If I recall, what LV was accused of was training at altitude and then having that blood withdrawn and then getting a transfusion sometime before a competition?? He new when to be ready and just cared about the Olympics, no road races,etc. He was the man finished 10k in like 4:06. Great interview thank you :)
in 1972 Pre could have beaten Lasse had he waited and not made so many energy zapping surges.With 150 meters to go he should have waited.Even if he didn't beat lasse he would have had enough left to at least get the bronze.I still feel the 5-k was his better distance.He died to soon.Think of what might have been.R.I.P.
i believe had pre ran in montreal he would have broken 13 minutes and won gold in the 5k. i do think however pre's better even would have eventually been the 10k. he def would have rewrote history as far as olympic metals and usa records had he not passed.
I never really though Viren was a bad guy either. Just the nemesis of Pre. Viren was a very great runner as evidenced by his performances in 72 and 76. It's just that people think that Pre was the only runner who rocked in the 70's. He was great, but there were also guys like Viren, Shorter, Rono, Bedford, Foster, Clark, Dixon, Yifter, etc. I'm a big fan of Rod Dixon myself.
he speaks a lot of english
he went to school in the us for a little while
was part of BYU's ncaa championship in 72(ish)
i think the the prefontaine movies paint him like
the bad guy because every movie needs a bad guy
but in reality, i doubt he was the bad guy...
just fast
I too thought he spoke English. Maybe in the Pre documentary he had time to write up a response in English? Maybe he was not interviewed on the spot like he was here.
He's a great Olympic athlete, but did he win anything of note between Olympic Games? How often did he race? I mean, Frank Shorter raced a lot. All over at all distances from 1970 to 1976.
After having the opportunity to see in person, Viren's four Gold Medal performances I would have to say his Montreal 5,000 win was his finest.
To defeat that class of a field in the manner in which he did was truly outstanding.
Mark, I enjoy your work, so keep the interviews coming.
Cy
Thanks Guys! No wonder I watch more of you than NBC! (I have only watch about a 1/2 hour of their coverage - it is so frustrating). I would rather just read the results.
It is great to see Viren. We will never know about Blood Doping - I hope he did not. But, blood doping was something that they were not able to test for at the time. Viren seem to be able to peak for the right moment. The years between the Olympics were sometimes lack luster. But, it does not take away from a great athlete.
So because it was not illegal then it's ok? It's an unfair advantage over your competition regardless. Doping is nothing like taking vitamins. Frank Shorter has done a very good job of making this information public as chairman of the United States Anti-Doping Agency. Runners like him who were clean get cheated out of medals like in 1976 when he finished 2nd in the marathon to Cierpinski from East Germany who was also doping.
@ Paavo runner: did you see Bekele ;-) Already bettered Geb's medal win at the Olympics and won 5 doubles at wxc and an xtra LC xc title. And got a pretty decent winning streak at 10k's on the track...
On the other hand... Zatopek's record with 5/10/mar?
So now I got to get a bottle of reindeer milk to prepare myself to the marathon... the planned in the middle of the night overhere in Europe...
Viren was never caught doping. A magazine offered Viren 1,000,000$ to admit he was on drugs but he turned it down because he was not. Viren would have also kicked Pre's ass at montreal. Pre was a little kid compared to Viren. In the Montreal Olymipcs Viren won the 5k and 10k, and then the very next day he said what the heck and jumped in the marathon and got 5th! What a great athlete. I think the closest runner to Viren's talent is Gebressalasie. They remind me of eachother. Both very good, humble runners.
Timbo is right. Event hough it has not been proven, nor will it ever be proven blood doping at that point was not illegal. As a matter of fact I believe that it was just part of the training for some people like taking vitamins or drinking a recovery drink after hard workouts.
Mark the only other question that I would have asked would have been how did the death of Pre, as one of your competitors and fellow runners, affect you? That maybe a sort of arrogant sounding question but I believe that it would have shown that Viren was a true competitor and was saddened by the lose of a fellow competitor and runner.
Thanks Mark. The bi-lingual interview was successful. Keep up the great work. I rely on you for track and field coverage more than anything else -- especially during the Olympic Games. Safe travels back home!
Pretty sure that shorter was 5th in the 10k and then won the Marathon.... He wasn't 2nd like the prefontaine movie shows. And don't bash a great unless his medals were stripped. Thank you for the interview Mark!!!
You'd better produce your documentation then. Other Finnish runners admitted to blood doping, but they came after Viren. Viren's record is clean and his Olympic races are among the toughest ever. His training load was unbelievable.
I'm a little concerned that everyone is so excited to see an interview with Lasses Viren. It is well documented that he was doping on his way to those 4 gold medals. I'm not sure why this fact is not better known. Frank Shorter is the rightful winner of the 1972 10,000M race.
Interview with a former Finnish athlete, winner of four gold medals at the 1972 Summer Olympics and 1976 Summer Olympics, Lasse Artturi Virén. More about him, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lasse_Virén August 22, 2008
Lasse Artturi Virén
he went to school in the us for a little while
was part of BYU's ncaa championship in 72(ish)
i think the the prefontaine movies paint him like
the bad guy because every movie needs a bad guy
but in reality, i doubt he was the bad guy...
just fast
After having the opportunity to see in person, Viren's four Gold Medal performances I would have to say his Montreal 5,000 win was his finest.
To defeat that class of a field in the manner in which he did was truly outstanding.
Mark, I enjoy your work, so keep the interviews coming.
Cy
It is great to see Viren. We will never know about Blood Doping - I hope he did not. But, blood doping was something that they were not able to test for at the time. Viren seem to be able to peak for the right moment. The years between the Olympics were sometimes lack luster. But, it does not take away from a great athlete.
On the other hand... Zatopek's record with 5/10/mar?
So now I got to get a bottle of reindeer milk to prepare myself to the marathon... the planned in the middle of the night overhere in Europe...
Mark the only other question that I would have asked would have been how did the death of Pre, as one of your competitors and fellow runners, affect you? That maybe a sort of arrogant sounding question but I believe that it would have shown that Viren was a true competitor and was saddened by the lose of a fellow competitor and runner.
and he won it. that's so badass
almost like Zatopek