Would anyone at the Olympic Committee level have the balls to recommend, at least for this year, turning the 1500 meters into THE MILE RUN! Face it, the Mile is much much more significant then the 1500 anyways and would attract big time interest to itself. I'll bet there would even be some serious financial contributions from corporations for something like that. Eh?
Only in America. Most other parts of the world, they don't know what a mile is. I remember a few years back, El Guerrouj was going to take a stabat his mile WR in Belgium, but they changed it to a 1500m WR attempt because the crowd was unfamiliar with the distance.
I think that Europeans are much more "track knowledgable",
then North Americans, per se; hence so many big well attended events over there that pay well. When the world really pursued cracking the Four Minute Mile, there were capable contenders everywhere going after it. Great Britain, Australia, Hungary, France, US, etc. I believe that Mile is still the glamour event in the sport and carries with it more msytic, "world wide", then any other event. Making it an Olympic event could be what takes it down under 3:40! More importantly, it would attract media attention to a sport that desperately needs it.
trackhead: You may be referring to the Brussels meet in which El G ran the 2nd fastest 1500 ever--3:26.12--it was an exciting race (he just held off Lagat), but the crowd sighed a collective "too bad" when the time flashed up on the screen. IF it had been over a mile, they both would have demolished the standing record--very likely with times in the mid-3:42 range. A real shame...
It has nothing to do with "track knowledge." Metric standardization didn't happen in Europe until well after the Second World War. Mile races were popular from the 50s-80s because those European fans had been taught both Imperical and Metric measurements in school. Now you're talking about a generation that has heard of "a mile" less than your average American could readily know how far 23m shot put throw is.
You're probably right about that; especially re the 23 meter shotput. I'd still rather see 8' in the high jump then 2. whatever meters. But they, as in track fans in Europe, are much more cognizant of the significance of The Mile Run then we are metric measurements; which is why there events everywhere commemorating Bannister's sub 4!
For what it's worth, I hate the 1500 meters-it's an ugly and illogical distance. The only "tradition" that it has is the simple fact that it's been around ("thanks" to the Olympics) for slightly more than a century. No one has come up with a believable reason as to why the original distance was institutied, as compared to 1600 meters (or--what a thought--the mile). It's way, way too late now, however, to expect the Olympics to substitute the mile for the three-and-three-quarter lap distance (doesn't that sound ridiculous?).
Good idea. In the US it would resonate.
Yah...I sure agree with you! What a stupid distance...as in 3 3/4 laps. At least 4 laps, or 1600m would be pretty close to The Mile Run. Can't you hear those words echoing in the corridors of time..."FIRST CALL FOR THE MILE RUN"!
That "call" is unique to me of all "calls" for races.
Get real OLYMPIC COMMITTEE AND REPLACE THE 1500M WITH THE MILE RUN...NIKE WILL PROBABLY PAY 10 MILLION JUST TO HAVE IT'S NAME ATTACHED TO IT!
Think of it...the ATHEN'S OLYMPIC "GOD OF VICTORY" (NIKE),
MILE RUN!
trackhead wrote:
Metric standardization didn't happen in Europe until well after the Second World War. Mile races were popular from the 50s-80s because those European fans had been taught both Imperical and Metric measurements in school.
Metric was standard across Europe at the start of the 20th century, only in Britain was it adopted later. What's more, the mile is the exception, in Britain is it still used as the unit of measure for distances on the road. In everyday use every other measure has been switched; we've measure field event distances in metres for as long as I can remember.
If the next distance up is the 3000 metres, then isn't 1500 metres as logical as 1600 metres as the stepping stone from 800?
the reason the 1500 came about was they were pretty much only running on 500 meter tracks in europe as opposed to the 40 we have now. Thus 3 laps would equal a 1500, 6 laps a 3k. Makes sence to me
intheknow wrote:
the reason the 1500 came about was they were pretty much only running on 500 meter tracks in europe as opposed to the 40 we have now. Thus 3 laps would equal a 1500, 6 laps a 3k. Makes sence to me
Also, 1 and 1/2 kilometers makes a little more sense to me as a race distance than 1 and 3/5 kilometers.
The kilometer run was a popular distance on the European continent around the turn of the century, according to Roberto Quercetani. Metrics started early.
I am very fond of the mile and its history! I am very fond of the marathon and its history! I am also very fond of the Olympics and its history! I see no reason to change anything. Events in the Olympics should not be commercialized. It is bad enough that the Olympic Games is politicized.
Change is good. Only old farts don't like change. The Olympics are always changing. Soon Tai Chi will be a competitive sport in the Olympics. Making a minor change in a track event is nothing in comparison to bringing in a brand new sport!
Point is...there is absolutely NO MYSTIC IN THE 1500!
The MILE RUN...is
Mystic Personified! Wanna attract more worldwide interest to the sport? Then make it a big deal to crack 3:40 for the Mile and put it in the Olympics. Thats got nothing to do with commercialization and all to do with attracting peoples interest to the one sport all humans were born to do...and thats run.
I think you are missing the point that it isnt a popular event worldwide, its pretty mucha meaningless event worldwide.
I suppose thats why their have been events all over the world, and continue to be, commemorating THE MILE RUN!
Eh?
You should remove the part of your body attached to your shoulders, from the sand and look at whats going on in the world. There is no event in Track more charsmatic and interesting then THE MILE RUN! There just isn't!
Here's a perfect example of why the rest of the world doesn't like America.
Simply because there's a mystique around the mile for select Americans, and Brits, they expect the other 99.99% of the world to change for them.
qucassidy wrote:
I suppose thats why their have been events all over the world, and continue to be, commemorating THE MILE RUN!
Well, I know about the Bislett Mile. Please name all the others.
qucassidy wrote:
I suppose thats why their have been events all over the world, and continue to be, commemorating THE MILE RUN!
Eh?
You should remove the part of your body attached to your shoulders, from the sand and look at whats going on in the world. There is no event in Track more charsmatic and interesting then THE MILE RUN! There just isn't!
Stop it! The 1500m has been THE Olympic event and THE worldwide event for a LONG time. Some people get so concerned about an uneven amount of laps - what the hell would the mile be? Certainly not an even number of laps, as it would be run on 400m tracks.
And one more thing. If you're going to use a word over and over in your posts - get it right. It's MYSTIQUE!
Yes, we all read "Once A Runner," and yes, Quentin Cassidy ran the MILE in the book. However, he ran the 1500m at the Olympics. It's funny that you talk about restoring the tradition of the mile, but then you mention having Nike sponsor it.
BDG