Want to go to worlds? The IAAF just added a new event - 1 more day to qualify

So they're doing this just so IOC can have more justification to get rid of racewalking from the Olympics?

Based on its [IAAF's] wish to ensure gender equality on the field of play

So... why do you have a heptathlon for women compared to a decathlon, and 100m hurdles, etc.?

I believe the differences in the hurdles is due to sprinting stride lengths between the genders. Overall, elite hurdles tend to take the same number of steps between the two races (8 to the first hurdle, one to clear the hurdle, three steps between each one, and then 4-5 to cross the finish line).

Last year IAAF & European Athletics have proposed replacing both with an octathlon.

The 100H vs. 110H is probably to compensate for the shorter average leg-length of women (like how shot put balls have different weights too).

Not a real reason wrote:

Based on its [IAAF's] wish to ensure gender equality on the field of play

So... why do you have a heptathlon for women compared to a decathlon, and 100m hurdles, etc.?

Why have different starting heights for the high jump and pole vault.....

The IAAF knew just the thing to generate more interest in Women's T&F, and that is Racewalking. Wow, it's been right under our noses this whole time!!!!

be wrote:

Last year IAAF & European Athletics have proposed replacing both with an octathlon.

The 100H vs. 110H is probably to compensate for the shorter average leg-length of women (like how shot put balls have different weights too).

Agreed- 100m hurdles is appropriate to reflect stride length.

What is NOT appropriate is the hurdle height difference. 42 for men, 33 for women. That's a 9 inch difference, even though the avergae difference between male and female height is only about 6 inches.

In the current womens hurdle race, a fast hurdler can beat a good hurdler, which is to say speed is more important than technique. Notice how many female hurdlers stay almost completely upright over the hurdle. They dont have to close that angle going over as the men do because they can literally step right over. Change it to 36 inches and thar changes. Keni harrison for example is no longer a competitor. Her footspeed is far more limited by the technical aspect of the race, which is how it is in the mens race. Either bring the women up to 36 or the men down to 39 to make it equivalent.

As for the hep and dec, exactly the same. They are two completely different athlete. The removal of the pole vault and disc, as well as the replacing od the 4 woth the 2 and the 15 with the 8 means that this is essentially a sprinters event, rather than the more well rounded and technical event if the dec.

The iaaf is I think justifiably reluctant to make necessary changes, like changing the women's hurdle height, for fear of erasing the history of the event as it kind of did with the jav with the redesign.

However with the hurdles and also the hep you have a different issue which is that not only do you start anew in the history books but you also put a current crop of top athletes out of a job. Most of the top female hurdlers wouldn't do well with the change, and neither would the top heps. Different types of athletes would be favored.

Racewalker females put out. it's a fact

It would have been a good idea to adapt both women's events and reset the times, to get rid of more drug times. But the hurdles WR is now off the books.

Hep is basically sprinter + do some upper body work, you're both right in that it's not as all-rounded as the dec.

Put it this way - those less speedy athletes are currently hindered, and there are always all-out sprinting events, see Schippers for someone moving in that direction.

KJT for example is our best high and possibly long jumper anyway, same for Morgan Lake in high jump.