First man under 20 sec

John Carlos ran 19.92 in the OT of 1968. Never ratified as a WR. (from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Carlos):

"At the 1968 Olympic Trials, Carlos stunned the track world when he won the 200-meter dash in 19.92 seconds, beating world-record holder Tommie Smith and surpassing his record by 0.3 seconds. Though the record was never ratified because the spike formation on Carlos' shoes ("brush spikes") was not accepted at the time, the race reinforced his status as a world-class sprinter."

Now, what about that?
a) What is "brush spikes"
b) Is it accepted nowadays and (in that case) why?

[imaginative]

http://mb.trackandfieldnews.com/discuss ... ush+spikes

(Among others.)

[Texas]

The first sub20 was Smith's 19.5 in 1966.

[imaginative]

The first sub20 was Smith's 19.5 in 1966.

Hand-timed on a straight track. We would have to think hard on the
conversion, before considering that a valid candidate.

Another candidate along the same lines would be Smith's hand-timed 220y in
20.0 (11 Jun 1968, according to http://www.athletix.org/Statistics/wr200men.htm)

[Texas]

The first sub20 was Smith's 19.5 in 1966.

Hand-timed on a straight track. We would have to think hard on the
conversion, before considering that a valid candidate.

Another candidate along the same lines would be Smith's hand-timed 220y in
20.0 (11 Jun 1968, according to http://www.athletix.org/Statistics/wr200men.htm)

None of that conversion/straight stuff matters. That was the first sub20.

[catson52]

The first sub20 was Smith's 19.5 in 1966.

Hand-timed on a straight track. We would have to think hard on the
conversion, before considering that a valid candidate.

Another candidate along the same lines would be Smith's hand-timed 220y in
20.0 (11 Jun 1968, according to http://www.athletix.org/Statistics/wr200men.htm)

Not 1968, but 1966. This run was on a hard, clay, track according to TFN.

[tandfman]

Re: First man under 20 sec

a) What is "brush spikes"
b) Is it accepted nowadays and (in that case) why?

The first question was answered in the thread linked by imaginative. The answer to the second question is that they are not accepted nowadays. I don't believe they've ever been accepted.

[bf]

trivia: name the first to run sub-20 (windy, straightaway). Hint: before Jesse
Owens' heyday, and was run outside the U.S.

[paulthefan]

The first sub20 was Smith's 19.5 in 1966.

did Sime get a handtime 19.9 on that same track with a little less wind than Smith rode, or am I confusing something.

[Texas]

The first sub20 was Smith's 19.5 in 1966.

did Sime get a handtime 19.9 on that same track with a little less wind than Smith rode, or am I confusing something.

When Smith ran his 19.5 he broke a WR of 20.0.

[rhymans]

Sime ran 20.0y (=19.9m) at Sanger, while Smith's 19.5 was in San Jose. The sub20 referred to by bf was Ralph Metcalfe's 19.8w in Toronto in 1932 ....but the race was started with the waving of a handkerchief - so may not be that accurate

[tandfman]

Yes, if you're going to start a race like that, you should at least wave a salami, or some other object that doesn't flap around in the wind.