If you could create an event for track and field, what would it be?

Thinking of a few things that are more twists to existing events than brand new:

1. 800metres run all in lanes with a longer stagger

2. Hurdles events to reward technical skill by giving penalty time additions for hurdles knocked over.

3. Change Heptathlon and Decathlon final races into pursuit runs like in the Modern Pentathlon.

Brand new events:

1.2000 metres team pursuit event run along the same rules as track cyclings 4K team event. For those unfamiliar the basics of it are teams of 4 all riding together not back to back, 2 teams on track at the same time lined up at the opposite point of the track. Time taken on 3rd person to cross the line.

2. Devil take the hindmost elimination race - always a highlight of the omnium in track cycling.

A separate Yearly Summer Olympics with T&F, Marathon, Cross Country, Half-Marathon, Ekiden, 20Km Road Race at a sustainable permanent 70,000 seat stadium in West Los Angeles/Santa Monica area.

Hurdles400m wrote:

The Real High Jump

I always thought it was strange that pole vault equipment is so expensive and is only used for one event. How about covering the "plant" hole and using the pole vault runway, pit and bar for a real high jump competition. The idea is to run, jump up and knock the bar off with your fingers at increasingly higher heights. No flopping. No straddle. Just pure "high" jumping technique. As per usual, you get three tries at each height. Might get some basketball players out for this event. And best of all for the officials, when you miss, you don’t have to replace the bar.

I like this High Jump idea. It would be cool to see someone knock down a 15 foot bar.

Steeplechase DMR.

There are parkour speed races. A rooftop one in somewhere like Santorini. Some inside gyms. The course gets very well known.

I'd add the no rules 800m. You're allowed to spike. punch, push people off the track and so on/

Parkour speed races. The one at 1:17 looks dangerous!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rtrmFy98E4&ab_channel=ParkourTwins

Sounds like someone ate it in their race and are mad.

We don't need a new event. We need events showing which American men can actually run faster than Gidey. The potential fields would easily fit on a track.

lets see,sack races on tracks,roller skating races on tracks,two person 3 legged races on tracks,crawling 100 meters,cart wheeling 100 meters,jump rope races on tracks

1896 was the start of the current Olympics. 14 nations competed.

Since then we have intercontinental jets, internet. satellite, broadband.

We can now have yearly medals or all competitions.

With sustainability very necessary to preserve resources and tax payer funds we need permanent venues for the games.

A four person four mile relay where you pick how far each runner goes. I think most will just have everyone run a mile, but it could get interesting when you have a team with one really good runner and one not so good runner.

The top four milers on my high school team ran: 4:31, 4:28, 4:32, and 4:53. Total time: 18:24.

Have the 4:28 guy run 2400m. He'll probably run about 6:54. Swap in someone that can run 2:27 or faster and they win. Could make for some interesting strategies when you have teams that aren't particularly deep.

Second idea: throw shotput for height. Not sure how to measure the height.

Third idea: devil takes the hindmost with a twist.

After 200m the devil has three dice. He keeps rolling until he gets 6-6-6. At that point last place is eliminated and the process continues.

Mass start. Race ends when everyone gets lapped

Full duplex versions of all distances 200m and up. Competitors go from the start line as usual but half run clockwise, half run anti-clockwise. It would be entertaining in terms of tactics and pacing, as well as collision avoidance and the likelihood of a pileup at the finish. The size of the field could also be doubled for any event. 400 and steeple would be a hoot. Has anyone got contacts at WA to make this happen?

Fartput: you rip one out and check up to how far robot linesmen can smell or hear it.

rgw wrote:

200 m Steeplechase. With 4 barriers and a water jump.

Been there done that.

I learned it from you, okay? wrote:

We don't need a new event. We need events showing which American men can actually run faster than Gidey. The potential fields would easily fit on a track.

How about you?

10 x 400 over nine hours

Idea is that ten men run the 400m dash 6 minutes apart on the hour. No one man knows the times of any of his competitors. At the end of the hour, the man with the slowest time is eliminated. The following hour, the same order resumes, and you run another 400 an hour apart from your first. Combination of speed and ability to run fast several times in a row. Several variations of this can exist, like adding more runners, changing the distance completed, adding the number of times run per hour, etc.......

I always thought elimination miles would be more fun if there were elims every 100m or 200m; pace would be hot the whole time and would probably call for a faster overall race

Cutdown survival

Pace starts at an easy jog, let's say a 2:00 lap. Each lap the pace increases by 1 second. If you aren't within +/- 2.5s of where you are supposed to be at the start you are eliminated. Timing could be enforced automatically with the clock showing difference from ideal, you need to cross each lap between -2.5s - +2.5s.

Limiting how far you can get ahead means no one can just run an even split half marathon.

This has the advantage that slow people and fast people can do it at the same time. Men and women. And the pack would be together the whole time making it more entertaining for spectators with their fat friend in the race.

5 miles in would be 6:40. 7.5 miles in you would be down to 6:00 pace. 10 miles in you would be at 5:20 pace. 15 miles would be 4:00 pace.

Races on all fours, a 10,000m in Timberland boots, and a race with checkpoints (any distance really) where the goal is to throw other runners off the track. If you get thrown off, you have to run back to the last checkpoint you crossed. This race would allow spiking others, any physical combat, and any weapons (barring firearms) that you can smuggle in under your split shorts and singlet. No killing of course.