Athletics Thread (General/World)

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prasen9
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Athletics Thread (General/World)

Post by prasen9 »

I searched for a general athletics thread but did not find it. So, I created this one. (Mods please merge it with an existing thread if it exists; sorry for the duplication).

I have meant to post this for a while. Better late than never.

In the London World Championships this year, for the first time, there was gender equality in the sense that the same events were available for men and women. The last event was the 50km racewalk. Somehow the powers that be kept stonewalling its inclusion until it appeared that they could not anymore because the CAS said they could not. All this came about because of a remarkable American woman, Erin Taylor-Talcott. She fought to be included in the US men's Olympic trials for 50km because she had the qualifying time and there was no event for women. She was allowed with the caveat that she could not demand being included in the Olympics team. Then, she fought the IAAF to compete in the world (Men's) Racewalk Team Championships. The CAS ruled against the IAAF and she made history. Now for the first time, the IAAF learned its lesson and sensed that it would lose at the CAS again and so it included 50km racewalking for women. At the end, seven women were allowed to compete and I believe four of them finished. Ines Henriques from Portugal broke the world record and won the first world title. The silver and bronze went to two Chinese women.

Erin Taylor-Talcott would not possibly have medalled but she was disqualified around the 10km mark for bent-knee infractions. Racewalking has two rules and you have to always remember to keep your form while racewalking. Nobody has come up with any video evidence of her having bent her knee. But, such is racewalking. You cannot contest it. Maybe the decision was political. The winner got a check of $150k. There was lucrative prize money for the top 8 positions at the world championships, I believe. But, those DQed and those who did not finish or were not allowed to finish (they have time cutoffs after 40km, I believe) did not get any money.

Anyway, a remarkable story of a lady who fought to change gender inequality in sports almost single handedly. You can read about it here:
IAAF allows gender parity

The IAAF at some point possibly wants to drop the 50km altogether from the Olympics because it takes too much time. ~4 to 4.5 hours. We'll see.
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Re: Athletics Thread (General/World)

Post by Prashant »

prasen9 wrote: Fri Aug 25, 2017 2:24 pm The IAAF at some point possibly wants to drop the 50km altogether from the Olympics because it takes too much time. ~4 to 4.5 hours. We'll see.

That really is an excellent story, thank you for posting!

I have always been confused by the disqualifications in the walking races - they seem highly whimsical. It is basically impossible to adjudicate the "both feet off the ground" rule with the naked eye, yet that is exactly what they do. I think this is easily solved by sensors on the shoes, surprised no one has tried that yet.
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Re: Athletics Thread (General/World)

Post by prasen9 »

Yes, everyone in the racewalking community knows about the sensors on the shoes issue. There are two rules in (what constitutes legal) racewalking. The first rule is explicitly written as follows: "Race Walking is a progression of steps so taken that the walker makes contact with the ground, so that no visible (to the human eye) loss of contact occurs." So, basically, flying is allowed only if you are not caught. By definition. In practice this means that if you take a slow motion video and if both your feet are off the ground for one frame then you are fine. If they are off the ground for multiple frames then you will get detected by the human eye. Of course, this depends upon the frame rate of the video, but, I forget at what frame-rate it is one frame.

So, why does racewalking not make this adjudicated by machines? I don't know what the cost of a shoe with a sensor will be --- it should be affordable for elite athletes, but, what do you do for the high-school kids? Anyway, the racewalking committee may change that rule to put in a more automated definition in the future. The problem is that most elite athletes have two feet off the ground while racewalking at some time --- some even for about 25% of the whole race. I guess the solution could be that we allow a one-frame flying at some video speed and beyond that delegitimize things. I don't know why the committee will not go for that.
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Re: Athletics Thread (General/World)

Post by jaydeep »

Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge has successfully completed the first-ever marathon under two hours in the Austrian capital of Vienna, in the ‘Ineos 1:59 Challenge’ ... He completed the 26.2 miles in 1 hour, 59 minutes and 40 seconds -- an achievement considered one of the ultimate milestones in athletic performance.

Kipchoge achieved the feat with a team of 41 in-and-out pacemakers, seven at a time, whose positions were guided by lasers projected on the road from a support car in front. These assisted conditions, and the fact the run was not part of an open event mean his achievement will not count as an official world record ... In fact, Ineos hasn't even submitted a request to the IAAF for the attempt to be officially ratified.
Kipchoge wrote:“I am feeling good. It has taken 65 years for a human to make history in sport. After Roger Bannister [running a sub four-minute mile in 1954] it took another 65 years … I’m happy to be the man to run under two hours. No human is limited, and I’m expecting more people to do it after today.

“The 41 pacemakers are among the best athletes in the whole world … to all of them I want to say thank you, thank you for doing the job. We made history together.”

"The law of nature cannot allow all human beings to think together," Kipchoge said. "In breaking the two-hour barrier, I want to open minds to think that no human is limited. All our minds, all our thoughts are parallel. But I respect everybody's thoughts."

"Berlin is running and breaking a world record," said Kipchoge. "Vienna is running and making history -- like the first man to go to the moon."
YouTube video link: Eliud Kipchoge crosses the finish line in first-ever sub two-hour marathon
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Re: Athletics Thread (General/World)

Post by suresh »

I am so excited seeing Kipchoge go under 2h. woohoo
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Re: Athletics Thread (General/World)

Post by jayakris »

And the guy looks fresh like he can run for a 100 miles more. Great to see the pure celebration by everybody for such a great sports achievement.
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Re: Athletics Thread (General/World)

Post by Rajiv »

suresh wrote: Sat Oct 12, 2019 11:19 am I am so excited seeing Kipchoge go under 2h. woohoo
With  stress full and depressing news flowing unabated in the newspapers and TV stations  for the past 4 months.

The headline news in the local SCMP describing this as Man landing on the moon and likened it to Roger Banister breaking the mile barrier was all too refreshing news to read in all this mayhem.

We have all heard about the mythical David & Goliath battle only in stories, but the truest David & Goliath battle mankind has ever seen is happening right here in Hong Kong
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Re: Athletics Thread (General/World)

Post by prasen9 »

This should perhaps be cross-posted in Indian Athletics but I put it here becuase Dr. Klaus, Neeraj's coach also talks about the decline of Germany. An interesting interview. Some of the intricacies are lost in translation. Interview with Dr. Klaus
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