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“In a normal athletics year so many world records were unthinkable” | Opinion

Last night Valencia had a memorable athletics evening. The meeting, billed as World Record Day, lived up to expectations. Two world records that have been on the tables for a long time now belong to history. Joshua Cheptegei from Uganda is the new world record holder in the 10,000 meters, Ethiopian athlete Gidey is the fastest ever in the 5,000 meters.

World records thanks to covid

It was a memorable record year for athletics. World records in the 5000 meters, the 10,000 meters, the 20 kilometers, the hour run… and then I forget for a moment the world records that were set on the road.

This was only possible thanks to the corona crisis. No championships, so the top athletes were able to fully focus on breaking world records.

Joshua Cheptegei ran barely 3 races this year, good for 3 world records (5 km on the road, and 5 and 10 km on the slopes). In a “normal” athletics year it would also have been unthinkable that top riders such as Mo Farah, Bashir Abdi and Sifan Hassan prepared for an hour record attempt.

In a “normal” athletics year it would also have been inconceivable that top riders like Mo Farah, Bashir Abdi and Sifan Hassan had prepared for an hour record attempt.

World records thanks to technology

A striking innovation is the Wavelight system, the lights that indicate the ideal pace along the edge of the track. Undoubtedly, this helps, especially when the human pacemakers have stepped out.

Cheptegei ran the last 4,800 meters of his 10 km all the way
only. And yet his pace remained improbably stable. In addition to the first and last lap of his race, he rolled for 23 laps in a time between 62 ”4 and 63” 3. You can’t walk more evenly.

And then there are the new spikes that were used, the extent to which they play a role is difficult to calculate, but they will undoubtedly have saved time.

running lights

Running lights along the track help athletes strike a record.

How fast had Bekele and Zatopek run now?

Well, technological innovation is a reality (in just about all sports). Of course it remains nice to follow the discussions on various internet forums with questions such as “how fast did Emil Zatopek, Kenenisa Bekele and others run on the slopes of today, with today’s spikes, with the Wavelight guidance?”

Nice to read, but otherwise completely pointless discussions. Although you sometimes read things that still make you think. As follows: “I would have preferred that those world records were set in a normal year where doping inspectors could perform unexpected checks unhindered, which certainly did not happen in this corona year.”

And so internet forums continue to stir up believers and non-believers into heated discussions.

Kenenisa Bekele

Kenenisa Bekele was the previous world record holder in the 10 km (26’17 “53 in 2005 in Brussels).

No one-day flights

That the 24-year-old Ugandan Cheptegei, after he had previously broken the world record in the 5,000 meters in Monaco, would also improve the 10 km record of Kenenisa Bekele was in line with expectations.

Cheptegei is running an impressive list of achievements: world champion cross country running in 2019, world champion 10,000 meters in 2019, world records on the road, world records 5,000 and 10,000 meters on the slopes. We are already looking forward to the clash between Cheptegei and Mo Farah in the 10,000 meters during the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

I did not expect the world record of Letesenbet Gidey immediately. Okay, she is a great talent because 2 times world champion cross country running in the juniors. But at the 5,000 meters, her last victory dates back to 2016, she seemed to become the Poulidor of distance running in recent years.

But look, still only 22-year-old Gidey did about 4 “50 better in Valencia than her compatriot Tirunesh Dibaba in 2008.

In recent years Gidey seemed to become the Poulidor of distance running.

Letesenbet Gidey en Joshua Cheptegei

Letesenbet Gidey en Joshua Cheptegei.

Joshua Cheptegui has just completed 10 km in 26’11 “00.

Marc Willems

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