{"id":423,"date":"2010-12-13T10:18:00","date_gmt":"2010-12-13T18:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=423"},"modified":"2010-12-13T10:18:00","modified_gmt":"2010-12-13T18:18:00","slug":"best-ever-my-favorite-heated-rivalries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=423","title":{"rendered":"Best Ever \u2013 My Favorite Heated Rivalries"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"float:left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/view.picapp.com\/pictures.photo\/archival\/ben-johnson-canada-linford\/image\/3294481?term=ben+johnson\" target=\"_blank\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/view1.picapp.com\/pictures.photo\/image\/3294481\/ben-johnson-canada-linford\/ben-johnson-canada-linford.jpg?resize=380%2C252\" border=\"0\" width=\"380\" title=\"Ben Johnson of Canada, Linford Christie of Great Britain and Carl Lewis of the USA\" height=\"252\" oncontextmenu=\"return false;\" ondrag=\"return false;\" onmousedown=\"return false;\" alt=\"24 Sep 1988:  Left to Right: Ben Johnson of Canada, Calvin Smith of the USA,  Linford Christie of Great Britain and Carl Lewis of the USA sprint away from the starting blocks during the 100 Metres final at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea. \\ Mandatory Credit: Allsport UK \/Allsport\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"clear:left;height:0px;overflow: hidden;\"><\/div>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"http:\/\/view.picapp.com\/\/JavaScripts\/OTIjs.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>As I stated previously, one of the things that has been missing from the sport are high level rivalries. We have some of the best athletes the sport has ever seen, but getting them to compete against each other with anything remotely resembling regularity seems to be nearly impossible as issues such as contract disputes, injuries, and simply not enough money to go around, leaves us with many meets where the field consists of a star vs. supporting cast. <\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s unfortunate because rivalries have been a very important part of the history of track and field. Typically, high level rivalries have brought a lot of attention to the sport. Even today without many head to head matchups, most people talk about the rivalry of Bolt vs. Gay \u2013 even though they\u2019ve only met once a year over the past three years. A sign of just how much fans and the general public relish a good rivalry!<\/p>\n<p>Most rivalries consist of two very good athletes, that are fairly evenly matched. What elevates a rivalry to the next level is when the athletes have extraordinary talent and both seem quite intent on taking the other one down. I\u2019ve been fortunate to see many such rivalries over the years, Ovett v Coe, Ashford v the East Germans and Williams v Quarrie among my favorites. But in some cases the protagonists develop either a near hatred for each other and\/or a serious case of \u201cwhatever you can do I can do better\u201d! When the rivalry moves to the point that even when they are not competing against each other it is clear that they are on each other\u2019s minds the competition reaches a whole new level.<\/p>\n<p>It is with this in mind that there have been a few rivalries that have taken on epic proportions. So following is my listing of what I consider to be the three most heated rivalries of the modern era.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>3. Maurice Greene v Tim Montgomery<\/h3>\n<p>Greene and Montgomery emerged almost at the same time. The national championships of 1997 saw both sprinters set new PR\u2019s and enter the world of the truly elite nearly side by side. But it was Greene who went on that summer to win World Championships gold and begin his string of World and Olympic titles, as well as gaining the WR. From 1997 thru 2002 they had some of the sports most stirring duels. Most famous being the \u201801 World Championships in Edmonton where Greene literally pulled a muscle in his quest to defeat Montgomery. The following season after several sizzling races \u2013 including a look around stare from Greene to Montgomery at US Nationals \u2013 Montgomery finally got a measure of revenge when he took Greene\u2019s WR away with a 9.78 run in Paris, as Greene watched from the stands. The depth of Montgomery\u2019s obsession with Greene was finally revealed however, as he was later found to have resorted to doping in order to gain an advantage over his rival \u2013 the epitome of obsession in defeating ones rival.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>2. Renaldo Nehemiah v Greg Foster <\/h3>\n<p>The sport has been blessed with many outstanding hurdlers, the names of Martin Laurer, Lee Calhoun, Willie Davenport, and Rod Milburn having many stirring battles. But at the end of the 70\u2019s two hurdlers emerged simultaneously with the kind of skills that revolutionize an event \u2013 and that is exactly what they did. Foster and Nehemiah were both \u201cdo it all hurdlers\u201d. Foster leading a then very powerful UCLA squad not only by hurdling but running the relay and zipping 200 meter sprints (a best of 20.20). Nehemiah was doing the same for Maryland blazing legs on both the 4&#215;2 and 4&#215;4 (sub 45). Foster drew first blood taking the 1978 NCAA title 13.22 to 13.27 \u2013 when the WR was 13.21! From that point on it was all \u201cSkeets\u201d however, as he ran 2 WR\u2019s in \u201879 (13.16, 13.00) as well as defeating Greg in a hand timed dual 12.8 to 13.0. The boycott of the Games by the US in \u201880 sort of put a damper on things, but in \u201881 Nehemiah and Foster took things to a whole new level as Renaldo ran 12.93 to Greg\u2019s 13.03 to set a standard that lasted for 8 seasons \u2013 and still sits as the =15th best time ever! That race marked the lifetime PR\u2019s for both as Nehemiah went on to play professional football the next year and Foster never had the same fire after his \u201cnemesis\u201d left the sport.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>1. Carl Lewis v Ben Johnson<\/h3>\n<p>The epitome of the sprint rivalry! Carl Lewis came out as the Man Who Would Be King. Lewis was intent on emulating the four gold medal performances of legendary Jesse Owens \u2013 which he did at the 1984 LA Games. Behind him in the bronze position was Ben Johnson \u2013 who also wanted fame and glory. Improvement in \u201885\/\u201986 saw Johnson reach Lewis\u2019 level, and have undefeated seasons, as the two athletes never met head to head. They met in \u201887 at the World Championships with Johnson annihilating Lewis and smashing the WR \u2013 dropping it from 9.93 to 9.83! A fuming Lewis said on national television that the Olympics were his domain and that he would be turning the tables the next year. The next year Lewis beat a recovering from injury Johnson two weeks before Seoul in their first race since Rome. But in Seoul it was Johnson once again blazing to another WR (9.79) with Lewis in his wake. A few days later, however, it was discovered that in his zeal to rest the throne from Lewis, that Johnson had been on a steroid regimen for years and Johnson had to return the gold&nbsp; medal \u2013 which Lewis gladly accepted. As with Montgomery, Johnson\u2019s obsession consumed him.<\/p>\n<p>Following are two Lewis v Johnson matches outside of majors.<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px\" id=\"scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:c545ce6c-243e-474a-ad4d-23943c879722\" class=\"wlWriterEditableSmartContent\">\n<div id=\"16fa100a-d0ba-4078-9123-6356f11afa44\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;\">\n<div><a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=vZ294513Pi8\" target=\"_new\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lh5.ggpht.com\/_q69RXDGKhjE\/TQZjhH36ZqI\/AAAAAAAAAFU\/IcL8-E7VRzE\/video7a9aac356437%5B14%5D.jpg\" style=\"border-style: none\" galleryimg=\"no\" onload=\"var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('16fa100a-d0ba-4078-9123-6356f11afa44'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = &quot;&lt;div&gt;&lt;object width=\\&quot;480\\&quot; height=\\&quot;385\\&quot;&gt;&lt;param name=\\&quot;movie\\&quot; value=\\&quot;http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/vZ294513Pi8?hl=en&amp;hd=1\\&quot;&gt;&lt;\\\/param&gt;&lt;embed src=\\&quot;http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/vZ294513Pi8?hl=en&amp;hd=1\\&quot; type=\\&quot;application\/x-shockwave-flash\\&quot; width=\\&quot;480\\&quot; height=\\&quot;385\\&quot;&gt;&lt;\\\/embed&gt;&lt;\\\/object&gt;&lt;\\\/div&gt;&quot;;\" alt=\"\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px\" id=\"scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:cef08704-1c2e-47f8-8ab0-5e57c04249e1\" class=\"wlWriterEditableSmartContent\">\n<div id=\"0d7e6e97-99cb-4be7-8401-9dcee0461814\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;\">\n<div><a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=f4f-xPIcXn8\" target=\"_new\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lh3.ggpht.com\/_q69RXDGKhjE\/TQZjhdnDdOI\/AAAAAAAAAFY\/tYrKeaB1lVs\/videoabffa38b03e6%5B18%5D.jpg\" style=\"border-style: none\" galleryimg=\"no\" onload=\"var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('0d7e6e97-99cb-4be7-8401-9dcee0461814'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = &quot;&lt;div&gt;&lt;object width=\\&quot;480\\&quot; height=\\&quot;385\\&quot;&gt;&lt;param name=\\&quot;movie\\&quot; value=\\&quot;http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/f4f-xPIcXn8?hl=en&amp;hd=1\\&quot;&gt;&lt;\\\/param&gt;&lt;embed src=\\&quot;http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/f4f-xPIcXn8?hl=en&amp;hd=1\\&quot; type=\\&quot;application\/x-shockwave-flash\\&quot; width=\\&quot;480\\&quot; height=\\&quot;385\\&quot;&gt;&lt;\\\/embed&gt;&lt;\\\/object&gt;&lt;\\\/div&gt;&quot;;\" alt=\"\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As I stated previously, one of the things that has been missing from the sport are high level rivalries. We have some of the best athletes the sport has ever seen, but getting them to compete against each other with anything remotely resembling regularity seems to be nearly impossible as issues such as contract disputes, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa3DCY-6P","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=423"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}