Seb Coe is a fan of the pacing lights: “If our activity is sport, our business is entertainment."

Coevett wrote:

Reina de Corazones wrote:

The races of 20 years ago were far more entertaining.

Coe is a clown

Yes, that's why track went from being the biggest non-team sport in the world, in the 70's and 80's attracting front page headlines, to having about the same status as badminton and synchronised swimming today.

Good to see you finally agree that Coe is a clown and likely doper.

tragedyandhope wrote:

Has Lord Seb ever had a real job?

A community sports organisation in Scotland asked if Coe would deliver a short talk to some kids to inspire the next generation when he was in the country for the Commonwealth Games in 2014. He was willing to do it...for several thousand pounds.

beep test wrote:

If they want entertainment then they should introduce the beep test as an event. Winner is the last athlete standing. That would be by far the most entertaining event for distances inside a stadium.

Was it Brooks who hosted a 5000m in West Chester PA where the runner in last place was eliminated each lap?

I agree with Seb. The problem is that we just haven't seen real races yet with them, although I really enjoyed watching the glorified time trials. The biggest benefit will be perfect pacing by the pacers every time, which has often been a gigantic frustration, previously. I would recommend turning it off as soon as the pacers finish doing their job, unless it's a realistic WR attempt. Championship races, it obviously shouldn't be on at all.

I can get on board with this. Especially from a fans point of view. Unless you looked up the world record and did the math to find the 400 splits, most people aren't going to know if athletes are on track for the given pace. The pacing lights give a physical representation of the race against the clock. Plus they look cool.

I don't get why everyone has to throw a hissy fit every time somethings changes in this sport.

Bad Wigins wrote:

The purpose of pacing lights is to chase world records. But the purpose of world records is to say a performance was better than all other performances. An * like "set with pacing lights" destroys any attempt at comparison, undermining the whole point.

I have been very critical of the shoes and was not a fan of sub-2 when it first came out but the lights don't bother me. Why? It levels the playing field, moving forward. To me a WR should be about, who can run the fastest over a certain distance and not about who can afford the best set of rabbits or is organized enough to have 4 sets of timers standing every 100m around the track to give you your last 400 split so you know ever 100 if you are speeding up or slowing down.

In an ideal world, you might have one person on the track with just pacing lights. Yes that would be kind of boring visually to see but then it would be clear what you are witnessing.

I almost feel like the sport should have two sets of competitions - races and time trials like in cycling.

high school xc coach wrote:

i respect his view, but i think he's wrong. if you want to put the lights up for fans, by means of television trickery, that would actually be great. the athletes should not have that light though. and it is not making the sport more entertaining or more popular. it is still very difficult to find mention of these records in main stream news.

I agree with this. Make it like the first-down line in football. I see it on screen, but obviously it isn't painted on the field.

The mental aspect of pacing is half the battle. Removing it is a huge benefit.

Alex Bones wrote:

...most people aren't going to know if athletes are on track for the given pace.

Comparison is the thief of joy.

Bad Wigins wrote:

Only shows how corrupt and shallow he is. All that matters is money and pleasing the nonexistent crowd.

Moral of the story: cheating is cheating, doping or otherwise. Nobody's fooled. Cheptegei and Gidey are not WR holders unless they do it WITHOUT lights. Will they even try? I doubt it. They know. I know. You know. Everyone reading this thread friggin knows. Seb knows. Who will admit it?

As always, it's nice to see I'm not on the same side of the debate as Bad Wigins. Dude hasn't gotten a prediction or statement right since 2019. Brutal year for him.

WTF. People don't like the lights? That's just dumb.

You boomers still wish we ran on cinders or something.

So every race has to be done with intent to break record? No more battling it out, using pacing strategies, etc. Maybe just go to individual time trials and get rid of the head to head competition.

Most memorable races weren’t when records were broken.

Alex Bones wrote:

I can get on board with this. Especially from a fans point of view. Unless you looked up the world record and did the math to find the 400 splits, most people aren't going to know if athletes are on track for the given pace. The pacing lights give a physical representation of the race against the clock. Plus they look cool.

I don't get why everyone has to throw a hissy fit every time somethings changes in this sport.

Because Boomers have to make everything about them and their complaints.

The pacing lights are nice.

This threads shows the real issue with the sport is crochety old fans.

One of the biggest events in the history of the sport is Roger Bannister's forts sub four minute mile.

If one of the pacers dropped out, the record would not count.

They fixed that rule later.

The sport lost Renaldo Nehemiah in his prime because he had to play football to make money.

Changing the rules gave us a start in Carl Lewis.

The sport has to evolve.

Star wrote:

The sport has to evolve.

So it is doing what dog racing has been doing for almost 100 years?

Wrong!

Do you not think World Athletics on all levels hasn't consulted with various marketing-PR firms as to how to make track and field more entertaining? Sure they have. Clearly, it's not that easy and there may never be an answer outside of people just going to a track meet and watching people race each other.....PERIOD.

Chasing world records is entirely another subject. It's not necessarily about competition, but more so about someone pushing the absolute limits of what the human body can achieve and endure over a prescribed distance. Chasing WR's in distance running is pure entertainment and very much different than shorter distances. Unlike the shorter distances, the chance of WR's happening in weekly track meets and championships is minimal. That being said, saying that pacing lights are "Cheating" is ridiculous. If that's the case, so is having pacers. The pacing lights don't make you run faster if you're not physically capable of running fast. The heart and lungs will do what they're going to do, and please don't say it's "Mental". When the body shuts down it doesn't matter how many lights are glowing.

Moral of the story: It's NOT cheating unless there are significant outside factors that determine the result (Shoes, track, or some other "Physical" aid). Unlike Bo Jackson, "You don't know"!

"Go Run One"

Spot On!

Harambe wrote:

WTF. People don't like the lights? That's just dumb.

You boomers still wish we ran on cinders or something.

You're clearly not a runner...Sorry! Every world-class runner and weekend jogger I've spoken with love the lights.

"Go Run One"

Somebody above mentioned having it on the TV, and I would agree with that.

Think of watching football and when they put the first down line across the field, or the field goal line for within range.

The player needs to have the awareness to cross those lines, and know where they are otherwise it's an unfair advantage for the defense. With track and field, I guess the unfair advantage goes to those without the lights who will have their records broke.

I'm against it.

Callipygian wrote:

Star wrote:

The sport has to evolve.

So it is doing what dog racing has been doing for almost 100 years?

Not a bad idea.