Does anyone else think all these world records seem strange?

I was thinking the same thing. A friend who has run on that track mentioned something about the outside lanes having a hard downslope after each curve, which he felt made times slightly faster. He has run on the track before. I have not.

Has anyone run on this track? I guess if you're very close to a record, having a slight downhill every turn could shave a little off. Thoughts?

records don't make much sense when there are so many variations in tracks. if there is no standard, then how can you even compare times?

if clement ran the same race on an outdoor track, i would guess he would run very close to the same thing, but put him on a flat track and i doubt he would run a 45 high.

where did johnson run his old wr?

sorry, there was only one world record set. the 200 time was only an american record.....my mistake. doesn't change anything though.

It is impossible to run in circles with only downhills. There would have to be an uphill as well.

coos wrote:

records don't make much sense when there are so many variations in tracks. if there is no standard, then how can you even compare times?

if clement ran the same race on an outdoor track, i would guess he would run very close to the same thing, but put him on a flat track and i doubt he would run a 45 high.

where did johnson run his old wr?

He ran 45.7 in gainesville over a month ago, so don't try and act like he's not faster now.

coos wrote:

where did johnson run his old wr?

Atlanta.

math dude wrote:

It is impossible to run in circles with only downhills. There would have to be an uphill as well.

Yes, but it's not impossible to run more downhills than uphills, thus having a net downhill.

That does indeed occur when you start at the "top of the hill" in the outside lanes.

Down, flat, up, down, flat.

good point my man, pig disadvantage to low lane starters and flat tracks in those events

There are a few tracks around the country like this. Boston University's track has extremely hard downhill slopes coming off the turns, as well as a steep banked lane 1 (not a lot of banked tracks actually have a noticeably banked lane 1). The technology of the tracks is increasing just as fast as the athletes.

This is by far the fastest track in the world. Looks like most people are in agreement about this too, as it currently has over 80% of the votes on the poll (about fast 200m tracks) on this site:

http://www.athleticslinks.com/

Anybody know which lane he was running out of? Can't tell from the results.

Look at the movie on the front page. He started 2nd to the top, on the turn (and therefore elevated). An amazing accomplishment, either way :)

Yes, and seen as every 200m track is banked and runners are usually seeded so top guys get the outside two lanes, theres a good chance he was running under the same conditions as Johnson.

Was this the track?

i'm not saying he wasn't fast before. i know who he is, and i've seen him run plenty of times. but there is a big difference between a 45.7 and a world record. (and didn't he run the 45.7 on a 300m track?)

"so don't try and act like he's" making a normal progression.

45.7 on a flat track is blistering. especially for as early in the season as he ran it. keep in mind the man went 49.77 as a junior in high school in the 400 HURDLES!!! he was ready for a breakout season.

I don't consider myself an expert at the indoor 400m, but as a 2 time Indoor National Champion my hat goes off to him. To run that kind of time on any indoor track is impressive. Yes the steeper banks on tracks like Fayetteville, Birmingham (ENG), and Boise St (formely in Atlanta) allow you to generate more speed, but maintaining that speed takes a lot of muscle strength and speed endurance. I'm eager to see what he can do outdoors over the hurdles as well as in the open quarter. Don't be surprised if he's the next T&F underclassman to turn pro.

James Davis

Not to bash you, but let's keep a little rein on the hyperbole here, shall we?

Beating a 400m record by six one-hundredths of a second is not in any way shape or form "destroying" it.

you act like it's no big deal, and that it was expected. there have been a handfull of preps over the last few years that have run sub 50 in the 400 hurdles, along with dozens of others.....none of them broke the record.

(and many have run under 46 in just the past 2 or three years on 300m tracks, including wariner, potter, williamson, none of whom broke johnson's record)