imnothammer
Moderator
https://www.letsrun.com/news/2021/0...46-91-american-mile-record-on-saturday-night/
Looks like a heck of a tune up for Tokyo (the Olympic 1500m final will be run on 8/7)! The table-napkin math from the super-geniuses over at LetsRun puts this attempt at "unlikely but just within the realm of possibility". Webb's mile record can be scaled down to a 3:30.06 equivalent 1500 and that is just a hair quicker than Centro's 3:30.40 1500 PR.
Of course, my favorite subject, technological doping has also entered the conversation. Short of putting literal springs in shoes, I am all-aboard the super shoe train. While it is of course unfair to the runners of yore (they competed at a comparative disadvantage), I love to see how advancements can change sports over time. Nike's Dragonfly (billed as a 1500 to 10k shoe) has already been party to a number of record breaking efforts and I will be curious to see how some of their more sprint-minded shoes, like the Victory (billed as a 800 to 5k shoe) and Maxfly (billed as a 100 to 400 shoe) hold up. It is a shame, I don't think the Viperfly ever made it to production?
So far as pacing is concerned, I am of two minds. Rabbits can provide drafting (although honestly I am not sure this matters at such a short distance?), but rabbits themselves are of course human and subject to any number of errors. Wavelight provides no drafting potential but instead offers absolute accuracy. If I run that internal debate through the sifter I think I prefer wavelight given that it thrusts the spotlight firmly on the athlete.
At any rate, I love to see people swing for the fences and announce their intentions to drop records. I doubt that he will be successful but I think this will give a better idea of his readiness for Tokyo.
Looks like a heck of a tune up for Tokyo (the Olympic 1500m final will be run on 8/7)! The table-napkin math from the super-geniuses over at LetsRun puts this attempt at "unlikely but just within the realm of possibility". Webb's mile record can be scaled down to a 3:30.06 equivalent 1500 and that is just a hair quicker than Centro's 3:30.40 1500 PR.
Of course, my favorite subject, technological doping has also entered the conversation. Short of putting literal springs in shoes, I am all-aboard the super shoe train. While it is of course unfair to the runners of yore (they competed at a comparative disadvantage), I love to see how advancements can change sports over time. Nike's Dragonfly (billed as a 1500 to 10k shoe) has already been party to a number of record breaking efforts and I will be curious to see how some of their more sprint-minded shoes, like the Victory (billed as a 800 to 5k shoe) and Maxfly (billed as a 100 to 400 shoe) hold up. It is a shame, I don't think the Viperfly ever made it to production?
So far as pacing is concerned, I am of two minds. Rabbits can provide drafting (although honestly I am not sure this matters at such a short distance?), but rabbits themselves are of course human and subject to any number of errors. Wavelight provides no drafting potential but instead offers absolute accuracy. If I run that internal debate through the sifter I think I prefer wavelight given that it thrusts the spotlight firmly on the athlete.
At any rate, I love to see people swing for the fences and announce their intentions to drop records. I doubt that he will be successful but I think this will give a better idea of his readiness for Tokyo.