Many but that was a special group of sprinters and jumpers coming through. Records were dropping in droves before the 68 games at sea level. Look at the two to three years before....
Many but that was a special group of sprinters and jumpers coming through. Records were dropping in droves before the 68 games at sea level. Look at the two to three years before....
So 50 years ago the summer Olympics were held in October? That time of year is much more conducive for distance running albeit less so for the marquee sprints.
Amazing how an entire life can be defined by one moment. Great to have some context behind the man.
And Jon Gault is too good for this website.
What about Elliot reducing the mile wr from 3.57.9 to 3.54.5 in 1958? Or Snell reducing the 880y record from 1.46.8 to 1.45.1 in 1962. On grass. Or maybe Muhammad Ali reclaiming his world heavyweight title from George Foreman in in Zaire in 1974, when most commentators gave him no chance and he even feared he could die in the ring.
Paula 2:15
Eliud 2:01
Usain
Rocky Balboa
troll under a bridge wrote:
Amazing how an entire life can be defined by one moment. Great to have some context behind the man.
And Jon Gault is too good for this website.
I think the reality is this website is too good for you. It makes ZERO sense for me financially to basically give him weeks to do an article that guys like you get to read from free. We'll be charing soon like the Athletic.
Gwalkerruns wrote:
Many but that was a special group of sprinters and jumpers coming through. Records were dropping in droves before the 68 games at sea level. Look at the two to three years before....
Just like the "special" group of distance runners coming through in the 90s/early 2000s. Records were "dropping in droves"....wonder why...
Yiannis Kouros for 24 hours and Camille Herron for 100 miles.
Best jumpers are in the nba on just about every play involves jumping. Block shots, shooting, rebounds,
I'd probably put it in the top 10 of all time.
Lower than Joey Chestnut and his 71 hot dogs in 10 minutes..but higher than Al Bundy's 4 TDs in one game.
physics defiant wrote:
Not sure where it ranks but Secretariat's Belmont is the top performance followed closely by his Derby and Preakness.
All three records still stand and the Belmont time is still the World Record for the distance.
Yes indeed. I never was a horse racing fan, however I did go to the Kentucky Derby one year when an undergrad as I lived in Ohio. Unfortunately, I missed most of the races as I was passed out in a mud pit on the infield. Good thing I'm not a SCOTUS nominee. I did watch the Triple Crown series this year. Anyway, I saw the movie by Disney, started researching Secretariat, watched some of the archived races, couldn't believe it, particularly the Belmont. Interestingly, when Secretariat died at age 19 (I think), they found that the heart was significantly larger than one would have expected. Between those genetics and the skill of the trainer, it all came together that season, and that day at Belmont. Kinda like what happened to Beamon in 68.
50 years later, it stills stands as #2 all time.
2nd place that day was 26'10" compared to his 29'2.5" (yes, I'm a proud American using feet and inches)
It's not like they all broke the record that day.
Jim Hines 100m record is #74
Tommie Smith's 200m record is #29
Lee Evan's 400m record is #12
To me, this performance is the #1 performance that anyone compares any performance to in any sport.
I thought Gebrselassi's 12:44 5000 record would be in contention at the time.
Who knew he'd knock 5 seconds off that time himself.
In my opinion modern sports began in the late 60's, the combination of reasons, including black athletes being included/encouraged in sports, baby boomers (so more athletes regardless of color), and more free time for a wealthier west, led to improving performance in the late 60's and 70's. Not doping, at least when it comes to sprinters/jumpers.
rojo wrote:
troll under a bridge wrote:
Amazing how an entire life can be defined by one moment. Great to have some context behind the man.
And Jon Gault is too good for this website.
I think the reality is this website is too good for you. It makes ZERO sense for me financially to basically give him weeks to do an article that guys like you get to read from free. We'll be charing soon like the Athletic.
Not too many other places where I can be insulted by the website founders. How wonderful and classy.
I appreciate the field event coverage.
MeHereYouWhere?! wrote:
I'd probably put it in the top 10 of all time.
Lower than Joey Chestnut and his 71 hot dogs in 10 minutes..but higher than Al Bundy's 4 TDs in one game.
You mean 74 (and with buns).
But in reality, his 2007 victory over Kobayashi (proclaimed by ESPN announcers as the greatest moment in US sporting history) was more dramatic. That really defined the field for the next decade.
Swimming's most Beamonesque record was not by Phelps or Spitz, but rather Mary T. Meagher's 2:05.96 200 butterfly at Brown Deer, Wisconsin. That record lasted for 19 years even though you can find youtube video of it and see a whole bunch of things she got wrong from a technique standpoint from a modern understanding of biomechanics. It remains a competitive time at the Olympic level today, and Madame Butterfly would have probably had a 2:04 or lower in her if someone had fixed her turns.
It's funny that people quickly mention the 125 feet or so of wind that might help a long jumper down the runway, but then still think 26.2 miles (138,336 feet) of tailwind shouldn't matter for Ryan Hall to consider his marathon PB to be 2:04:58...
Star wrote:
50 years later, it stills stands as #2 all time.
2nd place that day was 26'10" compared to his 29'2.5" (yes, I'm a proud American using feet and inches)
It's not like they all broke the record that day.
Jim Hines 100m record is #74
Tommie Smith's 200m record is #29
Lee Evan's 400m record is #12
To me, this performance is the #1 performance that anyone compares any performance to in any sport.
I thought Gebrselassi's 12:44 5000 record would be in contention at the time.
Who knew he'd knock 5 seconds off that time himself.
This is a great way to look at the achievement. Nice summary. Nice facts.
Am I living in the twilight zone? The Boston Marathon weather was terrible!
Des Linden: "The entire sport" has changed since she first started running Boston.
Matt Choi was drinking beer halfway through the Boston Marathon
Ryan Eiler, 3rd American man at Boston, almost out of nowhere
2024 College Track & Field Open Coaching Positions Discussion