It was hard not to search for some symbolism in seeing Lord Coe, Steve Ovett and Andy Baddeley share a London stage yesterday. Standing at the shoulder of two Olympic heavyweights, Britain's best middle-distance runner said that harking back to their golden era was an inspiration rather than a burden.

Ovett, making a rare appearance alongside Coe, gave Baddeley a backhanded compliment by repeating one of his fabled quotes from 1980. “Any idiot can win a gold medal,” he said. Baddeley is no idiot, as his first-class degree from Cambridge University proves, and he is becoming a more intelligent runner, too. “It's great to be introduced as a potential medal-winner,” Baddeley said. “I like that.”

Coe and Ovett provided a gilt-edged rivalry and, while the former has become one of the highest-profile figures in British sport, Ovett has lived a quiet life in Australia. They were reunited twice at functions in Australia and England in 2006, but it is always a thrill to hear them recount their memories of the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, where Ovett won the 800metres and Coe the 1,500metres.

Asked whether he believed that he had given his all in the 1,500, when he faded to third in the final, Ovett put the record straight. “I hit the wall about 50 metres out, but Jesus I tried hard,” he said. “There was not much left in the tank. Was I happy after the Games? We came back with two golds. I wish we could do that now.”