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A Thanksgiving Trivia Quiz. We're all impressed, of course, when a WR is set. Even more remarkable (and obviously rarer) are those races in which more than one athlete breaks (or matches) the previous WR. How many such races were there in the 1500 and mile in the last 50 years?
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Re: Seconds, please
Since I cannot find my 1995 edition of the IAAF 'Progression of
World Bests,etc' and since the 2003 edition that I just ordered
from Monte Carlo has not arrived...Oh, that is right we are not
suppose to cheat. I better put syringe away, right now...
Anyways, the answer is: 5!
Bannister and Landy broke the mile
record in that 1954 Empire Race.
Bayi and Walker, twenty years
later in the renamed Commonwealth Games 1500.
Ovett, Wessinghage,
and Huydek (or something like that for the third guy. I can't
remember, oh no!) in 1980.
Then there is 1985 Nice where Cram and
Aouita broke the 1500 WR.
And finally, El G and Lagat in the mile
a couple of years ago. -
Re: Seconds, please
Banister (3:58.8) broke his own (3:59.4) WR in defeating Landy (3:59.6) in that 1954 race? Or had Landy already run his 3:57.9 (3:58.0 officially) WR?Comment
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Re: Seconds, please
Larwood, you're doing well, but not quite there.
There was no WR set in the '54 Vancouver race, so that's not on the list. You are correct, however, on the following:
-2/2/74 Christchurch
1. Bayi 3:32.2
2. Walker 3:32.5
-8/27/80 Koblenz
1. Ovett 3:31.36
2. Wessingage 3:31.58
3. H. Hudak 3:31.96
-7/16/85 Nice
1. Cram 3:29.67
2. Aouita 3:29.71 (what a barnburner!!)
-7/7/99 Rome
1. El G 3:43.14
2. Ngeny 3:43.40
So this is four of what I believe are actually seven races that fit my criteria.Comment
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Re: Seconds, please
Here's an admittedly silly point, but strictly speaking, only one person can break the record in a race. As soon as he/she crosses the tape, there is a new record, and the second person has not run faster than the record.
Sorry, couldn't resist.Comment
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Re: Seconds, please
Salsola/Salonen in '57(3:40.2), Nielsen/Tabori 3:40.8/'55 Oslo, Merv Lincoln 3:55.9? to Elliott's 3:54.5,'58.Comment
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Re: Seconds, please
Correct! The other three races were:
-9/6/55 Oslo
1. Tabori 3:40.8
2. G. Nielson 3:40.8
-7/11/57 Turku
1. Olavi Salsola 3:40.2
2. Olavi Salonen 3:40.2
3. Olavi Vuorisalo 3:40.3
-8/6/58 Dublin
1. Elliott 3:54.5
2. Lincoln 3:55.9
To the respondent two above, that's why I specifically said "breaks or ties the previous record." Not much ambiguity there...Comment
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Re: Seconds, please
Also, a few women's races, maybe more: 5 or 6 were under wr in '72 Olympic final. Wang 2nd in 3:51.92 in '93, and '85 Zurich mile - Puica & Budd under Decker's wr (though inferior to 1500 record)Comment
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Re: Seconds, please
Interesting that this has only happened once in the men's 10,000 in the last 50 years:
-7/2/84: Stockholm
1.Mamede 27:13.81
2. Lopes 27:17.48Comment
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