So I might kick things along by saying I have no idea who would win a fantasy 800 between the past three world record holders – Sebastian Coe, Wilson Kipketer and David Rudisha.

That said, I have a strong view on who would not win, and that’s Sebastian Coe. I’d back him against pretty well anyone in history at 1500 but the case against Coe at 800 can be summarised _ a little unfairly, I’ll admit _ in three words: Hans-Peter Ferner.

Hans-Peter Ferner was the largely undistinguished German middle-distance runner who upset Coe in the 800 at the 1982 European championships in Athens. The comparison is not entirely fair to Coe, as he had missed a lot of the 1982 season ill.

“I’ve taken a lot out of a shallow well,” he said in attempting to explain the inexplicable.

The loss to Ferner, however, did serve to underline the fact that for all his greatness at 800, Coe struggled to win a major title at the event. In the 1978 European championships, he was third, passed by Steve Ovett in the final metres before both were swamped by East Germany’s Olaf Beyer. At the Moscow Olympic Games, the two great British rivals famously ‘swapped’ specialties, Ovett winning the 800, Coe redeeming his career with his win in the 1500.

After two years of illness and injury, Coe was again at peak strength for the 1984 Olympics. He successfully defended his 1500 crown, but only after finishing second in the 800 to Brazil’s Joaquim Cruz.

Indeed, not until the 1986 Europeans _ by which time he had been the world record holder for seven years _ did Coe finally land an 800 gold medal. He beat Tom McKean and Steve Cram in a British clean-sweep. Then, in an outcome eerily reminiscent of Moscow 1980, he lost the 1500 to Cram.

Cram had earlier won the Commonwealth 800-1500 double, taking the 800 in 1:43.22 from McKean. Coe, who was ill, did not take his place in the final.

So, over eight years from 1978 to 1986, Coe lost two fast championship 800s (1978, when he went out in 49.3, and 1984, when Cruz won in 1:43.00), two tactical races (1980 and 1982) and didn’t get to the line for a race Cram won in 1:43.22.

Coe was obviously a great 800 runner, but the evidence suggests he was vulnerable in head-to-head races against the very few men who could be regarded as his peers.

Kipketer won four world championships but likewise failed to win an Olympic gold medal. He missed his best chance in 1996 when he was ineligible, a few months short of becoming a naturalised citizen for his adopted Denmark. It’s hard to see how Kipketer would not have won then.

Rudisha, of course, has no medal at all at senior global championship level, his one attempt ending in the semi-finals in Berlin last year. That bitter experience sparked the sequence of fast times which included the world record 1:41.09 in the same Berlin stadium a week ago.

Rudisha’s current status raises another point of debate in 800 running: all things being equal, will a good big man always beat a good little man?

Peter Fortune, Cathy Freeman’s coach, observed of Rudisha that “he’s not only big; he runs magnificently and he’s quick.” Of course, as well as one of Rudisha’s  1:43 performances in Melbourne, Australians also saw evidence of his speed when he ran a 45.50 400 in Sydney earlier this year.

On whether good big men always beat good little men, Fortune was not so sure, but he says: “When they’re tired, big men remain strong.”

Most 800-metre races are run slowing down. I saw some ‘stats’ this week that indicated 18 of the 21 improvements of the world record/world best (a couple were not ratified) featured a slower second lap. Most of this slowdown comes in the last 200. In both Kipketer’s previous record of 1:41.11 and Rudisha’s 1:41.09, the slowest 200 was the last 200.

Intuitively, physical strength must play a role here. Intuitively again, big men are stronger than smaller men and stocky men stronger than lean rivals.

This issue got a really good working over back in the days when Alberto Juantorena ruled the roost. Juantorena (nick-name El Caballo, the horse) won the 400/800 double at the 1976 Montreal Olympics and remains the only man to do so. He set world records both in winning at the Games (1:43.50) and the following year (1:43.44).

In Montreal, Juantorena destroyed his smaller US opponent Rick Wohlhuter, who had set two world records in the run-up to the Games, in the final straight.

Mike Boit of Kenya missed that race as the African nations boycotted Montreal in protest at New Zealand’s rugby ties with South Africa. Tall, but lean, Boit took Juantorena on in a classic race at the World Cup in Dusseldorf in 1977. The pair engaged in a side-by-side battle up the last straight before Boit fell into his opponent’s giant stride pattern and lost narrowly, 1:44.04 to 1:44.14.

Coe’s championship losses to Beyer-Ovett and Cruz also fall into the big man/small man category.

Anyway if you want to make your own judgement, you can see the 1976 Olympic final here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBTG-QwbNsE&feature=related) and the 1977 World Cup race here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9C2CDZvOOY).

Finally, as Rudisha contemplates his championships aims for the next two years, it’s sobering to think that the last man to win an Olympic gold while also holding the world record was Dave Wottle back in 1972 in Munich.

Let the debates continue!

The 1980's decade was an era in which male middle distance running was dominated by Britain. This dominance was total and overwhelming, much like the stranglehold that the Kenyans have today over the 3000m steeplechase or the Ethiopians have over the 10,000m. In 1983, at one stage in the 1500m, Britain had the Olympic champion (Seb Coe), world champion (Steve Cram) and world record holder (Steve Ovett then Steve Cram). The argument as to who was the best out of Coe, Ovett and Cram will long be debated but never resolved.

Steve Cram was born in Jarrow, Tyneside, England in 1960, with a whole lot of talent. Over a 19 day period during the European summer of 1985 Cram, nicknamed "The Jarrow Arrow", set the running world alight, clocking world records in the 1500m, 2000m and the mile. Still considered one of the best middle distance runners ever, Cram had the honour of being the first man to run under 3:30 for the 1500m. Cram's championship highlights include winning the 1500 metre gold medal at the 1983 World Championships, winning three Commonwealth Games gold medals, two European Championship gold medals and silver in the 1984 Olympic Games 1500m.

Here we take a look back over Cram's career and rank his five top performances of all time.

Number 5: Crystal Palace Mile 1983, Cram Vs Ovett

"It was a cat-and-mouse affair - we both started off running at the back of the field. I beat him by little more than the thickness of a vest." - Steve Cram (Quoted in "Face to face: Steve Cram", by John Gibson, May 2, 2006, The Sunday Sun.

No race throughout Cram's career exemplifies his courageous nature better than this cat-and-mouse duel with Steve Ovett. Cram took off with 350 metres to go and led Ovett by a mere whisker all the way to the line. The style of race is a truly tactical style that is not seen so often amongst today's professionals. A quarter of a century later this race is still considered by many to be one of most memorable of all time.

Number 4: 1985 Zurich Golden League 800m - 1:42.88

Cram was without doubt more suited to the 1500m/mile rather than the 800m. Whereas many of his competitors such as Ovett and Coe had brilliant accelerations, Cram was more of a runner who wound up over the final lap of a race, gradually increasing the pace during a drawn out kick for the line. His overwhelming talent for the longer distance and his lack of true top-end speed is what made this victory over the reigning 800 metre Olympic Champion, Joaquim Cruz, in 1:42.88, so special.

Number 3: 1985 mile World Record 3:46.32

It was hard to not elevate this race to a better position than number 3. However, hopefully the quality of the top two selections will help to justify the decision.

This race, at Oslo's Bislett stadium in 1985 produced a world record for the mile of 3:46.32. The record stood for eights years and is still today the European record. Furthermore, the race is famous as being a true tactical affair against Seb Coe which saw multiple changes in pace. It has been speculated that if Cram had run the race with even splits, he would have recorded a time around 3:45.00 - 3:45.50 (equivalent to 3:28.33 - 3:28.80 for 1500m using the accepted conversion factor of 1.08 ).

Number 2: 1983 world champs 1500m

The 1983 Helsinki World Championships marked an epic duel between Cram, Ovett, Steve Scott and Said Aouita. In what turned out to be a tactial affair, Cram managed to outkick Scott and Aouita over the last 200m to become a world champion for the first time. The kick was brutal, but it was the scalps he took to take his first and last world crown that make this race one of Cram's greatest triumphs.

Number 1: 1985 Cram Vs Aoutia, sub 3:30 for the first time, World Record - Bislett Stadium, Oslo

Few races in history compare to this epic encounter between Cram and the rising Moroccon star Said Aoutia in Nice, July16, 1985. Cram (3:29.67) narrowly held on to eclipse a fast finishing Aoutia (3:29.71.) as both men became the first to break the 3:30 barrier. Cram's drawn out surge for the line was mesmerising, whilst Aoutia's final 100m was astonishingly fast. The intense battle with Aouita and the breaking of the daunting 3:30 mark for the first time, handed Cram the world record and made this race our choice as the highlight of Cram's career.

Sebastian Coe, born 29 September 1956, was a one in a million talent. A winner of four Olympic medals, he also set eight outdoor and three indoor world records. He was the first man to ever break 1:42 for 800m and is without doubt one of the best middle distance runners to ever live.

Here we take a look back over Coe's career and rank his five top performances of all time.

Number 5: Golden Mile (3:48.95) Brussels 1981 - World Record

"The nine inches right here; set it straight and you can beat anybody in the world" - Seb Coe (as he said this Coe held his fingers up to his head).

1981 saw Coe break the mile world record twice, first with a 3:48.53 in Zürich and then with a 3:47.33 in Brussels (his lap splits were 55.3, 58.0, 58.6, 55.4). 1981 also saw Coe run a PB of 3:31.95 in the 1,500 meters in a fascinating race in which his splits were 51.5 through the 400m and 1:47.4! for the first 800m (fastest ever recorded split). However, the fact that his efforts over the mile produced consecutive world records, in an era when mile running was more in favour, must place this blistering race as one of his best.

Number 4: 1500 metre World Record (3:32.03) Zurich, 1979

"World records are only borrowed" - Seb Coe

In 1979 Seb Coe set the sporting world alight with three world records in the space of just 41 days (800m: 1:42.33, mile: 3:48.95, 1500m: 3:32.03). 1979 was a mesmerising year from Coe. He was voted athlete of the year by Athletics Weekly and Track and Field News and he was ranked number one in the world for both the 800m and the 1500m, a feat he repeated in 1981 (Coe is the only athlete ever to be ranked No. 1 for 800m and 1500m in the same calendar year). This world record sounded a special note for Coe, as it broke Filbert Bayi's record which had stood for five years.

Number 3: 1984 Los Angeles Olympics Gold 1500m

"On the day there was only one man and on the day Seb Coe was that man" - Steve Cram after losing by seven metres to Coe in the 1984 Olympic 1500m final

Coe's victory in the 1984 Olympic 1500m was extra sweet for two reasons. Firstly, he became the first person ever to win back to back Olympic 1500m crowns, and secondly, from July 1983 until January 1984 Coe suffered from Toxoplasmosis, which severely hindered his preparation.

At the Games, Coe again came second in the 800m, this time to Joaquim Cruz of Brazil. However, Coe once again recovered to win gold in the 1500 metres, this time in a new Olympic record of 3:32.53 . The splits for Coe's final two laps of this race were amazing; his last 800m was 1:49.8, his last lap was 53.2, and his final 100m was 12.7 seconds.

Number 2: 800m World Record; 1:41:73, Florence Italy, June 1981,

1981 was an amazing year for Coe. In what many consider to be Coe's best ever performance, his world record 800m on June 10th in Florence of 1:41.73 stood until Wilson Kipketer broke it in August, 1997. Interestingly, as of 2009, Kipketer is still the only man to ever run faster than Coe over 800 metres. Shortly after this 800m world record, Coe also took ownership of the world 1000m record clocking a 2:12.18, this particular record stood for a whopping 18 years.

Number 1: Moscow Olympics 1980 1500m Gold

"Tomorrow is another day, and there will be another battle" - Seb Coe a few minutes after placing second to Steve Ovett in the 1980 Olympic 800m final in Moscow.

It's hard to go past this famed race. The story is well known: Coe was favourite for the 800m, in which he lost to Ovett, only to strike back to win the 1500m crown, beating Ovett, who at that stage was considered pretty much unbeatable over the 1500m/mile distance. Given the tremendous pressure he was under and the recovery from what must have been a huge psychological blow in losing the 800m, this race must be Coe's most memorable of all.