What T&F WR is the most imprssive?

I'd like to add that for me the most impresive WR is that of Jim Peters in the marathon. In 1953, Peters became the first man to run a Marathon in under 2 hours 20 minutes. Between 1952 and 1954, Peters set four consecutive world records in the Marathon, lowering the record from 2:25:39 to 2:17:40. Awesome.

Mr. Uno wrote:

First off almost always the 200 world record has been faster then the 100 for one simple reason: at the 100 meter mark you are at full speed. Thus in a strange demented kind of way you might say they have a "running start" since the are not running 2 x 100 from a stand still.

man, 9.78 x 2 is 19.56!! no one has ever run that fast but Michael Johnson..

MJ's first 100 was nowhere near 9.7 it was closer to 10 flat....

IT was also on a turn...that's rediculous the man is a freak.

19.32 is clearly the best record. I dont think were going to see anybody get close to that for decades even if it was done on drugs. Also its funny how you americans bag the chinese claiming drug use when its known world wide the US is the biggest cheats of them all. Flo Jo/MJ, come on! open your eyes.

Roger Bannister's sub 4:00 mile. No one thought it was even remotely possible and when he broke it, it ushered in the modern running era

[quote]Lycurgus wrote:

Actually none of them are impressive. We are nowhere near our limits. Considering the fact that our training is based on faulty conclusions based on inadequate models of exercise physiololgy it is a wonder we have done as well as we have up to now. The real advances will come when knowledge of how to overcome the built in 'governor' that we have. [quote]

Exercise physiology data has proven quite unreliable in predicting athlete performance. Evidence the fuss made over VO2max, even though it has little meaning predicting who is fastest beyond a general trend.

As for your "governor", what good is it to learn to pass it if it results in cardiac death??? It is only useful to train so the body can go faster for longer BEFORE reaching the governor set point. That's kinda what we do now.

As for needing to train more at recruiting race-time muscle fiber intensity, you're saying we should be on the track doing 200m intervals and such every day...doesn't work!

I don't think Bannister's record was necessarily the most impressive, but I do believe that it was the most important. Not bashing you in any way, but I have a hard time believing no one thought it was even remotely possible. I know that is what people want to lead us to believe. Gunder Hägg ran 4:01.4 9 years earlier in 1945. It kind of makes you wonder whether just the general (ignorant) population and sportswriters of the time thought it wasn't possible or if elite middle distance and distance runners thought that way too.

It reminds me of stories I was told with regard to the moon landing (wasn't alive at the time). I remember hearing from people (not sure if it was teachers or others) that "many people" were anxious watching the first moon landing because they didn't know whether the astronauts would even have a solid surface to land on. Anyone who was informed would have known the moon was solid, yet the ramblings of a few idiots are often able to cloud a situation.

Similarly, I'd love to be able to go back to 1491 and find out what % of the somewhat intelligent population believed the Earth was round. I'm guessing that it was a lot more than Columbus. However, in history books it is often conveyed that no one could have imagined the Earth was round until 1492. Tell that to the Vikings and now possibly the Chinese who may have made it to North America in the early 1400s.

Wow did this post get off topic quick!

Anyways, I think 19.32 is the most impressive. Also, I'll commit sin by saying I think the 2:05:38 marathon record is relatively soft compared to Geb's records. I think the marathon record will drop to below 2:05 or even close to 2:04 well before we see any sort of time taken off the 5k or 10k. (Unless Geb lowers the 5k and 10k again).

jealousy is a sign of weakness, suck it up.

Thierry Toutain from France's WR in the 50,000 m Race Walk is the most impressive to me. When he walked that record a tear ran down my cheek. I so wanted to be there to hold him close, pat his behind, and tell him I was proud. But, I had other obligations at home with my significant other.

Mj's 43.18 isn't too shabby either in the 400m

but how about soytomyer's 2.45m high jump that is INSANE!!!!

For what it's worth:

MJ's 19.32 splits:

10.12/9.20

Was the title of this thread supposed to be "What T&F WR besides Komen's 7:20.67 is the most impressive"? Because noone has even mentioned that performance. That is the WR that even Geb hasn't been able to touch. I'll do the math for you. It's a 3:40.3 1500 followed by, you guessed it, another 3:40.3 1500. El G might have a shot at it but in my opinion, that is the record that is the most "out there". But 19.32 is pretty good too I guess.

MJ's record is fast, but I don't see how you could say that he can run as fast as the fastest 100 meter guy twice. The second one was with a flying start and the first one was above ten seconds. Argue it all you want, it just so happens that that was the same argument people used to justify the fact that he was the "fastest man in the world." Too bad he got "hurt" in that 150 against Baily.

2000m 4:44.79

El Guerrouj

It's too easy to think about existing performances. There have been some truly amazing WRs over the years. People who have pushed back the boundaries of what was previously thought possible. Here's just a few:

Peter O'Connor (Ire) Long Jump - 7.61 5 August 1901

Alf Shrubb (GB) 3 miles - 14.17.6 - 21 May 1903

Sydney Wooderson (GB) - 1 mile - 4.06.5 - 28 August 1937

Ron Clarke (Aus) - 3 miles - 12.52.4 - 10 July 1965

The answer is "Bob Beamon's Long Jump World Record".

NOTHING else even comes close.

Case closed.

to clarify,

i never said that MJ can run the "fastest 100m twice". It is obvious that he did not run near 9.78 in his first 100. However, his average 100m is 9.66, which is faster than the WR for the hundred. Now with that said, all i was trying to do was inform mr. uno that no one has even come close to running a 200m with their avg. 100 being under the current world record. And even though it is not official, i think its safe to say that MJ has covered 100m quicker than anyone in history, that being his last 100m of his WR 200m, 9.2 seconds!

Based on these facts, i have concluded that MJ is the fastest man on the planet. Well, other than Pre.

sorry bud wrote:

And even though it is not official, i think its safe to say that MJ has covered 100m quicker than anyone in history, that being his last 100m of his WR 200m, 9.2 seconds!

Nope. Many sprinters have covered it faster in relay splits. Carl Lewis has run 8.87FAT for the final 100m. Donovan Bailey has run 8.95FAT.