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Track Events That Ought To Exist … the Track Decathlon?

Posted September 8th, 2007 at 6:25 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Tommie_Smith There’s an interesting discussion over at the Track & Field News Message Boards about “dream” track events, that is, events that are not currently held but which would be interesting to see. Some, such as the straight-course 200m (world record: 19.4 by Tommie Smith [Pictured], back in 1966), are obsolete events; while others, such as the 100m Dash for shotputters, have never been held in a competition.

My dream event? The track decathlon:

Day One: 100m, 200m, 10000m, 3000m, 1500m.
Day Two: 400m, 1000m, 5000m, 800m, Mile.

What type of runner would win a grueling event like this? A Sprinter? A Middle-Distance runner? A Long-Distance runner?

I can’t imagine that a sprinter would have much of chance overall, but I could be wrong. Jeremy Wariner, for instance, would be very competitive in the four shortest events.

Distance runners who are plodders wouldn’t stand a chance in any event from the Mile on down. The right mixture of fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscles would take an event like this. I can picture a dream contest between Alan Webb and Kenenisa Bekele, with Craig Mottram giving them a run for their money. Both Alex Kipchirchir and Matt Tegenkamp would be in the mix, too.

For a look at some other “dream” events that ought to exist in the sport of Track & Field, you can visit: [Track & Field News]