Analysis
World-Class Americans, 2008 (800m - 10000m)
Tuesday, November 18th, 2008Here’s the list of all American runners from 800m through 10000m who made the IAAF top lists in 2008 and the events for which they made the list:
Comparing Beijing To The Best Of All Time
Tuesday, August 19th, 2008
For which event at these Beijing Olympics have we seen the best performance in comparison to the world record in that event? We’ve seen 3 world records so far (or should I say we haven’t seen three records so far, not if we’re relying on NBC TV for our Olympic viewing!), so one of these performances, by definition, has to be the best:
| M | 100m | Usain Bolt | JAM | 9.69 |
| W | 3000mSC | Gulnara Samitova-Galkina | RUS | 8:58.81 |
| W | PV | Yelena Isinbayeva | RUS | 5.05 |
But which one is the best? I did an analysis of every event competed thus far at the Beijing Olympics and compared those performances to the world records for those events. Who came out on top? Gulnara Samitova-Galkina, whose 3000m steeplechase world record of 8:58.81 was 0.51% better than her previous world record of 9:01.59. Bolt was next. His 9.69 was 0.31% better than his previous world record of 9.72. Isinbayeva’s 5.05m mark was 0.20% better than her previous mark of 5.04m. Angelo Taylor’s impressive win in the men’s 400m hurdles was even more impressive than I had thought. His gold medal-winning time of 47.25 seconds was only 1% slower than Kevin Young’s world record of 46.78 seconds. That’s even better, percentage-wise, than Tirunesh Dibaba’s and Pamela Jelimo’s performances in the women’s 10000m and the women’s 800m, respectively. That’s saying something. Even more impressive than Young’s performance was Cameroon’s Françoise Mbango Etone, who won the gold medal in the women’s triple jump with a performance of 15.39m, just 0.71% slower than Inessa Kravets’ world record of 15.50m.
The Most Difficult Olympic “A” Standards
Wednesday, July 16th, 2008Which Olympic "A" Standards are the easiest to achieve? Which are the most difficult? I was curious about this so I compared each standard to its corresponding world record and came up with the following list. What do you suppose are the reasons for wide variance between the most difficult "A" standard (the men’s 800m run) and the easiest (the women’s discus throw)?
Most Track & Field Newspaper Coverage, By State
Wednesday, July 16th, 2008
I was searching Google News this morning for some interesting news about track & field when I discovered a search feature that I didn’t know was available: I can search their news sources by state. Of course, when I found out that I could do this, I immediately typed the following keywords: "track and field" OR "track and field (believe it or not, changing the "and" to an ampersand will yield different results) then I typed "location:or." The term "location:or" means search only for news sources located in the state of Oregon. I know from experience that Eugene, Oregon’s The Register Guard is the gold standard for track & field news coverage. Ron Bellamy (photo, left), who (according to his bio) "has written about track and field, since 1986 as a beat writer and then, for 20 years, as a columnist for The Register-Guard," also happens to be the president of the Track & Field Writers of America (TAFWA). His track & field coverage is unparalleled.
Biggest Surprises Of the US Olympic Trials
Monday, July 7th, 2008I was curious to find out how the Top 10 athletes in the Track & Field News Formcharts (Men | Women) performed in the 2008 US Olympic Trials based on their rankings. Here’s how it played out. A total of 169 athletes performed below expectations, 75 performed right at expectations and 241 performed above expectations.
The athletes who were not ranked by T&F News but placed in the top 10 (there were 83 of them) were as follows:
| Kara Goucher (Nike) 5000m - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 1 |
| Bobby Smith (Monmouth Track Club) JT - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 1 |
| Queen Harrison (Virginia Tech) 400mH - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 2 |
| Kameisha Bennett (Nike) 800m - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 3 |
| Erica Bartolina (unattached) PV - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 3 |
| Christian Smith (Oregon TC) 800m - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 3 |
| Morgan Uceny (Reebok) 1500m - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 4 |
| William Leer (Oregon TC Elite) 1500m - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 4 |
| Lauryn Williams (Nike) 200m - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 4 |
| Nicole Bush (Michigan State) 3000mSC - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 4 |
| Reggie Witherspoon (Nike) 400m - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 4 |
| Cedric Norman (unattached) HJ - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 4 |
| Rodney Martin (Nike) 100m - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 5 |
| Daniel Huling (Reebok) 3000mSC - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 5 |
| Johnny Dutch (South Carolina) 400mH - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 5 |
| Rashaud Scott (Kentucky) DT - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 5 |
| Alicia DeShasier (unattached) JT - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 5 |
| Tianna Madison (Nike) LJ - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 5 |
| James Carney (New Balance) 10000m - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 6 |
| Leroy Dixon (Nike) 100m - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 6 |
| Carmelita Jeter (Nike) 200m - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 6 |
| Rubin Williams (Tennessee) 200m - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 6 |
| Michael Spence (IBR / Asics) 3000mSC - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 6 |
| William Conwell (Club Northwest) DT - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 6 |
| Keturah Lofton (unattached) HT - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 6 |
| Barry Krammes (Shore A C ) JT - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 6 |
| Ola Sesay (unattached) LJ - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 6 |
| Jeremy Scott (unattached) PV - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 6 |
| Paul Gensic (U.S. Air Force) PV - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 6 |
| Toni Smith () TJ - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 6 |
| Adam Goucher (Nike) 10000m - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 7 |
| Mechelle Lewis (Nike) 100m - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 7 |
| Ty Akins (Auburn) 110mH - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 7 |
| Tiffany McWilliams (adidas) 1500m - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 7 |
| Benjamin Shorey (Wisconsin-Parkside) 20000mW - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 7 |
| Bernard Williams (adidas) 200m - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 7 |
| Angel Perkins (adidas) 400mH - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 7 |
| Stephen Pifer (Colorado) 5000m - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 7 |
| Adam Kuehl (Nike) DT - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 7 |
| Kelly Godsey (unattached) HT - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 7 |
| Jebreh Harris (Reebok) 800m - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 7 |
| LaShaunte’a Moore (adidas) 100m - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 8 |
| Andrew Brunson (Florida State) 110mH - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 8 |
| Andrew McClary (Arkansas) 1500m - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 8 |
| Jordan Desilets (unattached) 3000mSC - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 8 |
| LaRon Bennett (unattached) 400mH - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 8 |
| Rebecca Donaghue (New Balance Boston) 5000m - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 8 |
| Matthew Gabrielson (Nike) 5000m - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 8 |
| Taiyshawna Battle (Arizona State) DT - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 8 |
| James Dennis (unattached) DT - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 8 |
| Adriane Stone (unattached) HJ - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 8 |
| Melissa Myerscough (unattached) HT - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 8 |
| Lindsey Blaine (Nike) JT - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 8 |
| Mike Morrison (unattached) LJ - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 8 |
| Chelsea Johnson (Nike) PV - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 8 |
| Becky Horn (Western Michigan) 800m - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 8 |
| Crystal Manning () TJ - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 8 |
| Sara Hall (Asics) 1500m - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 9 |
| Carolyn Kealty (unattached) 20000mW - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 9 |
| Carrie Strickland (Bowerman A C) 3000mSC - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 9 |
| Jacques Sallberg (Run With Us) 3000mSC - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 9 |
| Tasmin Fanning (Virginia Tech) 5000m - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 9 |
| Katie Corner (Throw 1 Deep) DT - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 9 |
| Cari Soong (Team XO) HT - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 9 |
| Garland Porter (unattached) HT - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 9 |
| Randall Flimmons (unattached) LJ - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 9 |
| Justin Norberg (unattached) PV - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 9 |
| Sherita Williams () TJ - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 9 |
| Gail Lee (unattached) SP - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 9 |
| Tim Nelson (Nike) 10000m - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 10 |
| Jordan Hasay (unattached) 1500m - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 10 |
| Steven Quirke (Parkside A C) 20000mW - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 10 |
| Corey Nowitzke (unattached) 3000mSC - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 10 |
| Khadija Talley (Miami) DT - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 10 |
| Thomas Morgan (ZAP Fitness) 5000m - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 10 |
| Matt Lamb (Washington State) DT - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 10 |
| William Littleton (unattached) HJ - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 10 |
| Aris Borjas (VS Athletics) JT - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 10 |
| Erica McLain (Nike) LJ - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 10 |
| O’Darien Bassett (Troy) LJ - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 10 |
| Paul Litchfield (unattached) PV - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 10 |
| Laura Hermanson (North Dakota State) 800m - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 10 |
| Brandy Depland () TJ - T&FN Rank: NR, OT Place: 10 |
The biggest disappointments were those athletes who were ranked in the top 10 but did not finish in the top 10:
| Tyson Gay (adidas) 200m - T&FN Rank: 1, OT Place: – |
| Breaux Greer (adidas) JT - T&FN Rank: 1, OT Place: – |
| Jarred Rome (Nike) DT - T&FN Rank: 2, OT Place: 11 |
| Bethany Hart (Shore AC) HT - T&FN Rank: 2, OT Place: 15 |
| Kibwe Johnson (New York AC) HT - T&FN Rank: 2, OT Place: – |
| Nicole Leach (UCLA) 400mH - T&FN Rank: 3, OT Place: 23 |
| Meb Keflezighi (Nike) 10000m - T&FN Rank: 3, OT Place: 13 |
| Xavier Carter (Nike) 200m - T&FN Rank: 3, OT Place: – |
| Steve Slattery (Nike) 3000mSC - T&FN Rank: 3, OT Place: – |
| Angelo Taylor (Regnerations) 400m - T&FN Rank: 3, OT Place: – |
| Jenny Adams (adidas) LJ - T&FN Rank: 3, OT Place: 13 |
| Michael Tinsley (adidas) 400mH - T&FN Rank: 4, OT Place: 17 |
| Emily Brown (Team USA/Minnesota) 5000m - T&FN Rank: 4, OT Place: 17 |
| Tom Brooks (Oregon TC) 3000mSC - T&FN Rank: 4, OT Place: 15 |
| Ryan Wilson (HSI) 110mH - T&FN Rank: 4, OT Place: 11 |
| Jonathon Riley (Nike) 5000m - T&FN Rank: 4, OT Place: 13 |
| Torri Edwards (Nike) 200m - T&FN Rank: 4, OT Place: – |
| Paul Terek (Asics) Dec - T&FN Rank: 4, OT Place: – |
| John Godina (adidas) DT - T&FN Rank: 4, OT Place: 12 |
| Tisha Waller (unattached) HJ - T&FN Rank: 4, OT Place: – |
| Porscha Lucas (Texas A&M) 200m - T&FN Rank: 5, OT Place: 16 |
| Jordan Boase (Washington) 400m - T&FN Rank: 5, OT Place: 15 |
| Aaron Aguayo (unattached) 3000mSC - T&FN Rank: 5, OT Place: – |
| Adam Goucher (Nike) 5000m - T&FN Rank: 5, OT Place: – |
| Julie Pickler (Asics) Hep - T&FN Rank: 5, OT Place: – |
| Garrett Johnson (unattached) SP - T&FN Rank: 5, OT Place: – |
| James Carter (Nike) 400mH - T&FN Rank: 5, OT Place: 12 |
| Britney Henry (adidas) HT - T&FN Rank: 5, OT Place: 16 |
| Walter Davis (Nike) LJ - T&FN Rank: 5, OT Place: – |
| Tommy Skipper (Nike) PV - T&FN Rank: 5, OT Place: – |
| Jenelle Deatherage (Reebok) 1500m - T&FN Rank: 6, OT Place: 11 |
| Mike Tarantino (unattached) 20000mW - T&FN Rank: 6, OT Place: 11 |
| Ryan Harlan (unattached) Dec - T&FN Rank: 6, OT Place: – |
| Kyle Alcorn (Arizona State) 3000mSC - T&FN Rank: 6, OT Place: 11 |
| Dominique Darden (Reebok) 400mH - T&FN Rank: 6, OT Place: 12 |
| Jim Dilling (unattached) HJ - T&FN Rank: 6, OT Place: 11 |
| Reindell Cole (Cal State Northridge) LJ - T&FN Rank: 6, OT Place: 12 |
| Mark Hollis (Nike) PV - T&FN Rank: 6, OT Place: – |
| Sheena Gordon (unattached) TJ - T&FN Rank: 6, OT Place: 13 |
| Kelly Strong (Asics) 3000mSC - T&FN Rank: 7, OT Place: 17 |
| Allen Johnson (Nike) 110mH - T&FN Rank: 7, OT Place: – |
| Shauna Smith (Nike) 400mH - T&FN Rank: 7, OT Place: – |
| Grant Lindsey (Kentucky) HJ - T&FN Rank: 7, OT Place: 12 |
| Brianna Glenn (Doyle) LJ - T&FN Rank: 7, OT Place: 11 |
| Andre Black (Louisville) TJ - T&FN Rank: 7, OT Place: 17 |
| Bianca Knight (adidas) 100m - T&FN Rank: 8, OT Place: 12 |
| Treniere Clement (Nike) 1500m - T&FN Rank: 8, OT Place: 12 |
| Scott Bauhs (Chico State) 10000m - T&FN Rank: 8, OT Place: 16 |
| Chris Tegtmeier (Concordia/Nebraska) 20000mW - T&FN Rank: 8, OT Place: – |
| John Capel (unattached) 200m - T&FN Rank: 8, OT Place: 12 |
| Galen Rupp (unattached) 5000m - T&FN Rank: 8, OT Place: – |
| Chris Boyles (Team C-Bo) Dec - T&FN Rank: 8, OT Place: – |
| Mitchell Pope (adidas) SP - T&FN Rank: 8, OT Place: – |
| LaTavia Thomas (LSU) 800m - T&FN Rank: 8, OT Place: 11 |
| Matt Scherer (Oregon TC) 800m - T&FN Rank: 8, OT Place: 12 |
| Rachel Longfors (TVA) DT - T&FN Rank: 8, OT Place: 11 |
| Brittany Riley (Southern Illinois) HT - T&FN Rank: 8, OT Place: 11 |
| Karlee McQuillen (Penn State) JT - T&FN Rank: 8, OT Place: – |
| April Williams (Peak Performance) TJ - T&FN Rank: 8, OT Place: 15 |
| Fasil Bizuneh (New Balance) 10000m - T&FN Rank: 9, OT Place: 15 |
| Trindon Holliday (LSU) 100m - T&FN Rank: 9, OT Place: 11 |
| Jason Richardson (South Carolina) 110mH - T&FN Rank: 9, OT Place: – |
| Chris Berrian (Vel9) 200m - T&FN Rank: 9, OT Place: – |
| Miki Barber (Nike) 200m - T&FN Rank: 9, OT Place: 12 |
| Lela Nelson (Nike) Hep - T&FN Rank: 9, OT Place: – |
| Ben Bruce (unattached) 3000mSC - T&FN Rank: 9, OT Place: 12 |
| D’Andra Carter (Texas Tech) DT - T&FN Rank: 9, OT Place: 16 |
| Brian Trainor (unattached) DT - T&FN Rank: 9, OT Place: 13 |
| Leslie Coons (unattached) HT - T&FN Rank: 9, OT Place: 13 |
| Eric Brown (unattached) JT - T&FN Rank: 9, OT Place: 11 |
| Erin Asay (Sheffield Elite) PV - T&FN Rank: 9, OT Place: – |
| Rory Quiller (unattached) PV - T&FN Rank: 9, OT Place: – |
| Patience Knight (Texas Tech) SP - T&FN Rank: 9, OT Place: 12 |
| Miki Barber (Nike) 100m - T&FN Rank: 10, OT Place: 23 |
| Wallace Spearmon (Nike) 100m - T&FN Rank: 10, OT Place: 12 |
| Frances Koons (Villanova) 1500m - T&FN Rank: 10, OT Place: 17 |
| Gabe Jennings (Eugene H&F) 1500m - T&FN Rank: 10, OT Place: 12 |
| Lauren Forgues (Maine RW) 20000mW - T&FN Rank: 10, OT Place: – |
| Renee Metivier Baille (Nike) 5000m - T&FN Rank: 10, OT Place: – |
| Chris Figures (unattached) SP - T&FN Rank: 10, OT Place: – |
| Melinda Sallins (unattached) 400mH - T&FN Rank: 10, OT Place: 11 |
| Chris Richardson (Long Beach State) Dec - T&FN Rank: 10, OT Place: 16 |
| Annie Hess (Concordia/Ore) DT - T&FN Rank: 10, OT Place: 23 |
| James Dennis (unattached) DT - T&FN Rank: 10, OT Place: 11 |
| Elizabeth Patterson (Arizona) HJ - T&FN Rank: 10, OT Place: – |
| Adam Montague (Florida) JT - T&FN Rank: 10, OT Place: – |
| Toby Stevenson (Nike) PV - T&FN Rank: 10, OT Place: – |
The “Bannister Equivalent” (Women’s Version)
Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008
Yesterday when I wrote about the "Bannister Equivalent" I wondered aloud what might be the equivalents of the four-minute mile in the other track & field events and how I might be able to go about finding them. I took a stab at this analysis and came up with some marks for the men’s events in the 2008 US Olympic Trials. I promised you that I’d have the women’s chart today so here it is (after the jump).
The “Bannister Equivalent”
Tuesday, July 1st, 2008
In track & field circles, the four-minute mile still has a certain mystique to it, as if it is still the supreme achievement in the sport. Why is that? Perhaps because that particular achievement seemed to be so beyond the limits of human performance that Roger Bannister’s feat resonated within the collective human consciousness (whatever that means) like no other athletic achievement before or since. But 54 years later, breaking a four-minute mile is really not all that remarkable. Even high school boys do it, or come close to it, although not with any kind of regularity.
Still, the mystique remains, and people are still pretty impressed when someone breaks a four-minute mile. Thinking about this reality got me to thinking: what are the equivalents of the four-minute mile in the other track & field events? How could one even go about measuring this?
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