10/18/23: Track has it changed?

Over the past few years in track and field it may appear that times are getting faster, but that in some cases isn't true. In the cases that they have been getting faster one of the causes a lot of people credit to those performances is new technology such as new shoes, training equipment, fueling and fueling strategies, and pacing technology. But, from what I can see that just is not the case. Today I will talk about four of the most popular events in track and field and show that the world records ten years ago are very similar to what they are now. 

The first event I will be talking about is the 100 meter dash. The 100 meter dash is an event to some that seems very easy and it is just about who can sprint the fastest. Yes, it is in many ways just this but there’s more to it than that! The times from 2013 to now are proof of that. In 2013, the men’s world record holder Usain Bolt was dominant as he ran the top three times that year–he set the record in 2009 with a time of 9.58 and it is still unbeaten today, and the current world lead for 2023 is Zharnel Hughes’ 9.83 performance. The same goes for the women’s side, the world record in 2013, is the same as it is now: Florence Griffith-Joyner’s 1988 record setting time of 10.49. Going back to 2013 there was one woman who dominated this event, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, she ran three of the fastest times that year, and her best was, 10.71 just .22 off the world record, the current world lead for this year is Shericka Jackson’s 10.65.

Next on the list is the 1500m, the 1500m is an event that bridges the gap between middle and long distance races. On the men’s side some men have gotten closer to the world record and have not been able to beat Hicham El Guerrouj’s 3:26, which he ran in 1998 The world lead in 2013 was only 3:27, run by Asbel Kiprop, the current world lead for 2023 stands at 3:27 run by Jakob Ingebrigsten.. On the women’s side, the world record that stood in 2013, Yunxia Qu’s record of 3:50 has since been improved by Faith Kipyegon, as she ran 3:49 this year. The world lead in 2023 was run by Areba Aregawi, in a time of 3:56, six seconds slower than the world record at the time, Faith Kipyegon followed after her, running the second fastest time that year, the current world lead for 2023 is Faith Kipyegon’s 3:49 performance.

The next event I will talk about is the 200 meter dash. In both the men’s and women’s sides this race in 2013 was dominated by the same athletes as the 100m that same year, Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. Usain Bolt, the current world record holder in both the 100m and 200m held the 200m world record of 19.19 in 2013. Bolt, in 2013, ran 19.66 as the world lead which is .47 seconds off the world record, the current world lead for 2023 is Noah Lyles’ 19.47. On the women’s side, the world record in 2013 still stands today as Florence Griffith-Joyner’s 21.34 in 1988. Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce was the fastest athlete in 2013 over the 200m distance, running a season’s best of 22.13 for a world lead, a time .79 seconds off of Griffith-Joyner’s world record, the world lead this year is Shericka Jackson’s 21.41.

The last event I will be talking about today, is an event that has gained popularity over the past few years, the 5000 meter run. On the women’s side, the 5000m world lead in 2013 was run by Tirunesh Dibaba, in a time of 14:23, a time 12 seconds slower than Dibaba’s world record at the time from 2008 of 14:11. That world record has since been broken, as Gudaf Tsegay just recently ran a world record of 14:00, the current world lead from 2023 is Gudaf Tsegay’s 14:00 performance. In 2013, on the men’s side the world leader was Edwin Cheruiyot Soi, as he ran a time of 12:51. That mark however was 14 seconds slower than the world record at the time, Kenenisa Bekele’s 12:37 mark from 2004. Since 2004, the world record has been broken by Joshua Cheptegei. Cheptegei broke the record in a time of 12:35, he broke it in 2020, the current world lead for this year is Berihu Aregawi’s 12:40 performance..

But if new technology isn’t the cause of fast times being run, what is? Well, it’s two things, knowledge and competition. Knowledge in this case is specifically learning more about running, different training methods, the human body, and how to race the best you can. All of this knowledge comes over time and we have had lots of it and the opportunity to learn more about this sport since its creation in 776 B.C. With that knowledge we can put that into practice and run faster. 

The other factor is competition, it is said that if you run with someone faster than you, you will run faster than you would have by yourself and I believe that is exactly right. As humans we want to win and the way to win is by beating other people, and we do that through competition. This comes into play with the running world because if you look at any of the results of a world record race you will see that there are a lot of fast people in that race, which goes to show that competition drives performance and more importantly fast ones.