Before there was Josh Kerr versus Jakob Ingebrigtsen, there was Steve Ovett versus Sebastian Coe.
One of the greatest rivalries in the history of middle distance running, Coe against Ovett was a battle for the ages.
Together, the duo were almost untouchable over 800m, 1500m and mile during the late 1970s and early 80s, and created some of the most memorable sporting moments during that time.
The greatest of these took place at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, where the British Hall of Famers went head-to-head in two incredible races.
The build-up
In the red corner, Coe came into Moscow 1980 as the reigning 800m world record holder and favourite over the distance. In the blue corner was Ovett, unbeaten in 43 races over the 1500m or mile.
The two athletes had never actually faced each other over the 1500m distance before and shared the world record going into the event.
But with Ovett's dominant competitive streak over the longer distance, he was ultimately viewed as the favourite.
“Steve was precociously talented and there was a sort of inevitability that our paths were going to cross in the perfect point of the graph in 1980," Coe told Athletics Weekly in 2016.
The drama of two British athletes being at the top of the standings left fans on the edge of their seats for one of the most anticipated head-to-heads of middle distance running.
The outcome: a one-all draw and the ultimate switch-up.
The 800m
The first taste of action came on the 26 July 1980 in the 800m final.
Ovett was only in sixth place at the halfway mark, but pushed his way through the crowd to second place on the final bend.
With just seventy metres to go, Ovett charged ahead for the lead and held off a challenge from Coe to win by three metres in a time of 1:45.40.
The 800m favourite had been toppled and Coe was resigned to finishing second in what he has since marked as "the worst tactical race of my life".
A British one-two on the track had never seen such drama; Ovett took the glory with his favourite event still to come.
The 1500m
Just six days later and the British duo were back on the track for the men's 1500m final and it was time for Coe's spotlight.
Jurgen Straub led the way until the final bend, with Coe and Ovett closely behind before the former overhauled the East German and surged ahead.
With just 80m of track left, Coe kicked on and blasted to his maiden Olympic title in a time of 3:38.40.
Ovett also made it a double podium, clinching bronze, with Straub separating the two countrymen.
The result saw both Coe and Ovett walk away from Moscow with Olympic gold in each other's preferred event.
The legacy
The domestic rivalry between Coe and Ovett continued long after the Moscow 1980 Olympics, with both athletes continuing to dominate on the track in their own ways.
The duo did not meet in 1981 but famously traded the mile world record three times in just nine days that summer.
At the 1984 LA Olympics, the two were joined at the top of the sport by fellow Briton Steve Cram, who finished eighth in the 1500m in 1980 but was world champion in 1983.
That Games saw Coe defend his Olympic 1500m title in incredible style, with Cram taking silver. Coe also picked up another silver in the 800m, with Brazil's Joaquim Cruz taking the spoils.
Ovett sadly did not reach the podium in LA, struck down by a case of bronchitis that saw him dramatically step off the track on the final lap of the 1500m final when right in contention and close out his 800m with an eighth-place finish.
It was a moment Coe has since admitted brought the two closer together.
Coe told BBC 5 Live: "I got to know him really well in Los Angles. After the 800m, in the tunnel after he collapsed he was in a really bad way and I was very, very concerned about him."
A rivalry that gripped the world and showcased the dominance of middle-distance success in Britain, Coe and Ovett's journey was one for the history books.
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