The history of athletics is filled with tough 1500-metre and one-mile races. One of the most famous took place at the British Commonwealth Games in New Zealand in 1974. Tanzanian Filbert Bayi led from the start to the finish line, setting a new world record of 3:32.16. Those trailing behind also ran their hearts out, breaking records left and right, reshaping the all-time statistics.
On February 2, 1974, a group of the best middle-distance runners of the early 1970s gathered at the starting line for the 1500-metre race at Commonwealth Games in Christchurch, New Zealand, during the southern hemisphere's summer.
Among them were:
Filbert Bayi, Tanzania. A 20-year-old country boy who had burst onto the international scene the previous season, winning several invitationals in europe with his fast solo runs. He resorted to his unique tactic after being jostled in the Munich Games. He'd have peace to race ahead at the front.
(Sir) John Walker, New Zealand. The emerging talent of the host country, who still considered himself more of an 800-metre runner at the time of the race.
Ben Jipcho, Kenya. The best athlete in the world in 1973, who had set the steeplechase world record of 8:13.91 at the Helsinki World Games.
Rod Dixon, New Zealand. The bronze medalist in the European mile at the Munich Olympic Games.
Graham Crouch, Australia. A reliable miler who also competed in Europe.
Mike Boit, Kenya. The bronze medalist in the Munich 800 meters and fourth in the 1500 meters.
(Sir) Brendan Foster, Britain. Fifth in the Munich 1500 meters and winner of the European Cup 5000 metres the previous autumn.
Bayi, true to his style, attacked from the start and began pulling away from the others. The 400-metre mark was reached in 54.9, predicting a finishing time of 3:26. The gap to the main pack widened and was greatest at the 800-metre mark. Bayi clocked in at 1:52.2, a pace of 3:30. The main pack, led by Dixon, Walker, and Jipcho, trailed by two seconds. From there on, Bayi's lead began to shrink inch by inch.
As the final lap began, the main pack started to push hard to catch up, although it was clear they were struggling. With 300 metres to go, Bayi's lead was only 1.3 seconds. Walker started to surge in the final bend and closed to within three meters of the leader as they entered the home straight. However, the Tanzanian, in his cleverness, had saved some energy for the final sprint. He mentally chanted "catch me if you can" and shifted into the last gear. Despite Walker running the fastest last lap of the race (54.4, Bayi 55.4), the Tanzanian crossed the finish line a couple of meters ahead. Bayi stopped the clock at a new world record of 3:32.16. Walker recorded his second-fastest time and a national record of 3:32.52, also breaking Jim Ryun's former world record (3:33.1). Jipcho thundered into third place with a Kenyan record of 3:33.16.
Filbert Bayi's race plan contained some distant elements of the strategy Lasse Virén applied in the 5000 metres at the Montreal Olympics. The Tanzanian country boy calculated that by running alone at the front, he could maintain a relaxed pace without surges. Meanwhile, the chasing pack would waste their energy not only in pursuit of the leader but also in battling each other.
Bayi has mentioned in interviews that he also leveraged his underdog status. All the media attention before the Commonwealth Games was focused on New Zealand's own, Walker and Dixon. A local TV reporter even misspelled Bayi's first name.
John Walker was feeling the pressure before the race. His coach, Arch Jelley, who has since reached the age of 101, mentally pushed his protege: "It's going to be a tough race. You need to run 3:32 to beat Bayi." "No way, I'm not capable of such times," hesitated Walker, who had only run three 1500-metre or mile races before, with a personal best of 3:38.0 run in Helsinki in August 1973.
In an interview with Track And Field News in 1974, Walker analyzed the reasons why Bayi and many others ran their best times in the race. According to him, Bayi went out quick but not ridiculously quick. His pace was sensible.. The main pack also had realistic chances of catching the leader all along, as long as they kept up the pace.
Inexperienced at the 1500 metres, Walker started cautiously. As the first lap unfolded, he stayed in the middle of the pack. Gradually, as the remaining laps decreased, he moved up. The long-haired Kiwi lamented after the race that he didn't dare to start more aggressively and key on Bayi earlier. "It felt no harder running that fast than running 3:40. You could just sit in there and and be carried along with the field."
Rivals met again at the Helsinki Top Games in June 1974. Bayi, known for his fast starts, had apparently passed his peak, as Walker sprinted to a clear victory in the final lap.
Gradually, the encounters between Bayi and Walker became rare events. The anticipated rematch at the Montreal Olympics in 1976 fell through with double assurance. Bayi contracted malaria and likely wouldn't have participated even if there hadn't been an African countries boycott. Walker secured Olympic gold with his explosive 300-meter kick.
Bayi relied on his standard tactics at the subsequent British Commonwealth Games in Edmonton in 1978. His stride on the track wasn't quite as effective as in Christchurch, allowing Britain's Dave Moorcroft to surprise him on the final straight. Walker, taking a break that year, didn't participate.
Walker's years as the world's top miler were behind him by the end of the 1970s. Bayi, on the other hand, battled illness. When the old rivals met at the Zürich Weltklasse in 1980, it didn't draw much public interest anymore, as the 1500-metre crown had shifted to Britain. Walker quietly finished third, while Bayi, nearing the end of his career, finished sixth.
400m
800m
1200m
1500m
1 Bayi
54.9
1:52.2
2:50.8
3:32.16 WR
2 Walker
+2.2
+2.0
+1.4
3:32.52 NR
3 Jipcho
+1.3
+2.1
+1.6
3:33.16 NR
4 Dixon
+1.5
+2.0
+1.3
3:33.89 PB
Filbert Bayi - Remember the iconic Christchurch 1,500m Final (Commonwealth Games 2014)
Scharg, Myles & Bayi, Filbert, Catch Me If You Can: Revolutionizing My Sport, Breaking World Records, and Creating a Legacy for Tanzania. 2022.
Track and Field News. March, 1974.
The essay was originally released in Finnish on the Etusuora website.