Coevett wrote:
Was there a big difference in PEDs in the 70s as compared to the 50's and 60s?
Blood doping, initially allowed, and professionalizing of the steroid programs via the Cold War Wild West doping era.
But yes, I was being optimistic, and did not mean to imply that the 60s were clean.
As for the 100, that is a bit messy because of the timing and Ben’s 9.70 DQ.
Here are the best WR per decade (men's (mid) distance, highlighting the biggest steps:
Dista: 1950s –– 1960s –– 1970s –– 1980s –– 1990s –– 2000s –– 2010s
800::: 1:45.7. – 1:44.40 – 1:42.33 – 1:41.73 – 1:41.11 – NA NA N – 1:40.91
1500:: 3:36.0. – 3:33.1. – 3:32.03 – 3:29.46 – 3:26.00 – NA NA N – NA
5000:: 13:35.0 – 13:16.6 – 13:08.4 – 12:58.4 – 12:39.7 – 12:37.4 – NA
10000: 28:30.4 – 27:39.4 – 27:22.4 – 27:08.2 – 26:22.8 – 26:17.5 – NA
Marat: 2:15:17 – 2:09:36 – 2:09:06 – 2:06:50 – 2:05:42 – 2:03:59 – 2:02:57
(Please correct omissions and typos, if any)