Greats who never won Olympic gold

[stavros]

I found out today Steve Cram never won a gold, coming second to Coe in 1984 and being injured in 1988. I always found it surprising too that Colin Jackson, the dominant sprint hurdler of the 90s, never took the Olympic title either.

Any others?

(Paula Radcliffe doesn't count, because she'll could win next year.)

 

[Bakunin]

Brian Jacks, a judoka who took bronze at the ill-fated Munich Olympics in 1972.

 

[PandaCola]

Slightly off topic- but the pole vaulter Sergey Bubka only won one gold- despite being 6 time world champion between 1983 and 1997 and breaking the world record repeatedly. In Barcelona, he failed to make a single clearance.

 

[internetstalker]

Colin Jackson-end of thread

 

[internetstalker]

I found out today Steve Cram never won a gold, coming second to Coe in 1984 and being injured in 1988.

Steve Cram never had the same killer instinct that Coe & Ovett had TBF, despite breaking world records etc

 

[internetstalker]

Slightly off topic- but the pole vaulter Sergey Bubka only won one gold- despite being 6 time world champion between 1983 and 1997 and breaking the world record repeatedly. In Barcelona, he failed to make a single clearance.

Yeah, weird.

At Grand Prix meetings he used to break his WR by 1cm at a time so that he made more money from bonus's etc.

a true legend

 

[1927]

Colin Jackson-end of thread

Probably the greatest athlete in my lifetime not to win Gold.

 

[Lo Siento.]

Paula Radcliffe, surely?

 

[stavros]

Paula Radcliffe, surely?

See the original post.

 

[1927]

.

 

[kained&able]

Isn't this list going to be ridiculous as almost every decent footballer and the vast majority of brilliant boxers never got a gold, just for a start.

dave

 

[Santino]

Isn't this list going to be ridiculous as almost every decent footballer and the vast majority of brilliant boxers never got a gold, just for a start.

dave

In that case, Jim Henson belongs on this thread too.

 

[1927]

Isn't this list going to be ridiculous as almost every decent footballer and the vast majority of brilliant boxers never got a gold, just for a start.

dave

No cos football in the Olympics is a load of bollocks anyway.

 

[kained&able]

well boxing isn't! im sure there will be load of great basketball players to never have won gold as well, not that america gives a shit about a basketball world championshipthat actual has more then one country participating in it.

dave

 

[stavros]

Isn't this list going to be ridiculous as almost every decent footballer and the vast majority of brilliant boxers never got a gold, just for a start.

dave

I started the thread thinking of athletes who'd competed in the Olympics or in typical Olympian sports but surprisingly never won. Pele, Bradman, Hendry and Taylor never won gold, but then they never competed in the games either.

 

[Sirena]

Ron Clarke, the Australian middle/long distance runner, broke 17 world records in the mid 60s and yet never won an Olympic gold because he was often outsprinted, most notably by Billy Mills in the 64 Olympics. In the 1968 Olympics (held at altitude in Mexico), he collapsed and suffered permanent damage to his heart from altitude sickness.

http://www.athletics.com.au/fanzone/hall_of_fame/ron_clarke

I like the story of Emil Zatopek slipping him a gold medal (from his own collection of four) because Zatopek said no-one deserved it more...

 

[xes]

My work mate.
(represented England in the art of Archery)

though I don't think it was in the olympics.

 

[Gingerman]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eamonn_Coghlan
Eamonn Coghlan

 

[what]

Dave Bedford of 118 118 fame
From Wiki
"His later career was hampered by injuries believed to have been caused by high training mileage. He never ran the great marathon of which many fans thought him capable. He did run the first London Marathon in 1981 but as a bet. He had been in a nightclub the previous night and David Coleman had remarked on how unwell he looked.Having consumed a curry on the way home from the nightclub, Bedford completed the impromptu marathon but was pictured vomiting at the roadside part way through."

Don't make like that any more

 

[Sirena]

Dave Bedford of 118 118 fame
From Wiki
"His later career was hampered by injuries believed to have been caused by high training mileage. He never ran the great marathon of which many fans thought him capable. He did run the first London Marathon in 1981 but as a bet. He had been in a nightclub the previous night and David Coleman had remarked on how unwell he looked.Having consumed a curry on the way home from the nightclub, Bedford completed the impromptu marathon but was pictured vomiting at the roadside part way through."

Don't make like that any more

Alf Tupper, eh? David Bedford pioneered the use of training in army boots, running in excess of 100-120 miles a week, which, at the time, was unheard of outside of the Eastern Bloc.

 

[Meltingpot]

Geoff Capes. He managed to put the shot 71 feet but seemed to "choke" on the big occasions.

Also, IIRC, Steve Backley never won an Olympic gold in the javelin.

 

[skyscraper101]

I always felt sorry for Colin Jackson never getting his gold he so deserved.

 

[what]

Alf Tupper, eh? David Bedford pioneered the use of training in army boots, running in excess of 100-120 miles a week, which, at the time, was unheard of outside of the Eastern Bloc.

Held the world record for 10,000m for about 4 years as well. Beat the previous record by something like 7 seconds. Pretty impressive at the time.

 

[Sirena]

Held the world record for 10,000m for about 4 years as well. Beat the previous record by something like 7 seconds. Pretty impressive at the time.

I felt he cheapened himself a bit by going legally for those 118 118 adverts. But, yes, he was quality for a bit, at a time when Britain was a distance-running nation.

 

[stavros]

Also, IIRC, Steve Backley never won an Olympic gold in the javelin.

Backley was an all-time great, but was unfortunate to be roughly the same era as Jan Zelezny, who was even better (got gold in Barcelona, Atlanta and Sydney).

 

[1927]

Geoff Capes. He managed to put the shot 71 feet but seemed to "choke" on the big occasions.

Also, IIRC, Steve Backley never won an Olympic gold in the javelin.

I remember being at Crystal palce the day Capes broke the British record, he ran up the field and kissed the spot!

It was my first day of collecting autographs, i bought a book in West Wickham high street in the morning and went off to Crystal Palace. Th efirst autograph I asked for was david Bedford (he of 118 fame) and he commented on the fact that it was the first entry in my book. He asked my parents if it would be OK if I went off with him as he could help me fill my book up. He took me into the athletes pnly area(i was 10 at the time) and introduced me to the great and good of Uk athletics at the time and got them to sign for me. I remember David Hemery, the Stewarts, Verona Elder (or was she Bernard then) John Davies (3000m runner), the Tancreds, Alan Pascoe etc,

Geoff Capes was a weird one tho, he sat me down and explained that athletes were not circus acts that just got trotted out to perform and sign autographs now and then, he signed anyway.

I do remember even 30 yrs later who the difficult ones were tho. Mary Stewarts autograph was always reckoned to be a tough one to get-looking back you wonder why- as she always used to sign the first 5 and then that was the end of the signing.

 

[Meltingpot]

Backley was an all-time great, but was unfortunate to be roughly the same era as Jan Zelezny, who was even better (got gold in Barcelona, Atlanta and Sydney).

Yeah, I remember in one competition I saw on TV Steve Backley was leading right up until the very last throw - which was Zelezny's. Backley ended up with the silver and was visibly gutted when the medals were awarded.

Zelezny was probably the best javelin thrower of all time though, so it was no disgrace.

 

[Sirena]

Yeah, I remember at one competition I saw on TV Steve Backley was leading right up until the very last throw - which was Zelezny's. Backley ended up with the silver and was visibly gutted when the medals were awarded.

Zelezny was probably the best javelin thrower of all time though, so it was no disgrace.

I agree, Zelezney was extraordinary

 

[stavros]

Eddy Merckx, the greatest road cyclist of all time, only finished 12th in the road race in 1964, his only games, although he was very young at the time. I don't think he entered any more Olympics.