Moscow 1980 1500m final

Co vs Ovett rivalry continues 

The 1980 Olympics were set for an epic showdown between two of the world's finest athletes.  

Steve Ovett and Sebastian Coe were two of the many athletes representing Great Britain.

Despite dominating this event, Ovett and Coe had competed against each other in one race which was at the 1978 European championships.

The two athletes finished in second and third place.

Ever since their rivalry began, it had a huge influence in the English media due to the popularity of the sport being higher than anytime since athletics existed.

There were two events in Moscow, the 800m which Ovett won and the 1500m where Coe won.

Ovett and Coe were joint record holders finishing the race in 3 minutes and 32.1 seconds, with Coe having equaled Ovett's record in Oslo a fortnight ago. 

Ovett was the reigning European and World champion so he had the advantage over Coe in terms of success in this particular event.

Six days later, Coe and Ovett competed in the 1500m final where Coe was under immense pressure from the media. 

Races like the 1500m were usually considered to be tactical as opposed to an outright sprint, but for Ovett a bronze medal was on the cards.  

Ovett was also the fastest in the heats with a time of 3minutes 33seconds followed by Straub and Nemeth who did not make the final due to a slower time limit.