The two surpassing middle-distance runners from Britain had met in a race only once before, in Prague two years ago. They burned each other out and were passed in the stretch by another competitor. After that, Steve Ovett, 24, and Sebastian Coe, 23, scrupulously avoided each other, both on the track and at public gatherings. "It would be too embarrassing," explained Ovett. "People would ask who was the better runner, who would beat the other."
The first part of their long-awaited showdown finally took place last Saturday in the cool evening air of Moscow's Lenin Stadium. In something of an upset, Ovett...
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