Sydney McLaughlin set the World Record in the 400m hurdles 4 times in the last 2 years. The current World Record is 50.68 set in July 2022.
In July 1974 the World Record was 56.51.
Just about 6 seconds faster in just about 50 years.
Wild.
What is even wilder is the World Record for the Women's 400m is 47.60 seconds; set in 1985.
The commentators on the Women's 400m Hurdle were wondering what Sydney McLauglin would do to the 400m record if she didn't have to deal with the 10 hurdles.
There's about a 3 second difference right now. I wonder how long that will stand.
@bjhess the other crazy thing is the number of races Abby Steiner has run in this "season". I'm not sure how long a season is, but the average number of races for a runner is around 15 for a season. Abby has run in over 50.
I'm not a track and field fan, but watching these YouTube highlights might turn me into one.
@joelhamill Curious if that is a new strategy forming or if she'll burn out quick (but maybe that's okay?).
@bjhess I'm not sure. This video breaks her races and performances down in 2022.. Simply amazing stuff.
I have no idea if other runners pace themselves or if there are any comparable competitors in track and field history.
@joelhamill Also can’t believe that the 100m WR is 9.58. I remember Ben Johnson’s drug-enhanced 9.88 from Seoul Olympics and was like, whoa! No one can beat that without drugs.
@pratik It's insane that people can run that fast. I'm amazed that through the years the women's records have been about 1 second slower than the men's records.