miler-xy wrote: It took the men 69 years to progress from 4.12 to sub 4. However, there was gradual improvement over time. The women are progressively getting slower. Therefore, you can't compare the two. NOT ONE SINGLE WOMAN BROKE 4 MINUTES IN THE 1500m IN 2011! Therefore, the women are currently at 4:18 in the mile. Compared to other events, women are terrible at the 1500m/mile.
A man ran a world record 12:37 for 5k in 2004. In 2008 the best, by the same man, was 12:50. In 2010 the world best was 12:51. Prior to 2004 there was a gradual improvement over time. The MEN are progressively getting slower over time. Therefore, you CAN compare the slowing times of men and women. NOT ONE SINGLE MAN BROKE 12:50 for 5k in from 2004 through 2010! Therefore, the men are terrible at the 5000m.