Basket of "I wonder why" questions...

[Charlie2]

Why hasn't Kerley dropped something big in the 200m? His PB in the 100m and 400m would indicate a better 200m time than that 19.76 at maximum tailwind.

I'm not a coach or a sprinter but he just looks awkward when running the turn, not at all fluid compared to lyles, knghton, or fellow tall(er) man Bolt.

[TN1965]

Possibly someone also whispered in her ear all that time spent away from VB high jumping might impact getting a full ride in VB?

Making the all conference in shot and discus did not cost Monika Czinano a full ride to Iowa.

I think early specialization is way overrated. Cam Brink played volleyball in HS, and that didn't cost her a full ride to Stanford.

[DET59]

Making the all conference in shot and discus did not cost Monika Czinano a full ride to Iowa.

I think early specialization is way overrated. Cam Brink played volleyball in HS, and that didn't cost her a full ride to Stanford.

Totally agree, but year-round travel teams in VB, BB and baseball/softball have really hurt track and field numbers (along with the edition of 'new' sports like LaCrosse, outside school club sports, and all the new competitive extreme sports.) One of the best 9th grade track athletes at the school I worked at quit to pursue high school rodeo (and is now a multi-millionaire in the Rodeo Hall of Fame)

[TN1965]

Okay. Here is the next puzzle. Japanese women in sprint.

There are eight Japanese men who have run 10.05 or faster in the last five years, including four sub 10. The Japanese record for women is 11.21 (by now retired Fukushima). Only two of the top ten women all time are currently active.

And if anything, I think they lose more male sprinters to soccer and baseball. Which sport is taking the top female talent?

[Trickstat]

On the men's side, Japan never seems to produce world-class middle distance runners. They do OK up to 400 including hurdles and then from 5000 up (with the occasional 'chaser). Their national records at 800 and 1500 are only 1:45.75 and 3:35.42.

[jc203]

Puddin', my bad in regard to your earlier post... I failed to differentiate between "performers" and "performances" as I read. I blame it on the small text display on my aging iphone :-)

[proofs in the pudd'in]

Puddin', my bad in regard to your earlier post... I failed to differentiate between "performers" and "performances" as I read. I blame it on the small text display on my aging iphone :-)

Ah, no problem!

[79]

I wonder if anyone here can explain the longevity of discus throwers at the highest level.
The French woman at Montreuil is 44.
I remember Powell appeared on the top of the discus world lists when he was around 40.

[ZazaShoya]

Why hasn't Kerley dropped something big in the 200m? His PB in the 100m and 400m would indicate a better 200m time than that 19.76 at maximum tailwind.

Kerley is a mediocre bend runner that's all. Top-end speed is not an issue, speed resistance is not an issue, but you can't do much better than 19.76 with such a "slow" first 100m.
Last year he was around 10.45 in the bend, in Doha 10.42 yet again. That's not enough.
Biomechanical analysis from London offer some comparison : all the athletes cover the first 100m between 10.13 (Guliyev) and 10.35 (Young) for 200m between 20.09 and 20.64 ...
MJ, maybe the closest runner type to Fred, split 10.12 en route to his 19.32. A similar second half of the race would drive him to 19.62.

[LuckySpikes]

As a big fan of Japanese athletics I've thought about the following questions before ...

On the men's side, Japan never seems to produce world-class middle distance runners. They do OK up to 400 including hurdles and then from 5000 up (with the occasional 'chaser). Their national records at 800 and 1500 are only 1:45.75 and 3:35.42.

With the national obsession for long distance running, my presumption is that if you show any talent early on for anything over 400m you get funnelled towards longer distances. And in Japan they start them early with those longer distances - for 13 yo boys in Japan there's plenty of 3000m track races and once you get to 16 it's onto the 5000.

Also, Nozomi Tanaka is the only world-class female mid-distance runner they've ever had. At 1500 she's over 8 seconds faster than any other Japanese woman has ever run! At first glance that makes little sense in a country of over 120 million people. However, I think the same cause is in play as for the men.

At the excellent Hokuren Distance Challenge series every July, in each meeting there's usually 4 or 5 sections of the Men's 5000 and 2 or 3 sections for the Women (with 25+ athletes in each) but there's usually only one 1500 race and one 800 race (sometimes 2 sections for the men).

It seems they just don't have the strength of numbers in the 800 & 1500 to make a big impact?

Okay. Here is the next puzzle. Japanese women in sprint.

There are eight Japanese men who have run 10.05 or faster in the last five years, including four sub 10. The Japanese record for women is 11.21 (by now retired Fukushima). Only two of the top ten women all time are currently active.

And if anything, I think they lose more male sprinters to soccer and baseball. Which sport is taking the top female talent?

I'm not sure there is another sport taking a huge amount of female talent away but see my response to Trickstat above.

Also, I think there may be 2 other factors limiting their female talent pool for sprinting ...

1) I'm not sure Japanese women are built for sprinting. On average, they're quite short and we know that, in general, being a bit taller is of benefit in the sprints.

Their height (and crucially low weight) is much more suited to the distances.

Japanese men though do not seem to have a height deficit compared to the rest of the world.

2) Although they're gradually changing, I think societal attitudes mean that Japanese girls have not been encouraged into athletics to the same extent as their boys have been. You see it at their collegiate level - there's about twice as many men competing as there are women.

[DET59]

I wonder if anyone here can explain the longevity of discus throwers at the highest level.
The French woman at Montreuil is 44.
I remember Powell appeared on the top of the discus world lists when he was around 40.

234' high school thrower Niklas Arrhenius threw 66 meters (22 years later) a couple of months before his 40th birthday last summer..... must be like riding a bike?

[muy slow]

I'm not sure Japanese women are built for sprinting.

What do you think of Miwa Miyoshi, their current next huge thing? She has a youtube channel.

[Atticus]

234' high school thrower Niklas Arrhenius threw 66 meters (22 years later) a couple of months before his 40th birthday last summer..... must be like riding a bike?

Al Oerter 'retired' after winning 4 consecutive Olympic Golds, only to return and throw
67m at 42yo
69 at 43
68 at 44
66 at 45
67 at 46
...
62 at 49

[79]

Al Oerter 'retired' after winning 4 consecutive Olympic Golds, only to return and throw
67m at 42yo
69 at 43
68 at 44
66 at 45
67 at 46
...
62 at 49

69,46meters! WOW! He would have been a top gun today too!

[LuckySpikes]

What do you think of Miwa Miyoshi, their current next huge thing? She has a youtube channel.

Sorry, I don't know her. I see from her WA profile that she's only 13. I do watch some Japanese High School athletics but it tends to be the older kids in the distances.

Returning to my earlier themes about Japanese women's build for sprinting and societal attitudes in Japan ...

I've just been watching Day 1 of the Japanese Championships including the Women's 100m heats ... It was striking that of the 32 women in those heats only Arisa Kimishima had any noticeable extra muscle beyond what a "regular" slim, non-athletic woman would typically have. Kimishima and Kodama (absent here) aside, I'd be very surprised if any of them lift weights. Put them next to the top American, Jamaican & European sprinters and they'd look very petite.

Without wishing to stereotype a nation (although I think there is some truth in this), is this related to Japanese notions of femininity (cuteness etc) and that Japanese people are generally conformist, therefore female sprinters in Japan are reluctant to stand out by developing their musculature?