At Montreal, all three races were like finals to me: Sriram Singh

The 1976 Montreal Olympics was my most memorable experience. I finished seventh in the 800 metre race. Back then, we did not have masseurs,  psychologists, trainers or facilities that are available these days. The race was supposed to be held on a synthetic track which I was not accustomed to. I experienced the synthetic track only in 1982 in India.

Other athletes would train out of their countries and acclimatise themselves to the conditions, a privilege we didn’t have. We were expected to participate directly without any preparation outside the country. We trained in India and focused on the basics like running.

I started off well, clocking 1:45.94 and breaking my own Asian record. In the semifinal, I finished second, clocking a time of 1:46.40.  In the final, I led at the bell with a time of 50.85, ahead of Cuban Alberto Juantorena’s 50.90. Juantorena caught up with me around the 550m mark and won in a world record time of 1:43.50.

I finished seventh with a time of 1:45.77.

Later, Juantorena credited his world record to me. Owing to lack of preparation and devoid of experience outside the country, I struggled to finish with a medal. All the three races were like finals to me; I’d to give my best all the time. I wasn’t in the best of shape during the 1980 Moscow Olympics. Had I been well and continued in the same way as in Montreal, I would have certainly won a medal.

—Sriram Singh was a middle-distance runner. He has participated in three Olympics —1972 Munich Games, 1976 Montreal Games and 1980 Moscow Games. At present he is training aspiring athletes on his own in Jaipur.
He spoke to Taus Rizvi