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News22 Dec 2000


2000 – A Record Year with a difference

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2000 – A Record Year with a difference
Mark Butler for the IAAF

22 December 2000 - This year has been another great one for the sport of athletics, crowned by a wonderful Olympic Games. But something was missing, for the first time in 93 years. Not a single outdoor men's world record was ratified by the IAAF.

A little digging was required to find out the last time this happened. Inspection of the 1999 edition of the IAAF's Progression of World Best Performances and Official World Records - edited by Richard Hymans – gave some answers. The very first list of approved IAAF World Records was published in 1914, and it included several marks set before the founding of the IAAF in 1912. In fact, the earliest mark was for 20 miles by British runner Thomas Griffiths, set in London on December 30, 1870. There were also ratified marks set every year between and including 1900 and 1914, with the exception of 1907. Later years in the 20th century each saw at least one ratified men's world record up to Noah Ngeny's 2:11.96 1000m in Rieti on September 5, 1999. There have been no outdoor records since then.

Furthermore, 1907 did at least see 11 unratified world bests set in events which are still on the current world record list, like the 5000m and javelin throw. There were no such marks in 2000, though Michael Johnson did set a brilliant world best at 300m of 30.85. There were also road "bests" by Paul Tergat, Roman Rasskazov and Valeriy Spitsyn, but we must go much further back even than 1907 to find the last year with no world bests at currently recognised events ... 1855!

It should be noted that we not comparing "like with like" when considering records from previous centuries. Many more events were originally accorded world record status, such as 200m on a straight track, or the standing high jump. Also, the IAAF's rules for recognising records have tightened considerably in modern times. For instance, wind-assisted marks were not accepted after 1936, and nowadays a negative doping control test is compulsory before a world record can be ratified.

It would be unfair to conclude that athletics is in decline because of the paucity of men's records in a single year. After all, there were several women's or junior men's world records in 2000. "There are always certain peaks and troughs," said Hymans. "like in the pole vault in the 80s and 90s when Bubka set record after record, then no-one else got any higher." But surely the main factor this year was the Sydney Olympic Games. Coming as they did at the very end of the season, it was understandable that few athletes with world record potential would have wished to reach that peak before the games. The conditions in New South Wales in September were also important. "If the venue had been somewhere with warmer evenings," reflected Hymans, "and with no wind in the stadium, then we would have had more chances for world records. The weather wasn't that bad, but it was springtime and not summer. We did not get the heat we had in Athens 1997 or Seville 1999. In those conditions, Michael Johnson might have gone for the 400m record. The 100m and 400m hurdles would have been quite a bit quicker. Anier García [110m hurdles] might have been faster on a hot day. He looks capable of a world record to me."

It was one of the most under-rated performers of the year, Virgilijus Alekna, who came closest to a world record in 2000. His discus throw of 73.88 at the Lithuanian Championships was just 20cm short of the oldest men's record, Jürgen Schult's 74.08 from 1986. Alekna went on to compile one of the greatest seasonal records ever in his event. Only time will tell if it is him, Johnson, García or another star who can resume the great sequence of records which electrify our sport.

For the latest lists of IAAF record in various categories, please go to http://www.iaaf.org/Results/Records/Index.html

World records set in 2000
* = awaiting ratification

Indoors
Men
1000m
2:15.25 Wilson Kipketer DEN Stuttgart 6 Feb
2:14.96 Wilson Kipketer DEN Birmingham 20 Feb

4x800m Relay
7:13.94 Global Athletics & Marketing/USA (Joey Woody, Karl Paranya, Rich Kenah, David Krummenacker) Boston 6 Feb

Women
Pole Vault
4.62 Stacy Dragila USA Atlanta 3 Mar

Will not be ratified
Pole Vault
4.61 Stacy Dragila USA Pocatello 19 Feb

Outdoors
Junior Men
3000m Steeplechase
8:03.74 Raymond Yator KEN Monaco 18 Aug

10,000m Walk
38:46.4* Viktor Burayev USA Moscow 20 May

Women
20,000m
1:05:26.6 Tegla Loroupe KEN Borgholzhausen 3 Sep

3000m Steeplechase
9:43.64* Cristina Casandra ROM Bucharest 7 Aug
9:40.20* Cristina Casandra ROM Reims 30 Aug

Pole Vault
4.60* Stacy Dragila USA Modesto 13 May
4.63 Stacy Dragila USA Sacramento 23 Jul

Javelin Throw
68.22 Trine Hattestad NOR Rome 30 Jun
69.48 Trine Hattestad NOR Oslo 28 Jul

20,000m Walk
1:35:23.7 Kristina Saltanovic LTU Kaunas 3 Aug
1:30:48.3 Rossella Giordano ITA Almada 4 Aug

4x200m Relay
1:27.46* "Blue" Team/USA (LaTasha Jenkins, LaTasha Colander-Richardson, Nanceen Perry, Marion Jones) Philadelphia 29 Apr

Will not be ratified
Women
Pole Vault
4.62 Stacy Dragila USA Phoenix 26 May
4.70 Stacy Dragila USA Santa Barbara 11 Jun

Junior Women
3000m Steeplechase
10:10.73 Melissa Rollison AUS Sydney 25 Feb

400m Hurdles
55.20 Jana Pittman AUS Pietersburg 18 Mar
Pole Vault
4.45i Yelena Isinbayeva RUS Volgograd 4 Feb

Hammer Throw
69.13 Kamila Skolimowska POL Warsaw 10 Jun
70.62 Kamila Skolimowska POL Rüdlingen 13 Aug
71.16* Kamila Skolimowska POL Sydney 29 Sep

World Best Performances (not ratified)
Men
300m
30.85 Michael Johnson USA Pretoria 24 Mar

Half Marathon (Road)
59:06 Paul Tergat KEN Lisbon 26 Mar

20 Kilometres Walk (Road)
1:17:46 Roman Rasskazov RUS Moscow 19 May

50 Kilometres Walk (Road)
3:37:26 Valeriy Spitsyn RUS Moscow 21 May

Junior Men
Half Marathon (Road)
59:38 Faustin Baha TAN Lisbon 26 Mar

Women
20 Kilometres Walk (Road)
1:25:18 Tatyana Gudkova RUS Moscow 19 May

Junior Women
Marathon (Road)
2:26:34 Wei Yanan CHN Beijing 15 Oct

(Acknowledgments to IAAF Competitions Department, Richard Hymans & Rob Whittingham )

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