Why no penalties for knocking down hurdles?

Bulldozer wrote:

In the horse jumping, you get pts taken off for missing jumps. The same is true when you hit the bar in high jump or pole vault (fail). Why is hurdles different?

Can someone explain?

Knocking down hurdles is already a penalty. It slows you down.

There are no points in hurdles, so the penalty would have to be a time penalty, which is already produced by hitting the hurdle.

Ask yourself, why don't they just replace the hurdles with cardboard?

High jump and pole vault is different, because if you hit the pole then you clearly didn't make it over that height, so it doesn't matter anyways since it wouldn't count anyways. In hurdles, hitting the hurdle is in a sense already a 'self-applied' penalty, because hurdles is a timed event (not a scored event with points) so every time you hit a hurdle it slows you down. The fastest way over a hurdle is exactly that: over it. Going under it is slower, going through it (knocking it down) is slower, and barely nicking it with the bottom of your thigh is slower. So there is no need to penalize the athlete because they penalized themselves in a way

because hitting them is slowing you down and messing with your momentum anyways

world class hurdlers can navigate hurdles efficiently while maintaining their high rate of speed

disgreceful_admin beat me to it

Has anyway ever done research to prove this?

From 2002:

From that same post (UK, 2002).

It should be noted that the tremendous Gold medal performance winning in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics by Allen Johnson 12.92, only left one hurdle standing!! (ed)

Allen Johnson's method wrote:

It should be noted that the tremendous Gold medal performance winning in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics by Allen Johnson 12.92, only left one hurdle standing!! (ed)

Watch it here

You will get dqed for intentionally knocking over a hurdle. Also, you are not allowed to go under or around hurdles.

There's no rule against clipping the hurdles therefore there's no penalty for doing so.

Serbian journal of science (2008) says that running over hurdles is better, due to vertical oscillation decrease.http://www.sjss-sportsacademy.edu.rs/archive/details/full/comparative-biomechanical-analysis-of-hurdle-clearance-techniques-on-110-m-running-with-hurdles-of-elite-and-non-elite-athletes-26.html

Over the years flying over hurdles has been replaced by running over hurdles, which decreases the vertical oscillation of the body gravity centre. It has been found that the technique of running over hurdles is better if the vertical oscillation of the body gravity centre is lower. That is why runners try to place the angular point of body gravity centre path as low as possible in the flying phase, closer to the hurdle (Figure 1), in order to reduce the path of the ballistic curve [1].

They do not discuss whether short runners should get shorter hurdles (fairness), but do say "Runners' body height of both sexes is a big advantage, more pronounced in case of small body weight, especially at running at 400 m hurdles" and "But the fact is that the oscillations of body gravity centre path are higher with shorter runners:"

Bring Back the 880 wrote:

You will get dqed for intentionally knocking over a hurdle. Also, you are not allowed to go under or around hurdles.

Right.

So there is a penalty for knocking down hurdles on purpose.

Generally, if you push a hurdle over with the bottom of your foot it's a DQ.

You need to get your foot over the hurdle.

Knocking the hurdle over with your calf or thigh dies no incur a DQ.

It generally slows you down to knock a hurdle over this way.

But it doesn't slow you down as much as clearing the hurdle by too much, which requires some jumping and more breaking when you land.

I'd like to see a swimming event where they have to jump out of the water thru flaming hoops, like the dolphins at Sea World.

Make it a bigger spectacle. wrote:

I'd like to see a swimming event where they have to jump out of the water thru flaming hoops, like the dolphins at Sea World.

I would like to see barbed wire on top of the hurdles.

In the olden days hurdles were much more unforgiving and you certainly paid a price for hitting them.

Was it intentional? wrote:

Allen Johnson's method wrote:

Watch it here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOfS1-trrR0

And yet if you watch the current world record, he only hit a few hurdles.

Coach wrote:

In the olden days hurdles were much more unforgiving and you certainly paid a price for hitting them.

Do you have examples? I wasn't around then, but hurdles from the 50s Era didn't look any more u forgiving than today's hurdles.

Today at the hs level, most schools have "rocker" hurdles though, which are definitely more forgiving. You don't see that at the college level and above though.

The hurdles used in international competition now have the board slightly in front of the pivot point on the ground (about an inch). This means that the hurdle actually rises up slightly for the first few degrees of rock back, which is definitely unforgiving, since slightly brushing the hurdle becomes hitting the hurdle much more solidly as it rises up into the your leg. If you hit those hurdles with your heel on accident, it really slows your momentum as it will be a solid hit everyone, even if you barely hit it with your heel.

How fast could Bo Jackson or Herschel Walker run the 110h if they just straight-armed the whole lot?http://www.wcpo.com/entertainment/say-what/chinese-hurdler-gets-creative-after-rough-start

Despite toppling every obstacle (himself included), the runner finished in fifth place before penalties were assessed. The last-place finisher also managed to knock down every hurdle, but he attempted to jump over each one.

Actually in the current Word Record Aries Merritt did knock over any hurdles.

I don't think he even touched one.

Hurdler jumping tacklers wrote:

How fast could Bo Jackson or Herschel Walker run the 110h if they just straight-armed the whole lot?

http://www.wcpo.com/entertainment/say-what/chinese-hurdler-gets-creative-after-rough-start

Despite toppling every obstacle (himself included), the runner finished in fifth place before penalties were assessed. The last-place finisher also managed to knock down every hurdle, but he attempted to jump over each one.

The videio is HILIARIOUS!!