Thoughts worth a penny wrote:
Which would be more likely for a h.s. boy to run, 1:57 or 8:19? There's your answer.
This is what I always wonder, how come elite women's 800 times are so shitty compared to all other distances?
A high school boy running 1:57 (which is about what the top female in the world has been last several years) wouldn't sniff a medal at virtually any High School State Championship meet.
Meanwhile a boy running 21.6 like Schippers, 49 low like Felix, 1500 like Dibaba, 10.7 like SAFP would all be very competitive and probably at least top 5. Further example, Jenny Simpson and Rowbury both have PRs around 3:56-57. How many high school boys running those times would not be able to break 2 flat (like Simpson and Rowbury)? My guess is zero.
Just seems odd to me the women's 800 times lag so far behind all other distances comparatively.