British runner Josh Kerr breaks world record for mile which stood for 27 years
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Re: British runner Josh Kerr breaks world record for mile which stood for 27 years
#2Is this because most East Africans don’t really try to beat the mile (instead doing the 1500m) since there’s no money in it?
Re: British runner Josh Kerr breaks world record for mile which stood for 27 years
#3He had a special singlet designed and undoubtedly carbon shoes. Makes you wonder how much raw human potential has progressed vs just having better equipment and track surfaces?
Re: British runner Josh Kerr breaks world record for mile which stood for 27 years
#4Finally, some exciting news about a record-breaking achievement in human athleticism that deserves worthy attention for once, instead of more of the same AI news.
Congratulations to him!
Re: British runner Josh Kerr breaks world record for mile which stood for 27 years
#5Is this because most East Africans don’t really try to beat the mile (instead doing the 1500m) since there’s no money in it?
I'm sure the record standing so long is partially down to the fact the mile isn't run at major championships, although the middle distances like 800m and 1500m are more of an open field and not dominated by East Africans like longer distances such as 5k and 10k (Josh Kerr is already an Olympic silver medallist, finishing behind a white American and ahead of an Ethiopian-American).
Re: British runner Josh Kerr breaks world record for mile which stood for 27 years
#6He had a special singlet designed and undoubtedly carbon shoes. Makes you wonder how much raw human potential has progressed vs just having better equipment and track surfaces?
The mile record has dropped due to equipment (tracks and shoes) and pacing innovation since the very first. And I repeat this all the time but nobody listens: modern shoes are fast because of the special foam and light weight, the carbon plates have very little to do with it, experiments have cut those plates in half and running economy remains unchanged. they likely provide important structural support for the thick foam, and carbon makes sense to use for that for weight reasons, on a budget plastic is fine.
Re: British runner Josh Kerr breaks world record for mile which stood for 27 years
#7Is this because most East Africans don’t really try to beat the mile (instead doing the 1500m) since there’s no money in it?
Because most humans don't really try, not limited to east africans.
Re: British runner Josh Kerr breaks world record for mile which stood for 27 years
#8He had a special singlet designed and undoubtedly carbon shoes. Makes you wonder how much raw human potential has progressed vs just having better equipment and track surfaces?
I'm sure the track surface and shoes are important, but if "singlet" means the clothing he is wearing? It's really hard to believe that makes a material difference.
Re: British runner Josh Kerr breaks world record for mile which stood for 27 years
#9He had a special singlet designed and undoubtedly carbon shoes. Makes you wonder how much raw human potential has progressed vs just having better equipment and track surfaces?
The mention of pacemakers made me wonder if you could have some light marker on the track to show the ideal pace you should be keeping as well.
If you can find the human equivalent of the rabbit for greyhounds then maybe even more could be achieved.
Re: British runner Josh Kerr breaks world record for mile which stood for 27 years
#10Is this because most East Africans don’t really try to beat the mile (instead doing the 1500m) since there’s no money in it?
East African dominance over track events has largely ended. The 1500m world record is held by a West African, while the mile and 3000m world records are now held by white Europeans. The 5000m at the recent World Championships had no East African medalists, and the 10000m had just one. Same goes for the most recent Olympic 5000m.
Compare this with the Olympic and World Championship podiums for the 2000s and 2010s; I don't believe a non-East-African-born athlete won a single 5000/10000m medal for 20 years straight.