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Steeplechase barriers positioning
gh wrote about "the barrier in place just a few meters past the finish line" and race leader Jenny Barringer veering right (to avoid a finishing-speed collision with the unmovable object).
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That was a good observation about a matter deserving more attention: the placement of steeple barriers, at some tracks using placement models outdated by basic facility trends:
1. The move, from ovals with 100m straightaways and 100m turns, toward 85m straightaways and 115m turns.
2. The move, in an era of photo-finish cameras and timing -- with less mobile resources than officials and stopwatches, toward a common finish line at the departure end of home straightaway.
Modern track design moves the water jump closer to home straightaway; see this illustration:
Consequently, the last on-track barrier is closer to midway of home straight and that moves the "first" barrier (of a 3000m steeple) more into the "first turn" and thus farther past the finish line. This configuration is evident at the new Beijing Olympics stadium, the 2009 World Champs venue in Berlin, and most of the modern tracks I've seen. It removes the collision potential observed by GH this week -- and by observers at 2007 Prefontaine meet steeplechase.
Further, if this modern configuration was in place at Hayward Field, the water jump path would not have required women steeplers to face the low-horizon bright sun this past Monday evening. The run-up to, and exit from, water jump would face directly west (not northwest) and provide a straight path with a softer turn into finish straightaway. The water jump action, a crowd favorite, would be more visible to persons sitting along the home straightaway.
gh wrote about "the barrier in place just a few meters past the finish line" and race leader Jenny Barringer veering right (to avoid a finishing-speed collision with the unmovable object).
------------
That was a good observation about a matter deserving more attention: the placement of steeple barriers, at some tracks using placement models outdated by basic facility trends:
1. The move, from ovals with 100m straightaways and 100m turns, toward 85m straightaways and 115m turns.
2. The move, in an era of photo-finish cameras and timing -- with less mobile resources than officials and stopwatches, toward a common finish line at the departure end of home straightaway.
Modern track design moves the water jump closer to home straightaway; see this illustration:
Consequently, the last on-track barrier is closer to midway of home straight and that moves the "first" barrier (of a 3000m steeple) more into the "first turn" and thus farther past the finish line. This configuration is evident at the new Beijing Olympics stadium, the 2009 World Champs venue in Berlin, and most of the modern tracks I've seen. It removes the collision potential observed by GH this week -- and by observers at 2007 Prefontaine meet steeplechase.
Further, if this modern configuration was in place at Hayward Field, the water jump path would not have required women steeplers to face the low-horizon bright sun this past Monday evening. The run-up to, and exit from, water jump would face directly west (not northwest) and provide a straight path with a softer turn into finish straightaway. The water jump action, a crowd favorite, would be more visible to persons sitting along the home straightaway.
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