Monday, September 14, 2009

Records.... Monday morning musings....

Oldest World record goes down

in Brussels as Kenya dominates 4x1500 - ÅF Golden League

The Kenyan team celebrate their world record in the 4x1500m relay  (Getty Images)

The Kenyan team celebrate their world record in the 4x1500m relay (Getty Images)

Friday, 04 September 2009

Some said it would be easy but it needed effort all the way. They said the record was so old that Methuselah would have been proud of it. And that it had survived only because it was rarely challenged. It was even suggested that nobody would care whether this little piece of history lived or died.

But this is Brussels, this is Van Damme. These are the most loyal and passionate spectators on the global athletics circuit. People care.

Record falls by two and a half seconds

Kenya succeeded tonight in their attempt to break the World record for the men’s 4x1500m – the oldest of all official IAAF World records – recording 14:36.23 and beating the former mark by just over two and a half seconds.

[...]

The new holders are William Biwott Tanui, Gideon Gathimba, Geoffrey Kipkoech Rono, and Augustine Choge, who ran in that order.

Story continued here


What happens when there are no more world records left?

From Tyler Cowen's blog Marginal Revolution

"Hello Tyler

I'm a British blogger and avid reader of your superb blog. I have a question for you and your readers.

In the wake of the World Athletic Championships (and Bolt's spectacular achievement) I've been wondering: what will happen when the last world records are set?

For example: nobody will ever run the 800m in one second.

Which means someone, somewhere will set a record in that event that never gets broken.

Similarly, nobody will ever throw a javelin five miles. There's got to be a limit point.

What happens after that? What happens when all the Final Records, as it were, have been set?

Of course, we won't know it when it happens. We'll keep striving to break them. But at some point we'll look back on the preceding twenty years and remark on the fact that no new records have been set. In the meantime, incrementally, everyone has caught up to a similar level as everyone else.

What happens then? Does track and field die?"

For Tyler Cowen's reply and the comments of others
(or to add your own comment to the discussion),
click here.

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