Corporate loves it because track is a declining sport and world records add hype and bring attention.
But in reality this is damaging. WRs are supposed to be once every few years when a once in a lifetime athlete makes a all-time effort under perfect conditions. Ten bros coming within a meter or two of Alan Webb's American mile record all in one heat? Tarnishing the lore of what it means to set a record and to run sub 3:50 in general.
This is like elite swimming with the swim suits all over again.
Ten bros coming within a meter or two of Alan Webb's American mile record all in one heat? Tarnishing the lore of what it means to set a record and to run sub 3:50 in general.
Wtf are you talking about?
Those bros in one “heat” were the Diamond League finalists. You know, a collection of the fastest milers in the world.
Two guys were way ahead of Webb’s time and nobody else was within two meters of it.
The first 3:49 mile was run almost 50 years ago by a guy with a 3:32.4 lifetime best 1500. If more fast world class miles were regularly contested, the way you view sub-3:50 would have long since changed.
I mean there happens to be a deluge of all time greats in the sport right now.
But sure ya also gotta wonder if WRs would be dropping so fast without super shoes, and even without the WR pacing lights that make it mentally easier to stick to a pace since running all out on your own is mentally hard.
But improving technology is part of the sport. Jim Ryun was running on cinder tracks, now people run on mondo tracks with super shoes and pacing lights. While Track & Field is nice because you can compare times/distances across history, the technology associated with racing is going to gradually improve giving later athletes that 0.5% edge or whatever and that's natural. Hard to say where do you draw the line at technology advancement. Should shoes be limited? should track be limited? should pacing be limited? and if so at what point do you arbitrarily decide to put in place those limits?
I mean there happens to be a deluge of all time greats in the sport right now.
But sure ya also gotta wonder if WRs would be dropping so fast without super shoes, and even without the WR pacing lights that make it mentally easier to stick to a pace since running all out on your own is mentally hard.
But improving technology is part of the sport. Jim Ryun was running on cinder tracks, now people run on mondo tracks with super shoes and pacing lights. While Track & Field is nice because you can compare times/distances across history, the technology associated with racing is going to gradually improve giving later athletes that 0.5% edge or whatever and that's natural. Hard to say where do you draw the line at technology advancement. Should shoes be limited? should track be limited? should pacing be limited? and if so at what point do you arbitrarily decide to put in place those limits?
How do you know they’re all time greats? You can’t compare any current runner to anyone who competed prior to 2017. The conditions are completely different.
Some folks feel it’s a mockery of the sport. Every other week a world record being set.
The doping is worse than at any time in history.Some people say its technology,or spikes,or tracks,or even humans evolving(um.....no) but i say its hard core systemic doping.
Track competition should be barefoot. There is no physical reason why athletes cannot do it. Track surfaces can be made as clean and hygienic as we wish. Athletes don't need shoes to run on a track any more than they need flippers to swim in a pool. Necessity of shoes for running is a cultural assumption coming from a mostly sedentary population that has carried over to athletics.
Hey geniuses, how do you explain Duplantis? Doping? Shoes? Cheater poles? Maybe he should still be using bamboo and landing in a sand pit and the WR could still be 13ft? Yay.
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Hey geniuses, how do you explain Duplantis? Doping? Shoes? Cheater poles? Maybe he should still be using bamboo and landing in a sand pit and the WR could still be 13ft? Yay.
Duplantis is slightly better than Bupka. You can attribute the difference to, better poles, faster runways, better shoes. Pole vault is a prime example of technology changing a sport. What’s your point?
Hey geniuses, how do you explain Duplantis? Doping? Shoes? Cheater poles? Maybe he should still be using bamboo and landing in a sand pit and the WR could still be 13ft? Yay.
Duplantis is slightly better than Bupka. You can attribute the difference to, better poles, faster runways, better shoes. Pole vault is a prime example of technology changing a sport. What’s your point?
Corporate loves it because track is a declining sport and world records add hype and bring attention.
But in reality this is damaging. WRs are supposed to be once every few years when a once in a lifetime athlete makes a all-time effort under perfect conditions. Ten bros coming within a meter or two of Alan Webb's American mile record all in one heat? Tarnishing the lore of what it means to set a record and to run sub 3:50 in general.
This is like elite swimming with the swim suits all over again.
I hate to break it to you, but Webb's mile record was never that great. It converts to 3:29. The only reason nobody runs that fast is because the mile is an off-event that's rarely run.
Duplantis is slightly better than Bupka. You can attribute the difference to, better poles, faster runways, better shoes. Pole vault is a prime example of technology changing a sport. What’s your point?
How about a better vaulter?
Mondo on a Mondo track gives him 5% extra vault power over his opponents and everyone else in history, it’s NOT fair. Ban Mondo from Mondo tracks.