What big barriers remain in athletics?

Men
Long Jump 9 meters (current record 8.95)
Javelin 100m (current 98.48)

Women
5000m sub14 (current 14:00.21)
High jump 7 feet (current about 6'10-3/4")
Shot 75 feet (current about 74'3")
Long Jump 25 feet (current about 24'8")

Those are all good. I would add sub-26 men’s 10000m.

That's a great list. Well done.

11:59 three mile?

lol feet

otherwise great

With how many 1:41 guys are around right now, I think a 1:39 isn’t too far away. By the end of 2028 is my guess. It’s also a nice round number since 1:40 is 100 seconds.

More likely than not those marks bear no significance to any of the current leading athletes in the events (because 0 of their lifetime jumps so far have been measured in imperial).

Yeah, you're right. I'm sure the people celebrated the amazing milestone by Bannister of breaking the 4-minute barrier in the 1609.344m run. It just rolls right off the tongue.

Sub-43 in the men’s 400m. The world record is 43.03.

Touché. I did enjoy seeing Sam Ruthe break the 4 min mile, and mileage does sound better than… kilometerage or w/e.

But metric is just a superior system and it’s always funny to me how about 3 countries hold onto imperial. Let’s all switch over already! No more space crashes from easily avoidable miscommunication!!

Jakob has the sub 12:30 in the bag

Sub 26 for 10k.

There are still some in the steeplechase.

Stiff barriers, yet still on the horizon.

7 meters men's PV

80ft Men's SP

18ft Women's PV

250ft men's Discus

3:50 HS boys Mile

Sub 19 200 and 9.50 100. sub 21 for women.

That makes it look close meet have had so few people break 43.5 over the past 40 years it feels like it might be a while.

or maybe someone like Quincy Wilson just keeps getting better and breaks through. You would think shoes and bicarb would have upped the sub 44s but we haven’t really seen that.

I can't believe you included women's shot put at 75 feet. Not only does nobody care about feet but that shot put world record is the most doped up and dubious one on the books.

The best throws these days aren't coming within 2 meters of it, or -- if you prefer -- not within 7 feet.

If somebody broke that world record by a fraction of a centimeter there would be a combination of jubilation and disbelief, let along taking it a full 9 inches beyond the record.

The only realistic one on that list is women's 5000 meters. Women's high jump may look close until you realize it would require 2.14, after 37 years for the number to go from 2.09 to 2.10

Men: Sub 1:40 800m, 9+m long jump

Women: Sub 4 mile

People keep saying this. Their proof is that he routinely destroys all the best 5k guys in championship sit and kicks. So did Mo Farah. I think when Jakob finally does get around to a time trial 5000 he will run 12:38-12:42. “But going through 3000 in 7:30 would be sooo easy for him!” Yeah. Just like going through 800 in 1:55 would be easy for Josiah Tostenson