What improvement.? A fair number of olympic records set but how many world records?
None of the distance races were run like a time trial. The closest was the 800 which saw an insane negative split to 1:41x.
This. Traditionally the Olympic have been "Slow and tactical" for the mid distance and distance events and we all hated. More athletes challenged this approach this year. Olympic records fell, that were weak records to begin with.
None of the distance races were run like a time trial. The closest was the 800 which saw an insane negative split to 1:41x.
This. Traditionally the Olympic have been "Slow and tactical" for the mid distance and distance events and we all hated. More athletes challenged this approach this year. Olympic records fell, that were weak records to begin with.
Also athletes train to peak at World Championships/Olympics not time trials. So when the race is actually fast when they're peaking, you'll see them PR by quite a bit (i.e mens' 1500m).
A question more so for those who think that the performances over last week were clean, why are we seeing such a drastic improvement in performances and times?
That's the problem. There isn't a credible clean explanation. The sprint times in the shorter events showed the track wasn't superfast but much the same as usual. There has been no sudden change in shoe technology before the Games. Nor has there been a new and radical development in training methods and especially in the distance events. But what we saw were another level of performances in the md and distance events, and notably from runners who had previously not shown the level they achieved at Paris. Tirelessness is the catch word for these Games.
We also saw athletes from a group or nation surpassing themselves - like the US - and others - like the Kenyans, who have been absolutely reined in by the AIU - doing far less well. All of that speaks of doping - and when doping is constrained.
These Games are a modern watershed. They show that the real winner has been doping. Antidoping hasn't simply fallen behind; it has lost the war.
If you put any stock into the rumors all year on "sprint twitter", short sprinters had been running slow all year due to new better drug testing for substances that traditionally help with the shorter stuff. Take this and combine it with the "Juiced track" and you get the so-so but non-WR threatening times we saw in the the short-sprint finals.
This is of course only if you belief some of the material Raes Take spouts off though lol.
A question more so for those who think that the performances over last week were clean, why are we seeing such a drastic improvement in performances and times?
A question more so for those who think that the performances over last week were clean, why are we seeing such a drastic improvement in performances and times?
There is no other explanation other than doping. In the modern era, the sport has always been dirty to some degree, but we have reached a new level. Athletes can now sustain higher percentages of max intensity while appearing as if they are merely trotting. The high end velocities in races, including the kick, does not seem to be cardiovascularly limited; it simply looks like athletes are unable to go any faster biomechanically. I can’t tell you what the cocktail contains, but it sure looks like EPO is a primary component.
If you think about it, this is only really the second games since super shoes were released. Technically they were being used as prototypes in the 2016 games, but I believe only for the marathon (Please correct me if I'm wrong) The first Olympics with super shoes in 2021 also saw some amazing times. (3:28 in the men's 1500m, 45.94 400mH WR, probably others I'm forgetting) This signified a new era of fast championship races, rather than the tactical races we had seen in the past, and it's only natural to think that it would progress even more past that. And it makes sense seeing as since 2021, these events have only gotten deeper and harder to compete in.
Think about the 1500 (Which I am extremely biased towards and base most of my viewpoint on) where in 2016 it was won in 3:50 during the era of tactical jog fests. Now the meta has shifted where races are tactical time trials, and anything slower than 3:29 with a kick at the end won't even put you in contention for a medal nowadays. The same thing happened in the 800 this year where if you weren't able to kick off of a 1:41, you weren't good enough to medal, whereas in years past a 1:41 would have guaranteed you gold. This could easily be explained away by super shoes or drugs, but it's probably just due to the fact that the top athletes are stepping up and making sure that not just anyone can compete with them. No more 3:30 guys outkicking 3:26 guys, you have to actually be a 3:26-27 guy if you want to compete. AKA, you have to be good.
People prepare their entire lives for these moments, so they know what kind of fitness they need to be in and how to structure their training to achieve that fitness. The Olympics only comes around once every 4 years (Or 3 years in this case) and the athletes all have it circled on their calendar as the meet to peak for. The crazy times are results of years and years of hard work, dedication, and preparation to achieve something great in this moment. I would wager that less than 5% of the athletes that medaled on the track this year are using PEDs, with the exceptions being maybe Sedjati and Bell. As for the rest of them, they simply just knew what it would take to medal at the Olympics, and decided to dedicate their training to achieving that level of fitness so when the time came they'd have no regrets and would always know that they shot their shot when it mattered.
A question more so for those who think that the performances over last week were clean, why are we seeing such a drastic improvement in performances and times?
Shoes and track, mostly. I do think training methods have progressed a lot over the last 15 years, but it's still mostly shoes and track surface. There are not 4 different El G caliber dudes in the world right now. I hope everyone recognizes that.
A question more so for those who think that the performances over last week were clean, why are we seeing such a drastic improvement in performances and times?
Better performance due to better nutrition (resultant to nutritional learnings); less injury due to physical learnings (advances in medicine and physical therapy); better performance mechanics due to application of continued learnings; better and improved methods of dealing with the 'head games' we take on.
I'm not Olympic material but I do run marathons. The typical decline in speed/performance is generally 1%/yr 40 to 70 years old and 1.5%/yr over 70. I've managed to actually advance .5%/yr from 65 to 71 yrs old. I (and my PCP, Orthopedic and PT) attribute it to all of the above.
A question more so for those who think that the performances over last week were clean, why are we seeing such a drastic improvement in performances and times?
Better performance due to better nutrition (resultant to nutritional learnings); less injury due to physical learnings (advances in medicine and physical therapy); better performance mechanics due to application of continued learnings; better and improved methods of dealing with the 'head games' we take on.
I'm not Olympic material but I do run marathons. The typical decline in speed/performance is generally 1%/yr 40 to 70 years old and 1.5%/yr over 70. I've managed to actually advance .5%/yr from 65 to 71 yrs old. I (and my PCP, Orthopedic and PT) attribute it to all of the above.
The Mondo people said they customized the track to work with the super spikes. I wish some they would let ordinary people use and test the track. I believe them. I bet it's super fast.
If you think about it, this is only really the second games since super shoes were released. Technically they were being used as prototypes in the 2016 games, but I believe only for the marathon (Please correct me if I'm wrong) The first Olympics with super shoes in 2021 also saw some amazing times. (3:28 in the men's 1500m, 45.94 400mH WR, probably others I'm forgetting) This signified a new era of fast championship races, rather than the tactical races we had seen in the past, and it's only natural to think that it would progress even more past that. And it makes sense seeing as since 2021, these events have only gotten deeper and harder to compete in.
Think about the 1500 (Which I am extremely biased towards and base most of my viewpoint on) where in 2016 it was won in 3:50 during the era of tactical jog fests. Now the meta has shifted where races are tactical time trials, and anything slower than 3:29 with a kick at the end won't even put you in contention for a medal nowadays. The same thing happened in the 800 this year where if you weren't able to kick off of a 1:41, you weren't good enough to medal, whereas in years past a 1:41 would have guaranteed you gold. This could easily be explained away by super shoes or drugs, but it's probably just due to the fact that the top athletes are stepping up and making sure that not just anyone can compete with them. No more 3:30 guys outkicking 3:26 guys, you have to actually be a 3:26-27 guy if you want to compete. AKA, you have to be good.
People prepare their entire lives for these moments, so they know what kind of fitness they need to be in and how to structure their training to achieve that fitness. The Olympics only comes around once every 4 years (Or 3 years in this case) and the athletes all have it circled on their calendar as the meet to peak for. The crazy times are results of years and years of hard work, dedication, and preparation to achieve something great in this moment. I would wager that less than 5% of the athletes that medaled on the track this year are using PEDs, with the exceptions being maybe Sedjati and Bell. As for the rest of them, they simply just knew what it would take to medal at the Olympics, and decided to dedicate their training to achieving that level of fitness so when the time came they'd have no regrets and would always know that they shot their shot when it mattered.
That was a long post, yet interesting and it seems convincing. I find it very hard to believe that someone who is in to fitness would put something foreign in their bodies just to make some money. Those kind of people are cheaters and hopefully athletes that succeed that way are rare. I know many will say that I am naive but I would rather see the good in people and things. However, only a fool would believe that conditions were the same for Paavo Nurmi's time to Jim Ryun's era to Craig Virgin's existence. Conditions do change!
A question more so for those who think that the performances over last week were clean, why are we seeing such a drastic improvement in performances and times?
Most of the really fast races had Really fast pace-makers. In the Men's 10k you had Team Ethiopia cranking the pace from the front the entire way. Jacob has become the Erik Sowinski of the championship 15's for the guys... and Tsegay said "hold my beer Jacob"
A question more so for those who think that the performances over last week were clean, why are we seeing such a drastic improvement in performances and times?
How many more countries are bringing more great athletes? Answer that one and I think you will be close to the truth, grasshopper!
There is no other explanation other than doping. In the modern era, the sport has always been dirty to some degree, but we have reached a new level. Athletes can now sustain higher percentages of max intensity while appearing as if they are merely trotting. The high end velocities in races, including the kick, does not seem to be cardiovascularly limited; it simply looks like athletes are unable to go any faster biomechanically. I can’t tell you what the cocktail contains, but it sure looks like EPO is a primary component.
Do you think all of the NCAA athletes are doping too?! How about HS level running in the U.S.? Look at how fast the level of running has increased in the NCAA. Sure, there's some PED use out there, but there's a LOT more to these faster times than that. That's just the easy way to explain it away, along with claiming it's the shoes.
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