Are stadium TV's giving runners a competitive advantage?

[58Commander]

I noticed the number of competitors who now use the stadium screens to watch their race as its happening and see where their competitors are behind them. There were numerous races in Rio where it was very evident but Allyson Felix's anchor leg on the 4x4 really stood out to me as she gauged the distance and margin of safety she had between her and the Jamaican runner behind her. It appeared to me that she watched the big screen for the entire back stretch knowing full well how the race was playing out BEHIND her.

I'm not sure I like this feature of modern track races. It gives the field "eyes in the back of their heads" during races. The element of a surprise move is gone as well as the unknown of who it is running behind you, and how close they really are. I can see many runners from 800M and up using this new found technology to their advantage and I would prefer runners not knowing where they are in relation to the field without the use of a live TV Screen. I admit its a small advantage, if one at all, but I would be curious if anyone else feels this is a benefit or a detriment to the competitive advantage of runners during their races.

[jazzcyclist]

I have no problem with this technology, and its less of an advantage than radios provide to football players and cyclists to help them see what they can't see themselves.

[Powell]

So what next, you're going to want to ban athletes from using the internet to search for better training methods?

It may give a minor advantage in some cases to athletes who are smart enough to use it. You still see people looking back before the finish, so obviously not everyone does. It's just one (and by far not the most significant) of many technological changes that affect the sport and I don't see why it should be seen as a problem.

[cubehead]

It didn't help Molly Huddle much last year.....

[Davidokun]

The presence of the big screen confers no advantage. The information is equally available to all competitors.

It is a change from the past, but so were starting blocks, foam pits, fiberglass poles, all-weather tracks, etc.

[Atticus]

Allyson Felix's anchor leg on the 4x4 really stood out to me as she gauged the distance and margin of safety she had between her and the Jamaican runner behind her. It appeared to me that she watched the big screen for the entire back stretch knowing full well how the race was playing out BEHIND her.

Which I see as a great thing. That adds to my enjoyment, knowing that she is using the screen to her advantage - and, as was noted, everyone is free to do it.

[bobguild76]

I noticed the number of competitors who now use the stadium screens to watch their race as its happening and see where their competitors are behind them. There were numerous races in Rio where it was very evident but Allyson Felix's anchor leg on the 4x4 really stood out to me as she gauged the distance and margin of safety she had between her and the Jamaican runner behind her. It appeared to me that she watched the big screen for the entire back stretch knowing full well how the race was playing out BEHIND her.

I'm not sure I like this feature of modern track races. It gives the field "eyes in the back of their heads" during races. The element of a surprise move is gone as well as the unknown of who it is running behind you, and how close they really are. I can see many runners from 800M and up using this new found technology to their advantage and I would prefer runners not knowing where they are in relation to the field without the use of a live TV Screen. I admit its a small advantage, if one at all, but I would be curious if anyone else feels this is a benefit or a detriment to the competitive advantage of runners during their races.

I wondered the same when it first came out, but I like the fact that runners use everything at their disposal during the race for a competitive advantage. It's not much different from looking back over your shoulder, or having a coach yell out, "They're closing on you!", or "You have a 10 meter lead!"

[tandfman]

It's not much different from looking back over your shoulder, or having a coach yell out, "They're closing on you!", or "You have a 10 meter lead!"

Well, it is a little different in an Olympic stadium where the coach is very unlikely to be able to get close enough to be heard by a runner on the track, especially when tens of thousands of people are cheering in the stands.

Still, for all the reasons mentioned in previous comments, I don't find the video screen to be an unfair advantage.

[gh]

It's too far back in time now for me to have a concrete memory of it, but I'll guess it was the mid '80s, when monster screens first started coming into play, the IAAF (or maybe it was the IOC?) had a policy that the screen was supposed to go dark when the runners were coming up the homestretch.

That proved to be pragmatically impossible so the stricture didn't last long.

[lonewolf]

Lets make it (near) unanimous... there is no unfair advantage.

[tandfman]

It's too far back in time now for me to have a concrete memory of it, but I'll guess it was the mid '80s, when monster screens first started coming into play, the IAAF (or maybe it was the IOC?) had a policy that the screen was supposed to go dark when the runners were coming up the homestretch.

That proved to be pragmatically impossible so the stricture didn't last long.

I have the same recollection.

[Powell]

It's too far back in time now for me to have a concrete memory of it, but I'll guess it was the mid '80s, when monster screens first started coming into play, the IAAF (or maybe it was the IOC?) had a policy that the screen was supposed to go dark when the runners were coming up the homestretch.

That proved to be pragmatically impossible so the stricture didn't last long.

I think in those days they also still prohibited coaching from the stands during competition. The whole philosophy has changed and the IAAF no longer tries to make things as hard as possible for the athletes.

[jazzcyclist]

Lets make it (near) unanimous... there is no unfair advantage.

There's definitely no "unfair advantage", but big screens do give front-runners a competitive advantage if they use them.

[26mi235]

What is the competitive advantage and over whom do they hold it. The other runners have a better natural view of the leader, as least, so their prior advantage is diminished some, but they do not have an advantage on other runners.

[Jackaloupe]

"The information is equally available to all competitors.

It is a change from the past, but so were starting blocks, foam pits, fiberglass poles, all-weather tracks, etc."

Two logical fallacies at play here: 1} Not at all equal, as it's the frontrunner alone who needs it; the rest can plainly see what's in front of 'em.
2} All those other technological advances are indeed "equally available" to frontrunners and challengers alike, whereas the screen solely benefits the leader, by obviating any need to crane around.

So, 'lonewolf', it's not unanimous after all, as both the initiator of the thread who couldn't look ahead in this case, and yours truly think otherwise.