remembers an impromptu parking lot match race against a teammate after an AAU basketball practice. When his son lost, he vowed he would beat the victor in the local meet later in the year. When race day arrived, his father tried to steer Carter out of the heat with his friend to no avail.
Carter won the 100 rematch convincingly. “I knew right then he had the determination to succeed,” his father says.
The determination to win an Olympic gold medal is what led Carter to drop football. Not that it was an easy decision for a receiver who was an All-USA TODAY selection in 2003 and helped Palm Bay to two state titles.
But in two seasons at LSU, Carter had just nine catches. Although he played sparingly, he had a flair for the spectacular, with two touchdowns last season.
“He was in our plans this year,” LSU offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher says. "I think he had a great future. I think he had a chance to be drafted (by the NFL) with his speed.
“He dropped a few balls but caught some, too. He’s a tough guy, physical. He had great speed. Xavier’s got a competitive gear. He’s got that competitive edge you get in football when you’ve got to go and someone’s ahead of you. Xavier runs as fast as he needs to run.”
Shaver lobbied for another year of college football and track but couldn’t persuade Carter or his family. Finally, it was time to specialize.
“I had a dream of going to the Olympics,” Carter says. "Now that I’m at the elite level, I didn’t want to wait one more year, injure my knee in football and never have a chance to shoot for the Olympics.
“Football is always going to be there. Me going to the Olympics is not. It was a tough decision, but one of my dreams is a gold medal.”
After his first European stint, Carter is back in Baton Rouge training in preparation for a 100 Tuesday in Stockholm and a 200 Friday in London before some August races. He’ll resume classes as an LSU junior Aug. 28.
Then he’ll have his first fall of track training. He and Shaver will plan for 2007, a world championships year before the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Track fans wonder how good Carter can be with a full season of training, improved technique and more experience.
“There are so many variables and factors, but knowing him the way I know him, he’s not going to get sidetracked,” Shaver says. “He’s got that uncanny ability not to lose focus on that prize at the end.”
AP-NY-07-24-06 1912EDT
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Reader Comment Wed Jul 26, 2006 12:38 pm Excellent column. Put things into perspective quite well. 
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I found the link:
http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Dugout/8973/comp/87final.html
I am totally floored by the results:
Tinley won the half mile run over Gault(not too surprising given the sprint vs. distance discussion)
Tinley was 4th out of 5 in swimming(WTF?!?)
He didn’t do the bike race or did not qualify?
He was 10th out of 10 overall.
I read his book where he talked about it, but it has been a while so I don’t recall what he actually said.
Speaking of freakish athletes. How about Rod Dixon? World-class runner at every distance from 1500m to a marathon.
Mary Decker:
American Record: 800 m - 1:56.90 (August 16, 1985 - )
American Record: 1,500 m - 3:57.12 (July 26, 1983 - )
American Record: 1 mi. - 4:16.71 (August 21, 1985 - )
American Record: 3,000 m - 8:25.83 (September 7, 1985 - )
American Record: 5,000 m - 15:06.53 (June 1, 1985 - )
American Record: 10,000 m - 31:35.30 (July 16, 1982 - )
Scott Tinley was a great athlete, but would have been one of the last triathletes I’d have picked for this competition! Running a 2:11 half mile, 29 50 swim, and not even placing in a bike race which was won in 1:11, sucks!!! He was a strictly LONG SLOW DISTANCE athlete. Triathlon should have been represented by a short courser.
Recently crowned world champion Tim Don has a 1500 PR of 3.46.
I must have been mistaken about the details, or it may have been another competition.
Here’s another example of a freakish athlete. I don’t know if anyone else ever doubled in the 400 and 800. It is very unusual for a sprinter to perofrm so well at 800m. His time of 1;43.1 is modest compared to more recent records of 1:41.1, but still very respectable. He made it look easy; who knows how fast he would have gone with stiffer competition, e.g. someone like Sebastian Coe.
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<u></u> <u></u> **=**   <u>New Search</u> | <u> Printable Version</u> <u></u> <u></u> Alberto Juantorena  Photo/Foto: George Herringshaw Date: 25th July 1976 Cuba DATE OF BIRTH Tuesday, 21st November 1950 PLACE OF BIRTH Santiago, Cuba EVENT(S): 400m, 800m, 4x400m CHAMPIONSHIP PERFORMANCES: **Olympics: **1976 Gold 400m, Gold 800m. CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: 800m Gold in 1976 at Montreal Olympics The athletics world could easily have never witnessed the brilliance of Cuban running legend Alberto Juantorena. Young Alberto's first sporting love was basketball, but in 1971 he decided to try athletics as an alternative, moving to Havana where he came under the tutelage of Polish coach, Zygmunt Zabierzowski. Within a few months he had recorded a time of 48.2sec for 400m, and his progress was so rapid that he finished fifth in his 400m semi-final at the following year's Olympic Games in Munich. He first starting making headlines in 1973 when he won the 400m at the World University Games in Moscow, and the following year he headed the world rankings, with a time of 44.7sec recorded at Turin on 24 July. In 1975, he produced the second-fastest time of the year, 44.80sec, when he finished second at the Pan-American Games in Mexico City on 18 August. Two days later, he anchored the Cuban 4 x 400m relay team to a silver medal at the same championships. In 1976, Juantorena decided to attempt the unusual double of the 400m and 800m at the Montreal Olympic Games. Although he was a definite gold medal chance for the 400m, few thought that he would seriously challenge the main contenders in the 800m. Juantorena had only seriously decided to contest the 800m that year, setting times of 1min 46.9sec and 1min 46.1sec early in the year in Cuba, and then an impressive 1min 45.2sec in Italy just prior to the Olympics. In the 800m final at Montreal, on 25 July, Juantorena quickly established the lead, reaching 400m in 50.85sec. At 600m, Juantorena was briefly challenged, but he then just powered away from his opposition, winning the gold medal easily **(see photo above)**, in a new world record time of 1min 43.50sec. (Ron Casey)
This photograph is the copyright © of George Herringshaw & sporting-heroes.net 
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