43.03WR!! Van Niekirk

Sam Cooke wrote:

Finally the 400m record is a clean one.

And you know this how?

So way sub 1:00 in the 500m indoors if ever ran, sub 44 indoors most likely but definitely under Kerron Clement's record although he doesn't run indoors it would seem so all that is about as relevant as the standard LRC fantasy of elite 400m runners moving to the 800m.

How much off Johnny Gray's 600m if run later this year? ~1 second or so? More?

Almost broke 31 in the 300m earlier this year so that WR would go later this season if desired. Probably just going to do the Diamond League and clean up so this is just idle chatter. A match race with Usain Bolt at 300m would be hot shit though.

This time is on par with Bolt's 9.58 and 19.19. Other than the WR in the women's 10k in Rio and maybe DiBaba's 1500 WR, this is the most impressive T&F performance in at least 5 years. If VN runs the 200 in Rio it will be very interesting.

I'll let Google teach you.

laughing wrote:

Roll Eyes wrote:

No.

He's not even close to half white.

Learn some history.

Okay, so teach us.

Learn to post.

400m runner wrote:

As an experienced 400m runner, a few comments:

- It seems clear that he has trained for this type of time trial. He perfectly paced the first 300 metres of the race.

- In a 400m time trial in which a runner runs solo, the outside lane is always the best because it has the least curvature. Therefore, if Van Niekerk has really trained well to internally pace himself to a 43.x run, then lane 8 actually was helpful for him.

- Michael Johnson ran 43.18 out of lane 5. I believe that if he had run in lane 8 with precisely the same type of pacing (in other words, avoiding any mental effects from not seeing competitors), his run should be very similar to Van Niekerk's.

What? while there is some truth and credible strategy to what you are saying,I have never known anyone that actually used the strategy to win based upon least amount of curvature. Maybe 400IH. I am very experienced in 400 meters. I should have run the 400 over the 100 in the Olys. Long story as to why I didn't.

Dummy wrote:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Coloureds

Terribly arrogant of you. The question at hand was what percentage white was Wayde, if any. All you did was post a link that confirms that mixed-race individuals exist in South Africa.

Hey buddy.

I am South African.

Why don't you go ask any Cape Colored what percentage white they are and report back on your experience.

They're at least 200 years removed from their establishing ancestors. They don't consider themselves mixed race. The only people who try to figure how much white is in them are arrogant Americans.

Sub 1.12 600m That would be a second off the old one. 48/24. Nice even pace.

Mope Dealer wrote:

Sam Cooke wrote:

Finally the 400m record is a clean one.

I hope so but I won't hold my breath.

I reckon he is far cleaner then the Ethiopian women are.

I'm not sure the tracks are that much faster now then in 1999 or 1999?

Any views on this.

Hi David!

Jerk alert wrote:

Sam Cooke wrote:

Finally the 400m record is a clean one.

And you know this how?

Because he had the Lord guiding him on every stride. You don't need PED's when there's a higher and stronger force at work.

This guy really should sign up for Western States then.

Kensho wrote:

Yeah, the Macmillan calculator gets closer to the speed of light the longer the distance, just like any good science fiction.

Bopa wrote:

Yep, McMillan pace calculator predicts a marathon of 1:58:34... Only 10.3 for the 100m though, weird.

Bopa wrote:

This guy really should sign up for Western States then.

Kensho wrote:

Yeah, the Macmillan calculator gets closer to the speed of light the longer the distance, just like any good science fiction.

Comrades, surely?

Olympic Truth wrote:

What? while there is some truth and credible strategy to what you are saying,I have never known anyone that actually used the strategy to win based upon least amount of curvature. Maybe 400IH. I am very experienced in 400 meters. I should have run the 400 over the 100 in the Olys. Long story as to why I didn't.

That's because it's not a good strategy. How can a person know that he/she is going at exactly the right pace to beat his competitors? Usually in lane 8, you just trust your instinct, and hopefully your pacing will be okay, because if you've gone out too hard after the first 250 m, you're going to be dead in the water at 350 m. So either Van Niekerk really knew what he was doing (practiced doing the perfect pacing in time trials during practice), or he was absurdly lucky.

Every 400 m sprinter knows, however, that their times may greatly vary with pacing. Go out too hard and you'll feel it at 350 m. Go out too easy and you simply won't be able to catch up on the home straight. So being on the inside allows you to pace better because you can see your opponents. Outside of the fitness afforded to the runner by training, pacing is generally important.

As for the actual advantage of using the outside lane, the issue is that the advantage normally only matters if you can run with perfect pacing, which almost nobody does. The evidence exists though. For example, they've tested 200 m runners and clocked them on special straight 200 m tracks, and almost every time they will "break" their PB. Curves are fundamentally harder to run, and outside lanes are easier than inside lanes. The difference is small enough that other factors are more important normally, but if you are able to eliminate those other factors, then the lane draw is what could be the difference between a fast time and a record time.

Yeah, cape coloreds are not white or black, they are considered a ethnic group of their own... Nothing racist about that, they have their own rich culture and have produced some of South-Africa's best sports competitors in Rugby and Athletics. To mention anything of white or black blood to them will probably get you punched.

On another note, I really hope he sticks to Adidas, I heard Nike offered him a 6 figure deal...

I'm looking forward to Lane 8 becoming the new lane of choice for 400m runners given that on current evidence it is the best lane to produce a fast time.

If it isn't, then let's watch this dude post 42.70 next season.

This. If it weren't for Bolt, who is the greatest track athlete of all time, we'd be talking about VN alongside people like Haile and Zatopek.

flaciddistance wrote:

Kiplacat wrote:

Prime Michael Johnson would run sub 40 on this track.

Nope.

Its not that fast a track. And MJ had plenty of chances. This guy is the only athlete to have ever run sub 10, sub 20, and sub 44.

He'll be the first to run sub 43.

Heavyd84 wrote:

Runrincerepeat wrote:

That was just incredible... He just destroyed MJs record

I didn't know Michael Jordan ran track

It was Michael Jackson.

Such a shame they had it on the same day as Bolt which is overshadowing his fantastic achievement in the media.