Whittle runs for gold with one shoe
Sandy Sutherland sees British success in Stuttgart
The Scotsman, 1 September 1986
BRITAIN’S brilliant athletes completed their most successful European Championships of the modern era when they finished with a medal tally of 15, including eight golds, in Stuttgart.
If one judges success on the gold standard, it was the best performance since Stockholm in 1950, before the entry of the Soviet and East German athletes, and in terms of overall medals, it was the best “bag” since Athens in 1969.
And this was no small-time meeting but a championship of the very highest standards, in which three world records were set and another equalled, in, for the most part, unfavourable weather.
That Britain can now compete on near-equal terms with the might of the Sovier Union or the East Germans and defeat the host nation is the talk of many other countries.
Track victories were recorded in the 100, 400, 800, 1500, 5000 and 4x400 metres relay. Then there was the decathlon and women’s javelin, and to that must be added two silver medals and five bronze.
Frank Dick, Britain’s director of coaching, was naturally delighted with the result. “It shows that the youth policy is beginning to pay off, and I don’t see an end to this era for some time,” he said.
Today’s final session provided two more fairy tales to add to the British successes of a more predictable nature.
Who would have predicted beforehand that Scotland’s Brian Whittle would have returned home with a gold medal or that he would contribute the second-fastest relay leg despite having only one shoe for all but two strides of it?
The 22-year-old Ayr Seaforth runner was told just one hour before the final of the 4x400 metres that he was to take the place of Phil Brown, the man on whom Britain have frequently relied in the past for lastlap heroics, but on this occasion was suffering from a recurring hamstring problem.
Whittle had run in yesterday’s heat, recording a fast 45.53 split, in order to rest Derek Redmond, but did not expect to run again. In fact, he was surprised to compete at all here. “I thought I was coming for a holiday,” he joked.
However, with Redmond on the first leg and Kriss Akabusi already in the side as first reserve for the injured Todd Bennett, Britain fielded two reserves, with Whittle on the vital third stage.
As he took over the baton, Whittle had his shoe trodden on from behind, although fortunately he was able to kick it off straight away and continued with such good effect that he held his Russian opponent to within half a stride at the end of his 400m stint in a scorching run of 45.03, his best ever.
Afterwards, Whittle blamed an old rival, Vladimir Krylow, whom he had accidentally knocked over in a collision at an indoor international in Cosford earlier this season, for catching his heel, although this may not have been the case.
“I just kicked off the shoe and forgot about it but I was dead jammy to have someone to hang on to,” he said. “I have never run without a shoe before and I don’t intend to make a habit of it – I don’t know how Zola does it.”
With both Redmond and Akabusi having done their stuff and Whittle exceeding all expectations despite his handicap, the 400 champion, Roger Black, tucked in behind the West German, Ralph Lubke, and used his strength to come home in 2min 59.84, just outside the European record. Black’s last lap was timed at a remarkable 44.1.
Jack Buckner, the 24-year-old Loughborough computer salesman, stepped into the breach when Steve Ovett failed to match up in the 5,000 and, with a remarkable last 800 metres, outsprinted the Italian, Stefano Mei, to take the gold medal in 13:10.15, which improved on Brendan Foster’s 12-year-old championship record by seven seconds and his own best by six seconds.
“That was only my second victory ever over the distance,” Buckner said, “and it was very hard work, but I must admit if I’d had to bet on the last 200 metres between Mei and me, it would have been on the Italian.”
Tim Hutchings, who stepped up the pace shortly after the distressed Ovett had been forced to drop out with four laps to go, was rewarded with the bronze medal in a personal best of 13:12.88.
Steve Cram, in a real display of character, recovered from defeat in last Thursday’s 800m at the hands of Sebasatian Coe to do what Coe did at the Moscow Olympics in 1980, when he lost to Ovett in the 800 and went on to win over 1500.
In a scrappy, untidy race in which Coe was bumped perhaps more than his rival, Cram was forced to take an early lead but at little more than a jog trot, and when the pace stepped up over the final lap, he was able to tour round in 51sec, kicking hard with 300 metres to go and securing an advatage over Coe, who was four metres adrift and was never able to get in touch again.
The time was a slow 3:41.09 but the manner of victory was emphatic, and Cram had retained his title, with Coe second in 3:41.67 and the Dutchman, Han Kuiker, a surprise third, with Britain’s John Gladwin fifth.
Britain took a second relay medal which, with better changeovers, might even have been a gold. The sprinters struck bronze, which gave Scotland’s Elliott Bunney his second championship bronze of the summer, to add to his Commonwealth medal.
Bunney had the fastest first stage and handed over a slight lead to the decathlon champion, Daley Thompson. whose change with Mike McFarlane could have been better, as could that of McFarlane to Linford Christie, but the 100m champion stormed through from fifth place to put the Britons in the medals.
Geoff Parsons finished ninth equal in the high jump, having cleared 2.21, then failed at 2.25 after rain had disrupted the early stages.
“I jumped better in the qualifying round (when he cleared 2.26) and it was all rather untidy today,” the disappointed 6ft 8in London Scot said. Victory went to the Russian world record holder, Igor Paklin, with a clearance of 2.34, a championship record.