Super Shoe Secrets, Keely Hodgkinson & The Hardest Distance Race | Seb Coe
5/11/202651 min
Two-time Olympic champion Seb Coe breaks down the "Killing Zone", the brutal 500m–600m window he used to dismantle his rivals. He reveals how he pioneered the use of elite support teams, transforming the 800m into a calculated science where no detail was left to chance.
The discussion shifts to the icons of today, from Keely Hodgkinson’s grounded authenticity to Usain Bolt’s official return via the new Ultimate Championship. Coe also reflects on David Rudisha’s 2012 world record, calling it the greatest single performance in sporting history.
Coe addresses the sport's future and the impact of the climate crisis. He explains the historic decision to move the marathon to Athens in 2030 and offers a candid take on "supershoes," weighing the thrill of new records against the need to preserve the sport’s heritage.
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSpencer Matthews· Host0:00
[upbeat music] Seb Coe, thank you so much for joining me on Untapped.
Seb Coe· Guest0:04
Great pleasure. Heard a lot about it.
Spencer Matthews· Host0:07
Oh, that's, that's very kind. We've, we've certainly heard a lot about you and your incredible career. Uh, you're one of Britain's greatest middle distance runners. You held the world record in the 800 meters for many years, and you won four Olympic medals back in your day. Um, you won the 1500 meters, uh, at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. Um, how, how was that? You must remember it vividly still.
Seb Coe· Guest0:32
I do because it, it was a... Look, it was a great games, but if, if you look back, if I look back at my career, I probably had the greatest span, uh, or, or range of Olympic games you could possibly have because Moscow was, [laughs] was the first of the communist games, the communist command and control. They were a great games, lots of world records, but they weren't without their controversy. Uh, I fought and was quite outspoken against the boycott at the time, which, uh, the newly elected, uh, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher pushed for. Uh, and, and in the end we went, but we went without any support really other than the British Olympic Association that took a very independent position. Uh, and then it was pretty sort of split, uh, back at home. Some thought we should be there, some thought we shouldn't. Uh, and then when I