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Steve Ovett

Stephen Michael James "Steve" Ovett, OBE (born 9 October 1955), is a former middle distance runner from England. He was gold medalist in the 800 metres at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, U.S.S.R., and set world records for 1500 metres and the mile run. To this day, he holds the UK record for 2 miles (3,219 m), which he set in 1978.

Born in Brighton, Sussex, and educated at Varndean School, Ovett was a talented teenage athlete. As a youngster, he showed great promise as a footballer, but gave it up for athletics, because he did not want to do a sport where he would have to rely on teammates.

The 1978 season for Ovett was notable for the superb times recorded at disparate distances. He ran an 800 m in 1:44.09 (world record at the time was Alberto Juantorena's 1:43.44 ) and set a 2-mile world's best with an 8:13.51 clocking, (an event the IAAF no longer recognised for record purposes), handing Track & Field News Athlete of the Year Henry Rono one of his few losses in his remarkable record breaking season. It's been speculated that if he'd spent that season preparing specifically & repeatedly attempting to run fast times in pacemaker led Grand Prix races, he was capable of breaking the 1000 m, 1500 m, 1 mile & 2000 m world records that year, based on his 800 m & 2 mile times.

During 1981, both Ovett and Coe were at their peak. They didn't meet in a race that year but exchanged world records in the mile three times during a 10-day period. Ovett suffered a famous upset in a 1500m race in Oslo that year. With Ovett and Coe so dominant and Coe not involved in the race, Ovett was hot favourite. During the race Tom Byers, who had been asked to act as a pacemaker set off quickly and the pack, mishearing the split times being announced and believing that they were going faster than they were, declined to follow his pace. As a result, by the start of the last lap Byers was leading by almost ten seconds and decided to finish the race. Ovett ran the last lap almost nine seconds quicker than Byers but finished second by 0.53s

He has been a Track & Field television commentator for the CBC since 1992. He now lives in Australia and was a part of the BBC's on-location commentary team for the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. In 1987 a bronze statue of Steve Ovett was erected in Preston Park, Brighton. However, it was stolen in 2007, and has not yet been replaced

 

Walter Payton

WALTER PAYTON (1954-1999)

Walter Payton was born on July 25, 1954, in Columbia, Mississippi. Known by the nickname "Sweetness," he was signed by the Chicago Bears in 1975 as a running back. Payton made nine Pro Bowl appearances and won the Most Valuable Player Award twice. He held the NFL rushing record and the single game rushing record. Payton was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1993. He died in 1999.He was equally admired for his off-the-field personality as well as for his football skills.

 He first began to attract attention as a halfback at Jackson State University, making the starting lineup in 1971, his freshman year. Payton was selected for the All-American team and was named Black College Player of the Year in 1973 and 1974. In his four years at Jackson State, he rushed for more than 3,500 yards and scored more than 450 points, showing fans and opponents alike just what a versatile and talented player he was. Off the field, Payton showed his interest in helping others, studying education with an emphasis on working with the deaf.

Payton continued to excel once he became a professional player in 1975. Picked by the Chicago Bears, he became a running back who was known for his speed. During his 13 seasons with the team, Payton made nine Pro Bowl appearances and won the National Football League's (NFL) Most Valuable Player Award twice - in 1977 and 1985. Retiring after the 1987 season, he held the NFL rushing record with 16,726 yards and the single game rushing record of 275 yards. Payton was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996.

After leaving the team, Payton explored business opportunities, including real estate, restaurants, and race cars. Living up to his nickname, Payton spent much of his time working make life better for other people. He formed the Halas Payton Foundation in 1988 to help inner-city kids in the Chicago area. He later established the Walter Payton Foundation, also dedicated to helping young people in the state of Illinois.

Payton became ill in early 1999 and died on November 1 of that year from cancer. He was survived by his wife Connie and two children, Jarrett and Brittney. His charitable organization is now called the Walter and Connie Payton Foundation with his wife continuing to support the causes and programs that Payton cared about.