Progress continued to be made. Wells was the British record holder at both 100 and 200 metres when he travelled to Moscow, having completed his training in his hometown of Edinburgh, then Australia and Cote D'Azur.
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Wells was a medal prospect going into the start of the 100m event in Moscow. By the end of the second round that had changed; he was now a gold medal contender. Wells ran a blistering 10.11 in the second round. It has since been beaten as a British record but it is a Scottish record that remains unpassed over 25 years later.
Detractors point out that the 1980 Olympic Games were tarnished due to the non-participation of strong countries like the USA and West Germany. The fact remains that the Moscow games saw the setting of 73 Olympic records, 36 world records and 39 European records. In the case of Wells, the 100 metres field for the final contained many first-class sprinters – Silvio Leonard of Cuba, Marian Woronin of Poland, the home crowd favourite Aleksandr Aksinin and Petar Petrov of Bulgaria.
With his wife Margo watching the final from the stands, providing strong vocal support that was relayed to a watching nation by the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ, Wells took to the starting blocks. Wells, who had previously performed in competition without blocks but was compelled to do so due to a rule change, readied himself in his attempt to become the first British sprinter since Peter Radford took bronze in Rome 1960 to win a medal in the event.
Back home, hopes were high that Wells would be the man to strike gold and emulate Harold Abraham who had won the top prize in Paris 1924.
Wells had been drawn in lane eight. Silvio Leonard was far to his left in lane one. It was from the two outside lanes that the drama would come with the bronze medallist emerging from those sandwiched between.
Just 10.25 seconds after the starter's gun had fired, the race was over. Momentum carried Wells, Leonard and the whole field past the finish line but the result was unknown. The Cuban and the Scot had fought neck and neck the whole way down the track and had recorded the same time. The photo- finish print required to be examined. After a wait in which the identity of the gold medallist was the subject of intense debate, Wells was declared the winner. Scottish celebrations began.
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In the final a British record run of 20.21 was superb but Wells could not hold onto the race lead; Pietro Mennea's time of 20.19 was enough to push Wells into second place and bring Italy gold.
While the sprint double had eluded Wells, he departed from Moscow as the Olympic champion of the blue riband event. Today Allan Wells remains a true Scottish sporting hero.
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