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World records likely in Osaka?

Posted August 23rd, 2007 at 9:00 AM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Drugs In Sports

women's runner running on track track and field The Osaka track is extremely fast, as evidenced by Jeremy Wariner’s early-season 44.02 back on May 5th, 2007 at the Osaka Grand Prix. That bodes well for the sprints, obviously, which means that most of the distance records are probably safe. Hard tracks are best for sprinting, while soft tracks are best for distance races. So which world records are safe and which ones could be broken in Osaka?

The two safest records are undoubtedly Jarmila Kratochvílová’s 1:53.28 in the women’s 800m and Marita Koch’s 47.60 in the women’s 400m. These records were set way back in 1983 and 1985, respectively, and will probably be safe for some time to come. The 2007 world’s best for the 800m, set this week by Ukraine’s Yuliya Krevsun in Bangkok, Thailand, is 1:57.63, nearly 4 1/2 seconds slower than Kratochvílová’s controversial mark.

Rumors of drug use by both Kratochvílová and Koch persist, their best marks having come during the heyday of the Cold War when nationally-sponsored doping programs within the Iron Curtain were rampant. It should be noted, however, that neither neither athlete ever tested positive for PED’s and both records are still considered to be official by the IAAF.

The same goes for many of the field events, especially the throws, which benefit greatly from the use of anabolic steroids. Most of the world records in the throws were set between the mid 80’s and the early 90’s, the same controversial time period during which the women’s 400m and 800m marks discussed above were set.

Which records are in danger of being broken? Based on recent performances by Croatia’s Blanka Vlašic, USA’s Jeremy Wariner, USA’s Tyson Gay, China’s Xiang Liu, USA’s Terrence Trammell, and Ethiopia’s Meseret Defar, the following records are ripe for the picking in Osaka:

High Jump, Women
Current record: Stefka Kostadinova, BUL: 2.09m, 8/30/1987

400m, Men
Current record: Michael Johnson, USA: 43.18, 8/26/1999

100m, Men
Current record: Asafa Powell, JAM: 9.77, 6/14/2005

110m Hurdles, Men
Current record: Xiang Liu, CHN: 12.88, 7/11/2006

5000m, Women
Current record: eseret Defar, ETH: 14:16.63, 6/15/2007

Keep an eye on the following events, too. The world records for these events are less likely to be broken in Osaka, but still within the realm of possibility:

4×400m Relay, Men
Current record: United States, 2:54.20, 7/22/1998, splits: Jerome Young 44.3; Antonio Pettigrew 43.2; Tyree Washington 43.5; Michael Johnson 43.2

Shot Put, Men
Current record: Randy Barnes, USA: 23.12m, 5/20/1990

Triple Jump, Men
Current record: Jonathan Edwards, GBR: 18.29m, 8/7/1995

200m, Men
Current record: Michael Johnson, USA: 19.32, 8/1/1996

10000m, Men
Current record: Kenenisa Bekele, ETH: 0.0182584490740741, 8/26/2005

Research sources and for more information: [Times Online, UK] [Wikipedia] [Deutsche Welle] [IAAF]