Americans who can't break 2:08 wrote:
2:10 is the new 2:14
When it was a big deal for an American to run under 2:14 there were Africans running 2:01-2:04. Now we've got a ton of sub 2:10's and the top Africans are still running 2:01-2:04. The gap is closing. Just because it's 'normal' for Americans to run fast doesn't mean everyone is running way faster. American distance running in all events has gotten faster AND more competitive, not just artificially faster. Look at all the global medals won and WMM top 10 finishes from 2012-present compared to 1992-2008