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Yipee! I spotted a rhyming pair 😲

I think this is a bit more difficult than the average but, as is usual with the Everyman, there are lots of anagrams to get you going.

I haven't fully parsed 14d yet where I can't account for the 3rd letter but I'll stick with it and hope for a PDM.

COD - the excellent 26a, although 1a ran it close.

Thanks to Everyman for a very enjoyable puzzle.

Stay safe:-)

Hi Brendan,
You've mentioned Everyman stepping up in quality, and this seems to continue the trend. Thanks to EM. Agree it's on the tougher side.

14 is my COD! Watched the two principals battle it out on the track "in real time" way back when! Coe annihilating the field in his 800m WR is one of the greatest races I've seen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3zM33_jFSc
Third letter is "Cram finally".

FOI 5, LOI 20. Also liked clues 26, 18 and 6.
Everyman's Spooners have been strong of late, but today's seems slightly questionable.

Hi Geeker,

Couldn't agree more about Seb Coe, he had such a beautiful running style, he made it seem effortless, almost like he was floating!

Thanks for 14d which means I had the wrong first word 🤬😢(a combination of both emojis) - I had V as the 3rd letter with the first being (cra)M - no wonder I couldn't parse it:-)

Some Coe nostalgia...he was coached by his father, but to prepare for the '84 LA Olympics he spent a month in Elmhurst, Illinois, training with high school coach Joe Newton! 😲

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nXt9nv3mgY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YTihhM37Iw

Thanks for those Geeker, I knew about his father but had never heard of Joe Newton, he sounds like a very inspiring man.

PS I remember when Coe broke the 800m world record, it was such an amazing time I turned to my younger brother and said that it would stand for 20 years.

People forget that in '79, in the space of about 6 weeks he broke the 800m, mile and 1500m world records - that is just crazy!!

Thanks for reminding me of Coe's WR rampage, Brendan.

I'm, shall we say, really far from being a Tory, but always considered Coe one of the greatest athletes. Americans often prefer their sporting heroes to be "role models", and SC appeared to be everything one could ask for, on and off the track.

Another funny factoid: his sister Miranda was a Las Vegas showgirl!

Can anyone help me without giving away too much. I have issues with 19a. Am I being misled by the clue or is there an error in the answer? Or, possibly, is there a gap in my general knowledge. Thanks :-)

orcadian it parses as Earl (1) inside increasingly florid.

Hi Orcadian,

19a - I had to double check this on Google and in Chambers and, thus far, I haven't found any source that says that veal comes from the answer so maybe it's is an error but, usually, when I say that there might be a mistake someone immediately replies to say why I'm wrong 😀

6 letter "more florid" around abbreviation of "earl".

Thanks Paulnz. It's the definition I had/have a problem with. And thanks Brendan. I grew up and live in a farming community and have never heard the word veal used in that context. Otherwise, I thought it was one of the best Everyman's of the "new order". Thanks again to both for getting back to me.