How fast was Owens..... ?

[Falken]

It's a pity Owens never was properly timed by autotiming. The closest he got was probably in Berlin where a autotiming-device was in place.
This showed that Erich Borchmeyer won a quarter in 10,62w (10,5w) ahead of Arthur Sweeney in 10,75w (10,6w)

In the Final Owens won in 10,3w (+2,7 m/s) and Borchmeyer was fifth in 10,7w....
In this final Owens beat Metcalfe by a meter. Metcalfe was clearly not in the same shape as the years before (when he had beaten Owens) and thus not as fast as when he (and Tolan) ran 10,38 in L.A.....


In the 200 Owens won in 20,7 during rainy weather after winning his semi in 21,3 (21,40 autotimed !!)

It's a pity most of the photofilms are lost ...

[Guest]

Re: How fast was Owens..... ?

I reckon he was pretty fast.

[Guest]

How fast was Owens..... ?

A better question is "How advanced a broad jumper was Owens?" He established a mark in 1936 that Ralph Boston did not erase until 1961. That's a generation (in a sport where records fall by the fraction of an inch).

[Guest]

Re: How fast was Owens..... ?

>A better question is "How advanced a broad
>jumper was Owens?" He established a mark in 1936
>that Ralph Boston did not erase until 1961.
>That's a generation (in a sport where records
>fall by the fraction of an inch).

That doesn't appear unusual in long jumping. Records in that event have changed the least and last the longest. When Powell broke the WR, T&FN listed the LJ WR progression from 1901 and it didn't take up that much space. The HS record has been held by just two different athletes in the last 24 years; Ohio's HSR has been broken only twice since 1933! Ireland's NR stood from 1901 to sometime in the 1990s.

[Guest]

Re: How fast was Owens..... ?

Seems like there could be a near FAT's from analyzing films of the races, at least at Berlin.

[Guest]

How fast was Owens..... ?

Isn't it true that Todd Bell of Middletwon, who would go on to play safety for the Bears, was the athlete who broke Owens' state long jump mark?

If what you say is so, why do we think the long jump record has proven to be less penetrabel than say, the high jump or triple jump marks (even scholastically)? Is it partially psychological?

Bijan

[dj]

Re: How fast was Owens..... ?

Because the greatest technical advancement in the event occurred during the late 19th century when people got the bright idea to sink a wooden joist into the runway to allow for firm footing at take-off. Beyond that, all that could be done was improve the runway surface and the shoes.

[gh]

Re: How fast was Owens..... ?

Wooden joist?! Man, the elementary school where I learned to long jump had--and I kid you not--a 3ft long chunk of railway track buried in the playground. It lasted out the winters pretty well, but needless to say, wasn't much for traction if you actually hit it!